Day 3, on the way to Mandalay2

The bus stopped at a roadside food stand again around 11 pm for a second dinner. The night cold felt denser and denser. I searched all my bags my favourite lycra t-shirt, but in vain. I must have left it behind messed among white beddings when packing hurriedly.

Other side of the street a old woman and a girl were selling steamed corn. Looked clean to me.

' be lao lie?' ( how much). I asked the price.

'%^&.'

I pretended I understood and passed two hundred kyat for two corns,which was how much they were supposed to cost in Yangon. And when I rose and walked away 2 metres away, the old woman stopped me and then forced 40 kyat into my hands. I was so moved by their honesty and thanks them. And I gestured to them I wanted to make a phone call. She showed me a big restaurant a few metres away.

Of course there was no public telephone in the restaurant, but the boss kindly took out his own cell phone and helped dial the hotel number for me. It took seconds to get connected with poor singal quality. I screamed as loudly as I could to tell the receptionist not to throw the shirt away if they could find it in room 305.I asked the price for the phone call but found short of 50 kyat small notes. But the boss said kindly it was all right.

Out of the windows of my bus drove past about ten big vans carring about 200 young monks in robes( like relocating teams of soldiers) . I know there I was coming closer and closer to Mandalay,which is the educational center for Burmese Buddhism. Besides its buddhist cultures there, its kind and friendly people I 'd encountered on the way made me more and more looking forward to this city.