The Middle of Nowhere: 90th Street on the Road (Pt. 3)

The last stop on my trip within a trip with the crew from 90th Street in Mandalay was a remote place called Shwe Set Taw. We left from Bagan and passed Chauk and Salay and Yenangyaung, stopping briefly at a large pagoda in Magwe before crossing the Ayeyarwaddy River and continuing past the town of Minbu. That was the last real town of note, and still we kept driving, and driving, and driving. I’d never seen such dry, desolate looking landscape in all of Myanmar. No large trees and no signs of habitation. Just flat, ugly stretches of no-man’s land Where were they taking me?!

 

I’d never heard of Shwe Set Taw before this trip, but Maw Hsi and the truck driver, along with the kids, decided that this “side trip” was what they wanted to do, so I gave it my blessing, not knowing at the time what a long journey it was going to be. From Bagan, the one-way driving time was nearly six hours! And that’s six hours driving on roads that weren’t always paved, sitting in the back of flatbed truck. My ass is still sore.

 

When we finally arrived, I saw a sign proclaiming “Shwe Set Taw Wildlife Sanctuary.” Huh? I had assumed that this was going to be some sort of grand sacred golden pagoda. A wildlife park? Well, I learned more about the place quickly from Maw Hsi. Shwe Set Taw certainly is an official government wildlife sanctuary, but it’s also the site of a very sacred pagoda, hosting what are reputed to be a set of the Buddha’s footprints. Maw Hsi told me that the history of this site goes back nearly two thousand years! Many people from Bagan and around the region come to visit and spend the night, and with the confluence of two large streams it makes for a nice swimming hole too. But it’s only open about six months out of the year, most of the low-lying area become flood-prone during the rainy season.

 

I have to say that I wasn’t blown away by the visit to Shwe Set Taw; it was sort of a ho-hum destination from my perspective. A lot of traveling on bad roads just to go swimming and gaze at a set of footprints. Once was enough! But for Maw Hsi and the kids it was one of those possible once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimages that they can tell their family and friends about. And for their sake, I’m glad we went. Plus, the kids got to buy cheap, silly sunglasses and eat more junk food, so they were quite happy!

 

Hpone Thant (or “Harry”, as he’s called) has a nice write-up about Shwe Set Taw on his informative blog:

http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com/2011/02/the-shwe-set-taw-pagoda/

 

 

Guest Photographer: Zin Ko

He’s back! One of my guest photographers from last year, Zin Ko, has returned with more photos that he took with my camera. Except for the photo at the very top, what’s posted here today is a collection of shots that Zin Ko took around the 90th Street neighborhood in Mandalay, in Bagan, and at Mt. Popa during our recent trip. And of course, while playing with the camera, he had to take a photo of himself, which you can see above.

 

Zin Ko is an 11-year-old student in Mandalay. During the current summer school break (“summer” being the period from March through May here in Southeast Asia) he is working part-time at one of the neighborhood gem shops, polishing jade stones. An only child, Zin Ko lives with his parents in a small house a couple of doors down from U Tin Chit’s teashop on 90th Street in Mandalay. He likes to dance the gangnam style and is a supporter of the Manchester United football team.

 

Here is a link to see some of the shots that Zin Ko took last year.

http://garlicneversleeps.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/finding-zin-ko-at-a-burmese-teashop/

Where Tourists Never Wander: the Other Side of Mandalay

This is the side of Mandalay that tourists never see. It’s not an especially pretty area and doesn’t offer amazing photo opportunities, and there isn’t anything of historical importance to see, but visiting this part of town has given me an immensely eye-opening perspective on the local way of life and the chance to know some truly wonderful people.

 

I found 90th Street quite by accident one day a few years ago, cycling around the south side of Mandalay on my rented bike, no destination in mind, just wandering around and exploring new neighborhoods. This stretch of 90th Street is not much more than a bumpy dirt road, bordered by ramshackle houses and tiny shops. Children play in the street, motorcycles whizz by, chickens and pigs wander into the road, and monks stroll by holding umbrellas to shade themselves from the blistering sun. This street doesn’t look or feel like the rest of the bustling Mandalay, exuding more of a laidback rural vibe.

