Yangon, Myanmar. Sunday, 5th January 2003.
Today I visited a village called Zayawaddy, approx. 250 kms. from Yangon, with my supplier named Bidyabhushan. We set out at 06:00 (after having decided to leave at 04:00; people here have absolutely no value for time!) The road leading away from Yangon was excellent till a town called Bago, 80 kms away. It was broad, in superb condition and had a divider throughout. Trees lined either side of the highway and also decorated the divider. We could thus cover the distance in a little over an hour. After Bago, however, was a nightmare ! The road was unmetalled for the best part, dug up in many places; and with substantial traffic, we progressed at a snail's pace. We could cover the 170 kms distance in four hours!
The landscape is much the same as India's - the same open spaces, fields, etc. Mountains, however, were conspicuous by their absence. The village itself is nothing to write home about, it is well; just a village! Sightseeing not being the purpose of my visit, I ignored the village itself and focussed on Mr. Bidyabhushan's three dal mills, whose functioning is what I had gone to see. After a lunch at his house, we visited a temple which had a plethora of Indian gods and godesses - Laxmi, Saraswati, Ram, Hanuman, etc. The village has a predominantly Hindu population, of Indian origin. I was introduced to a few locals who were thrilled to receive a visitor from the land of their ancestors. We exchanged news and I came away with the feeling that villages are the same everywhere - the inhabitants are simple and honest; and treat a visitor from a city/foreign land like God !
We started our return journey at dusk and after a better drive(due to lack of traffic) and a brief halt at Bago for dinner, were back in the pavillion at 23=45.
A Sunday well spent !