Myanmar Trip 2013 - Day Four

The following morning was an early start. With our group finally assembled in one place, we decided to embark on a tour of Hpa'an's famed caves on the recommendation of the friendly Mr. Soe (who runs our accommodation in Hpa'an). For a meagre 5000 kyats/person, our guide took us on a bumpy tuk-tuk ride across the countryside to a number of Hpa'an's cave temples. The quiet villages and lush greeneries we traversed was a sight to behold - and unfortunately one that is rapidly disappearing in Malaysia.

The highlight of the tour was to be Saddan Cave, a massive cavern encroaching a placid lake. After a half-kilometre walk through the dark, damp pathways of the cave - we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel (in a literal sense of course). Ben and Vanessa decided to take a short trip across the lake, to which a smiling old man readily obliged to take them on his boat for 500 kyats. The highlight of our experience however lied somewhere between Kyaukka Latt Paya and Lumbini Gardens. After gulping down some fresh sugarcane juice at a roadside hawker's stall, our tuk-tuk carried us from the grounds of the wonderful Kyaukka Latt Paya to the relatively underwhelming Kawgoon cave (especially considering this was the only attraction where we had to pay a 3000 kyat fee for admission). At the end of this ride, Ben realised something was amiss. It didn't take him long to recognise the absence of his camera bag (which of course included his camera, tripod along with other peripherals). We helplessly communicated this to our guide, and proceeded to continue onto the steps of Kawgoon cave. As we returned to the tuk-tuk, our guide smiled and informed us that the camera bag had fallen-off during the ride, and was found by some local villagers who were going to bring it to our next destination. To say that the look of relief on Ben's face was apparent, would be an understatement. After completing our walk through Lumbini Gardens, Ben was happily reunited with his camera bag. The whole incident was quite surreal. The honesty of the villagers, and the lengths they're willing to go for total strangers like us - I began to wonder how many places in the world still had such communities. Or perhaps, it was all simply.. divine intervention?

Kyaukkanlatt Pagoda - perched upon a limestone karst tower at the center of a lake

Entrance to Yathebyan Cave

Seated Buddha inside Kawgoon Cave

The lake surrounded by the caverns of Saddan Cave

For dinner, we decided to return to San Ma Tau restaurant. My stomach was recovering well from the shady-toddy experience two days earlier. That night, back at the Soe Brother's motel I pondered the events of the trip thus far, and what it had in store for us in the coming days. I was, after all; at the halfway point of my trip.