January 1, 2017
taxi to Nyaungshwe: Happy New Year 2017
"We are going the route we would have cycled, so that's nice to see" Patrick says. We've loaded the bikes in the back of the taxi and headed to Inle Lake. Patrick had to take off the front wheels and the seats, but everything fit in the back.
Last night we could see fireworks from our window at various points and times across the city. We fell asleep, but were awaken by a continuous explosion of fireworks and figured it must be midnight and a New Year. This morning we have another great breakfast, got the cart for our luggage and a staff person insisted on coming up with us to help and push it back to the lobby. Right at 7:30am, just as our taxi driver arrives.
After Kyaukse, our driver took the main road that stays in the valley and not the road up to Ywangan we considered cycling. This was a very busy road with lots of trucks, a 2 inch drop off to the dirt shoulder. We stopped after a couple of hours for lunch. The driver is very friendly and a cautious driver, we buy his lunch, he gives us two big bottles of water. The scenery is much the same, though more large agricultural areas.
Then after essentially all flat driving and with about 30 or 40km to go to Kalaw we start climbing steeply through pine forest reaching Kalaw at the edge of a rolling plateau. From here on the road becomes more interesting, dropping down to the lake.
The 300km taxi ride cost $150 which seemed to be the going rate in Mandalay. That is quite a bit of money, compared to a bus which would probably cost about $40 to 50 including the bikes. The minivans the hotel called for us could not take the bikes and we did not want to take a night bus. First of all we want to see the country, second we don't like the idea of getting dropped off at 5am after a sleepless night and having to wait to check into a hotel. For us this was money well spent. Hopefully we don't have to do it too often.
We have made reservations at the Aung Mingalabar Hotel, a nice place with cottages and a garden for $25 a night. After settling in we walk back to town for some draft beer and a pretty good pizza at the Golden Kite.
Our hotel offers boat tours on the lake, but they are just a middleman and tack on their commission. We prefer to spread the money around, and see if we can get it a little cheaper at the source so we walk down towards the jetty to see about a tour tomorrow. Just before we get there a boatman approaches us and we sign up with him. All day around the lake tomorrow, a market, floating gardens and of course more pagodas!
Walking around town we meet a Dutch woman cyclist, her husband was in the hotel ill, and a little later two Swiss whom we had seen on the road just outside of Kalaw.
A very nice beginning to 2017.
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