Inle Loop

We rented bikes from our hotel and cycled around the Inle Loop anti-clockwise. It was seriously hot so even cycling along flat roads got us sweating, so when we had 10 minutes up a hill we were all struggling. When we arrived at Khaung Daing we got a small boat across the lake (with our bikes onboard) to Maing Thauk, a floating village which had been recommended to me as a much more authentic experience than the main boat ride from the day before.

We locked the bikes at the end of the jetty and got a free boat across to the restaurant opposite and cooled down with a drink and some light food. The other two were too hot and tired to do the paddle boat around the village but I went anyway. For half an hour this guy paddled me around the very calm village and I watched normal life as kids played on swings and tried to catch fish, women washed in the water and people waved from their windows.

When I returned to the others, we went to cycle back to town to complete the loop but Nick's bike had disappeared. He still had the key and the wheel was locked so either someone carried it along the jetty or put it in a boat. I was convinced it was a mistake rather than theft as it just didn't make sense that someone would risk stealing an old bike in plain sight. The restaurant owner came over and we explained the situation and she asked around but no-one had seen it. For some reason the whole area doesn't seem to have taxis and locals aren't allowed to take tourists on the back of motorbikes so we all had to get the boat back in time to get our night bus back to Yangon.

We told the hotel what had happened and the manager demanded that Nick pay $50 for a new bike otherwise he'd involve the police, even though I was sure the bike would eventually find its way back. Instead of enjoying our last hour in Inle with a relaxing drink and some food, it was stressful and frustrating. We got on our bus and just as we were about to leave, the hotel manager appeared and gave Nick his money back. Apparently the restaurant had found the bike and returned it. We'll never know where the bike went but it's amazing that it was returned in time. It felt like our luck had changed and we hoped everything would go well for at least a little while. Then we had the night bus from hell. The roads mountain roads were ridiculous, with sharp corners every few seconds. I barely slept all night.