On the second Sunday of August, I had got a trip to go to Taung Gyi and other famous places in Shan state. When I first heard about the trip, I was very excited because I had never gone a trip with many friends before.
There were fourteen people in our group plus a driver from travel agency. Of course, Aunty Lunar was our group's leader and she managed everything for all of us. We planned to spend five days during our trip. Therefore, we started our journey at 5 AM and at Bago, we stopped to have breakfast. After that, we continued our journey.
Firstly, we had planned to go to Kalaw. Along the way, we passed through many towns. I could not remember all the names of towns. But at Phyuu, where situated near Taung Ngu, we were delayed because our car broke down. We had to spend at least five hours at the nearby restaurant where we had lunch. Then we waited another car from Yangon to continue our journey. At 5 PM, everything was back to normal position; with the new car, we resumed our trip.
It was already 3 AM in the next morning when we arrived at Kalaw. We stayed for a few hours at Kalaw hotel. After having breakfast at Shan restaurant, we continued our journey to Pin Ta Ya after visiting some famous places at Kalaw. At that time, the weather was quite good and fair.
As Kalaw is a hilly place, we saw endless rows of green hills surrounding us while our car was slowly climbing the hills. On the way to Pin Ta Ya, we saw green fields of chayote just like a big jade carpet being spread on the ground and blue hills distant in the horizon. Moreover, we saw sunflower plants in bloom. The scenery was so attractive and we could not stop taking photographs.
After we all were roistering for a few minutes at the back seats of the car, we caught sight of welcoming sign-board which means we got to Pin Ta Ya! We unpacked our packs at the hotel and we had lunch before going to the Pin Ta Ya cave which is famous for its golden and ancient pagodas. We spent a few hours to pay homage to the images of Buddha and to explore in the cave; we bought souvenirs from souvenirs shops. On the way back to the hotel, we took photographs around wonderful old-age trees. Then we arrived at the hotel, we played football while girls group was walking along the Pone Ta Lote Lake. After that, we took a rest for the next journey, Inn Lay Lake!
I have been to Inn Lay Lake many times. But this time, I am much happier than the past because of my easy-going friends. We rented a boat to go to Phang-Daw-Oo Pagoda and it was very elated to ride a boat over a huge lake which is surrounded by huge mountains. When we arrived at the Pagoda, there were only few visitors as it was out of the season. We had chances to know Inn Lay cultures and traditions, for example, rowing boat with legs, planting vegetables on the surface of water by using mud, watercress and water hyacinth as a land base. Not only that, we had seen Pa Daung's (race from Chin State) cultures too. We bought traditional shirts which were used as our boys group's uniform later. Besides, I bought a bag as a memento of Inn Lay. Then we ad our favourite Shan traditional food, fish and rice, which contained pieces of fish mixed with rice made into a flat round shape, for our lunch. Then we went back to our car to continue our journey.
On that evening, third day of our trip, we arrived at Taung Gyi which has a dynamic hill station. According to our plan, we got two days to go around. We visited some places, especially stores and fancy shops in down-town area on the first day. The next day, we went to Kat Ku Relic Pagoda near Taung Gyi. There were many ancient pagodas and we took many photos to keep as a record. Then we ate Shan foods at a nearby restaurant.
When we climbed Shwe Phone Pwint hill in Taung gyi, our car, being overloaded, could not climb to reach the pagoda. So we got off and climbed on foot. On the peak of the mountain, there was a monastery and a famous stupa. There we took many photos. We got nice scenery and we saw the whole town from the summit. In the evening, we spent few hours at the market where we had dinner. When we arrived to the hotel, we all gathered in a room and we shared experiences about the trip. Then we packed our packages for the return trip.
For the return trip, we got up at three AM and we all were very excited to go back to Yangon. Along the way, the weather was fine and just a little cloudy. Our journey was still smooth until we arrived at Bago. The roads and houses were flooded heavily. We could not guess the level of water. While we were crossing along the flooded area, our car was broke down again. But it did not take long and we finally could cross over the flooded area. Fortunately, without getting any more trouble, we could continue our journey until we reached the tollgate of Yangon. This time, our car could not continue as its water tank was damaged by hitting rough surface of the road. No one was there to help us. We pushed our car and tried many ways to fix the problem, but it was useless. Thus, we hired a bus and returned home at two AM in the next morning. What a relief!
Till now, mixtures of pleasant and unpleasant moments are reflecting in my mind. Gruelling days of trip were over and classes sand homework are waiting now. I was glad it was a safe journey. When I arrived home, my father asked me how my trip was and my feelings; I answered, "I was over the moon!"
