cottage industry and party time on Bilu Kyun

April 22, 2015 · by · in Myanmar

I took an organized tour of Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island) while visiting Mawlamyine. The interesting thing about this island is that there’s all sorts of nifty cottage industries going on, but on such a discreet level that you could be standing outside a weaving workshop or hat maker, and not realize it, unless accompanied by someone in the know. There were nine of us, plus our guide, stuffed into the back of a songthaew, and in the course of the day stopped at:

  • a weaving workshop
  • a bamboo hat maker, who made a custom hat on the spot for one of our party
  • a rubber band factory
  • someone who made floor mats from coconut husks
  • her neighbors, who braided rope, also from coconut husks. These women would hold one end of the rope in their toes, and braid three strands so quickly that it looked like they were just rubbing their palms together.
  • a woman who produced sheets of rubber that were then used for things like sandals and tires
  • a factory that made school slates

Unexpectedly, we sort of crashed two parties for novices and monks entering the monastery. It was a very weird experience. The first party we stopped at had a live band blasting through speakers at some decibel level that was off the charts. I’m pretty sure migrating whales in the Pacific could hear this party. (I was subjected to the same ear-splitting volume of music several times thought Myanmar, without ever understanding why they like playing music so loud that it hurts, sometimes at 5:00 in the morning). We were all pulled in, seated at tables covered in bowls of food that were constantly and instantly refilled, and then surrounded by other party guests armed with fans, who fanned us as we ate lunch. Then they wanted to take our picture with, I assume, the young man who was becoming a monk. It was all very jolly. After getting back into our little songthaew, we went about two kilometers down the road, and got pulled into another novice party, served drinks, and then seated at tables covered in bowls of food that were constantly and instantly refilled. None of us expected two lunches before noon, ten minutes apart. I’m sure our guide told the hostess that we had just eaten lunch, but he also told us that we would do right by the event to partake in the feast, so we did our best to eat a little more, probably all wishing that we hadn’t eaten so much at the first party, and wondering if any more were to come. There wasn’t, which was probably a good thing; all the Burmese were so friendly and welcoming, but I don’t think our tummies could have taken any more.
 
Unfortunately we left the island by 17:00, so didn’t get to see the official end of these parties, when the novices are taken by ox-cart through the villages to their monastery (there are many monasteries on the island). We did see one of ox-carts, pulled by two magnificent fancy white oxen. I always wonder if animals who are groomed and dressed know that they look pretty, or if they are indifferent to their appearance. We also passed some villagers who were waiting for this procession, all dressed up. They were pretty, too.

It was a good day. Mawlamyine was one of the places I enjoyed the most in Myanmar. Part of it may have been because I was still in a state of newly-arrived, wide-eyed wonder, but it was also just a genuinely pleasant place to be, even though there’s not a heckuva lot going on. Part of the fun was getting there from Yangon on the train, a terrific ten-hour swaying, lurching ride down a narrow-gauge track. At times the swaying was so severe that a suitcase sailed out of the overhead racks. For most of the trip, food and drink vendors were constantly up and down the aisles, selling sodas, coffees, full savory meals with rice and curry served on a banana leaf plate, munchies of all sorts including what appeared to be fried and dried prawns pressed into a disk, betel quid, sliced fruit with chili salt, the list goes on. I bought an ear of steamed corn for about 30¢. The town itself has a crumbling, old-world charm, and the locals were super friendly. I spent part of an afternoon just walking through the market saying hello to the vendors and asking if I could take their pictures. They almost always said yes, but then wouldn’t sit still, so I have a bunch of blurry people photos. I wish I had stayed a few days longer, as well as continuing south, instead of turning back north when I did. Next time.

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