Pindaya

A mad day. Pickups and motos to a town called Pindaya where we plan to trek from. Once more, trying to avoid the crowds, doing the offbeat thing. . .
Unfortunately the Grot Grot recommended guide has been so solicited he charges more that we're prepared to pay - because, he says, he speaks English. The only other guides in town are either absent or likely to be hung over tomorrow. Wasted trip.

Our end of the world plush hotel (standards have risen sharply recently) however, seems to have a steady stream of tour buses disgorging. Turns out Pindaya is firmly on the map for those with transport. We head up to the caves along limestone cliffs: inside are literally thousands of golden Buddha statues shoehorned into every crevice. Deeply, deeply weird.

And at night, the biggest festival of the year here: anyone who is anyone's there. Particularly young men in skinny jeans and fitted tops hair punked up or artistically swiped over the face, Dracula betel mouth a must and pollution mask an optional extra. Hats of some sort definitely cool. They hunt in packs - the male of the species. The girls are far more discrete, also in groups, soberly dressed and giggling. Otherwise its more stalls (plastic machine guns, machetes, pots and pans and cloths), food (tea, betel, donuts, noodles and bits of duck), a shimmering pink, silver and light blue stage from which we never saw anyone emerge but which was never going to be sensible, huge sound systems and dubious music everywhere, and 3 fairground rides.

The rides are all wood and manual. A merry-go-round of wide-eyed, open mounted littles, bundled into hats and coats, perched silently on the item of their parent's choice. A pirate ship with the girls at one end and the lads at the other, no seat belts, and everyone standing up dancing to Gangman style at the top: local Bollywood productions, swung by hand. And our favourite: the Ferris Wheel. Operated by a team of 8 super cool lads in black who scale it like Spiderman and leap off one by one to get it spinning.

So Pindaya: an excellent, unexpected side show.