Thursday 11/10/2016 - Chindwin River Cruise: Mawlik, Shwe Lat Pan Village

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. and went to breakfast at 6:30. Morning fog had settled into the valleys in the distance. We ate coconut curry noodles and the general talk had come back around to the election results at home. We felt particularly isolated from the aftermath here, and we were glad for it. We didn't even have wi-fi. We were sure the media was going absolutely insane, and we wanted to postpone our disappointment and general malaise until we got back to "real life" at home.

The ship moored and we waved to a young boy scurrying on the rocky hillside. He had a water bottle in his hand, and Sandro told us that he was hunting for crickets. He would pour water into any holes that he saw, and any crickets hidden in the hole would emerge. He would then capture them as a food source.

At 7:30, we got off of the boat and climbed a set of stone steps up to Mawlik. Three tuk-tuks were waiting for us. They were basically motorcycle front ends with a trailer welded on. Within the trailer were 4 plastic chairs. We divided ourselves up into the tuk-tuks and set off to explore Mawlik.

Mawlik is a colonial city built by the British as an administrative capital of the upper Chindwin River area in the 1920's. Its colonial status is immediately apparent, both from the architecture and the infrastructure. We were driving on actual paved roads, and the tuk-tuk ride was much smoother as a result. We drove past a colonial clock tower on a small roundabout. It looks like the original clock faces were replaced with smaller modern clocks at some point in time.

We stopped at the District Administrative office which has been operating from the British period to the present. Tourists are not allowed inside, but we looked at the colonial architecture and landscaping. We noticed bulbous, green peppercorns growing on pepper trees. I noticed one of the bushes moving and went over to find that there were snails of various sizes (some were around 6 inches long) on the leaves.

Next we went to the Maw Laik Golf Course. This is the third oldest golf course in the country, and has colonial links to St. Andrews in Scotland, arguably the originator of modern golf. The sign has a painting of a golf ball teed up on a rhinocerous horn.

The groundskeepers were watering the green on the last hole with a watering can. One of them had a slingshot in his longyi. We wondered what he has to defend against. Hopefully not the snails. There were some here too, hanging out on the grass just off the green. Luckily snails aren't much of a hazard, you could always just pick them up and move them if they are in your way. They certainly won't dart out unexpectedly into the trajectory of your putt!

Most of us were not active golfers, if we had ever been golfers at all. Craig hasn't really picked up a club since he was the junior junior champion as a child. Mini-golf is the most experience I have. We all took turns putting. Nobody was able to sink a putt, but Sandro came closest, bouncing off the pin.

We got back in the tuk-tuks and drove past an open-air Baptist church. We noticed that there were only 2 tuk-tuks, when we had started out with three. Genean and Patrick were no longer with the group. Our drivers stopped our tuk-tuks and backtracked on foot to see what had happened.

While we were waiting for them to return, Craig and I noticed some kids playing on a small wooden bridge in front of their home while their grandmother swept fallen leaves with a natural broom. One little boy (probably around 4 or 5 years old) saw us and started smiling and waving enthusiastically. We decided to get out of the tuk-tuk and approach them. There were two older girls and two young boys. They were very friendly and smiled and posed for photos. The two little boys flashed peace signs (well, one of them put up three fingers, but we knew what he meant). Soon their grandmother came over to greet us.

Once again, an unplanned breakdown had yielded an opportunity for an unexpected and delightful experience. You have to just go with the flow and take advantage of every opportunity. We were so glad we hadn't just waited in the tuk-tuk!

The drivers returned with Patrick, Genean, and their chairs. We made some room in our tuk-tuk for their chairs, and we all continued on as a caravan of 2 tuk-tuks. The kids waved and danced as we pulled away. As we drove through town, we waved and called mingalaba to everyone we saw, and everyone was quite friendly, waving and smiling in return.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped at a outdoor local market for 20 minutes. I felt like the paparazzi following around Craig the rock star. He was waving and smiling and saying mingalaba to everyone. If he heard them chattering or giggling, he would show them his longyi and do a little dance. He would then point to me in my longyi with my Aung San Suu Kyi bag (The Lady!) and people would want to photograph both of us.

We bought a carved wooden drum from an elderly gentleman. The ubiquitous plastic strapping from shipping pallettes was used to adorn the small red drum. We made friends with people of all ages, from infants to the elderly.

