The first few days felt like no time passed between our previous Southeast Asia trip and this one. The roads are still flat, hot and dusty. The days are still long and the language barrier can be frustrating. Also, the lack of English characters ANYWHERE drove us nuts. We don't know where we are or how far we have to go, just relying on GPS and paper maps.
We passed by temples where ladies stand on either side of the road clanging metal buckets. Apparently it's their way of asking for donations. Cars speed by and people just throw money out the window, which the ladies pick up on the road.
Locals are incredibly gentle and hospitable. At our hotel in Okekan, the staff was literally attending to our every move. They volunteered to bring all our bags, including helmets and water bottles to our room. They carried our bikes for us and even volunteered to wash our clothes. No matter how much we protested that we could do everything on our own, they wouldn't have any of it. Also, we were having lunch at a mini carinderia at the side of the road and one of the locals ended up paying for our entire meal!
The language barrier can be quite frustrating but because the locals are too eager to help, they end up crossing these barriers for us. After I injured my knee on day 1, I decided to take the bus to Pyay to rest for a couple of days. Thankfully, LA agreed to join me. While trying to flag a bus, we didn't really need to do much. We sat by the side of the road as the locals took charge. They stopped every bus headed to Pyay and made sure we found a bus that had enough cargo space for our bikes.
