Hpa-An, Myanmar

I had a three day weekend and my Portuguese friend in town, so we headed to Hpa-An with hopes of stopping at Golden Rock on the way back to Yangon. I booked our bus tickets across the street from the train station. There were no VIP buses, but they had air con. The trip was around 7 hours and the bus was overcrowded. All rows had seats that folded down to fill the aisle; these were all filled in the first few stops. Because of this overcrowding, the bus got pretty hot. April and May are the hottest months in Yangon and this was the end of March. We had one stop for lunch and I was elated to get out of the stuffy bus.

I began going a bit mad because the driver honked a very unnerving horn every 10 seconds. Living in Yangon, I’m used to cars honking a lot, but this was ridiculous. He honked when there was nothing on the road. I think that’s how he kept himself awake. I was so happy to get off the bus in Hpa-An. It was blazing hot, so I opened up my umbrella, and we began walking down the street.

 

I had booked us in the Angel Hotel II. This place was really nice for Myanmar. We had a terrace looking over all of the giant hills surrounding the town and a very modern bathroom. The only problem was the room was full of mosquitoes. Very common problem, but it didn’t last long because my friend is a ninja at killing the pesky blood suckers.

 

 After checking in, we hopped in the back of a tuk-tuk and headed for the bat caves. A bumpy drive later, we pulled up to the gates of a temple. Slipping off our shoes, we walked barefoot up the path. A dog was lazily sleeping on a pagoda and men worked on boats in the river to our right.

We walked further up the path and the trees opened up to a temple, the bat caves, and a woman pointing for us to climb up the cliff. I hate heights and became terrified when we reached a ladder that wasn’t bolted to the rock. My friend held the ladder and I very slowly ascended. A small pagoda adorned the top of the cliff. With shaking knees, I carefully walked around the narrow space between the pagoda and a sheer drop to the ground below.

We were the first of about ten tourists who climbed to the top, so we had the prime spot for viewing. I snapped at a few people for smoking at the pagoda. It’s considered very disrespectful. A man from New Zealand had just been sentenced to two years hard labor for disrespecting an image of Buddha by putting headphones on it. The people of Myanmar are warm and welcoming, but they don’t put up with religious ignorance.

When the sun went down, some locals at the bottom began hitting empty plastic containers with sticks. The noise stirred up the bats and they flooded out of the cave. As they went over the water, they formed a snake-like line that curved and moved as they flew out in a cluster.

After the bats, we had a quick dinner at San Ma Tau Restaurant. We couldn’t find any food in town that was nearly as good. This was excellent and safe traditional Myanmar food.

The next day, we hired a local guide from an English trade school. The proceeds were going towards funding the school. He took us to caves and temples all day.

        

A monk was on his cellphone at this pagoda.

  

The Sadan Caves were my favorite. We walked through the cave, which was spectacular, and then boarded a boat to take us through a low rising cave and up a paddy field canal. 

   

  

After the boat ride, we went to the local’s swimming pool. A family was harvesting rice nearby.

We also visited a weaving factory. The weavers were incredibly talented and fast. In exchange for their work, they are given a salary and accommodations. The dismal housing was on stilts with a small creek of sewage running through the middle. It was really depressing, but another reminder of how lucky I am.

               

The next day we boarded our ‘bus’ to Golden Rock.

Advice: Angel Hotel II is around $35 a night, but worth it. Breakfast is served on the top floor and the views are really great. Plus the modern bathrooms make life a bit easier.

Soe Brothers Guesthouse is the cheaper option with dorms and also where you can rent motorbikes. It is possible to drive yourself to all of the sites or hire a tuk-tuk driver to save you some frustration in the heat.