This morning we are on our way to Katha, which has a population of about 70,000. Katha is the setting of George Orwell’s famous book, Burmese Days, a story of what life was like in this remote station during the colonial era. He was stationed here as an imperial policeman in the 1920s. Katha contains a number of wooden colonial-era buildings. The most noted one in the book was the British Club, with its tennis courts, billiards, and club house where the British members gathered every afternoon to sport, lounge, and drink tumblers of whiskey and gin and tonics before the day’s supply of ice melted away.
Arriving in Kafta
Colonial era jail and execution building.
George Orwell (born Eric Blair) was born to British parents in British India. Following early years and education in England, he joined the Indian Police Service, and received his training in Mandalay. After successfully rising through the ranks, he eventually relocated to Katha, where he contracted dengue fever in 1927. He returned to England for treatment and never returned to Burma. He finished and published his book, Burmese Days in 1934, based on his experience in Katha where he wrote most of the book. Each of us was gifted a copy of the book on embarking, but few got beyond the first couple of chapters… a hard read and depressing. Following a very eclectic life and literary path, he published the novels Animal Farm in 1945, and 1984 in 1949, which depicts a negative view of the way the world was going, with an intent to encourage a change in direction. He coined terms such as “Big Brother is watching you” and “Cold War.” The house he lived in while in Katha is now occupied by a policeman.
My trishaw ride is powered up and ready go!
The trishaw ‘wagon train’ is on the role.
The deluxe model with an umbrella for protection from the sun.
Colonial era Christ Church
British Club tennis courts.
British Club billiard building.
British Club interior. A dirt spec of its former grandness.
Once on shore, we loaded into individual trishaws also known as sidecars, to get a sense of the town and to move between the various points of interest. These interests include temples, stupas, the open market, the British Club, Christ Church dating back to the colonial days, the main jail where dissidents were hung, and the Deputy Commissioners House, which was once the grandest house in town and the social epicenter. It seems that the trishaws are now primarily a tourist ‘ride’ with locals preferring scooters, a few bicycles for underage drivers, and little truck/buses that provide shuttle service. It was a fun ride, giving us the chance to see things in slow motion and relative quiet. We stopped to see Orwell’s often mentioned British Club. While the tennis courts appear maintained and in use, the Club House had been repurposed several times over the years and doesn’t resemble the original house. Its historic and noteworthy bar is gone. The rooms were basically empty save a desk used by a town administrator, and scattered piles of junk and furniture parts were piled in corners. As a consequence of the changing river path, the Club House, once beautifully situated on its banks, is now isolated in an area far from the river and receives no effort in preservation. One of the rooms on the lower level is now used as a classroom for private weekend lessons in math and English for students able to pay. While the town has lots of potential to make it charming and quaint, it remains a big work in process.
British Clubs only use today – a Saturday classroom.
The open market, a standard component in every village and town, offered a full array of goods. As Tin described it, men work to earn money, while women manage the money, wash all the clothing, raise children, and shop every day to prepare the day’s meals. While some towns, like this, have electric power, it is generally available to only a few areas and buildings. Consequently, refrigerators are not used. Groceries must be purchased and consumed each day. I noted that satellite TV was the top utilized electrical appliance, frequently powered by a car battery that was charged via a solar panel. Tin talked about his home in a small village across the river from Mandalay. His mother lives with them and has taken responsibility for all the washing. To help her, Tin bought her a washing machine. She refuses to use it, claiming that it doesn’t get clothing as clean as washing them at the river’s edge using their ‘special soap’. When I spotted the soap at the open market, I bought a bar so I could try it. I used it to remove a stain from one of my shirts! It worked!
The soap the Burmese use to wash their clothes in the river.
Colors of the daily market.
Explaining all the unusual offerings.
Poultry – how delicious is that?
Fresh fish of all types.
Yummy live crickets. Pull off the wings and fry!
Delivering fresh oranges to the market.
Fast food to go!
When visiting Orwell’s house, Tin received permission from the police tenant for us to go through the house–a huge disappointment, it is just a shell–with only one room occupied and sparsely furnished by the current tenant. It was difficult to glean anything to further understand Orwell.
Orwell’s house.
Our final stop was at the Deputy Commissioner’s House. It also is unoccupied and shows its years of non-maintenance. Again, the rooms were empty, not giving us any hint of what life was like during its peak period. It was our favorite stop as the ship’s crew brought cold towels, chairs to sit on, and glasses of champagne while sitting in front of the house. We felt very ‘colonial!’ Reflecting on our outing, all of us were moved by how open and friendly all the people were. They encouraged us and enjoyed our taking photographs of their children and then sharing them. I guess we’re a curiosity. Some of the kids wanted to touch us and even feel my white hair.
A typical truck. Unknown vintage. They never have hoods to prevent overheating of their two-cycle Chinese engines. Fascinating.
Later in the afternoon, on our way to our next stop, Tin presented an explanation and demonstration about the ancient habit of betel-chewing and smoking cigars, known as ‘cheroots’ in Burma. A chewable wad, known as a quid, is assembled by taking a piece of betel leaf, applying a lime paste, then using it to wrap a betel nut harvested from the Areca palm, along with tobacco flakes and other flavorings. The quid is place in the mouth and chewed, creating saliva that is spit onto the ground or into a jar, similar to chewing tobacco.
Ingredients for Betel chewing are available throughout the market.
The nuts are one of the most popular mind-altering substances in the world, similar to our use of tobacco and alcohol. It is used by approximately one-tenth of the world’s population. It reportedly gives a buzz equivalent to six cups of coffee. It is viewed as a symbol of love, marriage, and even a cure for indigestion and impotence. Unfortunately, any benefits are vastly overshadowed by high rates of oral cancer. Users can be readily recognized by their red and ultimately black teeth – not very attractive. Governments are increasingly trying to educate people by funding programs to eliminate or curb its use. Farmers are subsidized to plant alternative crops. The disgusting practice of spitting the red spittle has been outlawed in certain cities such as Yangon. It is also interesting to note that one of Buddhism’s main precepts is no drinking of alcohol, yet no mention is made of betel chewing, which pre-dates the founding of Buddhism.
Tin invited us to assemble a quid and to chew it! The only person in our group who was brave enough to try it was Tom…a true adventurer. He didn’t like the taste. I didn’t stick around for a demonstration of the spitting part.
Next up, the dark green cheroot is a cigar distinctive to Burma. It is made from a blend of tobacco and fragrant wood chips, rolled up in a flattened, dried leaf from a Sebasten tree. The ‘Cuba’ of cheroots is the Shan state, specifically from Taunggyi, where it is the main cash crop. Unlike cigars as we know them, both ends are clipped, permitting fast and inexpensive manufacturing. They come in a variety of sizes, with the especially big cheroots popular in Mandalay.
Both men and women puff away on cheroot stogies. They were very popular with the British in Burma and India, who believed that smoking them provided resistance against tropical disease as an insect repellent. I’m sure it was a more pleasant experience than applying 100% DEET spray.
The day wound down by enjoying the beautiful sunset with a glass of wine in hand (better than betel chewing) while waiting for dinner. Tonight’s entertainment was a showing of the movie “Lady.” The ship’s staff joined us… they love the movie.
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