Day #12 Betel Chewing, Marionette Theatre & Reflections on Burma
January 15
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| I talk to boys at a local school |
John is still sick and I am recovering. One or two of the other tour group members seem to have the same GI problem. While the intrepid four women friends and David the photographer take off for a full day boat ride to the south of the island, the rest of us stay near our beds and the toilets at the Pristine Lotus Spa Resort.
In the morning, John, Skip, Zanny and I take a bike ride to
see the countryside. We stop by a school while the children are out for recess
playing. Some boys are playing soccer with an empty box with great expertise.
We have some fun teaching them English while they try to teach us some words in the national or standard Burmese language.
I have only really learned one word although attempted to learn some other others – that word is hello ~ ming guh la ba which is yelled out as we bike by or see people from our boats. People smile at us and repeat the word back when we do this. Occasionally I can remember the word for thank you ~ which is Jay-zu and makes me think of Jesus.
We take pictures of them while they take pictures of us. I-phones in the hands of young school age children ~ how Burma is changing!
All the boys are wearing green yongyi ~ the school uniform.
All age groups are attending this school from age 3 to 12 years. Then we talk to some of the girls who are playing separately from the boys ~ I can't tell if this is forced separation or exclusion.
We continue on our bike ride with a great number of monks and others going in the opposite direction. We wonder what we are missing?
John and Skip bike back for the hot, natural springs we have passed on our ride. Apparently these springs are the start or end point of several trekking routes and John and Skip think they are ready for this.
Zanny and I continue passing some local taverns and stop to watch a group of women cutting down sugar cane. We comment on the group support, friendly atmosphere and teamwork of these women.
We have some fun teaching them English while they try to teach us some words in the national or standard Burmese language.
I have only really learned one word although attempted to learn some other others – that word is hello ~ ming guh la ba which is yelled out as we bike by or see people from our boats. People smile at us and repeat the word back when we do this. Occasionally I can remember the word for thank you ~ which is Jay-zu and makes me think of Jesus.
We take pictures of them while they take pictures of us. I-phones in the hands of young school age children ~ how Burma is changing!
All the boys are wearing green yongyi ~ the school uniform.
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| Add caption |
All age groups are attending this school from age 3 to 12 years. Then we talk to some of the girls who are playing separately from the boys ~ I can't tell if this is forced separation or exclusion.
We continue on our bike ride with a great number of monks and others going in the opposite direction. We wonder what we are missing?
John and Skip bike back for the hot, natural springs we have passed on our ride. Apparently these springs are the start or end point of several trekking routes and John and Skip think they are ready for this.
Zanny and I continue passing some local taverns and stop to watch a group of women cutting down sugar cane. We comment on the group support, friendly atmosphere and teamwork of these women.
People are bathing in the stream by the road. Doesn't seam like there is much privacy.
In the afternoon John’s illness has worsened so he retreats to bed. Zanny and I discover that the reason people are going in the opposite direction is a traditional yearly rice initiation. This occurs at the time of a full moon and all the community meet to play volleyball and other games and listen to music. We seem to be the only tourists.
There is lots of local food that Zanny boldly samples while I refrain.
I talk to a man with red lips and limited red teeth who I
have previously seen spit out red fluid on the ground. He is sitting on his
motorcycle with a small 2-year-old toddler on his lap.
I ask him about betel chewing and he tells me he does this daily 3-4 times a day and started when he was 24 years old (he is now 37 years). It costs him 200 kyats (pronounced chat) a day, which is very cheap. He won't smile for the picture of his red teeth and mouth.
In the afternoon John’s illness has worsened so he retreats to bed. Zanny and I discover that the reason people are going in the opposite direction is a traditional yearly rice initiation. This occurs at the time of a full moon and all the community meet to play volleyball and other games and listen to music. We seem to be the only tourists.
There is lots of local food that Zanny boldly samples while I refrain.
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I ask him about betel chewing and he tells me he does this daily 3-4 times a day and started when he was 24 years old (he is now 37 years). It costs him 200 kyats (pronounced chat) a day, which is very cheap. He won't smile for the picture of his red teeth and mouth.
We watch some locals selling the betel product as they take
a betel leaf and paste a white glue-like substance on it. This is followed by adding bits spices, perhaps some tobacco, then lime and finally a betel nut.
The leaf is folded into a cigar size and put in a small bag holding three cigars total.
This is a big business, as we see these being sold and chewed everywhere. I wonder about the addictive aspect of this substance or whether it is used like coffee. Apparently it is a stimulant and used to keep people awake and active.
Environmental Issues
Zanny and I take a boat over to the biggest town in the
area. The best part is the trip through the marshes and floating gardens as the
sunsets. This time I notice the
egrets and rich birdlife.
Upon return we see people cooking on bonfires and I wonder about the survival of Myanmar’s forest. Oo Myint has talked about the deforestation and efforts to stop chopping down the teak trees. But since 90% of the population relies on firewood for cooking and each household consumes 3 tons of wood a year ~ this must put pressure on the forests until the government comes up with a plan to provide electricity or a different kind of stove. Apparently, Myanmar has more standing forest per inhabitant than any other country in Indochina but it is disappearing faster than anywhere else.
Upon return we see people cooking on bonfires and I wonder about the survival of Myanmar’s forest. Oo Myint has talked about the deforestation and efforts to stop chopping down the teak trees. But since 90% of the population relies on firewood for cooking and each household consumes 3 tons of wood a year ~ this must put pressure on the forests until the government comes up with a plan to provide electricity or a different kind of stove. Apparently, Myanmar has more standing forest per inhabitant than any other country in Indochina but it is disappearing faster than anywhere else.
