I'd enjoyed the stay at Rith Lake but we now faced the return journey with a 'disabled' vehicle. The Doctor must have been discussing my problems because, when we loaded up to leave, the pick-up with our friends appeared and I was directed to the passenger seat in the pick-up. This meant that Hlaing Hlaing had to travel in the covered rear section with her children but everybody seemed happy so the two vehicles moved off back to the small town of Rhikhawdar where we parked alongside a tea-shop and everybody from the two vehicles piled in for breakfast. During breakfast, the Doctor asked me "Which vehicle do you prefer?" and, remembering my misery the previous afternoon, I told the truth. So it was agreed that I would travel back to Kalay in the pick-up. I felt sorry for my friends who had to suffer in the car.
After breakfast, we didn't immediately set off but all walked down the hill to the rusting Bailey prefabricated truss bridge with double side panels which led over the Hathya River to India.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Walking into India across the bridge at Rihkhawdar.
Checking my pictures afterwards, I noticed that the Indian half of the bridge had been painted far more recently than the Myanmar side! The bridge had the occasional motor cycle or pedestrian but it was fairly quiet. There was an official-looking wooden building on the Myanmar side of the bridge but nobody showed any interest as we all walked onto the bridge. At the far side, a concrete arch proclaimed 'Welcome to India'. The Doctor spoke briefly to the Indian border guards and it was all smiles as we sauntered into India with an imposing building in front of us, with signs for the State Bank of India and the Trade and Commerce Department of the Government of Mizoram.
Our party outside the Trade and Commerce Department of the Government of Mizoram, 1st May 2018
We made our way through the quiet area past the Hotel Paradise, which looked a touch run-down and probably unlikely to live up to its name. Lots more pictures were taken by the young people (and me). The Doctor studied the offerings in the retail shop forming part of the imposing warehouse/shop labelled 'C. Lallawmzuala and Family' as a couple of gaily-painted public carrier trucks made by Tata passed us as they manoeuvred to a parking area. After this fascinating, if brief, visit to India, we strolled back to Myanmar. Before we boarded our two vehicles, I examined examples of the rather curious unpowered but steerable trucks I'd seen in the area.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Rhikhawdar, showing examples of the unpowered, steerable trucks used in the area.
We set off on our 119 km return to Kalay over what, I think, is the most remarkable road I've travelled on. After around 90 minutes, we stopped at a tiny village high up in the mountains with commanding views. The houses, either all-wood or wood with corrugated sheeting, perched right on the edge of the steep hillside below.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: "We stopped at a tiny village high up in the mountains with commanding views".
The Doctor and I admired a handcrafted wooden tricycle for a child. After a while, the owner came and gave us a demonstration, dragging the tricycle up a small slope then speeding downhill. The Doctor talked to one of the men. He was on childcare duties with a young baby slung in front of him in a baby sling. Nearby, a group of eight children of mixed ages played happily. This section of the route is, as yet, unimproved so, despite the frightening drops at the side of the road, there is no 'Armco' barrier. Occasionally, used steel drums used to transport road tar are filled with rocks and set up at the side of the road, particularly near hairpin bends. Generally, these are painted white to improve sighting.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Used bitumen drums as edge-of-road markers.
We came over the yellow-painted suspension bridge over the Manipur River then continued back to Tedim. We all went to a tea-shop about 11.45 a.m. where the monk was treated with great respect, seated at a separate table and promptly served with his lunch. Then, everybody else was served.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: View outside the teashop where we took lunch.
After lunch, we continued through the mountains, pausing briefly at a simple roadside stall selling plants. Once Hlaing Hlaing had completed her purchase, the journey continued to a viewpoint overlooking Mount Kennedy, the peak already shrouded in mist which would later descend to road level.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Mount Kennedy, its peak already shrouded in mist.
A memorial had been placed here to commemorate the deaths of soldiers involved in skirmishes with Chin at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inscriptions were in Myanmar language, Chin language and English. On the other side of the road was a simple stone memorial commemorating the deaths of soldiers in World War 2.
Our convoy carried on but after thirty minutes we found ourselves stopped at the end of a short queue of vehicles. Ahead, rocks were coming down the high upper cliff, bouncing off the road and then careering down the lower cliff. At first, I thought it was a natural rock slide but then I spotted two excavators moving around at the top of the cliff and pushing rock and occasionally uprooted trees downhill.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Our road ahead completely blocked by fallen rocks.
At the end of the 30 minute work period, two massive front loading shovels moved along the road, one from near us, one from the other side of the obstruction. Within a few minutes, they had cleared a path through the rubble. Traffic in the opposite direction was the first to move but soon we were on our way again.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: Two massive front loading shovels shifting the rubble from the road.
The pick-up reached the Kalay Industrial Zone, to the north of the town, without further delay and we pulled up at a large vehicle repair garage where the crippled Monastery car was already parked.
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018: The vehicle repair garage in Kalay Industrial Zone.
It took a while to make arrangements for a replacement air bag suspension unit to be shipped overnight from Mandalay and hire a car and driver for the following day whilst the monastery car was being repaired but, within an hour, the Monk, the Doctor and his wife and I were ferried in the monastery car to the Hotel Moe in Kalay which turned out to be an excellent choice. This was a modern, 5-storey building with electric lift and everything a European tourist might expect - and the internet worked, too.
Hotel Moe, Kalay.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar.
The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports
My pictures
Back to Kalay 1st May 2018
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, minor edits and pictures embedded 8-Jun-2018]
