Loikaw monks eating

loikaw lady w baby

Loikaw Monks in Line

Loikaw Surrounds

First my apologies that I am sending the text for this post separate from the associated images. Surprisingly the internet in the far reaches of Loikaw was better than the completely abysmal internet here in the biggest tourist area in the country. Never saw that coming. So I cannot open a webpage to post directly. I will ‘send’ everything by email and hope that they send over time.

 

So…

At the requisite, local, morning  market we bought a couple of dragonfruits and made a very quick stop at a particularly unimpressive little, local museum. Then we headed to the biggest teaching monastery in town. In all honestly, daily visits to temples and monasteries can become as tedious and unexciting as, say, kudu on safari or bison in Yellowstone National Park. So, we were somewhat less than enthused when we found ourselves sitting around with nothing much going on at 10A. Sure a few young novice monks were washing dishes on the balcony/porch above, and I found the drinking water filtration system fascinating but that was about it. However, just before 10:30 the lunch bell was rung and every young monk in the place miraculously materialized to find his place in line with his towel to sit on (they apparently have to sit on something of their own rather than just on the ground) and his big silver bowl. They all filed into the dining room, took their places there, dished out their food, and then settled in to say their version of grace which included thanking the donor who brought lunch. So ultimately pretty cool.

 

Then we had lunch. First our guide stopped to pick us up some local favorites (surprisingly tasty pork sausage and some cousin to tamales made with rice flour and onions) which we then took with us to a VERY local restaurant.  At least now, almost 48 hours later I think it is safe to say that we did not get sick, but it really could have gone either way.

 

Then, we embarked on the whole point of our being in Loikaw in the first place, visiting the Padaung tribe, commonly known as the long-necked ladies. It was another hour drive out into the country side. Again, beautiful vistas along the way. The rings are first applied around 5 years of age but not all girls get them anymore so only three girls at the primary chool had them on. Other than one woman who was probably about 40, all of the other women we saw with them on (maybe a dozen) were much older.  Whether the traditions continue, unfortunately, hinges a lot on tourism. We always felt that it was our responsibility to go to see more primitive peoples BEFORE they progressed into the 21^st century but in many cases they do maintain their cultures primarily BECAUSE bringing tourism to their villages is their best  hope of earning income. Michael did buy a set of the rings (they wear them on the upper calves, too) but the real coup was when he managed to buy a bamboo spoon from one of the ladies at the first house we visited. I’m sure she thought he was insane asking for it, and it’s just a tiny, little thing, but it will fit nicely into his collection.

 

Once back in town, we found our way back to the local pagoda just at sunset to get some stunning photographs just as the lights came on.

 

Here in Loikaw

The drive up was actually quicker than we were told...which is always the way to work...underpromise and overdeliver. So the 8 hours turned into 6 hours that ended up being 5 hours. Still a long drive but through pretty scenery. Here is the landscape:

 

 

And here's a standard woven bamboo house

 

 

 

Here's a young man plowing the field

 





And finally just an update on the 'simple and rustic' accommodation.....apparently the beautiful, fertile, iron-rich soil that is so good for agriculture does make it's way into the water supply so that simple and rustic becomes simple and 'RUSTY':

 



and for our soap size sensitive friends, that little white dot by the handle down front is NOT the Jacuzzi jet button...that is the soap....but we did get two of those so one for each of us!

 

Quick Quiz before we head out

I think I toss in the requisite trip quiz before we run off to the far reaches of civilization:

Question 1.
What is tofu made of?

Question 2.
What is vegetable oil made of?

While you ponder those here are a couple of quick observations:

Folks here in Myanmar are not early starters. For those of you who traveled with us to India when Benny would have us up and out before the sun came up, we cannot get these guides to even consider a starting time before 8:30A and their clear preference is 9A....even today with 6 hours of driving ahead of us. Oh well. If leisure is forced upon me, I suppose I can't feel too guilty about it.

Meanwhile we are shored up after an amazing breakfast. Last night at check-in we were asked to order our breakfast. What kind of bread. How we wanted our eggs cooked. And whether we wanted coffee or tea. So in spite of the cloth tablecloths and the real silverware and all, we were not expecting much.....Imagine our surprise when after the eggs and toast and coffee were set out the waiter returned with  pickled vegetables, soup, tofu paste, fried tofu squares(that quite honestly could have passed for potatoes) and big bowls of Shan noodles (which chicken and peanut sauce that was amazing). After all of that, they brought the fruit. Wow!

 

 

Ok, then, back to the quiz.

 

1.  Soybean, you say? Nay, nay.

Apparently almost anything! Almond, sesame, peanut, you name it.

 

2.  Corn, you say? Nay, nay.

That's apparently why we have corn oil as a separate item.

Good old Wesson Vegetable Oil is made from......soybeans! Who knew?

 

Now, go out with your new found knowledge and have a great day.



 

Reunited

We have our other piece of luggage. Hallelujah! It was still touch and go upon our arrival at Heho airport. Confusion reigned. But lo and behold when we got to our hotel in Kalaw, there it was in all its fluorescent green and grey, duffle bag glory. Don't get me wrong, I was beginning to realize that I could have done quite well with the one pair of pants and one skirt I had with me (freshly washed items drying quite well overnight) if only I had a bra that wasn't black to wear under the white or pink t shirts I had as alternatives to the black one. So I really need to remember that going forward....but it's still nice to have a wee bit of variety. And the granola bars. The granola bars will be good.

But back to the matters at hand. This morning we went to the Keung tong market. A really impressive market as markets go. Everything from bamboo worms (they dry them and then fry them...yum yum) to the Akha headdress replica that Michael bought.

Here's a dozen worms for sale in a piece of bamboo:

 

 

And here's a BAZILLION worms:

 

 

 

Ewwww.

 

So there were dried lizards and dried fish and dried crickets and pickled everything from soybean to apples. There were live chickens and dead chickens (with white skin and black skin). There were dried noodles and fresh noodles and cooked food and raw. And there were minority women shopping including this woman from a different Akha tribe with a stunning headdress:

 

 

The white was as white as the driven, well, rice....and our guide told us that many of these women never remove the headdresses...even sleeping in them. Wow.

 

Anyway, after the market we drove to a couple of monasteries and then out to an Akhu village (yes Akha with a u). In this tribe the women wear a more simple turban but are known for smoking their bamboo pipes.

So a good morning. Followed by two hours in a very sparse departure lounge at the airport. Off to Heho and then as I said reunited with our missing bag.

Right now we are luxuriating in a nice room in a brand new hotel room before heading out into Kayah where we will spend two nights in what is touted as "simple and rustic accommodation". I'm guessing no internet so don't be surprised if you don't hear from us for 72 hours.

Meanwhile, the adventure continues.