An Unexpected Adventure ... of Sorts

At 7.20 a.m., we were picked up and driven to the bus station in Mandalay for the 4-hour ride to Bagan.  The bus left 8.  At about 11.20, the driver stopped for lunch and everyone went out to stretch their legs, except me -- I preferred to continue sleeping.  About a half hour later, everyone was back and the trip continued.  By this time, though, I was wide awake.

When the downpour began, we were not surprised.  This is, after all, the monsoon season.  The first bridge with a flood was crossed without any difficulty, and the second and third bridges were not bad either.  The problem appeared suddenly with the fourth bridge.  It was wider than the others but it also happened to be right above a raging river that was being fed water and mud from the mountains to our left, so that what we got was an avalanche of mud, wave after wave of it.  No one dared cross for a while.  After about 10 minutes of waiting, the driver turned off the engine and we all stepped out of the bus to take a look, the rain having dwindled somewhat.  Where the mountains were, though, it was still raining heavily and we could see that.  After about 15 minutes, the driver decided to give it a shot.  Other pick-up trucks and tractors had managed, although they did wait till they were sure there were no new waves of mud on the way.  When our driver said he would go, though, a couple from Spain decided to cross to the other side by walking on the railroad bridge.  Two Germans decided to do the same, and hubby and I thought it might be a prudent move.  We each took our handcarried luggage (but left the small rucksack and the large suitcase) and in the shot you can see hubby with both handcarried bags as I was slower and more easily encumbered by bushes.  While we were en route, we watched as 'our' bus took advantage of a lull in the waves and made it safely.  The downpour began again in earnest at that point, and we were partly soaked by the time we got back to the bus.  There were no more dangerous crossings after that, and we were reminded of our trip to Mongolia way back in 2012, when our 4X4 crossed every river and flooded plain because there was no road anywhere.

The extras should give you an idea of what we saw.

Of course, we eventually made it to our clean and comfortable hotel accommodations, picked up by the local guide.  To cap it all, hubby realized he forgot the rucksack in the bus, so he and the guide had to drive back to the depot and there it was, waiting.  The guide had called in ahead and the driver found it and left it at the office before heading back to Mandalay.  By that time, though, I was too tired to worry or be upset, and I was fully confident it wouldn't be stolen.  Myanmar appears to be a very safe country to travel in (the forbidden territories notwithstanding) and hardly anything gets stolen here, so we've been told.

In short, an exhausting day, but we came out unscathed ... haha!  I've just realized that we hardly have anyone to tell all this to, except hubby's friends back home, and you.