We saw one woman in a Muslim head covering, but most of the people belonged to the Buddhist majority. Despite religious tension in Rakhine State, this woman talked and laughed freely with her Buddhist friends.

Sellers weighed food on hand-held pan scales. Instead of actual weights, they often used batteries as the measurement unit. It was kind of amusing to see fish or chickens on one side of the scale balanced against a few D-cell batteries on the opposite pan.

One thing that struck us everywhere is that many of these people would be considered to be very poor by western standards, but they are happy and smiling, inquisitive, resourceful, and generous with their time. There is definitely something to be learned from that.

The tuk-tuks drove us back to the boat, where we cooled down in our room for a while. We then went up to the upper deck, where I caught up on typing and choosing photos from the past couple of days. When we got back to Yangon and wi-fi, I would be posting the cruise updates to Facebook.

I also looked through a book from the ship's library, Burmah: A Photographic Journey 1855-1925 by Noel E. Singer. It contained amazing sepia tone photographs and colorized postcards from the British colonial period. It was fascinating. They had several copies, and some were sealed in cellophane and for sale. I bought one so that I could study it further when I returned home.

Just before lunchtime, the propellor got tangled in a fishing net and we had to pull over. There are certainly many hazards in this wild river, but that's what makes it an adventure rather than a dime-a-dozen cruise.

For lunch, Craig had a club sandwich with hand cut potato chips, and I had a very nice eggplant parmesan. And there was flan for dessert!

Win was going to try to get ahold of a motorboat to take us to the scheduled afternoon destination (Sittaung), since our propellor was currently incapacitated. He was unable to procure one, but as usual the ship's purser was quite resourceful and came up with another plan.

There was a village very close to where we had moored to fix the propellor, so Win had the crew scout it out and then we all went ashore at 3:00. The village is called Shwe Lat Pan (Golden Flame of the Forest). Here they grow peanuts and beans, and there are holes on the riverbanks where they dig up crickets to eat.

Since we had pulled ashore immediately when the boat was incapacitated, we were not in a spot which was very accessible to the village. The crew set out the gangplank and we disembarked onto the sloped riverbank. We walked up a steep embankment to the flat farm land above. It was a difficult climb for Craig, but we helped him. He started to think that maybe he should have brought a hiking pole or cane, since his balance is not very good.

When we got to the top of the embankment, we found ourselves in the crop fields of the Chindwin floodplain. The flooding of the river provides extremely fertile soil. Win pointed out an inland lake which had formed during the monsoon season. When the floodwaters receded, the water (and fish) remained. We crossed the open fields in the blazing hot sun. It was absolutely gorgeous, bright sunshine on the verdant fields, the sky mottled with cotton ball clouds.

As we approached the village, we noticed a water well which had been built in 2015. The water can be accessed via multiple spigots and a hose. This must save a lot of effort previously spent carrying buckets of water up the steep slope from the river.

We reached a tree-lined dirt road with houses on either side. The shade was a welcome relief from the strong sun, even though it meant that there were sometimes spider webs spanning the dirt road. At one point we noticed a giant spider just above head level. Constant vigilance!

This village stood in stark contrast with Mwalik. There were no vestiges of colonialism here. It felt like we were in the jungle far from civilization even though we were just a short boat ride from the colonial administrative capital.

Most of the houses were built in the traditional elevated style. We passed one such house which appeared to actually be a school. A class was taking place in the open air ground level, and the students smiled and waved when we passed by.

Each house has a small solar panel and battery store, provided for free by the government. For the most part, people get by without electricity in their homes, and use their solar panels to charge their cell phones.

People said that we looked beautiful in our longyis (and also liked my Aung San Suu Kyi bag). A bunch of schoolkids came home from school and when they walked between us, they all ducked down, a sign of respect when cutting through elders who are talking. Children have a lot of responsibilities to help the family here, and we noticed many kids holding and entertaining their younger siblings.

We encountered a woman who was walking down the road, carrying a basket of betel leaves on her head. Sandro stopped her and asked if people in the group could try to balance it. She agreed, and the resulting spectacle drew quite a crowd. The schoolkids gathered, and other neighbors congregated. Various folks tried it, with little success. And then Sandro showed us all how it was done. The man is on fire today! First golfing and now this!

