7. Myanmar, A day in the rice fields, a youngster's delight

Jerky ride

The uncle's son-in-law had ancestral padi fields, looked after by his brother, about an hour's drive from Yangon. We travelled local style in a pick up truck sitting on a mat on the cargo bed, surrounded by boxes of food for lunch and tea, for the village folk may not have the facility to entertain us.  The bouncey ride ellicited giggles. Luckily we had a roof against the scorching sun. The low sides with railings not only gave us a panoramic view but kept us from being tossed about when going over bumpy sections of roads or dirt roads. 

Irrigation Canal traffic

We got off on the side of a dirt road, gathered up our baskets and walked a few meters to a long narrow boat awaiting us (a previously made arrangement thanks to the mobile phones). A young boy, another cousin, helped us board the boat, where we sat on planks, two by two. It was so hot we held up umbrellas. The motor boat took us through the irrigation channels with padi fields on both sides, and an occasional shade tree. Other boats came in the opposite direction, and waved to us , acknowledging their acquaintances. 

Rugged beauty - a floating village

We arrive at a tin-roofed house on stilts seeminly floating on the waters. From the boat we hopped on to the the stairs that led up to the house. The first two steps were submerged in water. Built entirely of teak the house was a cool haven. Like typical houses on land it had an altar on the upper level reached by a set of stairs, but visible from the first floor. There was a room under the altar that housed their clothes and bedding. The windows were hinged at the top and to open them they propped the flap up with a pole. The right material and simple mechanics suited the living conditions and the climate. Planks across narrow strips of water in the floating village helped citizens navigate to their neighbours homes and the monastry.

Self-sustaining: an unpretentious life 

The adjoining room to the side was a kitchen which had a single wood burning stove. The fuel they used was rice husk which they had in sacks. The fire left a lot of soot on the pots. The occupants light the stove in the morning, heat up enough water to fill several flasks for making tea through out the day, cook enough rice for the day, and an accompanying dish from a few vegetables that grew in patches in their padi fields and fish snagged from the canals or the fields when they were flooded during the first stage of the crop. Today we all sat together as a large family and shared the food washed down with chrysanthemum tea and rounded off with some biscuits.

Back to nature

The toilet was an outhouse, with a hole on the floor, opening into the water, reached by a pair of wooden planks and big fat bamboo poles side by side, forming a bridge from the main living space. A bamboo pole tied horizontally between the poles that held up the bridge offered questionable support for the queasy minded. Large drums of water, storing rain water, stood in strategic places. 

Exploring the terrain and meeting good natured village folk

On subsequent visits , during the dry season, we walked the bunds of the padi fields occasionaly stopping to meet the neighbours and also to a  monastery where the monks were very jovial and kind. We sat with them as their cats kept coming to us to be stroked and patted and to cuddle up on our laps. The little, rustic, monks' dwelling, also elevated, was serene and calming, with fruit trees, and banana plants surrounding it. When my grandson came with us for one of the visits, the village boys took him around. They walked around puddles, crossed rickety makeshift bridges, spotted frogs, etc. 

Danger of running aground

When it was time to return we had to do so in two boats. These were smaller. It was because the water level in the canal had subsided since our arrival and a bigger heavier boat would run aground.