A concert just for me. A bird hidden in the bushes is singing, another one answers, a third one joins the morning concert.
The morning shows the face of the town. It is an exceptionally pleasant face. Once again, I feel completely at home at the first moment. A gentle breeze is blowing at breakfast on the hotel terrace, just right for a perfect start to the day.
Pink nuns
The first steps lead me to the center of town. There's not very much to see, a few shops, a restaurant, a post office. Some nuns dressed in pink wait patiently for the bus. Do they? Their intentions are not obvious at first glance. They return my friendly nod of welcome with a shy smile.
Hsipaw
Hsipaw is a small town with about 50’000 inhabitants, located on the road from Mandalay to Lashio. The place is a starting point for trekking tours to Palaung- and Shan villages. This will be the topic of tomorrow. Today, I concentrate on less strenuous activities.
Today I want to explore the area by bike.
There is said to be a place outside of town called Little Bagan where there are numerous ruins to admire. There is also a secluded restaurant run by Mrs. Popcorn that is said to be a hotspot for travellers. However, the question arises whether I will actually find Little Bagan and Mrs. Popcorn. In my experience, the conditions are not the best.
For I should urgently learn Burmese.
Burmese Language
I often get the wrong thing when ordering something to eat or drink, and I'm constantly on the lookout for hotspots that turn out to be phantoms. A monastery? Only about half an hour from here? Untraceable. Or perhaps it's the dilapidated building on strange stilts, with a monk sitting in front of it? Possible.
Remember the orphanage in Pyin U Lwin where I wanted to get rid of my crayons? I systematically searched it everywhere, nevertheless I found just an elementary school, and the young people I asked about the orphanage didn't understand a word, but found it hilarious.
As I said, I urgently need to learn Burmese. Or maybe it's because I'm still a complete dumbass when it comes to reading maps? It would not be my first mishap.
Little Bagan
Little Bagan (surprisingly a successful quest) is about half an hour outside Hsipaw, a leisurely drive through meadows and trees, and it turns out to consist of a few barely recognizable piles of stones and has little in common with the grandeur of the original pagodas. When I think back to the real Bagan ...
But despite the increasing decay, the buildings exude their own dignity.
Mrs. Popcorn
Well, to my surprise I definitely find Mrs. Popcorn.
I steer my rickety bicycle towards a beautiful garden studded with old trees. Armchairs made of bamboo under low-hanging branches are waiting for guests. A petite old lady, not surprisingly Mrs. Popcorn, greets me with deep bows, which I return just as deeply.
Although the restaurant is located far outside Hsipaw, the entire traveling community seems to be gathering here. In any case, a multilingual babble of voices is surrounding me.
Felipe from Chile
I deny myself the fun of ordering a bag of popcorn, as surprisingly, there are indeed freshly squeezed fruit juices.
While sipping my mango juice with delight, a young man sits down next to me. He turns out to be Felipe from Chile, studying philosophy and now traveling around Asia with a few friends. A long conversation develops, a very long one. The individual topics (there were so many) slip my mind, but at some point he asks me if I have any plans for today. No, I say, today is an air day.
The Martian
An air day? It's an expression from a movie. THE MARTIAN? Never heard of it?
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
The novel by Andy Weir was filmed by Ridley Scott and is currently showing with great success in cinemas.
Got it? Go and convince yourself!
P.S. Matching Song: David Bowie - Life on Mars
And here the journey continues ...
