Burma Pt 2 - Slow boat from Mandalay

                        
The journey continues from Hsipaw via Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay, Bagan and Yangon  

Permits are needed for some outer parts of Burma since I had not apply for these (at least two weeks are needed) I  did not go to any off the of the beaten track places.

Hsipaw

My next location was further North into Shan state to a town called Hsipaw. I had chosen this location as it is a quieter place to go trekking and was more in the hills than other past locations. The bus left Inle Lake at 3pm and we arrived at 6am the next morning. After a night of no sleep I arrived to my guest house which had been recommended by two travellers. They had left the gate unlocked for me and as I was late arriving and had gone back to bed. Taylor the Guest House owners’ nephew greeted me and announced he had two other tourists going on a trek that day if I wanted to join them. It was 6:30 and I had two hours to get ready. At 7am he sent me next door to get breakfast of delicious Shan noodles. Shan noodles are thick noodles in a broth with tomato paste, spring onions and pork. I ate this with pork crackling skin (equivalent of puffs in the UK not the hard scratching's) washed down with Chinese weak tea (the drink of choice for Burmese and free in all restaurants).

After a hot shower I met the other two trekkers and we were off. First stop was to a Government monastery school where 5 -8 year old nuns were In lessons, some singing action songs and others learning English.  Government funded schools / donations cater for orphans and poor families who can send their children there for free. In this school no uniform is required if not a nun. Nuns wear a pink tunic similar to the red or yellow one of the monks. The boys wore their own clothes.

 

We then started walking. Firstly through fields of wheat and corn which were being manually harvested by locals. We stopped off at a village shop for tea and to buy water and snacks.

 

Next we passed fields of crops with the odd shack dotted around. These shacks are where the villagers live during harvesting and planting seasons save going back to their houses each night. It also provided a welcome shade for lunch.

We stopped off for another break where we tried a couple of local delicacies; egg and tomato salad and tea leaf salad. This is a bitter tasting salad made from raw tea leaves, washed and the liquid removed served with peanuts.

 Tea leaf salad

We arrived at our host village just after 3pm where we were met with tea ( weak Chinese green tea)  followed by lunch.

 A quick nap on the thin mattresses /under mosquito nets before venturing out around the village and watching the sunset.  We learnt that the money used from the tourists visiting the village had been used to build a school and accommodation and salary for teachers. The quality of houses of the host family were more sturdy than those in the village and they were able to stay there opposed to having to find work in local towns. 

                         

Dinner was almost ready when we got back - feast of pumpkin curry, rice and lots of other side dishes with poppadum style crackers.

 

Next morning breakfast was similar to the night before dinners. We sat by the fire keeping warm whilst it was finishing being cooked. One of the local ladies joined us and started puffing away on the local cigar. This is the image I always think of when I see hill tribes similar to that of Vietnam and Thailand 15 years ago.

 Local applying traditional unblock to my face

 

 We stopped off for lunch of Shan noodles before visiting a waterfall.  This took us through a graveyard featuring three different religions – Buddhist, Muslim and Christian graves and the local areas rubbish tip which was being burnt and smelt of melting plastic amongst other unfamiliar whiffs. Children were amongst those riffling through to see if anything could be salvaged. Not a great attraction. Rubbish is found everywhere in Burma. I had previously seen a man come out of his house to drop plastic and paper across the road on a mound of rubbish festering away.

 

  A selection of photographs featuring locals and views

 

These ladies  were off to visit a friends house - chairs at the ready

                      Stunning views

 

                       Sharing pyjamas as everyday clothes   All ages go to the fields to collect crops

 





                                  Local mobile shop                                              Traditional outfit

 Lady working in the fields

 



                                               Children with machete and plastic gun

 

Off to the fields for the day

 

 

Dinner was at a local style restaurant where I tried pork curry with Aubergine (eggplant) curry. This was served with a number of raw vegetables including small aubergines, okra, herbs and cabbage. Dips including chilli.

