Sometime during the night, the noise of torrential rain woke me up but I was comfortable so I soon went back to sleep. On Thursday morning, everywhere seemed refreshed by the rain. Of course, because of Kalaw's altitude the weather is more moderate which is why the British developed Kalaw as a Hill Station, to get away from the unremitting heat of the plains in summer.
Around 6.30 a.m., we loaded up our car and drove from the Ramonar Hotel into Kalaw Town to have our breakfast.
Ramonar Hotel, Kalaw, Shan State.
The Doctor chose a tea house run by an Indian family in a busy area off the main road. Nearby, I noticed the 'Talkie House'. I presumed that this former cinema, now an Indian Restaurant, was one of the British innovations.
Kalaw, Shan State, Burma, 2019
After a pleasant meal, we headed north, initially following Highway 41 which, if continued, would have taken us back to Pindaya but instead we turned left onto Highway 411. After a further 20 kilometres, a ragged mountain appeared on our left with a row of large, standing Buddha images.
First view of Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.
I was told that the legend tells of a bride who, refusing to marry, threw herself off the mountain. A short access road took us to the base of Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain and we took the customary group photograph.
Our Group at Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.
The morning was already warm and I realised I'd not be able to fully explore the site, but I followed my friends up the steep, concrete steps (fortunately provided with a central, stainless steel handrail) as far as the 'first level', which gave splendid views over the surrounding countryside.
Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain: Red, white and gold pagodas, each set in a boat-hull shaped base.
Each of the large, standing Buddha images shows a different formal pose. There's an introduction to the significance of these poses and the different hand positions on the commercial website 'Buddha Statues Now' here.
Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain: The nine large standing Buddha images, each in a different formal pose.
I didn't explore the upper levels at Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain, Shan State.
We returned to the car and continued north for around 45 minutes to reach the town of Ywangan. Although I knew that the administration of Myanmar is complicated by the recognition of 135 ethnic groups, it was only afterwards that I discovered that Ywangan Township and our destination the previous day at Pindaya Township together form the Self-Administered Zone of the Danu ethnic group, together administered as part of the Taung Gyi District. One source quotes the total poulation as 115,000 and the Danu language is generally regarded as a dialect of standard Myanmar language. There's a little information on this coffee-growing Self-Administered Zone in 'Wikitravel' here.
I was told that we were near a well-known waterfall and Blue Lake. We parked by a small market that appeared to be for tourists, next to a lake that was pretty but certainly not blue. We set off into the woods passing more vendors' stalls and a tea shop.
Tea shop near Blue Lake, Ywangan, Shan State.
We were then on an undulating walking track that was immediately difficult and so the Doctor decided that it was not practical for us all to walk to the main waterfall. Instead, we walked to what appeared to be a bathing pool at a very pretty location.
Bathing Pool near Ywangan.
Nearby, a modern undershot water wheel was spinning merrily. The water wheel was designed to work two water pumps which delivered the water via blue HDPE pipes to some remote location but I was puzzled that the drive belts had been removed so the water wheel was spinning uselessly.
Ywangan: Water wheel near bathing pool.
We made our way back to the tea shop and decided to take lunch (the Monk is not allowed to take food after noon). Despite the rather basic conditions, the cheerful lady proprietor quickly produced food for us which was both attractive and tasty. It was a very pleasant interlude.
Shan lady preparing food at the tea shop near Blue Lake, Ywangan.
After the meal, the Doctor led us to the Blue Lake via a broad track which ended at the entrance to a narrow ravine in the woods. Steep concrete steps provided with a wooden handrail led down to a small viewing terrace overlooking a small pool, no more than 40 feet long and less in width, surrounded by trees.
Sun shining through the canopy of trees showed the pool to be a water-filled cleft in the rocks, quite deep, with a number of fallen tree trunks underwater and various fish languidly patrolling. But the most remarkable feature was the vivid, ethereal blue colour of the water, almost as if it were emitting blue light. The effect was hypnotic. I was reminded of film I'd seen of cooling ponds containing radio-active materials where a rather similar blue colour could be seen but the Blue Lake seemed somehow different. I expected to be unimpressed by the Blue Lake but, in fact, I was quite moved by the experience. I can quite understand why numerous local beliefs grew up around this phenomenon.
