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7 January 2010 Nyaungshwe Myanmar
Our long-tailed boat pulled into the dock at the village on the
five-day-cycle market day. Our guide for the day hustled the four of us, Ray and
I plus a Belgian couple we had met on the plane from Yangon and who were staying
at the same hotel, past all the stalls in the market, past all the hill tribe
people coming to trade at the market and to the entrance of a long covered
stairway. He directed us up the stairs and told us he would be waiting for us
later back at the boat. We climbed broad stairs flanked with more shops selling
artifacts and hand crafted souvenirs until close to the top we spied a group of
ancient stupas right beside the stairway. I had no idea this treat was included
with the market visit. A sign indicated the site, Shwe Inn Thein Paya, was
thought to have originated as early as 250 BC. According to the last inventory
count, there are 1054 stupas on the hillside. Most date from the 17th and 18th
C. Some are merely ruins but many have elaborate decorations still discernable.
Some of the stupas have been restored with donations from foreign groups and
government projects. We preferred the stupas left in their original state.
Market day is a cause for celebration for the local people. Besides selling
and buying goods, families come to meet their neighbours, have picnics and play
games on the sport fields next to the market. Gambling is also popular. We were
warned not to take photos but we could watch, the crowd of mainly men play a
version of Crown and Anchor with super-sized dice that were rolled down a wooden
board to a wooden base.
Our day had started in the still cold air at 8 AM. We joined our boatman and guide and took our places in wooden seats set single file in the long, narrow wooden boat. Mists rose from the water as we motored out through the narrow canal into the body of the shallow lake. The deepest section is no more than 3 M deep. The water is low at this time of year and water weeds extend far into the center of the lake. Only shallow boats can ply the waters. A few boats were collecting the weeds to be used as fertilizer and mulch for their gardens.
Fishermen were already busy. They use a unique method of paddling their flat bottomed wooden canoes. One man stands at the end of the boat with a long paddle perpendicular to the water. He wraps his leg and foot around the paddle and uses a snake-like motion to power the boat. We stopped to see their catch, mostly small fish, as the larger fish hide elsewhere during the dry season.
Our boat trip was confined to the northern section of the lake with our first
stop at a village famous for its floating market. We were warned that the
souvenirs the boat women sold were not of good quality and that there were not
many boats at this time of year. The market comes into its own when the rains
have raised the level of the water. We did stop at one shop where the
Long-necked Paduang women from the Thai border region spend their days weaving
on hand looms and posing for tourist photos. Gold rings are gradually added,
starting during their childhood, around their necks. The practice was initially
started to make the women unattractive to warring neighbours but it is mainly a
tourist attraction today. The rings elongate the neck by pushing the shoulders
down and even compressing their chest. The practice gives me the willies but I
must admit I took some photos anyway.
We stopped at a few towns specializing in various crafts. We watched silver smiths making jewelry by hand, weavers making cloth from the fibers of lotus flower stems, weaving beautiful cotton and silk scarves, hand rolling cigars and making flat bottomed fishing boats of teak. The cigars are sold everywhere and apparently are quite mild. Tobacco is mixed with banana or other leaf bits, herbs and spices. A filter is made from corn husks rolled into a pencil shape. A green “cigar” leaf is laid at the end of the filter and lined with cigarette paper. The tobacco mixture is added and rolled into its leaf casing. The filter is cut to the right length and the other end rolled shut. You can buy three cigars for 200K (about 30 cents). Everyone, including the ancient lady at the cigar shop smokes them.
We visited a few temple pagoda sites around the lake. The most interesting was the Phaung Daw OO Paya. A large golden barge with two mythical swans at its prow sits in a boat house waiting for the annual festival held in late September, early October when the water levels are high. Four ancient golden buddhas are paraded around the lake visiting all the other pagodas, dispensing good fortune to all the villagers. We also visiting the Jumping Cat temple where monks have kept themselves occupied during their spare time by training resident cats to jump through hoops for food. There was to be no jumping during our visit, the cats were snoozing beside an equally immobile monk and were not to be enticed into any tricks.
Much of the lake shores are given over to floating market gardens. We floated through narrow channels where plants, especially tomatoes, are grown on wooden trellises supported on floating mats of vegetation held in place with bamboo poles..
It was a most enjoyable day on the lake and a must-do activity for every visitor.