Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Melikha Lodge, Putao, Burma
It is such a pleasure to know that we have a good Wi Fi connection here and I can continue to send posts and receive email. Transmission is still slow, so photos are not an option. Guess I will have to send batches from home or put on a slide show.
It has been an interesting first day in the Putao area. We had our breakfast noodle soup early and met with Thomas at 6:30am for a bird watching drive, village walk and picnic lunch. We somehow expected a box lunch, but when we went to get into the car we were joined by a chef, Moe Kyaw, and waitress, Phyoe Thandar Kyaw, who were coming with us to prepare and serve a hot lunch. So six of us including the driver, Myo Ko Ko, went bird watching. It felt very strange to have such an entourage, but we did see and identify several pretty birds. After 1½ hour we reached a suspension bridge over the Melikha River. Thomas, Mark and I got out to continue on foot through a couple of villages, while the driver, chef and waitress continued on to prepare lunch at a prearranged place. I was more comfortable walking with just a guide and no extra people.
We walked across the bridge and on into a village called Kaung mu lon that Thomas told us was over 2000 years old. Unlike most of the region, which is Christian, this village is ancient Shan and has a typical white and gold stupa to visit. The Buddha images here have flat, wide noses typical of the Kachin people. The large platform was deserted except for one pink clad nun saying her prayers. In other villages we saw only Christian churches. The villages were small, picturesque and charming, but there were few people about and no cars. Christian missionaries designed the roads in the region in the 1950’s. They are on a square grid pattern with houses spaced one per acre along both sides of the road. Several of the houses have been attractively painted with diagonal patterns on the woven exterior walls.
Along the way Thomas, who is a member of the Karen tribe, talked about the life in Burma from his perspective. He believes that malnutrition is the greatest cause of death, followed by malaria and dengue fever. When I suggested that the people did not look particularly hungry and there seemed to be plenty of rice, vegetables and fruit to eat, he replied that people have “adapted to hunger”. They often get only one or possibly two meals a day and mostly of low grade rice. There is no protein and very little vitamins or minerals in their diet. I asked if he thought that was for this northern area of for the whole country and he said for the whole country. Mark and I are having a hard time believing his statement. He said life was better under the kings 100 years ago and has deteriorated more since independence in 1948. Most people are getting shorter due to habitual malnutrition. He believes literacy is only at 50% of the total population.
We passed by large fields of young tea plants that Thomas told us were owned by government cronies who were given permission to purchase the land in anticipation of tourism increasing. They expect to build hotels when the tourists materialize and grow tea in the meantime. Eventually we came to a middle school with the children in session. Thomas spoke to the man in whose house we were to have lunch and he arranged for us to visit the school. We met two teachers and took photo of the eighth grade classes. One class was in the middle of taking an exam so we took a few photos of them without talking and then passed to the next classroom where the students were studying mathematics and most willing to have a diversion. Although they are studying English, none of them understood a thing we said so Thomas did a lot of translating. Someone fetched a globe of the world and I pointed to where we were from and where Burma is, almost half way around the world. Then they sang us a song and performed a dance. The experience was delightful, especially since it was unplanned. We could not resist giving the teacher some money to buy supplies for the students. They seemed most appreciative and clapped spontaneously for the first time.
Across the field from the school was the house where we were served our “picnic” lunch. A Shan family owns the house and there is a small Buddhist shrine in the otherwise simple upstairs room. The walls of the room are covered with large photos of houses from other parts of the world. Thomas said they like to see how other people live. The table was set on a covered, wooden balcony adjoining the room with a view of the mountains to the north and the local field, road, houses and scenery nearby. We had, no surprise, another Burmese meal with taro soup, rice, chicken and fish curries with very little sauce, a tasty, but unidentifiable, green vegetable and sautéed potatoes. Lately, I am eating way too much and feeling stuffed. The staff is determined to feed us three large meals a day and it is hard to turn it down when they have obviously put so much effort into the preparation.
Back on our balcony and listening to the river flow by, Mark looked up some facts in his atlas app. We learned from World Facts that the GDP is $1,300 per year per person with 32% living below the poverty line. Average life expectancy in Burma is 63 for men and 68 for women. Thirty percent of children under age 5 are under weight. Literacy (defined as people 5 and over who can read and write) in Burma is at 89.9% with men at 94% and women at 86%. Thirty-four percent of the population lives in urban areas with sixty-six percent living in the country. Eighty-nine percent are Buddhist, three percent are Baptist, one percent is Catholic and four percent are Muslim. There are over 130 tribes in Burma with 68% of the population being Burman, 9% being Shan and 7% being Karen.
We talked with Win, the food and beverage manager, and his opinion is that because of the fighting south of here, rice and vegetable vendors have been hoarding their supplies and the local people are having a hard time getting what they need. The current harvest is just starting to come in and there should be plenty of rice again. He does not think large numbers of people in the country are malnourished. So I am inclined to believe my eyes and take others’ opinions with a bit of salt.
In the middle of the afternoon, we walked to the river thinking we might swim in it. The lodge would not let us go alone, so David, the receptionist, came with us. His English is pretty good so we chatted as we walked down the paved road to the public entrance to the river. We had tried to get there directly down from the lodge but were cut off by staff telling us it was dangerous and there were leaches along the way. Mention of leaches was enough to turn me around. Once at the river there were large pebbles to negotiate. The water was clear and rather cold and flowing rapidly. We walked in to about a foot and a half and then lay down in the water to cool off. It felt great, but was so swift that we were unwilling to get in any deeper. A few locals were bathing and cleaning clothes. In our bathing suits we were a sight for them to watch. It did not take long to cool off and out we came. By the time we got back to our room, we were warm again.
The rest of the day flowed by and just at dinnertime, we experienced our first weather of the trip. Lightening and thunder were followed by light rain at first, then more rain during dinner and through the night. It was a pleasant way to fall asleep in our thatched bungalow.
May you continue to be so blessed, Julia
Adventures with Julia 