School houses and forest

Greet our descent,

Less deforestation for tea crops,

No access roads to facilitate clearing.

KL notes a changing climate,

Rain during dry season

He suspects it will continue.

We reach a valley,

Parched and browned.

Another local tea shop,

Snack break.

A truck offers us a lift,

Standing in the back,

Clinging to metal rails,

Exciting!

Until gasoline fumes, 

bumps and rattles

Concoct a nasty headache.

We walk, discussing home countries

Junk food taxes, biodiversity, residential schools.

We can always do better

Our final trek meal,

Shan noodle soup,

Spicy, hearty

First meat option 

since departure

***

Thank you for reading. It may feel like we've been in Myanmar for awhile, but we just have a day or two in Mandalay and then we'll be off to Malaysia for a short awhile and then the Philippines. The adventure continues 

The last picture is a bit of a cheat. It was taken two years prior in a tea shop in Yangon, but it is Shan noodle soup in case you wanted to know what it looks like.