Through the entire night I
heard the sound of the generator set. I do not know if that is what woke me up
early. However, when I travel like this I cannot sleep for more than four hours
and that gives me the extra hours to blog and do the rest of the chores like
documentation, social media updation, social interaction, route clearances,
laundry, repacking, etc. This day was no different. My main concern was to
upload the blog posts that I had completed. I was able to get better
connectivity by 6 am and I was happy to upload all of it, except videos that
somehow refused to get on to Facebook.
Breakfast was announced at
7 am and Tun Tun came down from his room exactly at the hour. There was no sight of the other two. The
breakfast spread was a cross between the local and continental. Rice with soy
nuggets, samosas and bhajji were the local dishes. Fried eggs and toast with
orange juice comprised the continental part. Tun Tun told me that he has, and
is almost the custom, rice three times a day. The large helpings of rice he has
at each meal and the wiry frame, somehow, did not match!
I had additional helpings
of the excellent orange juice; it was freshly squeezed. I tasted the rice and
soy, which I would have gorged on if it were lunch. The samosas and bhajji are
Indian imports in the Myanmar cuisine. Even after we had completed the meal the
other two were yet to come down from the room. Tun Tun called them and both of
them, Myo Min and Myint Sang, came down in a hurry. They apologised as they
misunderstood the breakfast time to be 7.30 when, when actually it was half an
hour early. When they were having breakfast I went for a stroll outside the
hotel with Tun Tun.
Young girls with tanaka on their cheeks, mouth and nose
masks and a bamboo hat on their heads were busy cleaning the streets, raising
lot of dust. Women of all ages and young males use tanaka on their cheeks, some in design. It improves the skin
condition and keeps it cool. Just in front of the hotel Tun Tun pointed out to
a non-descript building and vacant space. It was the airport of Kalay.
Curiosity got the better of me. I walked into the premises and took a few photographs,
with Tun Tun in attendance. It was a no frills airport, meant only for small
crafts and helicopters. The security at the airport was a guy in military uniform,
who was smoking a cheroot, squatting beneath a tree. I found the situation
extremely funny and asked of the soldier if I could take a picture of him. He
readily agreed and posed as I wanted him to. Once that was done and we crossed
the road to the hotel Tun Tun told me the story of a Japanese reporter who
photographed a soldier in 2007. The reporter was shot at point blank range,
without a warning, and bayonetted! Apparently the soldiers with red collar are
armed and dangerous. Army personnel have total immunity and all excesses get
brushed aside as if to safeguard the security of the country. I was astounded
to hear that the Myanmar has over 1 million army personnel and half million
monks; the two major influences in the country that has a population of 52
million.
There is a distance board
at the hotel which said that Monywa is 135 miles from Kalay. Well, it’s the
mile system in Myanmar. Anyway, 215 kms it was to be to Monywa. However by the
time I reached Monywa at a quarter past 5 in the evening I had logged slightly
over 350 kms. Tun Tun told me, as we started out, that he would be taking a
‘slightly’ longer route for two reasons – condition of the road and safety. As
a passenger it may have been slight for him, but the challenging road
conditions over two mountains and numerous diversions was quite taxing. The
first hundred kms was smooth and was done in slightly over two hours.
Considering the small road and the large number of two wheelers, it was
satisfactory progress. I was, once again, surprised by the good upkeep of the
road. Two wheelers are a way of life in Myanmar, it looked like. It provides
passage for men, material and farm produce. Except for some odd youngster
trying to be heroic on the road, the traffic was incredibly disciplined. Of
course, there were occasional instances of unwarned turning off, etc. But, once
the horn is sounded people are on the alert. Tun Tun told me that the horn
should not be spared since the two wheeler drivers, who all used some variety
of helmet or the other, would not otherwise hear a vehicle in the rear. Even
trucks were disciplined and gave way by flashing the left tail light indicating
that it was alright to overtake. If they flashed the right tail light it meant
that conditions were not safe to overtake. And, of course, I had the feisty Tun
Tun in the passenger seat who kept on saying, “Horn, Sir”, or “Take over, Sir”.
The three of them kept up a
lively chatter right through the day, except for a little while after lunch
when Myo Min fell asleep. I was not too bothered because their English is so
heavily accented that I found it difficult to concentrate on the road as well
as decipher what they said. We stopped for lunch at a quaint village called Ye
Nyet Ni, which also has a railway station and is known for the quality of its
lungis. Tun Tun located a restaurant that served a buffet of chicken, chicken
parts, pork, beef, bamboo shoot, beans and sprouts, salad, dal, brinjal curry,
soup and rice for a measly sum of 2500 kyats per person. Quantity was
unlimited, he said, and tucked into the feast laid out before us. In between
huge gulps of rice Tun Tun managed to say, “very cheap, very tasty”! I found
most of it difficult to savour, but somehow finished a meal of rice, dal and
some pork. The taste of the other dishes was quite peculiar, maybe due to the
oil and the herbs used. At way side eateries I found that detergent soap is
used to wash hands. After the meal was done, which took nearly an hour, small
slabs of jaggery were served as dessert. I was told that it helps to digest the
fat and keep the mouth smelling fresh!
After lunch we drove
through mountainous regions where a lot of road and rail construction were in
progress, leading to challenging road conditions and dusty diversions. By the
time we got to the hotel the car looked every bit in need of a thorough wash.
Tun Tun arranged for it with one of the boys in the hotel, who asked for a tip
of 2000 kyats. The hotel was not a star hotel, but was right in the city. I was
given a twin bed room with TV and fridge. All the furniture in the hotel was
wooden, teak without a doubt. All along the way to Monywa are large, but young,
teak plantations. I was told that teak exports to China fetched the government
handsome revenue and there had been large scale ‘destruction’ of forest over
the past twenty years. Degradation of the environment due to massive copper
mining is now being resisted by local people. Chinese companies have formed
joint ventures with vested interest in the country to ‘buy’ farming lands at
throw away prices, to exploit the resources such as copper and gold.
Myanmar has huge number of
pagodas and monasteries. Maintenance of most of them is privately funded, with
government support available only to a few of them. Hence, children and elders
stand with bowls on either side of the road, near the pagoda or monastery,
seeking alms. Children were seen everywhere for schools are closed for
vacation.
After a beer in the hotel
dining room I walked around the night market, which offered a variety of food.
I targeted a busy eatery for skewers of pork and chicken with another Myanmar
beer. Next door I had a large helping of chicken fried rice. At all these
eateries young girls served and boys worked as cooks. Most of them were busy
and this provided good employment for the local people.
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