In Myanmar you cannot just stay in any place that has a room or bed. You can only stay in the places the government has approved. But, you also cannot just go anywhere in Myanmar you like. The little town I arrived in by train, Hsipaw (See-Paw), is surrounded by "no-go zones". There are mountains here to hike and hill tribes to see, and you can go there, but not on your own. You must have a guide and stay with him!
 
The adventure train (last entry) got me safely to Hsipaw late in the afternoon .Hsipaw is about 200km (124 miles) northeast of Mandalay, the capital. It is located on the Duthawadi River. 

There was a small truck waiting to take me to the hotel where I had booked a room, the Mr. Charles Guesthouse. It is a 'government approved' Guesthouse for foreigners, maybe the only one in Hsipaw, but I am not sure. A Guesthouse is something between a hotel and a hostel. I climbed into the back of the truck with other foreigners and away we went.

The private room is small but has a bed and desk, just what I need. However, the showers are located downstairs, in the back, outside. But, there are no sinks! The sinks are located outside of the showers in a patio. You shave or brush your teeth in the open patio, while people sit or watch you if they desire. I guess in the rainy season you just get soaked while using the sinks, nothing to keep the rain off.

The walls in the room are 8' tall . But the ceiling is 9' tall. The solution? From the top of the interior walls just put up window screen! Now, you hear everything from the next room just like they are in your room! Also, you get the light from their room coming in to yours. So, if you have the lights out trying to sleep and your neighbor comes into their room and turns on the light.....bingo....your room is flooded with light.

I think the interior walls are just one thin sheet of something separating you from the next room, no studs in the walls. 

There are hasps on the doors where you can use you own padlock, which I always carry with me, and I like to be able to use it. But, when someone from the other rooms in the hallway put a padlock on their door, the walls are so thin it sounds like they are putting the padlock on your door, locking you in. The floor creaks and moves when someone walks down the hall! Traveling is GREAT! Where can you have this experience in the U .S.?

I rent a bicycle the next day and ride into the countryside, through villages and along a small river. I pass locals on their own bicycles on the dirt roads. In the small river I see locals washing clothes, bathing or fishing. The back roads are fun to ride down. The locals I pass nod or wave, but do not speak English. I do not speak Burmese.

Back in Hsipaw, I ride around the little town, down side streets and out of town in different directions. I pass a school. All small boys in monks robes. Then I ride to the large river running through Hsipaw. It is a nice river but there is a lot of trash floating along the banks.

One of my favorite things to see was on a side street in town. Boys and men were using bamboo strips to make the mats and bamboo curtains to separate rooms or put on sides of buildings. It was fun to watch them work. It was all hand work and looked very tiring . I noticed they switched jobs every once in a while. I think maybe so no one person was swinging the hammer all the time or doing the same monotonous chore all day. They hammered the strips together to weave the bamboo. I never would have seen this if I had not spent the day on the bicycle!
 
NEXT: Scenes From The 'REAL' Myanmar!

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NOTE: I upload videos to my posts sometimes and they work fine. But, when I look at the entry later the videos do not play. I am using my ipad. If you look at the entries on a computer I would be interested to know of the videos I post will play for you. I have been having problems with this website lately and may need to switch to a different host for my blog. Thanks, Larry.