                            Traditional style restaurant choose what you want and they bring to your table along with the plate of veg which forms part of the meal

 

Candle market
Next morning I was up at 4am to visit the candle market. This is the local market lit by candlelight and some electric lighting. It starts at 3am and is finished by 6:30am when the locals go back to their villages and start harvesting or planting for the rest of the day. It was a great experience enhanced by the lighting and general hustle and bustle that comes with a thriving market.  Herbs / greens, chicken and fish. At the far end of the market were scooters ladened with bags of produce hanging from the handlebars and also motorbikes with wire contraptions which they filled with produce to go round and sell throughout the day.  I bought a bag of mini tangerines and also some tomatoes to feel part of the experience. Carrots over here taste so sweet, mostly the produce is organic as they cant afford to buy fertiliser to put on the crops.

 

 

The experience last about 40 minutes so I walked back through the empty streets coming across the odd local setting up shop or coming back from the market. I passed the fire station and the night watchman was outside huddled in front of his fire. Feeling quite please with my early morning visit I went back to bed until breakfast.

Breakfast was a delight. I had mentioned to Taylor my trekking guide I enjoyed local food more than the toast and egg we usually got as tourists. He arranged for me to have black sticky rice with fried tofu and small onion bargee's for breakfast. The rice was delicious with a nutty flavour, a bit of salt and pepper had been added for extra flavour. Definitely my best breakfast throughout the trip although rivalled by the Shan noodles from the morning before.

That day I walked back down to the market area and found a coffee shop selling locally grown coffee. I sat overlooking the river eating banana cake and drinking filter coffee watching the life on the river go by. What a way to spend a Sunday morning. I had run out of the coffee I’d bought in Kazakhstan so managed to persuade the coffee shop owner to sell me a few table spoons of his which he reluctantly did.

 

 I walked up to the area known as “little Bagan” since it had a number of stupas. The heat was stifling so was pleased to take respite at a monastery featuring a bamboo Buddha which had since been painted in gold and given clothes (monk style).

 

 

Later I managed to find the most popular restaurant in Hsipaw known as Mrs Popcorns Garden which used organic ingredients grown in her garden. I had a mango and passion fruit juice (well two actually but who is counting) 1,000 kyat each less than a dollar and the best fried rice with vegetables I tasted on my trip. This was washed down with fresh coffee. The garden was a delight to view from my shady spot and I sat there along with other tourists enjoying a well-deserved rest.

 Later that afternoon I walked to a noodle factory which was interesting as the workers did not speak any English and did not acknowledge you were there. We were just about to leave when the girl who had been carrying out the last part of the process pouring water onto the noodles to wash away the starch. Stopped us and gave us each a piece of noodle to try.

 Nearby is the Shan Palace. This is where Fern and husband Donald live after being left in charge of the house by his Uncle, a Shan Prince who was abducted by the government and never seen again. His wife, Inge Sargent an Austrian went to live in America and has since written a book Twilight over Burma; my life as a Shan Princess (highly recommended reading) so until someone returns they “care-take” the house. During the visit you sit in the front room and listen to the story of the family tree and what has happened in the house.

                                   

As ever we became victim to the local selfie crazy and tourists from both Burma and Thailand wanted to be seen with the foreigners.

                

 

Shaun new year was in a weeks time so local groups were visiting businesses singing to wish them good luck. A donation was made to the group at the end of the visit (this practise is similar to Chinese New Year) 

               

 This town was a definite highlight to the trip and one to add to list even the guide books say you stay longer than planned. The Black house coffee shop could have kept me there for a week chilling out.

This was the closest I got to the troubles in the Northern Rakhine state which at the time of visiting was going through houses being burnt to the ground and refugees crossing the border to Bangladesh. After I had left I had heard that tourists were being stopped going further North by officials but can’t confirm this as fact. 

Pyin Oo Lwin (POL)

Next adventure was by train to Pyin Oo Lwin, this is well documented as one of the best train rides in the world due to the Gokteik Viaduct, Burma’s longest railway bridge situation 34 kilometres north of POL. It is 318ft high and 2257ft across. We chose the basic level seat which was a wooden bench. I had read horror stories of people going for the upper class seating and getting bed bugs from the sponge seating. Coming from Hsipaw the best side is on the right hand side facing front ways (however both left and right get views of the bridge at different times). The train journey is 7 hours going at a very comfortable speed. It slows down as it goes across the bridge and through the tunnels but not by much. Bags are stashed on the overhead racks and hope that they don’t fall down.

