BOAT RIDE FROM MWALYMINE TO PHA AN – MYANMAR
When a monk tells you to go somewhere or do something - you just do it. When the monk is actually no longer a monk because his religious rights were stripped away by the government after a major protest - you do it with a sense of determination fitting for a mission of grave importance. “You will see the most beautiful scenery in all of Myanmar” is how he described the boat ride from Mwalymine to Hpa- An. He then went on to scribble down the boat timings and price; Friday and Monday noon departures at only $2 USD. He assured me, “it’s a fair price for foreigners.”
So it was with great ambition and refusal to deny the advice of this sagely monk that I got on the next bus out of Bagan headed to Yangon. I traveled through the night and when I reached the Yangon bus terminal, I discovered that the bus for Mwalymine did not leave until 8am. At 3am I found myself stranded at the terminal. I decided that the city was too far to travel to spend such a short period of time and resolved to sleep on my bag, curled up against the wall. As the terminal awoke with the sounds of starting engines and the smell of tea and fried breakfast treats, so did my appetite for this great adventure I had committed to. When I finally laid my bag down and found a place to sit on the creaky, wooden floor of the boat (avoiding lurching nails and gaping holes), I somehow knew that this experience would stand the test of guidance dispensed by any spiritual adviser.
During the 12hr journey we stopped along the banks of four villages and watched as people and cargo carefully embarked and disembarked using a makeshift ladder that would haphazardly be anchored to the muddy slopes of the shore. The scenery was indeed beautiful but it was less about the terrain and natural splendour as it was about the village people excitedly waving from the shore, the animated personalities of the children of a family seated next to me and a sunset that ranks among the finest of what I have seen during my time away. Upon landing in Hpa-An, I had made the acquaintance of three other travellers who were lucky enough to have discovered this enchanting boat ride as well and we all found a place to stay in the only hostel in town (that’s how infrequent visitors are to this place). During our breakfast venture the next day, one of my fellow travellers asked me how I had discovered the boat ride and why I did it. My response described my meeting with the monk during sunrise upon a stupa in Bagan and how my decision was based entirely on his insightful suggestion. The look of awe and admiration was clearly illustrated as his wide eyed grin took hold of me in a full, contagious sweep. “So let me get this straight”, he started with a chuckle and then resumed, “you travelled all the way from Bagan, spending hours on buses, including an overnight in a bus station and then one short night in Mwalymine just to get on a boat...and all this because some monk on a stupa told you its the best scenery you’ll see in Myanmar?!”
I looked at the quizzical faces of my other companions and it was only then that I realized that not once through that entire journey did I really question the purpose of the adventure. It was born from an inspiring recommendation and I was merely carrying it out with a sense of normalcy that had come to shape my mind-set after a few months of travelling alone. I had gone to see Bagan and stumbled upon the pursuit of seeing something else. I was traveling for travels sake; I travel to go, to move and to be moved and that, I decided, is why I did it.
