The Trek

The "Bo"

We started heading off from Yangon around 11pm which we planned to reach Maymyo by the next evening. Unfortunately we had forgot to book hotels in advance because our minds were too invested in the exploration of the waterfall so we just planned to check hotel by hotel once we get there. Narnar was worried about our accommodation, she wondered where we would stay for the first night. However, Sithu assured that we will definitely find a place to stay even if we'd end up doing couch surfing or some creepy motel. Xaro and Domin were always ready for long car rides because they brought snacks enough to fully stuff Santa's gift bag.

We hired a Toyota HiAce which can carry around 12 passengers and two "experienced" drivers came with us. Our driver had his hair combed to the left and wears a black coat most of the time. He is quite kind and is a great problem solver as well. I choose the seat close to the window because I wanted to have a sight of the scenery and sat behind the driver's seat to relay him any message our group wants to tell. It was because my squad really likes playing music really loud and only I could be able to communicate with the driver in all those noise. Some of us were using headphones and sleeping while others were talking non stop.

After nine long hours of car ride and loads of sleeping we reached Mandalay. The giant orange sun was slowly descending behind the mountains that enlarges each kilometer we drove. The driver was more cautious now then the time on the highway as we start our ascend towards Maymyo. The mountain roads were now a lot smoother and less bumpy than two years ago when I visited. However, there were a variety of turns including big, wide, and narrow turns which can be a challenge if you are not experienced. There were all types of vehicles ranging from small pickup trucks to giant container trucks on these mountain roads. We made a quick stop halfway through the destination to take pictures of the sunset overlaying the beautiful hilltops of the Mandalay region.

Xaro was carsick and got an headache so we set out on foot to search for any shops around the place. The aim was to find sour dried fruits such as mangoes and tamarind to ease the headache. Zack found a small shop made up of woods and hay. The shop owner asked us what we wanted and we asked for the dried fruits. The man who could be in his eighties bent over and took out a plastic box. In there were many types of materials including medical drugs, money and finally dried fruits which we wanted.

I saw an object which looked fairly old in the man's plastic box. It looked like a letter from long ago, I asked permission to take a look at it as I am quite interested in history and exploring old materials. "1941" was written largely on top of the letter and I continued scanning downwards. I was really shocked as I found out that the letter was from Captain Turner, the explorer of the waterfall.

The letter was written as follows;

December 22, 1941

Captain James Turner, British Expeditionary Force of the British Empire

Dear Bo Min Aung,

I kindly like to request a few man from your company in Rangoon perhaps by this week to accompany me for an expedition. The men have to be experienced in real combat and capable of journeying in jungle terrain. I will provide the transport from Rangoon to Maymyo and please brief your men to look out for a black Chrysler Windsor near the Strand Hotel. I look forward to meet my men and in exchange I will send five crates of weapons to support your company in Rangoon. I will send you more details about the expedition by Burma post by this week.

Yours sincerely, James Turner

My mind was in complete disbelief and quite amazed to see this letter. I passed the letter to my mates and they were amazed by the same level as me. My eyes quickly turned towards the old shop owner. I formally asked, "Good Sir, please don't mind me asking but are you Bo Min Aung?". The man frankly answered relatively quiet, "My son, yes I was once a Bo but my name is Lin Aung, the son of Bo Min Aung". Bo is a title in Burmese used to describe a military officer and of high rank. I quickly saluted him because he had done great service for our nation although I was not sure he was a good or bad "Bo".

I asked him where he live currently and found out that he owns a small house in the outskirts of Maymyo. I was very curious to know more as all of my friends as well. Sithu kindly asked the man to take us to his house if possible or somewhere we could have a conversation. Unfortunately the man declined our request but he agrees to converse in the small shop we are in right now. It was better than nothing I calmed myself however this place has no seats whatsoever and was quite noisy by all the cars passing by.

We spend almost an hour conversing about what he knew of Captain Turner and the men his father sent to Turner. All of us were quite satisfied by the information we got from Bo Min Aung. We talked about our exploration of the waterfall but he was slightly worried about this. According to him there were people like us who tried to find this "True Paradise" but failed or worst there were people were lost while finding this place. Our team was willing to overlook the risks and focus our efforts to find this place.

We thanked the Bo and gave him one lakhs Myanmar Kyats to support him during his retirement. Before we left he gave us his father's diary which was written during the war. It was such a relic and too important to accept his gift. However we took it and promised to return to him if possible after we found the waterfall. Our team returned to the car and all of us were deeply thinking about the conversations we had with the Bo. Overall the day was quite worth it and thanks to Xaro and her headache, we received a chance to meet this very special man.