 

There’s this little teashop on 90th Street, run by a nice man named U Tin Chit. The teashop is called Nwe Oo Aung Teashop, but I can never ever remember that name, so I just call it U Tin Chit’s Teashop.  The teashop has no windows or doors; open air, baby! It’s open round the clock; just like a 7-Eleven branch, they never close. As you might surmise, it’s not a fancy place. You can sit on plastic stools or wooden benches. Sit on the floor if you want, I don’t think anyone will mind. Have some tea, a bean-filled pastry or a tasty greasy snack. Stay as long as you like. Chat with the local men or the kids that pass in and out of the place, often stopping to stare at what’s on the TV in the corner. Maybe you can’t get anything you want, like at Alice’s Restaurant, but it’s a very relaxed place with friendly locals.

 

I’ve been going to this teashop for several years, and each time I visit, the kids or my friend Ko Maw Hsi will take me on short excursions in the surrounding area; to a monastery or temple, a school, a jade workshop, a swimming hole, a little shoe shop, someone’s home. These are fun little tours and I’m discovering more of the area each time I visit, plus getting to know these people and their families a little more as well. I’m very fond of these folks. Even though they are quite poor, the hospitality they offer each time is beyond generous. At this point I think I can say we’re all good friends; Ko Maw Hsi, U Tin Chit, U Nyunt Tun and his sweet daughter Khin Nwe Lwin (who recently graduated from university), Moe Htet Aung, Khang Khant Kyaw, Zin Ko, Baw Ga, Yu Naing Soe, and the rest of the neighborhood crew.

 

During this trip, Moe Htet Aung invited me to visit his home for the first time. I’d met his mother before, but I had no idea if there was a father living at home, or even if he had any brothers or sisters. From what I gather, it’s just him and his mom and a younger sister living in this house. It’s a fairly basic wooden house, at least one that blends in with the rest of the neighborhood. Like the others, there doesn’t appear to be any running water inside the home; families must bathe and use facilities outdoors. No real surprise there, but the real shock for me was the walk to the house. After turning down a series of narrow dirt lanes, surprised vendors greeting me with big smiles, we had to navigate a huge field of garbage to reach his house. That’s right, garbage. Trash, rubbish, scraps; an entire field filled with this junk. And I followed the kids as they nonchalantly traipsed through it all.

 

Once we were at the house, I was offered hot tea, as is standard practice at most homes in Myanmar. They also brought out a chilled can of Red Bull, a beverage that I absolutely will not touch. I thanked them, but told them I was full and could not drink it. They told me to put it in my bag and drink it back at my hotel. That ended up being a good diplomatic compromise; I put the can in my bag and gave it away to a street kid an hour later.

 

Someone noticed that my left arm was sporting red splotches; the result of bites from some sort of insect in my hotel room. The kids looked real concerned at my “injury”, and Moe Htet Aung’s mother announced that she had the perfect remedy; thanaka! You might not have heard of thanaka but you’ve seen it; it’s that yellowish paste that many people in Myanmar wear on their faces. It acts as a sunscreen, but many women also liken it to a beauty cosmetic and you’ll often see locals wearing thanaka in all sorts of pretty, creative patterns on their face. In any case, Moe Htet Aung’s mother told me that the thanaka will also soothe the skin and reduce the itching from the insect bites. She had me sold on the idea; let’s do it. And they did. And it did.

 

After the doctoring was done, I realized that it was getting late, at least closer to the time when I needed to head back to my hotel to clean up before a dinner appointment, so I told them I needed to leave. I followed the crew of kids, which had someone grown in number during the time I was at the house, and we walked back across the field of debris, down the quaint little lanes and back to the teashop where my bike was parked. I waved goodbye to Maw Hsi and the other men sitting at the teashop. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I hopped on my bike (making sure my longyi stayed tied!). And I was looking forward to it; another day of new experiences with my friends on 90th Street.

 

 

Bumpy Roads and Big Smiles

I returned last night from a road trip within a road trip: a 3-day excursion to Mt. Popa, Bagan and points further beyond, from Mandalay and back again. On this trip I took 13 kids from the 90th Street neighborhood where I spend a lot of time when I’m in town, along with two of the fathers and a driver. I rented what they call a “Light Truck” here in Myanmar; a long flatbed vehicle with no seats in the back, but with a roof. There was enough room for all of us to squeeze on, but it was far from comfortable. I had to sit with my knees folded or tucked in because there wasn’t any room to stretch out. But the kids didn’t seem to find, resting or sleeping on one another, arms and legs akimbo, sometimes buried under another body. After 3 days of 10-12 hour driving, often on bumpy roads, my posterior is very, very sore. But my back held up surprisingly well, possibly because I used my backpack as support.

