"You're not doing it right." "What?" Patrick asks. "Peeing at the side of the road. The men here squat, guess because of the longyi (sarong) doesn't have a zipper." It's universal, men being able to stop anywhere to relieve themselves.
At breakfast, we see the Spanish and German cyclists again, they arrived late last night. There was no ferry at Mawlywine, so they took a train to Bago (8 hours) and now plan to cycle to the coast for Christmas. The breakfast is well worth the wait: two fried eggs, three slices of buttered toast and jam, coffee and fresh mango juice. The staff once again so very helpful, filling our water bottles with cold bottled water. They have seen enough cyclists to even know how to clip the ortlieb panniers on the racks.
Except for towns, the road is mostly lined by trees creating a shaded canopy against the hot sun. After 40km of bumping along slowly and watching the edge because of a dropoff, there was a stretch of construction making a concrete shoulder. Then further on we reached the part that was completed. We started making better time on this concrete strip. The traffic today was more bicycles, motorbikes, and farm machinery with an occasional ox-drawn cart. Buses and trucks still honked there was through but there seemed to be less of the big trucks.
The landscape is getting greener, we see fields of cabbages in addition to the brown harvested fields of yesterday. There were lots of places to stop to eat or get drinks. We chose the big restaurants that cater to the buses. We figure the food has plenty of turnover so would be fresh. About 10km from town, we spot the German cyclist asleep on a haystack. He wakes up and then cycles with us into town. He plans on going further today.
After asking at the Cocoman Restaurant, we are told the Paradise Inn is just down the road on the left. We cycle on and see the blue sign for the guesthouse but not able to interpret if there were directions. Going further, then stopping to check the GPS and turn around, there is another sign for it, and we turn on the road. From here, there is another sign to the right. The place is a bit rough, a collection of different "cottages" set around an alley. It is cheap though, for Burma, and has AC and an attached bathroom. Only cold water from a mandi though. Our room has not yet been cleaned, but that is done while we have a cold beer. After clean-up we take some rest, then walk back to the restaurant to have dinner. The menu is not in English though and we have trouble ordering the food. Patrick ends up with a decent noodle soup, but Rachel's "burger" is very disappointing with the smallest and thinnest pattie we have ever seen.
Okkan Hotel Lobby. The two Spanish and German cyclists have arrived late last night.
The German cyclist we met last evening at our hotel left very early this morning. We find Frank about 85 kilometers down the road asleep in a pile of straw.
The Paradise Inn in Gyobinauk. A little rough, but probably the only option. Price is not bad at 20,000kyat, about $15, but we miss the value we would get in Thailand for that kind of money.
We have not seen a "mandi" for a long time. The tiled water enclosure was a standard feature in every bathroom when we cycled in Indonesia ten years ago. You just scoop the cold water over your head, taking care to leave the water in the mandi clean.