 

Lunch time

 

Quick power nap between stations

 

                       Approaching the bridge                         Looking into the canyon                                 

 

The train ticket has seat numbers on which we had not realised so once on board we had to sit in our space as dictated to by the guard. Obviously this was not enforced once we had set off so I managed to find a seat with a great view. The local passengers definitely make the journey. A beautiful family of Nepalese or Bangladesh origin were in the seats opposite me. On arrival a mother and two small children were seated with a blanket covering a body on the floor. Later it transpired to be the husband. The floor is filthy in these carriages so they had put down a mat (a common sight on trains) to sleep on. The family took it in turns to sleep. Later when they ate both the man and woman put away at least two platefuls of rice and a little bit of meat. Seems that’s how to keep the petit size of the locals over here.

                    

Once at the POL I was met by a number of motorbike taxi’s (takes me back 15 years) so me my 20ish large backpack and a hand luggage size (hmm) 10kg plus my local bag (of er) 3kg piled onto the bike. I had the large one on my back whilst the hand luggage went in the front well with my local bag and (now) camera slung over my shoulder. What a sight, however if they can get a family of 5 on a motorbike then my luggage should be easy. Hanging on over every bump for a breath holding 10 minutes we finally arrived. Not looking forward to the return journey already!!!! My hotel for the evening was a quintessential English colonial estate which although in need of repair would definitely suit my needs for a couple of nights. I tried the ”I haven’t booked online so can you do me a deal on the price”. No came back the firm price, book online or pay the full $13 price. I felt like booking online so they lost out but didn’t have the energy and after all that would be bad karma wouldn’t it?

The following day I rented a bicycle and went to visit the National Kandawgyi botanical garden which among other plants housed an orchid garden (many wild orchids found in Burma if you go looking), butterfly museum since Burma is famous for its huge amount of indigenous butterflies, animals including Takin (pronounced Thar-min), which I had not heard of before and a bird aviary with hornbills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A museum about petrified wood. This I learnt in simple terms is a fossil made from a plant that after millions of years has been starved of oxygen and caused it to oxidise and decay. The wood was then found in rivers and flood paths near Mandalay and has ended up as petrified wood.  I tried to buy a coffee in the coffee shop but told they were not serving foreigners and only had instant coffee anyway. I found a little local stall who sold Burmese coffee and also had popcorn.  I walked around the gardens for the until lunchtime when I found a stall selling waffles and durian ice cream I was in heaven what a great combination….

 I left happy and stopped on route to town at one of the many garden centre, this one had won awards from trip advisor for its food. I opted for a avocado coffee opposed to a sparkling water coffee as they told me this was the most popular. Hmm mashed avocado in black coffee with sugar. Try if you will but it won’t be something I will be having together again.

 

I cycled on past flower displays in the shape of the towns clock tower and also horse and carriage will is still one of the popular modes of transport in this hill station colonial town.

                                                                        

I visited the Chinese temple, bit of a strange find although the town also boasts Hindu temple, mosque and churches. I stopped to have a pineapple (when its only 50 cents for a pineapple why not?) and also buy a couple of large avocado’s.

Whilst riding around the town I came across the local market which sprawled across roads and into the main undercover central market. One local gentlemen came over and spoke to me and he explained what some of the unrecognisable products were including local shampoo, green mango’s. He had been an English teacher in the past so was pleased to be able to take to a native speaker.

 Tea leaves

Egg stall they love quails eggs

 

       Stall owner                                                      Local shampoo

 Tea Leaf salad

 

I ventured into the undercover market which was a lattice work of stalls selling anything from sacks of onions, turmeric and ginger to tea, children's toys, local strawberry products which this town is famous for including wine, beer and jam. I bought a bottle of strawberry wine but on opening later it was far too sweet for me. Whilst ambling the hours away in the market I came across a stall selling local coffee and the stall holder again an older gentleman wanted that to me as he was born in the time the British were in Burma however he told me that his son and other workers were not part of the commonwealth as they were born after the British left. He showed me his scales which were made in Birmingham and then wanted to talk about British food including tomato ketchup and baked beans.