As I expected, some of the kids got car sick along the way. and many of them tired easily and slept away long stretches of the drives. But there was also lots of laughter, singing, horseplay, and an overall happy vibe. These kids have always been a joy to travel with, but this is the first time we’ve ever traveled for such a long distance or spent the night away from Mandalay. I shacked up at a hotel in New Bagan while the rest of the crew spent two nights at a Monastery near Old Bagan. I read an article recently that dubbed monasteries such as this one as “the new hotels of Myanmar” because of many travelers are taking advantage of the option, because of the recent boom in tourism and dearth of hotels. But any foreigner staying at a monastery, should be aware of the Buddhist protocol, not to mention the fact that there are not any beds (you’ll be sleeping on the floor, possibly with a thin bamboo mat as your “cushion”), and don’t even thing about showers and hot water.

I’ll have plenty of photos to post in the coming weeks. I’ll be in Mandalay another day and wind down the trip for two days in Yangon before returning to Bangkok. Once again, it’s been an exhausting trip, but filled with plenty of great experiences and lots of smiles. Just the tonic I need.

Mandalay Monastery

One of the more interesting aspects of visiting Mandalay, at least for me, is discovering the plethora of monasteries scattered around the city. The southwest part of town, in particular, is chockablock with peaceful monasteries of various sizes; from the sprawling Ma Soe Yein (which also houses a Buddhist university) complex to much smaller ones, many of them located on lovely tree-shaded streets.

 

Over on the north end of 90th Street, heading toward the central business district, I stumbled upon a mid-size monastery (about 100 monks in residence) about two years ago. This monastery is primarily populated by young novice monks. Some of these youngsters have come from other parts of the country (during one visit, the kids were delighted to point out the sole monk from Shan State) and some are orphans. Living and studying at monasteries like this one assures them of both an education and at least one good meal every day.

 

Somewhere in my notes I’ve got the name of this monastery on 90th Street written down, but I can’t find it amidst the debris in my backpack. In any case, I make it a point to stop by there each time I’m town. I’ll take some photos of the monks during their midday break and return a day or two later with prints to give everyone. And yes, even novice monks can get very excited about having a photo of themselves!

 

21 Shots: Remembering Myanmar

I’m thinking a lot about Myanmar lately, as I begin planning my next trip over there. As the days fly by I realize my departure date is less than two months away. Holy monhinga … time to start picking out which longyis, in my ever-growing collection, to wear. All this trip preparation reminds me that I still have a bunch of photos leftover from my last trip that I haven’t posted yet. So, on that note, here we go: 21 more reasons to remember Myanmar.

 

Making morning treats at a small neighborhood teashop on 90th Street in Mandalay.

 

Novice monks bring water for the primary school at Tat Ein village in Shan State.

 

Students at a village school near Inle Lake play games during their lunch break.

 

Early morning cyclist on a muddy street in Nyaungshwe.

 

Tapping and blowing out a tune in Shan State!

 

Students at Tat Ein’s primary school peek under the partition to check out what I’m teaching in the other class.

 

Ko Maw Hsi and his daughter in Mandalay.

 

Zin Ko shows off his tasty new key chain in Amarapura.

 

Drying out chili peppers outside a monastery near Nyaungshwe.

 

Even monks enjoy a game of late afternoon football!

 

A student in a pretty hat poses in front of a pretty plant at a temple near Pindaya.

 

Nyaungshwe traffic jam!

 

Taking aim while playing the shoe game at a pagoda in Amarapura.

 

A little afternoon street corner guitar serenade in Yangon.

 

A monk in Mandalay during his morning meditation walk.

 

Checking out the tunes at the teashop on 90th Street in Mandalay.

 

Ko Maw Hsi bangs a gong in Mandalay.

 

Novice monk with his alms bowl outside the monastery at Tat Ein village in Shan State.

 

Dancing the day away in Amarapura.

 

Students at a village school near Inle Lake play on the slide during their lunch break.

 

Mr. Obama goes to Myanmar

It’s official: Barack Obama will visit Myanmar later this month, the first US president to ever visit the country formerly known as Burma. Not surprisingly the trip has been both lauded and criticized, depending on which special interest human rights group or political organization is attempting to make itself heard. Nowadays, of course, a politician just can’t make a trip without people trying to analyze it or condemn it. But I think it’s wonderful that Obama is making this trip. It’s not “premature” or “misguided” — it’s the right thing to do.