The boat crew had brought treats for the villagers, and we noticed one crewman hanging behind and approaching a house where an elderly woman was peeking out from the porch. She was almost 90 years old - the oldest woman in the village. She had an enormous toothless grin. Craig suggested that the two of us approach her, and we did. We greeted her and I asked if I could take a photo. She happily agreed. When I showed her the photo, her smile got even wider.

Craig and I largely stayed separate from the group, engaging with villagers who were quite friendly. Several households invited us in for tea. We politely declined the tea because we couldn't totally leave the group behind, but we did enter their yards to talk to them. Once again, the fact that Craig and I were both wearing longyis broke the ice with the locals. We saw some very young (weeks-old) babies here. The proud moms were very amenable to photos, looking at the babies with a big smile as I snapped the picture.

Win approached us and told us that the boat was fixed. They would moor closer to where we were so that we wouldn't have to walk back through the fields in the scorching sun. The crew was always so thoughtful and took such good care of all of us! We really appreciated their spontaneity and their ability to make a seamless, enjoyable experience for us regardless of the situation.

The village had gathered on the bank above the boat to see us off, all waving to us. It was so nice. Especially since this was, once again, an unexpected stop. This whole itinerary is very new and all the scheduled stops are not very well traveled, but these places were completely off the tourist trail and we felt like explorers. We did not find the unexpected itinerary changes an inconvenience at all. It is all part of the adventure.

Back on the boat, we hid in our room for a while, soaking up the air conditioning.

We went upstairs at around 5:30 p.m. to watch the sunset. We found Sandro answering the group's questions about the situation with the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. It was still quite warm up on deck and Craig was uncomfortable. We didn't want him to get overheated as it can trigger an MS attack, so we excused ourselves from the discussion and went back to our room where it was cool.

Craig went up to the bar to get a beer, and before I knew it there was a knock at the cabin door. It was Htet the bartender, delivering me the Happy Hour cocktail (a margarita) that Craig had ordered for me! The crew knows that Craig has trouble with mobility and balance, so Htet insisted on carrying the drinks to our cabin.

We went back up to the main deck at 7 o'clock for the nightly briefing and had some leek fritter appetizers. When we sat at the table. Htet asked, "You see my doll?" We had noticed that each night, the cloth napkins would be folded into various shapes. Tonight they were in the shape of dolls, with the soup spoon as a head. Htet was obviously proud of his clever creation.

Dinner was once again exquisite!
  • shrimp cocktail
  • pumpkin soup
  • pan fried salmon with curry sauce and vegetables
  • coconut mango parfait
We really can't praise the food enough. It was all so fresh, delicious, and well plated. We ate like kings on this boat.

Then we went to bed after another long and incredibly satisfying day. We were both exhausted and had a full, sound sleep.





Mawlik
Mawlik Clock Tower (photo courtesy of Sara Macefield)

Mawlik Clock Tower (photo courtesy of Sara Macefield)

Craig putts at the 18th hole of Maw Laik

Craig putts at the 18th hole of Maw Laik

Family we befriended while waiting for the broken down tuk-tuk

Family we befriended while waiting for the broken down tuk-tuk

These fish weigh 6 D batteries

These fish weigh 6 D batteries

Elderly woman lights a cheroot (corn husk cigar)

Elderly woman lights a cheroot (corn husk cigar)

Win comes ashore at Shwe Lat Pan Village

Win comes ashore at Shwe Lat Pan Village

Riverside flood plains, Shwe Lat Pan

Riverside flood plains, Shwe Lat Pan

School building, Shwe Lat Pan Village

School building, Shwe Lat Pan Village

Women who invited us in for tea, Shwe Lat Pan Village

Women who invited us in for tea, Shwe Lat Pan Village

Cheerful 90 year old woman, the eldest woman in Shwe Lat Pan Village

Cheerful 90 year old woman, the eldest woman in Shwe Lat Pan Village

Mom and baby Shwe Lat Pan Village

Mom and baby Shwe Lat Pan Village

Sunset

Sunset

See more pictures from this day


Previous Day Trip Overview



Back to Craig and Steph's Vacations
Next day

Read our guest book   Guest book Sign our guest book
Please send any questions or comments to steph@craigandstephsvacations.com
All photographs and text copyright 1996-Present www.craigandstephsvacations.com except where noted.