Distributions in Mudon

Events of Monday, 23nd April 2018

After our second night sleeping at the Drop In Centre, we said 'Goodbye' to our friends at Ko Dut. There was time for a final 'group photo' with the staff present before we set off by taxi.


Ko Dut D.I.C. - leaving on 23rd April 2018

Our first destination was Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda, built over the sea. I've visited this important shrine a number of times, mentioning my last and earlier visits in the post here.


Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda

Our first distribution was at the Drop In Centre at Ka Mar Wet. I'm afraid in earlier reports, I may have confused some of the names but I hope I have it correct this year. Some of these places are quite difficult to find unless you are local. As arranged by mobile phone, we were met on the main road by a man on a motor cycle in a silver crash helmet who conducted us through the narrow streets to the D.I.C.


Our motor cycle guide conducting us to Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.

I may confuse the names, but not the people and warm greetings were exchanged. I can't claim to remember each child but some are firm in my memory. When the Doctor enquired, the majority of the children remembered our last visit - long-term commitment to this type of programme is essential. Once again, the Doctor held a lottery to determine who received one of the limited number of white towels. I admit to initially having doubts about the lottery idea but these were dispelled by the sheer sense of fun created. I was pleased that the staff were included in the lottery and the winners from this group seemed even more excited than the children!


Ka Mar Wet D.I.C. - White towel winners proudly show their prize.

Then the distributions to all the children took place - a new school uniform and items of stationery.


Ka Mar Wet D.I.C. - the distribution.

The children proudly donned their new uniforms so that photographs, including the 'group shot' outside the building, could be made to record the event.


Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.

The children were then able to leave but, finally, the Doctor refunded certain other agreed expenses to the manager.


Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.

I was wearing the longyi they'd given me the previous year (described here) and, before we left, they presented me with another longyi in a beautiful Mon pattern.

Our motor cycle guide then conducted us to Mu Don Drop In Centre for our second distribution of the day. The journey concluded in a baffling series of narrow alleys barely suitable for a motor cycle, let alone a taxi. We started with a special presentation of stationery items to a number of Outstanding Students.


Distribution to Outstanding Students at Mu Don D.I.C.

Then, we conducted the lottery for the limited number of towels which created great amusement.


Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.

Finally, the serious business of equipping each child with stationery and items for the forthcoming year. I was presented with a lovely decorated cotton blanket. Everybody then trooped out into the sun for photographs.


Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C. - The Group Photograph

I watched with interest as a group of children from one particular area departed in a covered pick-up with seats. With about eight children in the luggage rack on the roof, there must have been about 30 passengers!


Happy students leaving the distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.

Once again, our guide conducted us to our final Drop In Centre of the day at Kot Kha Pon. By this time, the combination of the heat and an infection which the Doctor was treating had exhausted me, but I did the best I could. Instead of repeating the address to the children I'd been using on this trip (a rather Victorian-sounding tale extolling the virtues of education, hard work and being good to one another), the Doctor paraphrased its content for me.

>br> Dr. Hla Tun addresses the students at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.

Three Outstanding Students received a special presentation of stationery, then we had the fun of the lottery for the presentation of towels and finally the distribution to all the children. With a smaller number of children at this location, we were able to take the group pictures inside the building. The staff kindly gave me a blanket in appreciation of the support for their work.


Distribution at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.

The taxi then headed north on Route 8 for a little under 30 km to Mawlamyine, where the Doctor had booked rooms in the Kaung Myat Hotel.


Kaung Myat Hotel, Mawlamyine

On arrival, I was happy to 'hole-up' in my room after a fairly strenuous day, with food and drink provided by the Doctor to keep me going. I backed up my pictures to the computer and found the hotel's Wi-Fi was working so I was able to receive a few e-mails and deal with them and convert a Word document I'd been working on into a blog post. The following day, we would be making distributions at two Drop In Centres in Mawlamyine.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show 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-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.

My pictures

Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda and Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.
Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.
Distribution at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.

All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.

[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, Pictures inserted 27-May-2018]

Rest and Recreation

Events of Sunday, 22nd April 2018

When I got up, there were already cattle quietly foraging for breakfast in the rubbish near the Drop In Centre.


Ko Dut D.I.C.: Cattle foraging for breakfast.

We first went to the house and shop of one of the D.I.C. teachers, Shu Lwum, for breakfast.


Ko Dut D.I.C.: Breakfast at Shophouse of Shu Lwum

The meal was accompanied by loud music from a couple of streets away which, when we left, I tracked down to a 'Wall of Sound' outside a private house (I talked about the 'Wall of Sound' in the earlier post here). The Doctor explained that the 'Wall of Sound' was part of the celebrations for a wedding and that the music helped guests unfamiliar with the area to locate the correct address. This installation comprised 10 base speakers, two exponential horns and a group of 'tweeters', all held together by a ratchet strap.


