After breakfast, I shared a taxi with the German people to get to the bus station. Instead the taxi driver dropped me off at a bus on the side of the road just before the station. I noticed some Myanmar people inside, so I thought maybe this is the next bus to Mandalay. It turns out 5 people were there to just run the bus and they were trying to leech people off the street for what turned out to be a nightmare bus.
There were other buses going down the road on the way to Mandalay and some other people would go get in those instead. I was stuck waiting on the side of the road for over an hour. The last half hour they would rev the engine to give the illusion that they were about to leave. I really wanted to get back to Mandalay because I saved the most important things for last and I was running out of time to see it all.
When the bus starting going with the very few unlucky passengers, there was so much vibration and the ride was not comfortable at all. Two guys would yell at everyone they past on the side of the road trying to get them in the bus. After a half hour, they stopped the bus, turned off the engine and the 5 guys went for a morning stroll. After a while they came back with no passengers and this continued for a while. It wasn’t pleasant when the bus was moved or stopped, I think the worst bus I’ve ever taken and I was so angry at these guys. But I was thinking it was my fault, I could have walked to the bus station when I had a chance.
Instead of the 3.5 hours, it was over 5 hours when we entered the city. I got off early, next to Mahamuni Paya. I got a quick view of the famous statue here. Then with all my bags I was hoping to find a taxi or something, but in the area I was at there were few. I decided to walk all the way to Shwe In Bin Kyang, a wooden monastery. Again I quickly looked and found a truck back to the market and my hotel.
Next I hired a motorbike to get to Mandalay Palace. My driver, with is Mohammad beard, didn’t know the correct entrance into the palace and it seemed like he didn’t know anything about this city. When we got to the correct gate, the guards said we couldn’t go any farther. They said it is illegal for a foreigner to get on a motorcycle in this country and I cannot be driven in. Instead I had to walk and it wasn’t a short walk. I did anyway, saw the palace, walked up a watchtower for a good view, saw the museum, walked all the way back. I was feeling quite tired and sick by this time. Then I told him to go to Sandamai Paya and he didn’t know where. I pointed in one direction and he thought I was asking about a place in the opposite direction. Even pointed on a map to where to go he didn’t believe me so we had to talk to someone else to explain to the driver.
I got to see Sandamani Paya and then Kuthodaw Paya (world’s largest book on 729 marble stones) and Atumashi Kyaung and Shwenandaw Kyaung. I knew I had a fever by this point and I just wanted to get back. I skipped walking up Mandalay Hill and got some soup in a restaurant.
I tried to make the driver and his boss feel sorry for not telling me it is illegal for me to be on a motorcycle and making me walk that whole way when I was sick. I’m not sure it worked.
At 5:30PM I went to sleep with a fever and it broke a few hours later.