ArmstrongsGoAbroad: Hsipaw via Lashio

Trying out larger photo display - hope that works. Back in Myanmar: On Jan. 23 we took a plane from the Heho airport near Inle Lake to Lashio. We meant to arrive in Hsipaw later that day, but the plane was late so we missed the last bus.

At the bus station. The tuk-tuk driver and I were not seeing eye to eye on his fee.

Very near the Chinese border, Lashio is bustling with commerce. We didn't see any other Westerners there, and practically no one spoke English. An interesting experience for us.

On our way to Hsipaw the next day. People selling fruit, etc., to the bus riders.

Ah, Hsipaw! One of our favorite places on the whole trip. We loved this spot for a coffee or sunset drink, as well as the riverside restaurant just behind it.


One of these times may be right.

Visiting some shrines. This monk showed us his Buddhist texts, bound in the traditional way with folding paper.

We went on a bike ride through the nearby fields and villages and came across this gang.

And this gang, too.

Near the market in the early morning fog. People were buying, and bagging, small amounts of produce to sell in outlying villages. This one was going to take them on a motorcycle, but we also saw produce-laden bicycles and small trucks.

A walking trek up the valley. We stopped at this shop for a cup of tea. Outside, the proprietor was drying chiles as well as grasses to weave into hats.

A man and his child take the buffalo to the river for a drink.

A woman waters her garden (behind the fence) using a plastic bottle attached to a stick.

These children seemed to be on recess from school. Their green skirts/pants, with a white shirt, are the country-wide school uniform. The milk-pail contraptions are tiered storage for their lunch--like stacked tupperware.