The Blue Lake, Ywangan, Shan State.
We walked back to our car as a second tourist bus was arriving. I noted that all the visitors appeared to be Myanmar people.
We continued north, passing Myo Gyi after about one hour. I was told there was a dam here but it wasn't until I returned home that I discovered the Myanmar Government website for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (English version here) which gives comprehensive information on electricity generation and distribution in Myanmar, state by state. The water feeding the dam at Myo Gyi is dammed at Zaw Gyi further east in Shan State. There are now two hydro-electric power plants at Zaw Gyi Number 1 (opened in 1995 with three 6 Megawatt turbines) and Zaw Gyi Number 2 (opened in 1998 with two 6 Megawatt turbines). The water discharged at Zaw Gyi then enters the Zaw Gyi River, flowing through the mountains on a very convoluted course generally heading west until empounded by the dam at Myo Gyi to feed Myo Gyi hydro-electric power plant (opened in 2016 with two 15 Megawatt turbines). The Myo Gyi turbines are vertical Francis type. Francis turbines were designed in 1848 using a scientific approach to improve efficiency and remain the most common turbine used in hydro-electric installations. There's a Wikipedia article here.
About 5 kilometres beyond Myo Gyi, we came to the border between Shan State and Mandalay Region. On our right, the Zaw Gyi river discharge from the dam came close to our road and had the appearance of any fast-flowing river.
Zaw Gyi River near Shan State/Mandalay Region border.
The map showed that it would eventually join the Myitnge River, south of Mandalay. On our left, was a village with tea shop but it was too early for afternoon tea so we pulled up on the right of the road, under the shade of large trees, to rest and watch the river. Two or three other vehicles had paused here, one a police cruiser which departed with a lot of noise a few minutes later. A few wooden tables and chairs were laid out under the trees and it was remarkably relaxing. There was a little conversation between ourselves and with the other travellers but mainly it was a companionable silence.
Shan State/Mandalay Region border.
Doctor Hla Tun had been watching two local ladies and, eventually, he drew my attention to their activities. They had come from the buildings on our left and had probably been shopping. One lady had a young baby perched on her shoulders, the other had what looked like a bag of shopping balanced on top of her broad-brimmed hat. Both calmly descended the river bank, waded into the water and crossed the river. The force of the current meant that they emerged on the other side some distance downstream from their point of entry, baby and shopping intact. They then climbed the opposite bank and plodded off across the fields to where we could see a few simple houses.
Ladies crossing Zaw Gyi River near Shan State/Mandalay Region border.
After an enjoyable break in our journey, we climbed back into the car, left Shan State and headed west in Mandalay Region for around two and a half hours until we came to the town of Myingyan, a few kilometres from the confluence of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers. By now it was late afternoon so we stopped at a large teashop in the town for a cup of hot, sweet tea.
We stopped at a large tea shop in Myingyan.
I discovered that Doctor Hla Tun's mother intended to make a brief visit to a relative in Myingyan so it was arranged that I would be dropped off at the railway station, to allow a brief photographic survey. However, the Doctor insisted on our driver staying with me as a 'chaperone'/Whilst Doctor Hla Tun's mother visited a nearby relative, I made a quick survey of Myingyan Station. Of course, there was no train but each visit to a station gives a little more information.
Myingyan Railway Station.
A final 75 kilometers driving south west would take us through Nyaung Oo to the Bagan Medical Clinic, where we were received by the Abbott to give a brief account of our adventures before moving to the staff area of the original building for refreshments.
The Doctor said that about 100 patients had already registered and that he intended to undertake consultations for a few hours on Thursday evening before going to bed. However, the combination of walking and climbing throughout the day in often high temperatures had left me exhausted. Even at 9.00 p.m., I noticed that the outside temperature at the Bagan Medical Clinic was still 35 degrees Celsius so I retired to my room to work on my laptop computer.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 14th visit to Myanmar. The post Return to Burma 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 2019 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma 2019 reports.
My pictures
Burma 2019.
Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.
Ywangan and Blue Lake, Shan State.
Myingyan Station.
All my general pictures on this trip are in the collection Burma 2019.
[Text added, pictures added 19/20/21-Jun-2019]
