Day 5, Maymeo 1

I couldn't hide my like for its colonial name of Maymeo than its current one of Pyin U Lwin for this tiny hill station about 67 km away from Mandalay. The reason has been very simple: Maymeo has easier pronunciation and better, which is similar to Chinese for ' beautiful and wonderful'.

It was a little cold breezy morning. Around 8:30 I was at the roadside bus terminal. I smiled at the first passengers aboard the pickup already, an Indian-origin couple, probably from pretty wealthy family. It surprised them a little bit though. After a short gaze at me they went back to chat themselves.

A ricksaw rider interrupted my reading, politely, asking my travel plan and the possibility if I could hire him when I came back for those neighbouring old towns. He said he didn't have a number but he could always be found at the tea house across the street. This man spoke very good English. He mentioned he's been to Pyin U Lwin a couple of times and everytime he would stay with Grace guest house, which was located in the very city centre.

I thanked him and began to notice I felt more and more crushed to the wall when more were getting on. Finally the pickup began to move. But the first half an hour 's drive was along the main street and for the next ten minutes, it went to a local resident's house to pick up a old lady and a chicken. They were seated in the front.

So now we, the people, the cargo and chicken were on the way to Maymeo.

This two-hour long drive was really pleasant. On well-paved road, winding up the mountains to 1070 meters high, the sun created magical shadows of ,either green of various strongness in the shade of tall cedar trees or golden, shimmering in irregualr patterns. All like in dreams or passages of time.

We stopped once for some cooling water for the pickup to ride up higher with its overheated engine. And we were stopped a second time for the toll gate. Actually there was such thing, except a long tree bar behind some soilders in green. At that moment, our driver would toss up some notes and then slip into one of them swiftly. Only when we drove meters away, the soilder opened his hand and check the number.

The morning cold was finally over with the sun high. Quickly after I observed a airport sign and some very fashionable western villas at the outskirt behind lush forests, we were arriving among the noise of the hustle and bustle markets, town of Maymeo.