P.S:photos will be added soon coz I'm sooo lazy. :)
There were fourteen people in our group plus a driver from travel agency. Of course, Aunty Lunar was our group's leader and she managed everything for all of us. We planned to spend five days during our trip. Therefore, we started our journey at 5 AM and at Bago, we stopped to have breakfast. After that, we continued our journey.
Firstly, we had planned to go to Kalaw. Along the way, we passed through many towns. I could not remember all the names of towns. But at Phyuu, where situated near Taung Ngu, we were delayed because our car broke down. We had to spend at least five hours at the nearby restaurant where we had lunch. Then we waited another car from Yangon to continue our journey. At 5 PM, everything was back to normal position; with the new car, we resumed our trip.
It was already 3 AM in the next morning when we arrived at Kalaw. We stayed for a few hours at Kalaw hotel. After having breakfast at Shan restaurant, we continued our journey to Pin Ta Ya after visiting some famous places at Kalaw. At that time, the weather was quite good and fair.
As Kalaw is a hilly place, we saw endless rows of green hills surrounding us while our car was slowly climbing the hills. On the way to Pin Ta Ya, we saw green fields of chayote just like a big jade carpet being spread on the ground and blue hills distant in the horizon. Moreover, we saw sunflower plants in bloom. The scenery was so attractive and we could not stop taking photographs.
After we all were roistering for a few minutes at the back seats of the car, we caught sight of welcoming sign-board which means we got to Pin Ta Ya! We unpacked our packs at the hotel and we had lunch before going to the Pin Ta Ya cave which is famous for its golden and ancient pagodas. We spent a few hours to pay homage to the images of Buddha and to explore in the cave; we bought souvenirs from souvenirs shops. On the way back to the hotel, we took photographs around wonderful old-age trees. Then we arrived at the hotel, we played football while girls group was walking along the Pone Ta Lote Lake. After that, we took a rest for the next journey, Inn Lay Lake!
I have been to Inn Lay Lake many times. But this time, I am much happier than the past because of my easy-going friends. We rented a boat to go to Phang-Daw-Oo Pagoda and it was very elated to ride a boat over a huge lake which is surrounded by huge mountains. When we arrived at the Pagoda, there were only few visitors as it was out of the season. We had chances to know Inn Lay cultures and traditions, for example, rowing boat with legs, planting vegetables on the surface of water by using mud, watercress and water hyacinth as a land base. Not only that, we had seen Pa Daung's (race from Chin State) cultures too. We bought traditional shirts which were used as our boys group's uniform later. Besides, I bought a bag as a memento of Inn Lay. Then we ad our favourite Shan traditional food, fish and rice, which contained pieces of fish mixed with rice made into a flat round shape, for our lunch. Then we went back to our car to continue our journey.
On that evening, third day of our trip, we arrived at Taung Gyi which has a dynamic hill station. According to our plan, we got two days to go around. We visited some places, especially stores and fancy shops in down-town area on the first day. The next day, we went to Kat Ku Relic Pagoda near Taung Gyi. There were many ancient pagodas and we took many photos to keep as a record. Then we ate Shan foods at a nearby restaurant.
When we climbed Shwe Phone Pwint hill in Taung gyi, our car, being overloaded, could not climb to reach the pagoda. So we got off and climbed on foot. On the peak of the mountain, there was a monastery and a famous stupa. There we took many photos. We got nice scenery and we saw the whole town from the summit. In the evening, we spent few hours at the market where we had dinner. When we arrived to the hotel, we all gathered in a room and we shared experiences about the trip. Then we packed our packages for the return trip.
For the return trip, we got up at three AM and we all were very excited to go back to Yangon. Along the way, the weather was fine and just a little cloudy. Our journey was still smooth until we arrived at Bago. The roads and houses were flooded heavily. We could not guess the level of water. While we were crossing along the flooded area, our car was broke down again. But it did not take long and we finally could cross over the flooded area. Fortunately, without getting any more trouble, we could continue our journey until we reached the tollgate of Yangon. This time, our car could not continue as its water tank was damaged by hitting rough surface of the road. No one was there to help us. We pushed our car and tried many ways to fix the problem, but it was useless. Thus, we hired a bus and returned home at two AM in the next morning. What a relief!
Till now, mixtures of pleasant and unpleasant moments are reflecting in my mind. Gruelling days of trip were over and classes sand homework are waiting now. I was glad it was a safe journey. When I arrived home, my father asked me how my trip was and my feelings; I answered, "I was over the moon!"
P.S:photos will be added soon coz I'm sooo lazy. :)
