We hired a motorbike to start early the exploration of Hpa An and the surrounding countryside. More than once, we felt like being in Isla Sorna. Jurassic Park fans will know what we are talking about. No dinosaurs though. The only creatures we saw from the Jurassic period were cockroaches.
We first headed south to the Mount Zwegabin. The mountainous outcrop was the most dramatic of all karst formations sprouting abruptly out of the flat landscape of Hpa An.
We started the ascent from the pleasant Lumbini Gardens commonly known as Buddha Park, and home of rows upon rows of hundreds seated Buddha images. After almost 2 hours and 2638 uneven steps - yeah we counted them - we reached the top at an elevation of 723 metres.
We rested our shaky legs venturing along the monastery and the few pagodas built on top of the hill. We soaked up by the 360-degree view over Hpa An. After eating half of our Malaysian biscuits, drinking almost all our water, it was time to hike down the 2638 steps. The trek back was physically easier but sometimes more challenging due to some very high steps.
Next up was the Saddan cave (sometimes written Sadan or Saddar), another major Hpa-An highlight. The limestone cave was impressive with enormous chambers, huge stalactites and stalagmites. The cave has become a holy site full of Buddha figures, relics, small pagodas and sparkling disco lights.
We kept venturing deeper into the grotto. At the far end, we reached an opening leading to a lake surrounded by rice fields. The view was stunning. Breathtaking. We crossed the bridge over the paddy field and explored another cave. Smaller and with no artificial lights. Using our iPhone we kept exploring until the bats' noise became too noisy. We didn't want to wake them up.
We stopped and came back to the lake where longboat where waiting to drove us back to the entrance of the main cave for only 1500 Kyat per person. The ride was absolutely magnificent. After riding under the mountain we glided through an astonishing landscape. Probably one of the best view we had in Myanmar.
We jumped back on the scooter for a long ride to Ya Thay Pyan Cave. The cave was nice but the ride on the scooter was an amazing experience. Hpa An was scenic. The town was a nature's lovers paradise.
We finished the day for the Linno cave commonly know as "the bat cave" which was the home of huge bats colonies with no less than 400,000 individuals. By sunset all the creatures rushed out of the cave by a small entrance to feed, creating a spectacular natural phenomenon.
