Mrauk U and Back to Sittwe, Myanmar (Burma)
Downriver now, heading to Mrauk U with pretty much the same sights as before. Bamboo log rafts,...View image... people carrying water from the river...View image...fishing nets strung across the river....and then the Nawarat Hotel....View image...
Having seen what old ear plugs (or tribal earrings) looked like, it was a visit back to the little shop opposite the Pagoda where I purchased the Chin belt yesterday. Walked back in, bargained a bit, a bought a pair of little silver ear plugs and one amber ear plug. It wasn't easy, and took a lot of planning, to visit the Chin Tribe Area and Mrauk U but was certainly worth the effort. These are all experiences and cultures that are dying out and will never been seen again...not in my lifetime or generations to come. Worth the effort.
Time to pack up and get ready for the over 6+ hours on our return boat back Sittwe the next day. From there, a plane to Yangon and finish the trip. All the other tourists up in Sittwe and Mrauk U, got off their plane in the late afternoon and promptly boarded a boat for the river journey up to Mrauk U. On the return, they left Mrauk U around 4:00 am and immediately caught a flight back to Yangon. Diethelm advised against it because of the dangers traveling up and down unlit riverways with fishing nets strewn across it. In hindsight, I would have chanced trying the return trip hoping to get back to Yangon in a single day instead of spread out over two days. After you visit the Pagodas and Chin Tribe in Mrauk U, there really isn't a heck of a lot else to do. We might have misconnected but I still should have taken the chance.
In Sittwe, there was still one last morning before flying to Yangon in the afternoon and, as stated above, there isn't much to do or see in Sittwe. A visit to the local market, jowl-to-jowl with fish sellers and when I saw how the fish were kept out there in the broiling sun, it was a wonder that none of us got food poisoning....
...some sellers with their own version of homemade potato chips, wrapped in cellophane and sold from bicycles...
...and Toe told us how thieving locals steal fish when the fishermen turn their backs unloading their catch.
A very quick visit to Sakka Man Aung Buddha where a "topping out" ceremony was being held that day. A new "crown" or "umbrella" was going to be placed on the spire. ...View image... with huge crowds assembled around the Stupa.
This Buddha had over 1,162 little Buddhas on it and was over 1,500 years old. The pedestal was new but the face and body original.
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