Hpa-an

After yesterday's epic hike to the top of Mount Zwegabin our calves were in agony. We had a slow start to the morning packing our bags, checking out and attempting to find couch surfing hosts or affordable accommodation in Milan which will be our very last stop before heading home on the 16th. We messaged a lot of hosts and fingers crossed we find someone as accomodation is ludicrously priced!

Once all the admin was done we jumped on the motorbike for our last ride. First stop was Kaw Ka Taung. We were both really hot and hungry when we arrived so we sat and It was a small cave with lots of Buddhas inside and surrounding. What was very different about this cave were the small embossed Buddha silhouettes that pertruded from the cave walls. Above the caves were pagodas exposed on enormous high rocks. Hpa An has some really beautiful scenery very similar to that of Phong nhã and Tầm Coc in Vietnam and it brought back some really happy memories. We decided to walk up to the top and see the views. Why is everything here vertical steep steps!! Our calves screamed in paid the whole way, but it was worth it. There was absolutely no one at the top and we had the complete rock to ourselves. I think we went a bit delirious with the heat as we found a broom and had what I now call an Ellia Moment. I rode my nimbus 2000 in the air and Will swept up the top of the pagoda haha

Next we drove to see Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda another very impressive sight. Again the pagoda was built on a huge exposed rock but this time in the middle of a lake. Again the climb up involved steep stone steps but luckily it wasn't so high. At the top was a very tiny area where locals were being blessed by the Monk and it was a memorable sight to see.

Our next and final stop was Hpa Pu Hill for sunset. It took quite a while to get there and on the way we drove through local villages and were greeted by lots of small children ecstatic to see foreigners but the road was a dusty red sandy dirt track. When we arrived were covered head to toe in red sand! We were both very tired by this time and really achy but that never stops us, so up we went. It was a painful one hour vertical steep staircase up. Along the way we passed some tourists on their way down and they said unfortunately access to to the top isn't possible as the last part of the climb was broken bamboo ladders. Once we got there Will was keen to see if it was possible. I can confirm it was possible, but and this is a very big but, with a high risk of catastrophic collapse. I was proud to get to the top and vey relieved that it didn't collapse under us and I must admit it was worth the terrifying state going up. We even asked Ellia and Karin if they went up when they came and they said "What you went up there, you're crazy!".

The view was perfect for our final evening in Hpa An and due to it being so crazy looking it stopped others coming up resulting in us having the top to ourselves.

The day so far was definitely the calm before the storm as what came next was quite stressful. The plan for the rest of the evening was to quickly get down, ride back to town, grab a quick dinner from the night market and then go back to the hotel to pick up our bags before jumping on our final night bus of the trip back to Yangon. That was the plan...

We stayed up a bit longer than expected and had to walk very quickly just making the bottom before it was fully dark. We jumped on the bike and the lights had stopped working. This was our worst nightmare and what came next is something we said we would never do. We had to drive back with no lights. It was our last trip on the bike, we had been riding for 13 months and we had never had an accident. You're probably thinking why didn't we just phone the hotel and get them to come and pick us up but by the time they would have come and then brought us back we would have been late for the bus so we just jumped on, I put on my head torch and shone it with my phone in front of Will to ensure people in front could see him and off we went. . We drove very slowly, stopped a few times and eventually got to the night market which was 1 minute from the hotel. Phew!! It was the stupidest risk we have taken on the trip but luckily we were safe. We enjoyed chicken nuggets, sweet and sour noodle soup, a banana and strawberry milkshake and a coconut pancake to celebrate our survival.

When we got back to the hotel the owners were very nice and let us have a quick shower in a spare room and even took us to the end of the road to catch our bus.

As I mentioned this was our last night bus and I must admit in terms of its comfort and features it was by far the best. It was like being in the presidents airplane from House of Cards with huge leather seats with plenty of leg room and even an individual media centre with films on! I was like a kid at Christmas. Although exhausted I couldn't get to sleep so I watched Escape plan with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in. It was actually a really good gripping and easy watch film. I didn't sleep perfectly but I think I got a few naps.Read more