12/25/2016. Christmas in Yangon

Happy Happy  25 December 2016 Yangon

Last night we decided it would be good to take a little jaunt into some small villages outside of the center of Yangon. We read that there was a town called Twanty that was approached either by a 10 minute ferry and then a 45 kilometer drive or by a two-hour ferry. We thought the latter might be relaxing, so we set off to find that ferry. Asked at the hotel, but they said that the office for the ferry was closed and they couldn’t find a schedule. We looked online; they looked online. But we were determined. So we headed to the friendly upscale Strand Hotel… figuring that they wouldn’t realize we weren’t hotel guests (since we are White and sort of fit the guest profile) and the concierge would “know all!” The concierge was amazingly friendly and helpful and made a lot of calls and finally told us which jetty we needed to be at to catch the longer ferry. Took a taxi to that jetty, and then the taxi driver asked around and said that the people (there was a very very makeshift market down by the jetty) said that the ferry wasn’t going today – because it was Christmas and a national holiday (who’d have thought? In a Buddhist country?). So we had two choices: we could take a very very small boat (which the taxi driver said was very “unsafe”) or we could go back to the jetty near the Strand and take the 10 minute ferry and then do the 45 KM drive. We opted for the latter. And then the fun began.

There were huge crowds in the “waiting area;” someone immediately tapped us on the shoulder and sort of gently pushed us toward another end of the room… we learned that we needed to buy “foreigner tickets” which cost about $1, but I guess that’s a higher price than what others pay (again, good idea). With our round trip tickets in hand, we joined the throngs trying to board the “ferry.” I think about half of the people on the ferry are people who are trying selling things like bananas, water, various foods, trinkets, quail eggs, etc. Anyway we boarded and then found that on the upper deck there is a little VIP zone (first class!) for the foreigners who paid more for their tickets. We got plastic chairs; the others got benches – for the 10 minute ride across the river. Once we got off the boat, we had a lot of choices as to transportation to get from Dala (where the boat docked) and Twanty — car taxi, shared mini-bus, pick-up truck with benches in the back, passenger on a motorcycle, bus, or tuk tuk (which we used extensively in other parts of Asia). We opted for the tuk tuk (which I had actually commented on the other day that we were surprised we hadn’t seen any in Yangon). Well, we didn’t exactly ever sit in a tuk tuk for 45 minutes (in each direction). The tuk tuk is a motorcycle that has a little “cab” in the back with seats. It’s noisy, bumpy, … Anyway we negotiated a price… the guy would take us to Twanty, make three stops – Pagoda, Snake Pagoda, Pottery workplace. He’d wait for us at each place and then drive us back to Dala to catch the ferry back.

And off we go…. The 45 minute ride to the first stop was like getting a very very tough massage, but in all the wrong places. The noise was as you would imagine. Myanmar’s road infrastructure is poor at best.. so the ride matched that.. But it was fun.. We shared the road with goats, cows, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians, vans, occasional horse, and more. Our driver worked hard at various points to pass cars and at one time successfully passed a Honda Fit. Along the way, there was a toll “booth” (sans booth).. I guess that covers the road repairs that might be made way in the future! He was funny, because every so often (especially when we were close to Dala) he donned a helmet (which I suppose he’s supposed to wear legally). Then we realized that there was a cop close by.

We stopped at the first pagoda (not really first as we passed literally dozens of them… but the first we were actually stopping at). And it was charming… although it might have been some kind of cemetery. Again, lots of families sitting around, enjoying the day while others prayed. 

From there we headed to the “snake pagoda” – which sits in a river and is accessed by a big walking bridge. Yes, there are real snakes crawling around the Buddha statue in the center.. and sort of slithering all around. Not sure I totally realized that was going to be the scene.. but alas, here we were.

Oh… definitely had to remove the shoes again before even crossing the bridge to the snake pagoda.

Got back on tuk tuk and headed to a remote little village of thatched huts, no more than about 2-300 sq. feet each… some were housing and some were where the residents did pottery… large scale pots of various shapes. They use an interesting two-person foot system to spin the potter’s wheel. The potter sits on the floor; the wheel is between his legs on the floor; a second person stands and kicks the wheel. Anyway, it works.

We then sat and watched a group of kids play and run around in this tiny village… and surveyed the scene —- someone brushing his teeth in a bowl of water that came from ???… people building small houses.

Then on to the temple… which was sort of outside.. with rows and rows of statues.

And then we did the return trip to the ferry… another 45 minutes of vibration, noise, and fun. Following this and the ferry ride – crowded, more gawking to try to get people (not really us – they focused on locals) to buy all sorts of goods….  We decided we deserved cocktails at the Strand Hotel.  After that we made a brief pit stop into a “supermarket” to get some toothpaste, a razor, and sun screen… The supermarket which would fit into one aisle of an American supermarket sold everything including men’s shirts!

Now we are back at the hotel… and off to our last dinner in Yangon. I think we are going to the Rangoon Tea House… but we shall see. We leave tomorrow morning and head to Mandalay.

More from there.

Merry Merry and Happy Happy.

Fern

Fern Tiger
Principal and Creative Director
fern@ferntiger.com
 
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