Messing about up the River Thanlwin, 20101

This is the eighth part of our 2010 Burma Crusade. Click here for the index.

One of our less successful side-trips in 2009 was the public ferry up the Thanlwin (Salween) River between Moulmein and Hpa-An. The boat left late, the actual journey took twice as long as expected and when it wasn't pouring with rain it was dark... Sitting on the verandah at the Breeze Guest House in Moulmein we were told of a small village with an interesting temple complex just off the river upstream from Moulmein. It sounded like the perfect way to see a bit more of the river under better conditions and kill the second of two blank days before filming at Dakhondaing, so we set Han on the trail and with the assistance of the guest house owner, he came up trumps as he always does.

It's one of those places which you can probably reach by road if you are determined enough (we saw a group of local tourists arrive in a pick-up) but it's actually quicker and far more pleasant to go in a boat, the cost is quite bearable especially if you can rope in a few others to share the expense. The best place to find a boat is the Hpa-An ferry terminal at the top end of town beyond the new bridge, the bags on the right are full of charcoal, by the way. That's our small boat with three arm chairs, you'd best bring a brolly to protect yourself from the sun. There are some splendid distant views of the beautiful (?) bridge and the island between Moulmein and Mottama.

Traffic on the river was quite heavy, apart from passenger boats and empty stock workings, the state of the tide meant that there were literally dozens of small fishing boats out, at one stage I lost count at forty in sight, we had to do a slalom course to avoid their nets, each boat seemed equipped with a shiny almost brand new outboard motor. The journey took about an hour, you had to give learner drivers a wide berth and remember to turn left at the white pagoda...

You'd need better equipment than we have to do justice to the bird life and as we landed, I guess we were technically entering Kayin (Karen) State. I was hugely pleased to see that the Immigration Department was conspicuously absent as we moored, it was going to be difficult enough even without their putting their oar in. Hey, what's someone done with the jetty? Does anyone have a spare plank? Never mind, Jesus is my second name, I skipped ashore and waited for the fun. Alas, our spoilsport boatman had a plan B, the locals from a simultaneous arrival sensibly let the foreign tourist road test the arrangements and everyone kept their balance and their dignity intact.

The river level here fluctuates wildly, not just with the tides but with the wet and dry season. Work stopped in the local dry dock as we walked past and just round the corner was the wet season jetty:

We ambled into the first of two twin villages to see what was 'on offer' and while Yuehong photographed some classic feminine forms, I concentrated on the live versions:

Read about what else we found in the second part of this account.