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Published: August 19th 2007
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Helloooooo?
a raspy voice called from a window sill- i turned from what i thought was a private late night alley pee to just make out the glowing tip of a cheroot and a pair of spectacles. maybe the friendliest fella in kalaw had just made my acquaintence, leading to one of the more bizzare weeks of my life. aung 'lilly' is an energetic old man who loves company- he thus has a knack for drawing in curious travellers. on this particular evening we spoke briefly, but i promised we'd stop by after a 4 day trek we had scheduled with a local guide. okay! he says with excitement, you come stay with me and we'll make a big feast!
the trek i believed at the time was both hum drum and informative, our guide was a bit over protective and having your shelter/food/ass-wiping taken care of takes a bit of the fun out of a good hike. i longed to see virgin forest, this particular area being interesting due to contrasting wind patterns and various altitudes sculpting distinct ecological climate zones. (love anyone to share their expertise here) there appeared to be tropical savannah and more temperate regions,
train station
women selling produce and assorted items at the train station- theneka bark, ground with water into a powder and applied to the face is utilized ubiquitously to provide cool relief from the climate mostly distinct due to the various types of vegetation. Once underway, virgin forest appeared all but non existent due to slash and burn agricultural practices. Deforestation had consumed all but a small 'protected' forest not more than a few hectares in size... Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of such practices, he was born and raised in Kalaw, and had watched as the forest slowly disappeared at the bequest of the government for farmers to grow certain amounts of certain crops. Despite the lack of natural biodiversity, their now exists a tremendous amount of agricultural diversity (not saying this is a fair substitute)- we were told over 50 species of each banana and mango thrive in the surrounding valleys at different times of year as well as 95 types of bamboo. Growing thenapa leaves for cheroot (selig) cigars is also a popular livelihood, chemical fertilizers and insecticides included. The British have also contributed to this biodiversity since the initial colonization of '85.. pear, peach, avocado, hollyhock, bougainvillae, poppies, daisy, dalia, and cherry plums among others.
One of the newer trends is the importing of GMO's from China. Private businesses will set up in such small towns and
advertise heavily to local farmers. genetically modified cucumber, cauliflower, tomato, and papaya seeds are sold in large bags at increased prices promising larger and healthier yields.. our guide related these businesses are doing well while he felt that locals were too trustworthy, "some complain of poor soil or little rainfall, but they will not listen when I explain this could be due to deforestation and climate change. All they can do is trust their government, grow what they're told, and make money to survive"
Most disturbing to me were the young children in the thenapa fields and the smoke rooms- in many cases these rural areas are home to hundreds of children without enough classroom space. I met youngsters in each village who had completed their first or second grade, but would not return, instead picking, sorting, counting, stacking, and tending the fires to smoke thenapa leaves. just a guess that a childhood spent in a charcoal-smokey room might lead to some respiratory issues... on top of that a diet full of the very cheap and very ubiquitous palm oil.. i digress. the kids work hard and smile at the trekkers, our offer of school supplies we packed along
now feeling proposterous and insignificant.
Returning to the conifers of Kalaw, we were greeted by Aung 'Lilly' as promised, and cooked a fabulous meal of chapati, keema, and bean curry together in his kitchen. He insisted that we stay, we did, and then we met the wizard.
"not a normal man!" aung lilly would repeat with golomb-like intensity, "you will be so suprise!" suprised we were, and i can only describe the following days as travelling in the wizard's entourage, and observing as he would perform, well, what wizards do. Again I would assume someone knows much more than i do on the subject, but what i understand of what i witnessed and what was 'explained' to me in broken english was that some people, buddhists and animists alike believe it is possible for a person's body to be inhabited by both bad and good spirits or wizards. These bad wizards are generally of the jealous type, and must be convinced or coerced to leave the body by a master wizard (our wizard). The wizard was apparently very good at this, his power challenged one night when we visited a local monastary. The novice monks retreated to their
making lunch
there were roughly 15 people huddled around a giant bowl of rice, squatting, and shovelling the energy-rich grain into tired mouths while we monopolized the kitchen area cooking a multi-course meal. we were then served separately at a table with cloth and all- we sat eating with just about every child in the village staring at us until the proprietor turned on the tv, generally reserved for sunday afternoons in the village. we finished the meal in a room full of these kids sitting on the floor, their backs to us, staring at the screen. quarters and to my suprise the master wizard approached the head abbot at the front of the room who apparently was having some troubles recently. a small crowd had gathered and bats circled above our heads munching mosquitos while some of the older novice monks had the privelege to catch the australia vs. korean republic asian cup match in the corner, should they only cheer quietly while their abbot was in such a sensitive position. The wizard wasn't messing around and he had the laminated credentials to prove it. these activities carried on for two days, we were invited into many homes who requested the wizard's services, we drank many cups of tea, smoked cheroots until our throats cracked, and ate countless pastries. some eagerly invited us to stay with them on our next visit when they learned Aung 'Lilly' had played our host. after two days I had had enough wizardry- Aung 'Lilly' was grateful for our company (he enjoyed the spectacle while not believing in the wizard as some had) and assisted us in getting a local price on a cramped minibus, 10 hour ride to Mandalay...
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