Buddhist Nuns, Hsipaw, Burma

A 4 hour drive east of Mandalay is the town of Hsipaw (pronounced Sipaw). We shared Muireann's taxi again (she had hired one at the start of her trip) and stopped at a couple of places on the way... Pyin U Lwin, a cool Muslim town with old colourful horse drawn stage coaches for taxis. Another stop at Buddha Cave was a big mistake on our driver's part, as it was the start of Buddhist lent and the 2 mile road leading up to the carpark was absolutely choc-a-bloc with trucks and vans jammed full of people. Sitting in traffic was not enjoyable, so we got out and walked. We never got to see the cave as we lost Muireann and waited at the entrance for her so that we wouldn't miss her... We didn't mind too much as the best bit was walking along the road with the crowds and waving hello, 'talking' to all the people stuck waiting.

Hsipaw itself is a small riverside town known for its relaxing atmosphere and walks/hikes into the lush countryside. A boat ride and hike took us through pineapple and papaya plantations to different villages and monasteries where we got some great pics of young monks and locals. Unfortunately, it was unbearably hot and Martin later started suffering from heat exhaustion. Not very pleasant especially as the hotel was choosing to conserve electricity (it is low season here) and there were no fans or aircon for about half the day and night! Add to that a bout of food poisoning and he really wasn't well for a number of days.

Hsipaw's main attractions are its two markets: the one that starts at 4am(!) - the veg and produce market called the candle-light market; the second, is the day market selling food and everyday housewares and hardware. And that's it! One morning at 6am while Martin was ill I went to market and although I've seen more exciting markets before, it was a great time to be out and I loved watching lots of young novice monks collecting alms (food donations and money) (double click the pic for pics of these). Two Buddhist nuns dressed in pink were also out, shopping for herbs and veggies. Loved the shape of their hats. * Mush