Life on the road to Mandalay

28th Jan 17

Our escort out of town today was a police car this time..short ride to Mandalay only 170kms, but turned out to be one of our most interesting. The road was a narrow strip of tarmac with a wide strip of sand on either side; turns out this is for Ox carts, horses, herds of goats etc to use the road along side the traffic. As we got nearer Mandalay they were replacing stretches with hardcore ready for tarmac. Women and children were working on sorting the hardcore by hand..tough life. It seems that everything happens along the roadside, towns, shops of all sorts, animals, total chaos in amongst the dust and traffic. The locals looked at us as we thundered through..8 big bikes. First they look at us like we are aliens, then they break into wide grins and we exchange waves. They love their pics taken, as long as you show them the result, usually accompanied by laughing and giggling.

We rode into Mandalay 32 degs by now, so hot when stopped at traffic lights. Mandalay was rebuilt after the war, pretty nondescript noisy and dusty 1.5 million people, lots of traffic. We checked into the hotel had lunch and cold beer then off by taxi truck to visit the Old royal palace. I got sat next to the driver in the front, he was half Indian. He asked if I wanted music..English or Indian? I said have you got “Hotel California ” oh yes very good he said and then put on something by Rupi, some Indian guy playing sitar, nearest he’d got I reckon ?

At the Royal Palace there were lots of tourists, including local school kids who asked if they could have their pics taken with Jay (the American) and me..we are both 6’4, we must have seemed like giants.

We had dinner at a traditional Myanmar restaurant ; Duncan ordered a selection and the table was covered in food dishes. Walking back to hotel later was interesting.. no street lights, taking your life in you hands crossing the road… this is the real Myanmar