Ko Dut 2018: 'Wall of Sound' to celebrate wedding.

Back at the D.I.C., I was presented by the staff with a beautiful red and black longyi in a traditional Mon pattern which they insisted I put on straight away.


Ko Dut D.I.C.: Jan with new Longyi and the seamstress.

After the inevitable 'group shot' outside the D.I.C. there was a traditional, formal thanksgiving by the staff for the donations they had received.


Ko Dut D.I.C. Volunteers and teachers.

Doctor Hla Tun has established a tradition of taking the staff and volunteers at Ko Dut Drop In Centre for a meal during his annual visit, as a way of saying 'Thank You' for their work throughout the year. This year, it was extended into a full day out. The Doctor, his wife, two staff from the Drop In Centre (the manager Yu Mon and teacher Shu Lwum) and the writer took a taxi, the others followed in a covered pick-up with seats. We headed south towards Ye Township (sometimed spelled as Yaye) to visit the extensive Ko Yin Lay ('Young Monk') pagoda.


Ko Yin Lay Pagoda near Ye, Mon State, 2018

Here I was delighted to meet again the nun who had accompanied us on a visit the previous year. What I now discovered was that she is the sister of teacher Shu Lwum.


Ko Yin Lay Pagoda: Jan, the Nun and her sister Shu Lwum.

The latest project is a pagoda surrounded by hundreds of miniature pagodas, apparently in tribute to the Kuthodaw Paya in Mandalay (I described a visit to the Kuthodaw here).

Near Ye, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Whilst we were there, a car apparently struck a motor cycle right outside the restaurant and a girl from the motor cycle, clearly shocked, sustained a cut ankle. Staff from the restaurant immediately seated her inside and bathed the ankle with water. Doctor Hla Tun provided adhesive plasters and antiseptic cream but otherwise was not required. Myanmar people accept this type of minor mishap with equanimity.

After an enjoyable meal, we continued to the beach at Ka Byar Wa. It was a very pretty bay with a safe, sandy beach popular with local people. Food was available, there was a row of steamer chairs shaded by large umbrellas for hire and inflated lorry inner tubes could be hired as flotation devices in the sea. There were a couple of inflatable boats on the beach fitted with outboard engines, but neither was in use.


The beach at Ka Byar Wa

I watched with interest as two boys in a 2-man kayak attempted to 'surf' their boat on the incoming tide. The first time they did remarkably well but a number of subsequent attempts all ended in a capsize. After a pleasant interlude in the sun at the beach, we boarded the taxi and the pick-up truck.

I assumed we were returning to Ko Dut but, after heading north we turned off into the hills, travelling for some distance on very narrow roads carrying unexpectedly heavy traffic. We ended up in a car park in a field accessed by a very steep slope. It was all very puzzling for me until we left the taxi and walked to the improbable destination: a shallow river with lots of people, adults and children, bathing and swimming. The Doctor explained that the location, Chaung Gwa, had become a popular destination, particularly for parents with young children, because of the crystal-clear fresh water and safe bathing. The one river bank was very low and I assumed it would be subject to flooding at times. This bank, formed from flat, rounded stones formed the unlikely location for a extensive market.


Chaung Gwa river bathing and market

Up river from the market, a number of long-tail boats were coming and going, man-hauled near the boarding place but starting their engines once clear. The Doctor explained that the boats provided a shuttle service to and from the nearby Chaung Gwa Pagoda and offered a visit, which I readily accepted, although I'd already seen boat passengers having to wade through the water across the stones to enter and leave the boats.

Well, with my European soft-soled feet and general tendency to wobble, I needed plenty of help from my friends to safely board the boat but the boat trip through the twisting river valley was wonderful.


By long-tail boat up river to Chaung Gwa Pagoda

A final twist in the river revealed a surprisingly small pagoda perched on the hillside, with modern statues on an adjacent tall, square, painted concrete pillar set in the river.


Chaung Gwa Pagoda, viewed from the river

On our arrival, leaving the boat proved a little easier than boarding, although it still involved wading through water over stones in bare feet. An uneven earth footpath then led to the base of a long, straight concrete staircase which led to the pagoda platform. At a slightly lower level, a horizontal walkway led across to the pillar with the statues, giving visitors commanding views downstream.

Chaung Gwa Pagoda: View looking downstream from the pagoda platform

The return boat trip was equally enjoyable but, by this time, I was starting to fade and the walk back through the market (across the stones) to our taxi was tiring. This time, our destination really was Ko Dut. It was dark when we arrived but they started the petrol generator so we had light and I was able to charge my computer and camera before retiring for the night after a splendid day with my friends.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show 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-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.

My pictures

La Mine and Ko Dut D.I.C.
Ko Yin Lay Pagoda and the beach at Ka Byar Wa.
Chaung Gwa, Chaung Gwa Pagoda and back to Ko Dut.

All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.

[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, Pictures inserted 26-May-2018]