 

The downside to this historic trip is that Obama will most likely spend a grand total of 16 hours in the country — half of that time sleeping — and will no doubt confine his visit solely to Yangon. Which is a shame because he won’t have the opportunity to see more of this beautiful, mesmerizing country, and get to meet more of the people, as opposed to the quick, generic glimpse he’ll be given by his greeters and minders.

 

In Yangon he is scheduled to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, now an elected member of the opposition party (one of many parties, actually), and reformist Prime Minister Thein Sein. He will most likely make the obligatory visit to Shwedagon, the country’s most famous and most revered pagoda. And after that? Meetings with the new US ambassador, some sort of bland dinner, and off he’ll go. See you later … thanks … take care. Which country is next? Oh, the joy of politics.

 

It would be really cool if Obama and his entourage dropped by a local restaurant, such as Feel, where my friend That Myo Aung works as a waiter, while he was in Yangon. It’s not far from Shwedagon, so why not?  Feel specializes in Burmese cuisine, but they also have Thai and Chinese dishes and some Western food. Something for everyone. Want a cappuccino with your curry? No problem! That Myo Aung is an incredibly attentive waiter, very friendly (as is almost everyone in this country), and has a smile that will light up a dim room. I can just picture him and Obama grinning at one another. That Myo Aung  and I will usually go out for dinner together at least once when I am in town. This trip, however, I didn’t have much time in Yangon, so I only saw briefly three times; once when I dropped by for a late breakfast with Ma Thanegi, later the same day when I met Win Thuya for lunch, and on my last day in town when I stopped by for a late afternoon coffee. As usual, That Myo Aung’s waiter radar kicked in and he found me before I could even sit down. I ordered a latte and we chatted for a half hour or so. When it was time to pay the bill, he waved me off; he had already paid for me. What could I say except: Che Zu Tin Ba De (Thank You!). The hospitality in this country never ceases to amaze me.

 

And on that subject, I’ll give you some more examples. In Mandalay I always drop by Minthiha, a rather large teashop at the corner of 72nd and 28th Streets. Actually, they have several branches in town, but this one has always been my favorite, thanks to a tip from Win Thuya many years ago.  After going there so often over the years, most of the waiters know me, and a couple of them always make an extra effort to treat me like royalty, much like Thant Myo Aung in Yangon. At Minthiha, my two regulars are Yan Naing Soe and Yan Zaw Win. I also make a point of taking them out to dinner when I’m in town, and sometimes we’ll go somewhere afterwards, maybe to a local shopping center or one of the Happy World complexes where they have games, silly rides, and a haunted house. Good, cheap fun. During one of my visits, meeting my tour guide friend Ko Soe Moe for breakfast one morning, Yan Naing Soe picked up the tab. And during another visit, Soe Moe paid. It was almost ridiculous; I couldn’t even spend my own money there!

 

Maybe such bill paying doesn’t seem remarkable to most westerners, but when you think about the fact that most of these guys are earning less than twenty US dollars per month — a month! — working at local restaurants and teashops, that’s an extremely generous thing for them to do. Naturally, I try and tip these waiters well, but I still think that their kindness exceeds the bounds of normal generosity.

 

But such hospitality is the Myanmar way. Selfish these people are not. I paid for very few meals when I was out with other locals. Ma Thanegi treated me to breakfast; Win Thuya paid the lunch bill; in Nyaungshwe Htein Linn treated me to pizza and beer at the Golden Kite Restaurant one night; also in Nyaungshwe, Ma Pu Sue invited me to her house for dinner another night, and on my final day in Nyaungshwe, another tour guide friend, Malar Htun, drove in from Taunggyi and took me to lunch, and later she handed me a bag of Shan State coffee. And there’s more. The kids at Tat Ein primary school were always offering me candy and any other snacks they had with them. Dirt poor village children and they don’t think twice about sharing what they have. The teachers at that same school made sure I had extra helpings of food at lunch each day or brought me tea and snacks when I was teaching English classes. Whenever I’m at Ko Tin Chit’s teashop on 90th Street in Mandalay, they never let me pay for anything I eat or drink. At Maw Hsi’s house in Mandalay, more home-cooked meals. Yes, these are my friends, but none of these people are rich and they really don’t need to be paying for my meals and treating me all the time. But that’s just the way they are. They are good people. Proud people.

