A Shan monk who works in Karen State in a Yangon monastery
We'd come a long way from Mae Sot. My Shan friend Bobo's uncle is a teaching monk at a school in rural Karen State, not particularly close to Mae Sot but closer than home in Shwenyaung. He'd crossed the Thai border to stay in Mae Sot for a while, so we could all travel back to Myanmar together. The shared taxi took nearly 6 hours to get to Hpaan, where we dropped off another friend. After waiting until evening, we boarded an overnight bus to Yangon.
Just like when I took a bus from Hpaan in 2011, we arrived rather early at 3AM, and had nowhere to go. The monk had previously taught in a monastery in Yangon so he directed a taxi there. In the wee hours, the young monks welcomed us into an office to sleep; less comfortable than beds but at least I didn't have to be separated for being female. Bobo and I awoke from our nap around 6AM, to the murmur of novices eagerly asking his uncle questions.
A Shan monk who works in Karen State in a Yangon monastery
We'd come a long way from Mae Sot. My Shan friend Bobo's uncle is a teaching monk at a school in rural Karen State, not particularly close to Mae Sot but closer than home in Shwenyaung. He'd crossed the Thai border to stay in Mae Sot for a while, so we could all travel back to Myanmar together. The shared taxi took nearly 6 hours to get to Hpaan, where we dropped off another friend. After waiting until evening, we boarded an overnight bus to Yangon.
Just like when I took a bus from Hpaan in 2011, we arrived rather early at 3AM, and had nowhere to go. The monk had previously taught in a monastery in Yangon so he directed a taxi there. In the wee hours, the young monks welcomed us into an office to sleep; less comfortable than beds but at least I didn't have to be separated for being female. Bobo and I awoke from our nap around 6AM, to the murmur of novices eagerly asking his uncle questions.