The Bagan Medical Clinic was strangely quiet on Monday morning. When the clinic is open (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), there are usually hundreds of patients waiting their turn to be seen but, as I took breakfast with Doctor Hla Tun in the staff area of the original clinic building, only a few of the staff and monastery people remained.
The Doctor had promised to take me on a few day's tour of his country, in a repetition of the format in 2018 when we visited Chin State but the programme for 2019 was something of a 'mystery tour', although Shan State had been mentioned. On Monday morning five of us set off in the monastery's Toyota 'Prado' for our adventure - the monk who manages the clinic, one of the clinic staff as driver, the Doctor's mother (who had stayed at the clinic the previous night), the Doctor and Jan. Two miniature Buddhist flags were on display through the windscreen, indicating the presence of the monk and this meant that we passed through the various road toll stations without paying the fee.
Two miniature Buddhist flags on display through the windscreen of the monastery car.
We crossed the Bagan Plain, surrounded by the pagodas of ancient kingdoms which I always find magical. That led us to the town of New Bagan, Nyaung Oo, an unashamedly commercial area covered with tourist hotels with a number of new resort-type hotels still under construction. We turned onto the road east which I’ve travelled many times to Mount Popa or the school at Htee Pu but after a while, I recognized that we had turned onto a road I think I’d travelled only once before, in 2016 when the monastery car drove me to Thazi to travel by train to Kalaw (that road journey is described in the post On to Thazi. So I concluded, correctly, that we were heading for Shan State, via Meiktila, Thazi and Kalaw.
Meiktila Lake Pagoda in 2016.
Thazi Level Crossing, looking east, view from a train leaving Thazi in 2016.
We continued east, climbing into the mountains, for almost 100 km, crossing into Shan State shortly before arriving in Kalaw. Thazi-Kalaw by road is certainly quicker than my railway journey in 2016 (technical report starts here, concludes here). Like the Mandalay-Pyin-Oo-Lwin road, the road from Thazi to Kalaw forms part of an important trading route and has been widened and improved but still cannot avoid tight curves and steep gradients. Like Pyin Oo Lwin (often called 'Maymyo' after the British Colonel May), the elevation of Kalaw made it a cooler 'Hill Station' for the British and the architecture still reflects the British involvement.
We stopped at the Bamboo Temple, just outside Kalaw, situated in the hills overlooking the town, where my companions paid their respects.
Bamboo Temple, Kalaw.
Then, we continued on dusty roads across the hills to a series of viewpoints. We stopped at the modern-sounding 'Viewpoint@Kalaw'.
Group picture at Viewpoint@Kalaw.
A further drive took us to a set of natural caves which have become a Buddhist place of pilgrimage.
Entrance to Caves we visited in Shan State.
Jan, Doctor Hla Tun and his Mother tour the Natural Cave Pagoda, Shan State (Burma 2019)
We continued south on main road 54 which I knew would lead to Loikaw, the state capital of Kayah State, which I'd visited once before in 2017 (reports on that trip are here). Still in Shan State, at Phe Khong (sometimes spelt 'Pekon'), the road runs close to the western shore of the lake south of Inle. This lake is dammed at its southern end and then discharges into the Balu Chaung River which continues into Kayah State and flows through Loikaw. We stopped for a 'group picture' at a viewpoint overlooking the lake, where I also recorded the railway line to Loikaw running, unfenced, adjacent to the road.
On our way to Loikaw.
Burma 2019: Phe Khong, showing railway to Loikaw (view in Aungban direction). Note concrete sleepers, check rail and 'informal' road crossing.
By the time we arrived at Loikaw, it was dark and I was quite tired from the travelling. Doctor Hla Tun arranged accommodation at the Thingaha Hotel and I was provided with a well-equipped room which gave me an excellent night's sleep.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 14th visit to Myanmar. The post Return to Burma is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays 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 2019 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma 2019 reports.
My pictures
I've uploaded lots of pictures to 'Flickr' but they're not all sorted and titled. I'll get onto it as soon as I can.
Bagan Medical Clinic, May 2019
Around Bagan Clinic 2019
Burma 2019
[Pictures added 17-May-2019: Notes added 21-May-2019: Edits and pictures embedded 3/5-Jun-2019]
