Up In The Hill Country

Another traveling morning to Heho, Taungyi and Inle (inlay) Lake. Heho was a quaint, small town with the only local airport. We stopped briefly to ensure our departure arrangements where I picked up some delicious cracker/cookies and chocolate chew snacks. We drove through the countryside where rice fields covered the area and the eastern Shan Mountains grew closer and closer. This part of the country is by far my favorite!! Temperatures are much cooler and significantly less humid; basically, livable. Strangely the view reminds me of the European countryside with quaint towns and villages scattered amongst the hills, farms dotted here and there and people walking their cows through town streets.

On our way to Taungyi we stopped at the only vineyard owned by a German who rents the land from the government. This added an even further texture of European flavor to the area. Jackie had never been to a vineyard before, so I indulged her with memories from touring wineries with my parents, aunts/uncles and cousins on summer vacations. We stayed for lunch and as usual the bill was miraculously higher than the amount for which people put in money. Every time we do a group meal not selected by our leaders, we end up short somehow. I get people are on a budget, but most meals are not all that expensive here.

Naturally we stopped at a church in Taungyi where we again sat for a good half hour while our group leader chatted with the locals. There was a lovely bench area with flowery shrubbery covering and a nice view of the hills. The terrain reminds me of the book Dr. Hup gave me to read on my journey The Piano Tuner. At one point the author describes the Shan Mountain area as small island villages differing from mountain ridge to mountain ridge. The fictitious story is a great, quick read that gives helpful historical background to the early 1800s when Burma was under British rule.

Our afternoon took us to a Christian bible school where we sat in on a droll Greek class where students were rehearsing for a presentation. We seemed to just wander in as if they were not expecting us to stop in this particular classroom. Yet again we introduced ourselves and then listened to them sing a song in Greek. The singing was nice. I snuck out as soon as I could. The snack provided for us was of fried dough balls with sugar sprinkled on top. Sadly oil filled my mouth when I bit into it—ick! Dinner was absolutely wonderful. I believe this was the night we ate Indian food. The flatbread was fabulous in a country where bread is not a large staple.