Visit to an Orphanage, Myanmar

On the 1st September 2009, I was part of a small group of passengers from the 'Road to Mandalay' who made a day trip to Maymyo. On the way, we made a visit to a large Orphanage partly supported by donations from 'Road to Mandalay' passengers.

This Orphanage now cares for over 500 children. The Monk who founded and now runs the Orphanage received us in the large Assembly Hall where we enjoyed tea and biscuits sitting on the floor. With our guide Mr. Win translating, I asked the Monk how he coped with the stress of taking responsibility for all the needs of so many children. "Meditation" came the simple reply.

Since its founding, the Orphanage has grown significantly to cater for the heavy demand and we saw more new buildings under construction. A lot of the development appeared to be based on the simple faith that, if the need is there, the resources will appear to fund the project. This Orphanage has certainly been successful in attracting support from a wide range of donors, including significant help from donors in Japan.

The Monk took us on a conducted tour, first visiting a kitchen, where two rice boilers were producing the next meal. Next, we looked at the vegetable gardens; where possible, the Orphanage grows its own food. Then we entered one of the large schoolrooms where we were mobbed by excited young children. Whilst we were there, a tropical rainstorm lashed the corrugated iron roof and we extended our visit a little until the rain abated. Then we rejoined our bus to continue our trip to Maymyo, watched by hundreds of waving children.

More pictures.

Day trip to Maymyo

The extensive market at Maymyo

With our arrival at Shwe Kyet Yet on the previous day, our cruise had come to its close. But our adventures were not yet quite ended. The main feature of Tuesday was a trip by road to visit the hill town of Maymyo.

Before leaving for Maymyo, a walking tour had been arranged through the village of Shwe Kyet Yet to observe the offering of Alms to the Monks at the local monastery. This is a ceremony I have seen before but the simple dignity never fails to impress me, so I joined the walking tour to watch once again.

At seven o'clock, a long line of monks emerged from the monastery to make a circuit of the village accepting offerings of food from the villagers. The 'Road to Mandalay' had set up a table with generous amounts of food just outside the monastery. As usual, the Captain and members of the crew were on hand to distribute food to the monks to supplement the other offerings made by the villagers.

Although it had been dry for the Alms giving, we had not travelled far in our usual bus towards Maymyo before we were driving through heavy rain which stayed with us for most of the morning.

On our way to Maymyo, we made a slight detour to visit an Orphanage partly supported by the 'Road to Mandalay'. The visit is described in a separate post.

We pulled up opposite a small temple whilst the driver's assistant braved the rain to cross the road and perform the appropriate ritual to ensure a safe journey. He returned in a minute or two with a small bunch of special flowers which were hung up in the front window of the bus. Meanwhile, Mr. Win had purchased a bunch of small, fragrant flowers from a (rather damp) roadside vendor which he divided between the ladies in the party. Thus prepared, we continued our journey. Maymyo is reached after quite a steep climb into the mountains on a heavily-used road with some fairly hairy sections. To improve matters, a large part of the route has had a second carriageway added, sometimes close to the original road, sometimes striking off to find its own route, often at a different level.

This is a privately-owned road and the Chinese businessman who funded these road improvements has tolls collected at various toll stations. At one modern-looking toll station, I was intrigued that a couple of Burmese were stationed in the rain, actually collecting the money and issuing receipts. They were just outside a purpose-built toll office occupied by a Chinese who was able to keep nice and dry to whom each toll was passed for safe keeping. By employing trusted Chinese in this way, the owner seeks to avoid any 'skimming' of the toll income.

By the time we arrived in Maymyo, the weather was noticeably cooler, although the rain had stopped for a while. We disembarked from the bus outside the large Market and spent some time exploring the variety of stalls in both the inside and outside markets. There is a significant Muslim population in Maymyo and this was apparent in walking around the market. In the vegetable market, I was greeted by one of the stallholders in perfect English. He explained that, although born into a Muslim family, he had learned English in the Catholic School he attended as a child. Having completed his education, he reverted to Islam.

Outside the Market, two covered horse-drawn carriages were waiting to take us on a 'city tour'. As it immediately started to rain heavily again, it was fortunate that the carriages were covered. Moving out of the centre of the town, we passed the British Colonial style dwellings - substantial buildings with chimneys set in extensive grounds. It was rather reminiscent of Simla in India. We stopped outside the Chinese Temple and were invited to make a visit but the rain was so torrential that we all agreed to carry on to the hotel where we were to have lunch. On arrival, the rain had all but stopped so there was time to make friends with the horse. I was fascinated with one feature of the carriage - a large piece of sacking had been fixed loosely between the shafts immediately behind the horse so as to collect the horse manure!

The hotel was a nicely-restored British villa with a series of modern chalets in the gardens to increase accommodation. It was a very peaceful location, close to the Botanical Gardens and both the food and service were excellent.

After lunch, we were driven the short distance to the entrance of the National Botanical Gardens. The site is kept in excellent condition with lots of interesting exhibits so, far from being bored, I would happily have spent longer there. There was intermittent rain but not enough to spoil the tour. Amongst many attractions, there is a large 'walk-through aviary', a Bamboo Garden, an 'Orchard' of edible plants and a wooden walkway through a swamp environment. I would have liked to ascend the modern 'Watchtower' but time did not permit this. However, I did see my first Takin - a sort of goat/antelope found in Myanmar, Bhutan and neighbouring parts of India and China. All-in-all, the visit to the Botanical Gardens was very worthwhile.

Back in the bus, we'd agreed to visit the railway station before leaving Maymyo. We entered the town just as schools were finishing so, for a time, the roads were filled with young people, mainly walking but with a few lucky ones being picked up on mopeds. The single-storey station building clearly showed its British origins. There were lots of people milling about although there was no sign of a passenger train. As we were getting ready to leave,a goods train arrived and started to shunt. By this time, it was raining hard again. Pictures of the station are in the set More Railways in Burma.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped to explore an extensive roadside market where Mr. Win purchased vegetables for his wife. We stopped again as the road started to descend to the plains and the rain held off whilst we took in the impressive views. Tired but happy we returned to the ship for our farewell dinner and the last night aboard.

Pictures of Maymyo and the journey.
Pictures of the Botanical Gardens.