to a religious fast. From this experience I learned the usefulness of religious fasts when rejecting unappetising food, such as the lizards in black sauce served in the north of Burma in roadside stalls.
The first stretch of the journey was to Myitkyina, where the road came to an end in the north, followed by a route virtually encircling the north-east, through Bhamó, Wanting—almost within sight of China—and Lashio, then weeks later back to Mandalay. At Bhamó, in jade country, you could pick up beautiful pieces of jade for next to nothing, and to my huge delight a circuit house for travelling officials (although there were none) was actually open, run by a butler straight out of the Victorian epoch, who addressed me as ‘honoured sir’, instantly provided tea with eggs lightly boiled, and later a bed with sheets.
A final adventure was protective custody, into which I was taken in the small town of Mu-Sé. Once again I slept contentedly, this time in a police station, and by day was accompanied by a heavily armed policemen, who was as much interested as I in wildlife and natural history, on pleasant country walks.
Thereafter all was plain sailing. Children had long since ceased to be alarmed by my ravaged features, and pariah dogs were no longer perturbed by an alien smell. At Bhamó again, I took the river steamer down the Irrawaddy to Mandalay—‘a pleasure-making excursion’, as the man who sold the tickets described it, and he was absolutely right. For three days we chugged softly through delectable riverine scenes. We were entertained by a professional story-teller, musicians strummed on archaic instruments, and once in a while the girls put on old-fashioned costumes to perform a spirited dance. There was a single moment of drama that was more theatrical than alarming. Insurgents hidden in the dense underbrush at the water’s edge fired a few shots. Those on deck took momentary refuge behind the bales of malodorous fish piled there. No one was hurt and by the time I arrived on the scene from below, our military escort, who had blasted away at nothing in particular, had put down their guns and gone back to their gambling.
Next day Tok Gale welcomed me back in Mandalay.
‘No complications with journey, I am hoping? No bad effects from meeting with dog?’
‘None at all. Everything went off perfectly. Couldn’t have been better.’
‘I am relieved. Well at least something will be done now about all those dogs on our streets.’
‘So, you’re actually getting rid of them then?’
‘For a while, yes. Abbot U Thein San is taking all these animals into his pagoda compound for feeding and smarten-up. They will be released in a better frame of mind. It is belief that they will give no more trouble. In Mandalay we are used to seeing them. We should be regretful to miss their presence.’
‘It’s to be understood,’ I said.
‘So how are you planning return to Rangoon?’ he asked.
‘I’m taking the train.’
Tok Gale seemed doubtful about this. ‘For train travel they are saying that things are worse than they were. Rangoon train never arrives at destination.’
‘I’ve been hearing that, so I took the precaution of having a horoscope done at the stupa of King Pyu Sawhti.’
‘Ah yes. This is famous monarch hatched from egg. And was result satisfactory?’
‘Entirely so. The ponggi told me I was good for another thirty years.’
‘Well, that is splendid omen,’ Tok Gale said. ‘So 6.15 to Rangoon is holding few terrors for you?’
‘How can it after a horoscope like that?’
Tok Gale laughed and shook his head in mock reproach. ‘Now I must tell you something, Mr Lewis. You are falling into our ways.’
1997
Hold Back the Crowds
E VEN BACK IN THE early Fifties it was more interesting and usually more pleasant to travel in areas of Europe off the beaten track. In this respect Spain was outstanding, due largely to damaged communications in the aftermath of the Civil War. Many
The first stretch of the journey was to Myitkyina, where the road came to an end in the north, followed by a route virtually encircling the north-east, through Bhamó, Wanting—almost within sight of China—and Lashio, then weeks later back to Mandalay. At Bhamó, in jade country, you could pick up beautiful pieces of jade for next to nothing, and to my huge delight a circuit house for travelling officials (although there were none) was actually open, run by a butler straight out of the Victorian epoch, who addressed me as ‘honoured sir’, instantly provided tea with eggs lightly boiled, and later a bed with sheets.
A final adventure was protective custody, into which I was taken in the small town of Mu-Sé. Once again I slept contentedly, this time in a police station, and by day was accompanied by a heavily armed policemen, who was as much interested as I in wildlife and natural history, on pleasant country walks.
Thereafter all was plain sailing. Children had long since ceased to be alarmed by my ravaged features, and pariah dogs were no longer perturbed by an alien smell. At Bhamó again, I took the river steamer down the Irrawaddy to Mandalay—‘a pleasure-making excursion’, as the man who sold the tickets described it, and he was absolutely right. For three days we chugged softly through delectable riverine scenes. We were entertained by a professional story-teller, musicians strummed on archaic instruments, and once in a while the girls put on old-fashioned costumes to perform a spirited dance. There was a single moment of drama that was more theatrical than alarming. Insurgents hidden in the dense underbrush at the water’s edge fired a few shots. Those on deck took momentary refuge behind the bales of malodorous fish piled there. No one was hurt and by the time I arrived on the scene from below, our military escort, who had blasted away at nothing in particular, had put down their guns and gone back to their gambling.
Next day Tok Gale welcomed me back in Mandalay.
‘No complications with journey, I am hoping? No bad effects from meeting with dog?’
‘None at all. Everything went off perfectly. Couldn’t have been better.’
‘I am relieved. Well at least something will be done now about all those dogs on our streets.’
‘So, you’re actually getting rid of them then?’
‘For a while, yes. Abbot U Thein San is taking all these animals into his pagoda compound for feeding and smarten-up. They will be released in a better frame of mind. It is belief that they will give no more trouble. In Mandalay we are used to seeing them. We should be regretful to miss their presence.’
‘It’s to be understood,’ I said.
‘So how are you planning return to Rangoon?’ he asked.
‘I’m taking the train.’
Tok Gale seemed doubtful about this. ‘For train travel they are saying that things are worse than they were. Rangoon train never arrives at destination.’
‘I’ve been hearing that, so I took the precaution of having a horoscope done at the stupa of King Pyu Sawhti.’
‘Ah yes. This is famous monarch hatched from egg. And was result satisfactory?’
‘Entirely so. The ponggi told me I was good for another thirty years.’
‘Well, that is splendid omen,’ Tok Gale said. ‘So 6.15 to Rangoon is holding few terrors for you?’
‘How can it after a horoscope like that?’
Tok Gale laughed and shook his head in mock reproach. ‘Now I must tell you something, Mr Lewis. You are falling into our ways.’
1997
Hold Back the Crowds
E VEN BACK IN THE early Fifties it was more interesting and usually more pleasant to travel in areas of Europe off the beaten track. In this respect Spain was outstanding, due largely to damaged communications in the aftermath of the Civil War. Many
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