vaga #3/19 On wheels "c"

My driver, so far has been the most extreme one ever, I don't know if there will be anyone else quite like him

Part XIX

I took this minivan from Bagan to Kalaw, here the people are not packed in, and each one has numbered seats, luckily I was in a window seat it was a VIP service, yes, if there are those here, I am the first to take it, I have no intention of venturing out with local transport, if there is an alternative.

the VIP service, we started out with a flat tire and the ages it took to repair, and the truth is that we drove with a flat tyre for several km until we found a repair shop. There were many stops to cool the engine down with a hose, when they have one, then there were stops for coffee, etc…. there are hoses, all busses and trucks need to be cooled with water (HA) their engines overheated all the time, but with a bucket of water, if no hose was available and when we hit a slope it was every half hour. In one of these stops I got down to smoke a cigarette, and I was shocked that people were on the roof, NO NO it is not a local bus that it is used around here, and it is normal to see people on the roof. There were also two children, my stomach tightened. The first thing I thought of was, to bring them down to sit on my lap how are they there, up on the roof of the minivan? The road was winding, it was steep and with a very heavy rain that fell later. The driver overtook trucks on the hill,  and cars where ever he felt like doing it, in the middle of curves with no visibility, and I thought about those children. If there was a rough turn or a violent braking, Those children..!!

Then I thought of my suitcase that was on the roof. It would be so easy to open it and take out a souvenir and I would only notice it far away at the hotel. Obviously my suitcase looks like  luxury, between baskets and plastic bags that were the rest of the luggage. In another of the scores of stops, I saw thank goodness they had put a thick black plastic to protect the luggage from the rain I had already accepted the idea of ​​arriving with everything wet.

The trips. Another curiosity perhaps not so favourable for me, BUT IT IS THERE, it was beyond me, the time it takes to do a trip from place to place, I put a photo taken from the LP  in a 180 km journey took between 6 - 7 hours,  ONLY 180 KM I calculated a speed of 28 km per hour, that is, a 180 km journey takes 7 hours …… yes, it stops twice for us to eat and go to the bathroom… .. I learned that I should always to carry a good book, music and sometimes a film downloaded on my cell phone, I had already paid the price, and now I prepared for each trip       WITHOUT COMMENTS

a radical change of subject being in Rangoon, Ranyun, Rangun and everything's the same. I went to visit a couple of renowned Temples, because there are so many to select from. So I started walking, I only use taxis for extreme distances or extreme heat. Obviously I got lost, I was lost in these alleys, they all sell something and I did not know how to get out of there, and here is the fantastic thing, I already knew how to use the Google map, in those neighbourhoods, no one speaks English, and I was a little apprehensive because they were absolutely out of the way places even for the locals, only those who live there know the way around. I remembered Peter, “Mom” he said to me “they are going to rob you, you are an old woman, and you will be easy prey”, while there I did remember his words.

On the other hand, not all neighbourhoods are defined by social class, here everything is mixed. In those alleys that I am talking about,  there are some huge houses. For example, this is the English embassy, ​​it was the operation centre for the colonisation of Myanmar for more than a hundred years and today in total abandonment, but some monks have settled to live in it.

To narrow the chapters down and talk about wheels, here are some particular vehicles and their great versatility.

The first two, are very common, they sound the same as a tractor and are used from rubbish trucks to taxis and everything in between.

The green motorcycles are buses, with and without passengers, then the individual taxi and the last one is a passenger taxi of which I was a passenger.

bicycles gained in versatility, it was not an important example because I had not thought about the blog yet

another of the many reasons for speed on the roads, is because they are not real roads

Here is part of the story that I am going to tell, all this happened on my walk to the pagodas.

The 72-year-old man in the photo got  me into a conversation at the exit of a pagoda, telling me that he was a former monk, etc ..., he took me to see a monastery, where I took some paparazzi photos, which are featured in Vaga chapters #2 part V, the young monks eagerly watching TV. He was accompanied by a monk of about 28 years, with a bored face and no smile. I do not think he could speak English. The old man spoke perfectly with his 3 teeth. He was the one who took me to see the English embassy, ​​because it is a landmark. At the end, after almost an hour of walking and talking, he asked me for money, after a monologue about his eye problem, I paid little attention to him and that he needed the drops, and they were expensive. Here the health service is atrocious, I went to a clinic to meet my monk friend in Mandalay which looked like a hospital, crowded with people, He told me that it was a private clinic, with miserable service, he had been sitting for 3 hours only to speak with a doctor, not even to attend to himself, He helps the people of his village with these things. I was pleased to see an active monk helping his people concretely, outside the monastery and meditating, in helping practically to make life a little easier for his people, from his town. From what I knew the lack of health care was true,. I also added that a former monk and old man “was penniless'' so I gave him a substantial amount, for him, for me, it was nothing, he was so happy that he quickly took me to “those” neighbourhoods, bought me an apple and insisted that we go for an orange juice. I refused saying that I had to continue etc…. He kept insisting, it was 4 in the afternoon, with a heat of 40 degrees, it was the most logical thing to have a drink. I could not get away, I thought ...... an orange juice,    with what water? We sat outside in a few stools where without discretion I was stared at from all sides, and they whispered amongst themselves, you can see the photo and I asked for bottled water. I wanted to go to the most renowned pagoda in Ragun and in the entire region, where the faithful come from all over the world, and I was about 15 blocks away. I was already getting ready to leave, he stopped me quickly and went to talk to someone, passed him money and told me to go by bicycle, that he has everything arranged.

THAT ???????

BY BICYCLE ??? the guy with the motorcycles with the seat next to me, but I don't remember the name, short memory.      HA HA HA PLEASE NO, I AM HAPPY TO WALK,   even with 40 degree HEAT, AHHHHHH there was no valid argument that he would accept me to be able to get away, he had already paid him. I took a very, very deep breath and got on, with my bum cheeks tight, it was about 15 blocks. A young man, with black teeth, eaten away by the famous leaves that they chew. I was going between excited about the little adventure and semi nervous about the conditions that I couldn't do much about. We left, that place on the small streets, but the worst was still to come, we had already reached streets with cars, then he started pedalling very hard, picked up speed, and PLOP AND  got into a roundabout full of cars WITH THE SPEED OF A CAR, he had to pick up to the speed of the car and get into the circle like another car… .and it was only  for a minute, but enough to    STOP BREATHING …… ..PFFFF we came  out well on the other side, and I could breathe again and deeply. There we reached a wide and quiet street and almost enjoyed the ride, and  I was able to take a video. Obviously there are no photos, I was sitting next to him, when I got out I asked him for a photo, the one on the cover.

I finish with this photo, it is when they do not get enough speed to enter the roundabout