I was up at 6.00 a.m. but, since my cabin was on the starboard side, I couldn't see the town of Katha we were moored at because that's on the west bank. I had a 'simplified breakfast' in the restaurant and was ready well before 8.00 a.m. when the 'Fast Boats' would transfer us to the shore. Katha was the largest town we'd seen on the journey, apart from Mandalay city (which we had passed on our way from Shwe Kyet Yet to Mingun without actually stopping). I'd visited Katha once before, on my first trip to Bhamo in 2010 (see the group of posts labelled FE5) but I was pleased to make a second visit. I was on the 'Green Flag' 'Fast Boat' which was the second to depart from the ship. It quickly took us to the landing steps - there was no shore here and the river lapped at the bottom of the concrete steps leading up to the level of the town. The same elderly woman I'd seen two years previously was at the foot of the steps washing baskets of laundry in the brown water as she's probably done on most days since my last visit.
A long line of 'Trishaws' (tricycle rickshaws) was drawn up along the road at the top of the landing steps and there was slight chaos as guides and staff from the ship allocated passengers to the 'Trishaws'.
We were soon off, in a long convoy moving fairly slowly as the driver pedalled hard to get the load of one or two passengers moving. We travelled for around ten minutes before stopping at the former British Club. The building (like a lot of once-decent buildings in Myanmar) was rather dilapidated although still apparently in use. As we wandered around outside the building, peering in through the dirty windows, it was easy to imagine the British here. George Orwell described the situation in his early novel 'Burmese Days'.
We trooped back to the waiting 'Trishaws' and, having found the machine and driver who brought us from the landing stage, clambered aboard. Another slow procession took us to George Orwell's house. This is now under Government control and in very poor condition. Two of the rooms were occupied by two families - the rest of the building was unused. The whole place was very dilapidated and surrounded by an overgrown field which was probably once recognisable as a garden. A large satellite dish in the 'garden' added an incongruous touch.
Then, it was back on the 'Trishaws' for a ride to the market. The market was similar to the one at Kyan Hnyat we'd toured the day before, but larger. I happily wandered around the market on my own (as did a number of the passengers) trying to make sense of it all, but I remained bewildered by all the activity. I made my way back to the 'Trishaws' passing Katha Baptist Church built in 1960 and the Fire Station with three different-sized fire appliances lined up ready for action. With so many wooden buildings, fire is never to be taken lightly.
Although the 'Trishaws' were provided to return us to the landing stage, quite a few passengers (and the writer) elected to walk back. When it started to spit with rain, I wondered whether I'd made a mistake but it was only a very light shower which passed very quickly and we had no other rain in the day.
When everybody was back on board the ship, the 'Fast Boats' set off ahead of us and the ship followed upstream. Later, we caught up with the 'Fast Boats'. They'd stopped and let us pass, then chased after us. Shortly afterwards, I saw the Captain on the V.H.F. radio and the first 'Fast Boat' drew alongside on the port side. This time, I was allocated to the first boat so, once the passengers were loaded, the 'Fast Boat' headed upstrean to allow the second 'Fast Boat' to moor alongside the ship and collect its complement of passengers.
We cruised upstream for fifteen minutes, passing a number of communities on the east bank. Plenty of the local people, not just the children, stopped whatever they were doing to watch us pass and wave a greeting. I'm afraid a common, and unattractive, feature of each cluster of buildings was an area along the high, sloping river bank where they dumped their refuse - paper, plastic, whatever. One of the 'Road to Manadalay' initiatives in schools is the donation of plastic 'trash cans' as part of a drive to teach young people to preserve the environment.
We arrived at the town of Shwe Gu on the east bank, where we were to land. A group of six youngsters were swimming just by the landing place. Partly to impress us, no doubt, they were repeatedly jumping into the water from a crude landing stage used by small boats, carrying out cartwheels and twists before running round to repeat the performance.
The usual arrangements for disembarking were made - two long planks laid side by side, clamped together at the midpoint with two pieces of wood secured by two sets of bolts and with two boatmen holding a long bamboo pole as a handrail. There was plenty of activity in the vicinity of the landing place - as we docked I'd spotted a passenger ferry going upstream which I think had stopped at Shwe Gu shortly before us so a lot of cargo was being removed from the landing area by a number of small lorries. These lorries are powered by an exposed Chinese engine mounted on an articulated front end and they were being manoeuvred with some abandon in the 'staging area' in between the river and the parallel road.
