it was another trip by the company, a period to rejoice, in re-living the smile-carving days of our hurry-hurry trip around shanghai/hangzhou back in '09.. yes, it was that long ago.
it was my first plane-catching trip for the year .. very close to a full, long year since my last trippin' to bali, indonesia last october.. yes, it was that long ago.
it started out pretty annoyingly i'd hav to say .. not too much on the paying part (altho a lil'), but really a lil' more to the woek-related annoyances. schedules had to be fixed, travel itinerary books had to be pre-printed, the royalties had to be taken care of like kings with their consorts.. literally.
a lil' out of place in a ground-travel-package oriented tour, me and mate Audrey almost got stranded at the hotel day One at Bagan.. the land of golden stupas, temples, and more stupas. yup, i guess we both took our lil' sweet time a lot longer than the others...
the place where we actually had 2 nights in a row without having to check-in-one-night-check-out-the-next-morn, we had to put up with a water chalet without A/C or TV or Fridge on the waters of Inle Lake (Heho, Nyaungshwe) ...
read: "put up with" .. but turns out a blessing in disguise indeed it was.
as we slowly took time to actually unwind from it all (not much choice on the plate anyway), the simplicity of our 'hut' made us spend more time outdoor on our cozy verandah.. me and audrey, doing our thang ..
the simplicity of the entire resort, made us spend more communal time at the communal lobby.. resorting to card games and fortune-reading sessions and plenty of beer cans to pass the nights..
the simplicity of the entire resort, made us spend more communal time at the communal lobby.. resorting to card games and fortune-reading sessions and plenty of beer cans to pass the nights..
the entire resort, and in fact all the other inhabited structures being kept afloat on stilts around the lake meant it was in-and-out the sampan the moment we step off our resort lobby. the restaurant, the temples, the gift shops, the handicraft workshops, they were all floating on stilts. the only difference, if you've been to Tonle Sap, the waters there were a murky tek-tarik and they were actually supported by floats and buoys. here at Inle Lake, the deepest depth was recorded only at 5metres plus, hence the stilts, said our friendly guide 'Lei'..
all in all, a longer time here around the lake meant more lasting memories on our part here ... this was where most interactions with colleagues were at, more smiling faces etched in the mind, and more opportunities for picture-taking too.
all in all, a longer time here around the lake meant more lasting memories on our part here ... this was where most interactions with colleagues were at, more smiling faces etched in the mind, and more opportunities for picture-taking too.
the serenity here really is, something different i must say.
when one has no choice but to adhere to a different, slower setting .. one gradually adapts and tunes in to the surrounding as well. and life here, really is, s l o w . . .
and uhm, nope, no picture-pretty line of saffron-robed monks encountered .. only hordes and hordes of petty dwellers .. hawking and selling everything from lacquerware to longyi and 'precious stones' . . .
another itch scratched...
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