Up the River on a Slow Boat

On Monday, December 15, I went down to the dock in Sittwe to catch a boat to Mrauk U. There I found 2 young French NGO workers who were also trying to get a boat and together we negotiated for an hour, with a crowd of onlookers following along. Not much in the way of entertainment around there. As with much travel in Burma, the trip took much longer than anticipated. You can never be in a hurry. And for me, what started out as a mild backache turned into a full back spasm. Anyone who followed my India-Bhutan blog will remember that it also happened on that trip. I think it was the long flight and bad beds – a lethal combination for me. I crawled around on the boat (which was not made for passengers; we were extra in addition to the 20 drums of diesel fuel filling the hold and the deck) for the 7 hour trip, trying various positions to eliminate the pain, which finally calmed down toward the end. Though long, the trip up the river was serene and picturesque, as we passed miles and miles of golden rice fields in the midst of harvest, black and silver water buffalo, and the occasional pagoda.
Pulling up to the tiny dock in Mrauk U, we were met by a small crowd of trishaw drivers, falling over themselves in trying to be selected for our rides into town. As my large, 4-months-of-supplies-bag and I made our way through the town on the trishaw I noticed that there were few cars, and LOTS of bicycles and trishaws. I saw an occasional tractor/passenger type rig, but otherwise the streets were so peaceful! I loved it, especially in comparison to the noise, dust and heat of Rangoon. I promptly rented a bicycle from my hotel and joined the throngs, drawing more than a few curious stares as I peddled to the temples as well as around town (on roads more suited for a mountain bike, but the sturdy Chinese-made bikes go everywhere!).