Also in the 'staging area', there were at least twelve of the 'motor tricycle' type of vehicle. The front end looks like a motor bicycle, with a single front wheel mounted in forks and steered using handlebars by the driver who sits in the usual position. On some models, there was a conventional contoured fuel tank above the engine (although I think it may have been just a 'dummy'), on other types there was a rectangular fuel tank attached to the vertical bulkhead behind the driver. I think all types had a transverse radiator mounted in front of the engine (like the old 'Velocette'): some vehicles appeared to incorporate an electric fan. The back of the vehicle was like the small four-wheeled pick-ups, with a low-sided body allowing goods to be carried. At Shwe Gu, these vehicles are used as taxis, so bench seats were provided down each side. These 'motor tricycles' were to be our transport to our destination - a nearby Shan Village. As the convoy of 'motor tricycles' formed up to take us to the village, the impressive bulk of the 'Road to Mandalay' ship sailed past, saluting the town with a blast on the siren.
The Shan village was around a mile out of town, an arrangement of criss-crossing dirt roads lined by a mixture of modest houses made in bamboo and much more substantial houses in brick and concrete stucco. There were wooden pig sties and fenced compounds for chickens. Everywhere there were children, watching the visitors and happy to return a "Mingela Bar", the Burmese greeting, wave and smile.
We walked a short distance to the village Distillery - this village is famous for its distilled rice whisky. You need lots of water in the process and the Distillery had a large water tank. The water, I was told, is drawn from an artesian well. In the wooden building next to the water tank, I found a Chinese packaged engine driving a Chinese alternator through a belt drive. Next to this arrangement was an electric motor driving a 2-cylinder 'V'-form reciprocating compressor through another belt drive. I traced the output of the compressor to a small diameter pipe leading to the artesian well, so I assumed the compressed air is used to help to 'lift' the water from the well. The walls of this room were lined with storage jars containing rice powder and water. These are left to ferment for four or five days. When the covers of the storage jars were lifted for our inspection, we could see the mixture bubbling away happily. This produces rice wine about 3% alcohol.
In the next room, we were shown a number of stills. Each comprised a well-constructed rectangular oven with a large metal 'wok' on top. Rice wine is placed in the 'wok' and a domed metal cover is placed on top and sealed with what looked like clay. Two pipes emerge from this cover and connect to the body of an adjacent metal 'condenser'. A discharge pipe fitted near the bottom of the 'condenser' allows the condensate (the whisky) to drain into a suitable container.
Enough rice whisky is produced not only to supply the village itself but for shops to sell in the town, with the liquid placed in 600 ml plastic water containers. Usually, they add herbs which are supposed to be health-giving and this gives the product an attractive golden colour. We were offered small shots of this potent drink. I found it brought tears to the eyes.
Outside the distillery, we were offered soft drinks by the 'Road to Mandalay' team. The Ship's Doctor has assembled the village children and presented them with pencils. Some of the children were dressed in traditional Shan clothing.
We walked back to the waiting 'motor tricycles' and clambered aboard. The procession set off with much waving and most of the people we passed on the road back to Shwe Gu Landing Place were happy to wave and smile. One 'Fast Boat' boarded half the passengers and set off upstream. The other 'Fast Boat' was moored a few feet away unloading numerous large, green 'kit bags' of dirty linen and large empty plastic water containers which it had clearly fetched from the ship whilst we were at the village. Logistics were expediting the unloading and very soon the 'Fast Boat' was able to pick up the remaining passengers and follow the first 'Fast Boat'. Our ship was waiting only a few hundred yards upstream so we were all soon safely back on board after a fascinating excursion.
After dinner, a troupe of Shan Dancers came aboard with their musicians and traditional instruments and performed a number of traditional dances to an enthusiastic audience in the Observation Lounge.
Photographs:
Katha.
Shwe Gu.
Shan Dancers.
[Revised 5-Oct-2012, 7-Oct-2012]
