After my brief visit to the Indawgyi Lake area, on Sunday we were to retrace our outward route back to Myitkyina and, from there, catch a flight back to Mandalay.
Lonton - Mandalay by road and air: Sunrise over Indawgyi Lake, viewed from IndawMaHar Guest House.
At around 6.30 a.m., July and I walked to a different tea shop where, again, Shan Noodle Soup was on offer. But, this time, mine was prepared without chicken and was delicious.
Lonton - Mandalay by road and air: Tea Shop in Lonton.
Everything was loaded into the 'Pajero' 4x4 and we set off across the plain, negotiated the twisting, spectacular road ascending Nantmoon Mountain and then continued on the descending section on the other side of the mountain range back to the fertile plain.
At Hopin, we stopped at the railway station. Initially, the Station Master was adamant that photography was not allowed, but, with the help of the book of pictures I'd brought highlighting some of my adventures in Myanmar, July quickly convinced him and then photography anywhere was possible.
MR: Hopin Station Master.
After a short, useful photographic survey, we continued our journey, passing a long procession of motor cycles and lorries sporting the colourful Buddhist flag and crammed with pilgrims. These people were all involved in a tour of local pagodas, celebrating the end of the Buddhist Lent and, I imagine, fundraising.
We interrupted our onward travel with short stops for picture-taking at a level crossing and then Mingon station. Near the station, July chatted to a lady squatting in a ditch at the side of the road washing clothes on a concrete slab next to a small water cistern made from a section of wide concrete pipe set on end. The cistern could be filled from a plastic pipe with the usual plastic tap at the end. The water, the lady explained, came from Nantmoon Mountain and was very soft.
Lonton - Mandalay by road and air: Ladies doing laundry at Mingon.
We were back in Myitkyina by about half past twelve and had lunch at a modern restaurant very popular with young people and University students. It was clean, bright and included a small cocktail bar! Stylistically and culturally it was very different from the tea shops I'd become used to, but the food was good, inexpensive and the broad menu allowed me to have fish and chips.
Lonton - Mandalay by road and air: Cafe Kiss Me, Myitkyina.
Next, we went to visit a Weaving Shed with five hand looms producing the materials for ladies longyi (the simple 'skirt' still widely worn). Because it was Sunday, the weavers were not at work but a lady from the owning family worked on an elaborate pattern including a gold-coloured thread to demonstrate just how labour intensive this type of weaving is. A good weaver can produce one longyi a day, for which they are paid 3,000 Kyat (roughly 3 U.S. dollars). Needless to say, by the time that longyi is retailed, the sale price is considerably higher.
Weaving Factory, Myitkyina: Using a hand loom to produce a complex pattern.
There were also three children (two aged 8, one of 10) working on ancient electric machines loading the various coloured threads onto shuttles, ready for the weaving to continue. In Europe, such practices would fall foul of both safety and employment of children legislation, but these young people seemed perfectly happy as they went about their tasks.
Weaving Factory, Myitkyina: An 8-year old girl dextrously loading shuttles with thread, in bare feet on a earth and pebble floor.
Just around the corner, we came to a larger weaving shed containing 15 power looms producing men's longyi, all working and making a loud clamour. The machines were from the Hirano company in Japan and most of the operators here were men. The generally simpler patterns typically found in men's longyi were better suited to power loom weaving.
Our car then took us to the airport at Myitkyina, where we said 'good bye' to our driver. July and I checked in for the KBZ afternoon flight to Mandalay. The aircraft was almost on time and our journey to Mandalay took about 75 minutes. Our luggage arrived safely and a car met us (with a driver who'd transferred me before). It took about an hour to get to my hotel, the Rupar Mandalar, where I was to stay for a few days. Here, I said 'good bye' to July and then collapsed in the comfort of my well-equipped room.
Related posts on other websites
There's a useful description of the Indawgyi Lake area on the Go-Myanmar site here.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 12th visit to Myanmar. The post Starting out is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2017(2) reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2017(2) reports.
My photograph albums
Lonton - Mandalay by Road and Air.
MR: Hopin.
MR: Mingon.
Weaving Factory, Myitkyina.
[Minor changes, pictures added to test 07-Jan-2018]
