Bagan/Mount Popa

Today we moved on to Mount Popa, a designated national park area, about an hour’s drive east of Bagan.

We had a little bit of trouble getting a taxi to our destination. The app equivalent of Uber didn’t come up with anything and a contact Jan and Nik had found wanted silly money. The hotel summoned us a cab which duly arrived but once we and all the luggage were on board, the taxi driver said the car was too low down and he couldn’t drive it like that. Luckily he had a people carrier at home so he drove us to his house and we all got in that.

It was a very comfortable journey although poor Jan had to take the very back seat again (I get car sick if I sit right at the back and have to be able to see where I’m going).

The taxi driver stopped to buy us some snacks from the roadside which filled me with horror. Too polite to refuse, I ate a couple and the nibbles were piping hot and totally delicious.

As we drove along, there were people standing by the side of the road with their arms outstretched. Most of them looked old and very thin. It was horrendous, they looked like zombie flesh eaters. If you’re ever read Charlie Higson “The Enemy”, this could have been the movie version. Our driver told us they were begging. Apparently people driving back from festivals would sometimes give them money so they were out in force today as it was the end of the public holiday. I actually don’t believe him. I suspect beggars are out every day. Lots of tourists come to mount Popa, everyday would be an opportunity. I don’t know what to think, the people looked undernourished for sure but encouraging people to stand at the roadside all day waiting for handouts doesn’t sound like the answer. I noticed no locals gave them money. My fear for them would be they get to be seen as a nuisance and are “rounded up” somewhere.

So from some people’s horrible lives to our very privileged, lucky ones. Our destination, The Popa garden resort was stunningly beautiful. Green and jungly with the most superb view of a hilltop monastery, it’s a paradise. Our jungle villa is beautiful although more practical things like a broken toilet seat brought us back down to earth.

Dinner here was quite hilarious as the staff are charming and lovely but haven’t a clue. I ordered a cocktail which eventually arrived as a small shot of gin and a big glass of ice. Had it been a large shot of gin, it would have been fine. Luckily Jan had a bottle in her bag ( I know! Jan is legendary in her ability to provide anything you need in any situation) so she was able to top me up.

Half of the meals we ordered were not available which again would have been fine had it not taken 20 minutes to tell us. Anyway, we’re just a bunch of very spoilt Brits so we dealt with it graciously and enjoyed what we were given. I think we were all touched when our waiter MoMo confessed he had never opened a bottle of wine before, and looked so pleased that he had managed it. I had noticed him wrestling with it earlier. He very sensibly took it away from the table so we couldn’t see him as it looked like a fight he might not have won.

Sitting on the restaurant deck, looking at the full moon and the lit up monastery was amazing and I do appreciate how lucky I am. Fate could have served me up a very different life as I saw today.