Myanmar- Day 6 (Inle)

Location: Saint Honore Bakery and cafe Xuan Dieu, Hanoi
Time: 1:25 pm
Mood: drinking cinnamon infused tea with Magnifique cake (very sweet) and listening to two friends chatting in korean beside my table. Hurray I can decipher around 30 percent of the conversation.

January 31, 2014

It's our last day in Inle so Mitch decided to give the pencils that she bought in Hanoi to a school near our hotel. She ventured out before breakfast to take pictures and she saw the school. After settling our bags we decided to go to the school. It turned out to be an Elementary school. We were directed by one parent to the teacher in charge and she was an energetic lady. Her English wasn't perfect but at least we were able to communicate to convey what we want. We went to her classroom which also doubled as the teachers room and it reminded us so much of our own class when we were young. It was shabby with a table cover just like the ones that are used for dining tables back home when we were young. The place is simple and most of the students and teachers came flocking to see us since we were speaking English although we don't look like foreigners. We were served with their traditional tea and asked about common English questions. Of course after a bit of a chit chat we gave the small gift. We were happy that they were happy to receive them. It might not be a big one but we hope as teachers that it will help the teachers and the children in learning. We bid them goodbye and we went back to the hostel to check out. After having lunch and  putting our bags at the  office where we booked bus seats back to Yangoon, we proceeded for lunch. After lunch we went to a museum. Of course we have to pay 5 kyats again for entrance. There was really nothing much inside and it is obviously not well taken cared of. The only interesting that I've seen so far was the big Bamboo Buddha, yes it was made of Bamboo but I was impressed. It doesn't look like any other Buddha, probably because it is made of bamboo or maybe because for me it looks more warm as compared to all the Buddhas I saw inside the stone temples. Whatever it is, it is so far an unforgettable Buddha for me.

The open jeep that we paid for 7 kyats that brought us and our luggage to the office where we booked our bus tickets.

The museum where the bamboo Buddha is staying. 

A traditional carriage in front of the museum.

After walking around we decided to go for a massage. We found this cute spa near a pond so we tried it out. It wasn't as good as the massage you get in Indonesia but at least it relieved us of some of the stress from the heat and the travel. The place was nice and the staff were very accommodating but the massage was not really in par to massage that I often had in Indonesia. Nevertheless, time passed by and we were already on the bus at 7 in the evening bound to Yangoon. We got sits at the back of the bus so it was bouncy but the temperature was good enough since it wasn't cold nor hot. We noticed everyone in the middle, covering up and fixing their aircon overhead. We slept for one or two hours in between getting awake but at least it was more comfortable than the bus we had when we were travelling from Luang Prabang to Vientianne a few years ago. Mitchell had the hardest time at that time since she had to sit with an old man who kept on farting for the duration of our 10 hour bus ride. At least for the trip from Inle to Yangoon, it was 8 hours and the sits were individual for us. It was tiring but it was cheap than taking a plane. I think we paid 21,000 kyats for the trip.

The little pond. The spa is on my left while the market is on my left side. It was a small town where the booking offices for the lake tours are located. 

Our bus, it is the preferred transportation for most tourists who are saving money. There are actually flights going back to Yangoon but it will cost you around 70 dollars or more while a bus only costs 20 dollars.