We woke up bright and early and had a delicious breakfast at Galaxy Motel. We had only arrived in Hpa An, Myanmar, the previous evening, but we were rearing to go and explore.
Galaxy Motel had organised our tour for us. Most visitors to Hpa An will use old favourites Soe Brothers, but let it be known that Galaxy does great tours too!
Galaxy Motel had organised our tour for us. Most visitors to Hpa An will use old favourites Soe Brothers, but let it be known that Galaxy does great tours too!
A new mode of transport - 'thoun bein'
We all piled into our 'thoun bein', which is pretty similar to a tuk-tuk but more people can fit into the back, and set out for a day of cave exploring and sight seeing.
Now, the thoun bein isn't just any old tuk-tuk. It is a bruising adventure. You get thrown around everywhere. Try to avoid sitting at the very back! You will need to hold to those side bars for dear life to avoid a concussion. It is painful, and tiring, and hilarious. I've never laughed so much while being in so much pain. It made the car drive down from Myawaddy look like flying first class. It was an awesome experience...but expect to be uncomfortable.
Now, the thoun bein isn't just any old tuk-tuk. It is a bruising adventure. You get thrown around everywhere. Try to avoid sitting at the very back! You will need to hold to those side bars for dear life to avoid a concussion. It is painful, and tiring, and hilarious. I've never laughed so much while being in so much pain. It made the car drive down from Myawaddy look like flying first class. It was an awesome experience...but expect to be uncomfortable.
 Us in the thoun bein |  The thoun bein itself |
Kaw Ka Thawng cave
After 45 exhilarating minutes of being thrown out of our seats, we arrived at Kaw Ka Thawng cave. The number of Buddha statues inside is astounding, and if you continue right through it you can get up into a little cave at the end. There is also a row of hundreds of monks lined up outside. That is pretty spectactular! There is another cave further down the road...just keep following the monk statues. The road ends at a little village which has a really picturesque swimming hole. I felt pretty envious while watching the villagers all fool around in the pool...while we were stuck in the 35+ degree heat.
Saddan cave
Back in the the thoun bein, we headed for our next stop - Saddan cave. This cave was giant. Like, football stadium-sized giant. If you go in dry season you can walk through the cave to the other side and then get a boat across the river back to where you started.
Pro-tip - do not walk through the cave in jandals (thongs, flip-flops...you know). Take walking shoes! You are walking through actual bat shit. The cave roof is lined with thousands of sleeping bats, and you are walking through absolute darkness and it's slippery as hell. I broke my jandals, nearly fell over, but worst of all, my jandals flipped bat shit up the back of my white shirt I was wearing. I spent the rest of the day being laughed at by locals and my friends....and my shirt never recovered.
Pro-tip - do not walk through the cave in jandals (thongs, flip-flops...you know). Take walking shoes! You are walking through actual bat shit. The cave roof is lined with thousands of sleeping bats, and you are walking through absolute darkness and it's slippery as hell. I broke my jandals, nearly fell over, but worst of all, my jandals flipped bat shit up the back of my white shirt I was wearing. I spent the rest of the day being laughed at by locals and my friends....and my shirt never recovered.
The cave comes out to a stunning lake where you then get a teeny boat. To be honest I stared at the boat and thought I'd never be able to get into it without falling into water or tipping it. I have no idea how they stay afloat. But I survived! (I did fear for my life the first few days in Myanmar, but I managed to chill out after about day 2).
Pro-tip two - have a hat for the boat. It takes about 20 minutes or so and there is no shade. We were there in November and it was really hot, too hot to be in the sun without a hat. The boat ride was pretty serene, after I got over the fear of it sinking. I'd love to do that again.
Pro-tip two - have a hat for the boat. It takes about 20 minutes or so and there is no shade. We were there in November and it was really hot, too hot to be in the sun without a hat. The boat ride was pretty serene, after I got over the fear of it sinking. I'd love to do that again.
Lunch! And christening the shewee
We stopped at a place with a few different restaurants...it's obviously the place where all the tourists are taken for lunch during the tours (not that there are many of us!). We were shown to our restaurant and sat down for a delicious lunch of fried noodles....I loved the fried noodles in Myanmar. It was so hot that I felt a Myanmar beer was also deserved. Unfortunately the knock-on effect of that was I got to use a Myanmar squat toilet, and therefore shewee, for the first time! Yay! I'm terrible at squatting.... I always get pee my feet. But I tried out the shewee Simon got me for my birthday, and success! Standing and peeing! I'm basically a man! (This is probably the only time on the trip the shewee was a success).
After that flurry of excitement, we took twenty minutes to chill out at the swimming hole with the local Burmese dudes. Oddly, the Burmese were swimming in their clothes - jeans and all! I guess they dry quick in that heat. And there were hardly any women swimming. There was even a whole pool where women weren't allowed in...something to do with Buddha.
After that flurry of excitement, we took twenty minutes to chill out at the swimming hole with the local Burmese dudes. Oddly, the Burmese were swimming in their clothes - jeans and all! I guess they dry quick in that heat. And there were hardly any women swimming. There was even a whole pool where women weren't allowed in...something to do with Buddha.
Mount Zwebagin
After lunch we headed over to the foot of Mount Zwebagin. Apparently the walk up the mountain is amazing....but I've looked at that mountain...and I'm glad we only visited the foot of it. It's steep. Here, there are 2600 Buddha statues lined up. Myanmar must have the most Buddha statues in the world. They statues then lead to a monastery. We walked towards the monastery but it was so hot we gave up and got ice creams instead. I think we got 5 ice creams for about $1 NZ. Crazy.
Kyauk Ka Lat Paya
I think this may have been my favourite destination of the day. It's a pagoda on top of a rock. There is a lake that screams serenity and fish to watch in the water. And there was a cat! Perfection. We didn't ascend the pagoda because there were people praying...but it looks pretty cool.
Yathaypyan Cave
Another impressive cave. I was pretty tired by this time...and this cave seemed endless. So a few of us sat outside with the monkeys while Simon and Chris delved into the depths. I'd love to go back here with a bit more energy. Even our guide had a nap.
Kawgun cave
I was reaching cave fatigue by this point. But once again, this was a breath-taking cave. Even better though, was just outside the cave there is a very steep walk you can do to the top of the hill that the caves sit in. It was exhausting, and I nearly didn't go up there. The view was totally worth it though.
Bat cave! And our final stop
Galaxy Motel amended our tour for free so that we could watch the sunset at the bat cave. The coolest part though was as we were arriving some kind of parade started in the village. It was full of colour and noise and laughter!
We made our way to the cave. Somehow we were early. Most of us were exhausted and all took a little time out for ourselves. We patiently waited for the magic that is meant to happen at sunset. Once again, it was a beautiful location. Hpa An was definitely the most picturesque part of Myanmar. I'm surprised at the lack of tourists there.
Finally it was sunset, and the magic happened. The bats blackened the sky as they flew out of the cave, dropping bat poop everywhere they went. I think it took us awhile to figure out it was poop...maybe wear a hat! Or take an umbrella. There were locals who banged drums rhythmically which made the bats go up and down altogether, while the crowd watched on in stunned silence.
Don't skip Hpa An. It's beautiful.
Don't skip Hpa An. It's beautiful.