Apparently, Myanmar has few official policies about
environment issues. It is apparent that recycling is in operation everywhere
when one is at the markets ~ for making use of every little thing is clearly
part of daily life. I think about my coconut necklace, my lotus or cotton scarves,
and the looms and paper made out of bamboo. Nothing is disposed of, although I
cringe when I see the water bottles or plastic bags floating in the marshes and
gardens or on the edge of streets. We arrive back with 30 minutes to shower,
make up a limerick and marionette show for Virginia’s 75th birthday.
Marionette Theatre
At several of our group dinners we have been entertained by
colorful puppets up to 3 feet high that are said to be the most expressive of
Burmese performance arts. It began with the Mandalay kingdoms in the 18th
century and continued to the early 30’s.
These puppets are manipulated with a dozen or more strings and our
performances have shown many different beautifully dressed puppets including
horses, princes and princesses, kings and queens, nats, and elephants. They are
shown in conjunction with classical music, which is played very loudly with
harsh, repetitive harmonies. I find it hard to call the sound melodic or
relaxing and in fact found it quite grating and without subtlety to my ears. I
am sure this must be a learned pleasure. I don’t think I will buy any of these
CDs. John, Skip, Zanny and I had been talking about a marionette show for
Virginia’s 75th birthday.
Since she doesn’t like to be sung happy birthday and clearly is a wizard
of limerick we thought we would try a limerick marionette show without the
music backdrop.
Since the boys ended up in bed and Zanny and I distracted by
other events we had limited time for preparation. My plan was for my monk was to
seduce Virginia (who has purchased 3 other puppets). However, I can’t get the
monk’s strings untied and haven’t had time to practice how to use the 10
strings simultaneously. Nonetheless
at dinner Zanny and I do our limerick with my monk acting without the use of
strings. He relied on me for the kiss Virginia surely deserved. …I hope I will
be like her at 75.
Reflections on Burma
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| Hopes for Burma's Future |
John and I reflect as we leave Burma about the highlights of
our trip. It turned out to be a fantastic trip ~ despite the dicey ending with
John’s GI problems and joint pains and Skip’s cardiac concerns. Actually when
we parted from Skip and Zanny at the Yangon airport we weren’t sure if we going
to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital or Skip was going home. But we realized that all
but the free day in Burma we had seen most everything on the itinerary and much
more. John confesses that he
actually wasn’t as big a fan of the temples and pagodas as he thought he would
be. He preferred the markets and
viewing the local people. I was surprised by this,
as I know he avoids shopping in US like a plague. Hmm. . . is a transformation happening here?
A big part of what made this trip so memorable was the diversity and uniqueness of the group itself. The intrepid four lady friends from US, UK and France were an inspiration to us about exotic travel in one’s mid to late 70’s. There wasn’t a Burmese site they didn’t want to see or learn about. Both of the ambassadors from the US were as curious about the Buddhas and temples and finding out about their history and dates as they were about shopping in the markets and bargaining for best prices. The oldest member of the four, the former ambassador to the Czech Republic would be leaving in 3 weeks after getting home from this trip for Iran! John now is fully convinced we should go there next. The UK journalist kept us in stitches with her frank insights. The French communications-branding expert taught us how to think about romantic spots and buy cheap jewelry and wear it looking like a million dollars. The other couple from Minnesota always helped fill in gaps in our knowledge and provided extra medical consultation as needed. Finally our photographic expert David not only survived 4-5 days without a suitcase and also two falls and a dislocated finger without serious injury but in spite of that coached me about using my camera. He also took my camera (in addition to his three cameras) to get illicit pictures for me in places where women weren’t allowed to photograph. Undoubtedly I hope this will result in better pictures but he offered to send all his pictures if mine are a disaster. Finally, our guide Oo was a pleasure.. adapting to our shopping frenzies, changing schedules according to input from the group and giving us his honesty and personal insights about the changing face of Burma.
I hope his dreams and hopes for his children will be realized and they will get the education they deserve and that the Burmese people will eventually get health care and freedom to make their own decisions.
A big part of what made this trip so memorable was the diversity and uniqueness of the group itself. The intrepid four lady friends from US, UK and France were an inspiration to us about exotic travel in one’s mid to late 70’s. There wasn’t a Burmese site they didn’t want to see or learn about. Both of the ambassadors from the US were as curious about the Buddhas and temples and finding out about their history and dates as they were about shopping in the markets and bargaining for best prices. The oldest member of the four, the former ambassador to the Czech Republic would be leaving in 3 weeks after getting home from this trip for Iran! John now is fully convinced we should go there next. The UK journalist kept us in stitches with her frank insights. The French communications-branding expert taught us how to think about romantic spots and buy cheap jewelry and wear it looking like a million dollars. The other couple from Minnesota always helped fill in gaps in our knowledge and provided extra medical consultation as needed. Finally our photographic expert David not only survived 4-5 days without a suitcase and also two falls and a dislocated finger without serious injury but in spite of that coached me about using my camera. He also took my camera (in addition to his three cameras) to get illicit pictures for me in places where women weren’t allowed to photograph. Undoubtedly I hope this will result in better pictures but he offered to send all his pictures if mine are a disaster. Finally, our guide Oo was a pleasure.. adapting to our shopping frenzies, changing schedules according to input from the group and giving us his honesty and personal insights about the changing face of Burma.
I hope his dreams and hopes for his children will be realized and they will get the education they deserve and that the Burmese people will eventually get health care and freedom to make their own decisions.
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