                            Protein on sticks

 Banana fried pancakes

 

As it was getting towards the end of the day the night market was opening up where I stopped to try a banana deep fried pancake before heading down the high street to find the “family restaurant” which is recommended in the lonely planet. I asked my child waitress she recommended and she said thali as it is the cheapest thing on the menu. I studied the full list and ended up taking the most expensive duck curry or as they termed it on my receipt ducky curry. ($3.50) OMG it was delicious, I managed to write down the ingredients with them so I could make it at home. As you can see from the picture the traditional Burmese food arrives with lots of free dishes and that was just for one……

 

 The journey back was rather hair raising since It was getting dark. My guest house assistant had assured me that the way back was well lit so I did not need to worry about what time I came back. Hmm Maps me had other ideas. It found me a back route with very little light and infact very few cars so ended up cycling in the dark . I arrived after 30 minutes or so the sat nav thought wrong guesthouse. Luckily it was only another 10 minutes. Had I have taken the main road it was well lit and shorter but was up hill and busy with traffic. I was really pleased to see my bed that night as I had started to think I would be sleeping under the sky that night.

Mandalay

I had heard conflicting views about this town some said they enjoyed it others found it too busy and noisy.  I hoped it was like the poem road to Mandalay and would want to stay for a long time. In the end I loved it luckily as the boat out only happened twice a week and I had missed the Wednesday one so had to wait until Sunday.

Mandalay I discovered was built on a grid system which made navigating it easier. The Irrawaddy river than through it and again made it an easy land market to use. To go into the town and visit the main temple I would have needed to buy a 10,000 Kyat entrance ticket which have got me into other attractions, In the end I decided not to visit these.

My first full day was spent with Emma Jane, another traveller and we hired motorbikes and drivers for the “three city tour” – Amarapura, Sagaging and Innwa. First stop was to Mahamuni Paya temple which was free to get in and a 1,000 kyat fee for the camera. Locals were prayed to a 13 foot gold Buddha, believed to be over 2000 years old Men only could pay to put gold foil onto its body whilst women could only look from a distance away like that seen on Inle lake.

                                                 

We took a walk around the site and discovered a room with large bronze figures in. One of the tour guides explained that the statues could cure people suffering from pain or disease. You had to rub your corresponding hurting body part with that of the statue.

                                           

 

 quick snaps with the locals

 Ringing the bell for happiness

 

  

Locals at the temple

 

 Stunning colours and architecture

Next location was a drive across town to the local monastery where at 10:30am tourists descend to watch the monks receive elms (the givers receives merit in doing this) at the end we managed to chat to one of the monks which our driver knew (he knows everyone as he brings so many tourists on the tours).

 

We stopped of to get petrol on route to the first city tour and found an old British car featuring an original Burmese AA sign.

 

Next temple to visit was at Sagaging where we were approached by a couple of young monks who wanted to ask us questions in English.

Last stop before lunch was to a school for Nuns run by donations. They were very pleased to show off their knowledge of the A-Z.

The afternoon was spent around temples

                                

                             

                                         

Although the best part for us by this time was going into the countryside and seeing the scenery.

                          

                          
                                 Locals collecting water greens

                           

We enjoyed meeting the locals at Yadana Hsemee Pagoda Complex

                           
                                    I bought the two paintings from this artist

                              

Locals are very diligent about the sun and wear “Thanakha” a yellow sandalwood paste on their faces acting as sun cream, face cream and decoration on their cheeks.

                           

                                            

Sunset was at Mandala teak bridge along with all the other tourists in the area
                          

                             

 

  Day two morning I hired a bicycle and with a guy who works in the guest house. We cycled over to the Jade market. Tourists have to pay a ticket fee and can be asked to produce this at any time. Jade stores everywhere and people on benches waiting to evaluate, sell or buy from public.
 

Lunch was back near the guest house where  Moonshine and I had a traditional Burmese lunch (always a good time to buy as its cooked for lunch and then sold until run out whether that be afternoon or evening). I selected aubergine, pumpkin, okra with pork and rice.  

