Bike, bus, pick up, a bit of everything from Bago to Kalaw

Mt Kyaiktiyo to Bago, 95 km
On the rd by 7.30 am trying to beat the heat. A straight rd most of the day, dry, dusty agriculture area. Water melons everywhere. Stalls and stalls selling them and trucks picking them up to take them to the markets.  Not fun on a road like a drag strip having to overtake trucks and cars stopped at all these stalls. But we also stopped and enjoyed one. Then lunch at an Indian place. Took a detour over a bridge to a small village. Then the turn off to Bago, about 20 km, the rd got busier, it was two lanes but it was being extended so road works and then lots of rocks blocking the shoulder.  We ended up riding on a concrete road extension, half finished,  with boxing still around it,  as we found the road too dangerous. We arrived in the city about 2 pm. Bago was nuts. Sooo noisy, the traffic was manic and the hotels were on the main street, noisy and not nice either. We both had bad vibes about the place. We went to Bago primarily to get a train north.  We only have a 28 day visa and the country is so big we thought we would not cycle the boring hot central plain as it would take days.  But instead of waiting till the next morning to get a train we decided to get an overnight bus north. We had a shower and a rest at a hotel then dinner then left at 8.30 pm, only 2.5 hrs late, heading north to Merktila.
Just went into a deep sleep only to be woken (10.30) to say we all had to get off the bus for 30 minutes as it was eating time... Anyway we slept later for a bit and arrived at our destination at 5.15 am. We were the only ones left on the bus, everyone else had got off along the way. It was still dark but a tea house across the road was just opening so we hung out there for an hour till it got light, photo of Trevor enjoying morning coffee. We wanted to bike to Kalaw, a town high up with a cooler climate on the way to Inle lake. Distance from Merktila about 120 km finishing with a 35km massive uphill, too big an ask for one day. So we were still working on a plan.
In the meantime around 7 am we biked to a guesthouse. Just as we got there we found a group of 9 cyclists leaving. They were from the UK and on an 8 day charity ride complete with support bus and pick up truck. Our plans and clothes were quickly changed and we  joined them on their ride, our panniers in the support truck. 85 km then all bikes loaded into the pick up, bus and people transported up the massive hill.  Fantastic. A fun day with them all. Much less traffic, more motorbikes and bikes, less cars and trucks. More trees. Kalaw was also much cooler, I needed an extra layer on as we headed out for dinner. Also just a bit tired!