 

Why do I keep going back to Myanmar again and again? It’s the people, of course. More than the overwhelming generosity and hospitality, it’s their personality and spirit that impresses me. I only hope that Barack Obama has the chance, in between meetings and briefings and chatting with The Lady, to meet some of the other down-to-earth human jewels that live in Myanmar. You’re in for a treat, Barack!

 

Mandalay Meandering

I spent a full week in Mandalay during my visit to Myanmar in July. I’ve been there so many times that I rarely bother to revisit any of the popular tourist attractions in town. My usual routine involves going to teashops (Morning Star, Minthiha, or a small one near the railway station that has delicious monhinga in the mornings), restaurants (Aye Myit Tar for Burmese cuisine, and V Café for western dishes), and just simply riding my bike around town. Sometimes I don’t have a real plan; I just hop on the bike and ride off into the dust, often getting lost in the process. That’s when the adventure starts!

 

During these somewhat aimless bike rides I’ve discovered some incredibly memorable people, places, and things: lovely old monasteries, tree-lined avenues and bubbling brooks, friendly local families (one of them, I kid you not, was named the Adams Family … and they are Burmese!), and quaint little neighborhoods. One of those is the neighborhood on 90th Street, where U Tin Chit’s teashop is located. I usually make my way over there every day when I am in town, stopping at the teashop first for conversation — and tea, of course. Inevitably, the kids will come around after school and they will take me on walks or bike rides around the area. I never know where we are going to go — a park, a monastery, a lake, a jade workshop, a school — but it’s always fun. Really, I never get bored of hanging out with this crew.

 

My friend Maw Hsi, one of the regulars at the teashop, planned a few new excursions in the area this time. One day, while the kids were in school, we rode our bikes around town and visited a half-dozen monasteries, from small ones to huge complexes. Another day we took the kids to the chinlon tournament at Mahamuni Paya. Other times, we just meandered down the jigsaw pattern of small narrow lanes until we reached the river. Here are some photos I took of the kids out and about, hamming it up for the camera. Just another day in Mandalay.

 

 

 

English Classes in Mandalay

Back in Mandalay, on my favorite little dirt road, 90th Street, I keep discovering interesting little places each time I visit. Taking walks with Maw Hsi and the kids from the neighborhood has introduced me to fun little shops, home factories (everything from shoes to jade), monasteries, and even language schools. On this trip I found two places in the neighborhood that were offering free English classes in the afternoons and evenings. The teachers were university students or recent graduates, one of whom was Maw Hsi’s daughter. I was very impressed to see so many kids attending these classes, especially after they’ve already had a long day in their regular school. Clearly, they have a thirst for knowledge … or perhaps their mother has threatened them. You know how that goes!

 

At one little makeshift class — located outside someone’s home — I saw Yan Aung Myo, a boy I knew from previous field trips with the kids, grinning at me from the front row. I always knew he could spell well, and this was evidence that he’s worked hard at developing such skills. At a nearby monastery school the next day I ran into the shy Hein Htet Zaw and his fellow students, all of them furiously scribbling notes in their books. It struck me that there was a lot of writing and rote learning in these classes. Write a sentence, repeat after me, write the sentence again. Blah, blah, blah. Not an ideal learning environment, but better than nothing.

 

It was good to see these youngsters studying English, and diligently copying everything that was written on the board (even if there were spelling or grammatical errors!), but I yearned to get up there and try and few more interesting speaking activities with the class. But, I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to say or do anything in such a situation, so I just nodded my head and smiled. I chatted with Maw Hsi later in the week and volunteered my services for the next time I return to Mandalay. He seemed excited at the idea, so I think we’ll work something out. I look forward to teaching these kids.

 

Mandalay Monks Revisited

On the other side of 90th Street in Mandalay, between 34th and 33rd Streets, is a rather large monastery, populated by nearly 100 novice monks. During one of my meandering cycling trips around town, I visited it for the first time during a trip last year, and returned again this month. I wrote down the name in one of my journals, but damned if I can find the thing when I need it. So whatever this monastery is called, it’s a lively one, and the novice monks in residence enjoy posing for photos — especially knowing that I’ll go a local camera shop and bring them back prints the following day!

 

One day I met a local man who had stopped by the monastery on an errand of some sort. He appeared to be a regular. During our conversation, when he was asking the usual “where do you come from?” sort of questions, one of the monks standing next to us told him that I owned a bookshop in Thailand. Good memory, kid! Here are a few shots I took during two recent visits to the monastery during the late morning “lunch” break.