The afternoon was spent cycling around the area, first to a market 

                              Mobile food stall, she walks around and then stops on demand

 Chicken

 Banana stall

before heading out towards Mandalay Hill for sunset on route we visited the worlds largest book at Kuthodaw Paya. This consisted of 729 marble scribed texts which were housed in their own white stupas. Collectively the texts make up the 15 books of the Tripitaka and then another 1774 marble texts nearby which combined are known as the worlds largest book. It is believed that it took 6 months for over 2400 monks to read the book in a relay.  

                                           Marble stone

                                    Housed in its own stupa

 My last afternoon in Mandalay was spent with the motorbike driver going round local villages taking photos of daily life. A few of the photos are included here.

 

                          Making statues

 

           

                                          Ladies working in the field

  

 Hand sewing outfits for the puppets

 Collecting water

 Pot seller

                                 Swimming / washing by the river

  

Local food seller, tiny seats

 

At the market

Chickens on the back of a motorbike for sale

 Chicken for sale covered in flies

Stall holder watching child sleep

        Veg seller

 On the way back from school

               

                                     Women road building

                                 Locals wanting their photo taken

 Sunset was up Mandalay hill where I took escalators to the temple at the top of the hill. The views were fantastic of the surrounding countryside

Slow boat Mandalay to Bagan

What a way to spend a Sunday. Up at 4am with my motorbike taxi organised for 4:30 with departure at 5:30am. I had opted for the local government slow boat at a cost of 18,000 Kyat. This boat made the journey down the Irrawaddy river twice a week on a Wednesday and Sunday (Thursday and Monday the opposite way). It took about 16 hours stopping off at various villages to pick up and drop off passengers. Other quicker boats are available for tourists taking anything up to 7 hours at a cost of $30 - $50.

First thing was very cold so all wrapped up. Sunrise was a beautiful orange glow, this looked great as a backdrop to the pagodas on the riverside. The temperature began to rise and by 10am tourists were down to  shorts and tops whilst the locals sitting more inside the boat still had long sleeves or coats on.
                      
                      
                      
                      

The boat was split equally between tourists and locals. Also a hot food stall and a woman who I had positioned myself in front of selling fruit and snacks. Other sellers scrambled onto the boat when it docked to pick up passengers selling slices of watermelon, cooked chicken (not sure about the bug count in those) samosas and other snacks and delicacies.

 

                       

Cooked cold Quail eggs are really popular in Burma as a snack

                       

Cooked chicken for sale sitting around in the heat for hours. Not suitable for tourists but being bought by locals

Our first stop dropped off a bedroom furniture suite , large wardrobe and two sets of drawers. Other cargo was copious sacks of rice, cabbage cement and other random items the locals needed moving.

                            

Villagers waiting to get on the boat or take goods off the boat

Live on the riverbanks was taken up with people washing clothes or bathing whilst on the river boats of various shapes and sizes could be seen. Usually large boats pushed by tugs full of rocks, soil and  logs. Fisherman in small boats  either huddled together in groups of boats or individually. Using nets. Other tourist boats overtook us as we motored along at a steady pace. Horn blasting when the driver , steering with his feet felt other boats were getting too close or were aiming straight at us.

 

The boat consisted of two levels and was covered to protect from storms and heat. The captain and crewe were at the front of the boat and there was a sleeping area at the back of the boat with wooden benches should you wish to sleep. Tourists sat on plastic chairs provided whilst the locals as with the train bought along large matts and thick blankets which they places on the wooden floor. Most slept until a decent hour or at least wrapped themselves up out of the cold.

The day was filled with watching life go past on the river and sleeping. What a great way to spend 7 or so hours.

                         

                      

 

 

We were late as we approached Bagan our final destination but there were still taxi’s waiting to take us into the town. I managed not to have to pay the entrance fee again as I was leaving the following day back to Yangon.

Next morning at 7am I sat eating breakfast watching the balloons followed by monks walking past collecting elms. What a great way to end my time in Burma. Fantastic country just wish I could have spent longer here.

 

Pancake, omelette and chips for the complementary breakfast