We Interrupt This Journal

November 1, 2019

Pakokku Bridge to Nyaung-U

November 5, 2019

Dear little friends,

As you see, we kind of suck at daily journal entries. We spend a lot of time out photographing or taking video footage, we visit with people, we take a lot of naps. And internet service is still pretty slow here even in a heavily-touristed area like Bagan. We have been in Nyaung-U recovering from our very hot day ride on October 31, so let me catch you up on a few things.

After the very very dangerously hot day to Myingyan we took a bus to the Pakokku Bridge which is about 13 miles outside of Nyaung-U, the town we like to stay in while in the Bagan Archeology Zone. First we went to the bus station, somebody put us on a little truck, the little truck took us to a waiting bus, and off we went. The road looked simply horrible. No shade, big rocks and construction, too many hills, still 105 degrees. It was money well spent.

The theme for this entry is going to be shade, shade, wonderful shade. This is Bruce’s favorite species of tree in Myanmar.

And this may be the unfavorite tree but, as you see, it still provides some shade.

I am sending a selfie to my son, who replied with a blanched, “Knock it off, stop riding in this heat and get some hydration!” order.

These little water stops are everywhere. While this water is not safe for us to drink I did pour a bit of it over my bandanna and was very grateful for it.

We rode those last few miles in blistering heat and arrived at the May Kha Lar guesthouse and have been hanging here with our friend Ma Cho ever since. Waiting for the heat to subside to undangerous levels may waste some time but we have time and staying alive is, I think, a good investment in our time. Ma Cho has been feeding us like kings. The Burmese Diet Plan is backfiring!

We’ll post more photos from our time in Nyaung-U at the May Kha Lar Guesthouse, but for now, I want you to know that we entered that room, which had icy-cold air conditioning, sweaty chilled water bottles, and a fantastic shower. Heaven.

The plan tomorrow is to get up early and give it another go, 39 miles to Salay. Clouds and slightly lower temps should temper that vicious road surface heat. If not, we’ll grab another truck or bus and hopscotch our way down to the delta.

For those who anxiously await each and every post, may we suggest you make an Instagram account and lurk on our accounts to see what the heck we’re up to. Because as you see, we certainly are not going to post on Cycleblaze every day. Bruce’s IG is @pancakekingdom, and mine is @malvazebrina. Since mine is private you’ll have to ask to follow me, sorry, I was getting too many creepster follows so if your IG profile features a bikini-clad sylph or anything with flags or dollar signs I may ignore you too. But we promise to post there with more frequency than here.

That’s the latest and greatest. We’re still loving Myanmar and have more to come.

Today's ride: 13 miles (21 km)
Total: 104 miles (167 km)

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Jen RahnNothing like a heat wave hopscotch to recover and stay safe!!
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5 years ago

Ron SuchanekSo I guess I'll have to rethink changing my IG profile. I was thinking of a matching American flag speedo and belly shirt....
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5 years ago