ywalut village of chaungzon township as part of mon state’s myanmar
TRANSCRIPT
3/25/2017 The Last PipeMakers of Belu Island
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Specials
The Last Pipe-Makers of Belu Island
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By NYEIN NYEIN 24 March 2017
CHAUNG ZON, Mon State — Crafting smoking pipes in Burma has never been a big
business, although it has endured through generations. Now the dwindling cottage
industry relies on a handful of people in Ywalut village of Chaungzon Township to keep
it alive.
As part of Mon State’s Belu Islands, Ywalut is a tourist attraction for its handcrafted
pipes and wooden walking sticks, while its neighbor, Mudoon, has made itself a name
for producing writing slates (known in Burmese as kyauk thin bone).
A 10-minute ferry trip from Moulmein (Mawlamyine), the capital of Mon State,
Chaungzon Township is a collection of more than 70 villages, with a population of
120,000.
View gallery
Standing in the middle of Ywalut is a three-meter high ‘Made in Ywalut’ pipe, flanked by
three Brahminy Ducks, a cultural symbol for ethnic Mon people. Craftsman Mann Ngwe
Win, who has a rich heritage of pipe making, created the sculpture in 2014.
He has been making pipes for four and a half decades, inheriting the business, the 555
Special Walking Stick and Wooden Cottage Industry, from his father and working from
his own two-story home.
Craftsman Mann Ngwe Win smokes a 10-headed ogre pipe. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy
A three-meter high ‘Made in
Ywalut’ pipe flanked by
three Brahminy Ducks
stands in the middle of
Ywalut is a (Photo: Nyein
Nyein / The Irrawaddy)
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The 60-year-old proudly reflects on the legacy of his grandfather, U Nyunt, the first
person in the area to make wooden pipes. Working during the colonial era, U Nyunt’s
innovative approach to the craft earned him an award in Moulmein, says his grandson.
Mann Ngwe Win’s pipes are getting noticed for their quality and distinctive carvings;
depicting portraits of former US President Barack Obama, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
to name a few, as well as the legendary ten-headed ogre pipe.
Intricate portraits take at least two days to complete, the old man explains, while a
simple pipe could be finished within hours.
“But it takes 10 days to finish a ten-headed ogre pipe,” he says, showing how to smoke
it. “This is my tenth one. I only start making a new one once I’ve sold the last.”
Meghan Menchhofer, an educator and immigration activist from the US state of Indiana,
who was visiting Mon State with Moulmein-Fort Wayne Sister City International,
examined some carvings in the workshop.
“We like to shop locally and meet the local community,” she says. “We found out this is
one of the local factories, so we came here to support the business and see what type
of things they make – it’s beautiful here.”
The pipes are made from quality ironwood, ideally from the kino (gum) tree or teak,
which is transported from central Burma towns such as Pyinmana.
A few families in Ywalut still make pipes and sell them at national markets, mainly west
in Arakan State or south in Dawei. Some entrepreneurial spirits produce simple pipes,
lower quality than the carved pipes but easier and quicker to make if the orders are
there.
The pipe-making business slumped in the late 20th century because of a lack of raw
materials, says Mann Ngwe Win, and many families moved to Pegu and other areas or
migrated to neighboring countries like Thailand in search of work.
“Even though the logo ‘Made in Ywalut’ is well known, very few people work in this
industry anymore,” he says. “Especially compared to the past.”
Lamenting that these cottage industries never received strong support from the
government, Mann Ngwe Win adds, “We’re all on our own.”
But this has not finished Ywalut’s pipe makers. His eldest son, Aung San Oo, helps him
to make pipes and walking sticks.
“I learned how to make those pipes in my childhood,” says Aung San Oo, while carving.
“I’ve always been interested in it, and picked it up after school.”
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He says a simple pipe will take at least three hours to finish. Walking sticks in the
workshop are just as beautiful as the pipes and can be ordered, as can wooden
scabbards, too.
Topics: Arts, Culture, Heritage, Mon State
Nyein Nyein
The Irrawaddy
Nyein Nyein is Senior Reporter at the English edition of
The Irrawaddy.
News
Health Ministry: One in Five WomenExperience Domestic Violence
By HTET NAING ZAW 23 March 2017
NAYPYIDAW — One in five women in Burma have experienced domestic violence,
according to the first Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) 2015-16
conducted by Burma’s Ministry of Health and Sports.
The Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey launched in Naypyidaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy
3/25/2017 Mon State Wikipedia
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Mon State မနပြညနယState
Myanma transcription(s)
• Burmese mwan pranynai
Flag
Location of Mon State in Myanmar
Country MyanmarRegion SouthCapital Mawlamyaing (Mon: Matmalom)Government
• Chief Aye Zan (NLD)
Mon StateFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mon State (Burmese: မနပြညနယ,pronounced: [mʊɴ pjìnɛ]; Mon: တရးဍၚမန၊ ရးမညေဒသ) is anadministrative division ofMyanmar. It lies between KayinState to the east, the AndamanSea to the west, Bago Region tothe north and Tanintharyi Regionto the south, also having a shortborder with Thailand'sKanchanaburi Province at itssoutheastern tip. The land area is12,155 km2. The Dawna Range,running along the eastern side ofthe state in a NNW–SSE direction,forms a natural border with KayinState. Mon State includes somesmall islands, such as Kalegauk,Wa Kyun and Kyungyi Island,along its 566 km of coastline. Thestate's capital is Mawlamyaing.
Contents
1 History1.1 Mon kingdoms
(6th11th/13th16th/18thcenturies)
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• ChiefMinister
Aye Zan (NLD)
• Cabinet Mon State Government • Legislature Mon State HluttawArea
• Total 12,296.6 km2 (4,747.7 sq mi)Area rank 12th
Population (2014 Census)[1] • Total 2,054,393 • Rank 9th • Density 170/km2 (430/sq mi)Demographics
• Ethnicities Mon, Bamar, AngloBurmese,Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Rakhine,Shan, BurmeseThai
• Religions Buddhism, ChristianityTime zone MST (UTC+06:30)Website www.monstate.gov.mm (http://
www.monstate.gov.mm)
1.2 Advent of theBritish
1.3 Burmeseindependence
2 Government2.1 Executive2.2 Legislative2.3 Judiciary
3 Demographics andgeography3.1 Climate and
weather4 Economy5 Transport6 Administrative divisions
6.1 Cities and townsand villages
7 Education8 Health care9 Notable sites10 See also11 References12 External links
History
Humans lived in the region that is now Myanmar as early as 11,000 years ago, butthe first identifiable civilisation is that of the Mon. The Mon probably beganmigrating into the area eastward from eastern India in the period from 3000 BC to1500 BC and settled in the Chao Phraya River basin of southern Thailand around
the 6th century AD. The Mon moved westward into the Irrawaddy Delta of
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the 6th century AD. The Mon moved westward into the Irrawaddy Delta ofsouthern Myanmar in the ensuing centuries. Mon tradition holds that theSuwarnabhumi mentioned in the Edicts of Ashoka and the Dîpavamsa was theirfirst kingdom (pronounced Suvanna Bhoum), founded around the port of Thaton inabout 300 BC, however, this is disputed by scholars.
Oral tradition suggests that they had contact with Buddhism via seafaring as earlyas the 3rd century BCE, though definitely by the 2nd century BCE when theyreceived an envoy of monks from Ashoka. The Mon converted to TheravadaBuddhism sometime before the sixth century,[2] and they adopted the Indian Paliscript. Much of the Mon's written records have been destroyed through wars. TheMons blended Indian and Mon cultures in a hybrid of the civilisations. By 825 theyhad firmly established themselves in southern and southeastern Myanmar andfounded the cities of Bago (Pegu) and Thaton. By the mid9th century, they hadcome to dominate all of southern Myanmar.
Mon kingdoms (6th11th/13th16th/18th centuries)
The first recorded kingdom that can undisputedly be attributed to the Mon wasDvaravati which prospered until around 1024 AD when their capital was sacked bythe Khmer Empire and most of the inhabitants fled west to presentday Burma andeventually founded new kingdoms. These, too, eventually came under pressurefrom new ethnic groups arriving from the north.
Advent of the British
Lower Burma, including what is now Mon State, was conquered by Great Britain in1824 after the First AngloBurmese War. The Mon assisted the British in the war, inreturn for promises of their own leadership after the defeat of Burma. Hundreds ofthousands of Mons who had migrated into Siam returned to their homeland when itcame under British rule. However, British promises to restore the Mon Kingdomwere never fulfilled. During colonial times, Moulmein had a substantial AngloBurmese population; an area of the city was known as 'Little England' due to thelarge AngloBurmese community. Nowadays this community has dwindled to ahandful of families as most have left for the UK or Australia.
Burmese independence
In 1947, the Mon sought selfdetermination from the yet unformed Union of
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Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1973 1,314,224 —
In 1947, the Mon sought selfdetermination from the yet unformed Union ofBurma. Burmese Prime Minister U Nu refused, saying that no separate nationalrights for the Mon should be contemplated. The Burmese army moved into areasclaimed by the Mon nationalists and imposed rule by force which resulted in a civilwar. Mon separatists formed the Mon Peoples Front, which was later supersededby the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in 1962. Since 1949, the eastern hills of thestate (as well as portions of Thaninthaya Division) have been under control of theNMSP and its military arm, the Mon National Liberation Front (MNLF). In addition tofighting the central government, the MNLF has fought the Karen people overcontrol of lucrative border crossings into Thailand.
In 1974, partially to assuage Mon separatist demands, the theoreticallyautonomous Mon State was created out of portions of Thaninthayi Division andBago Division. Resistance continued until 1995, when NMSP and SLORC agreed aceasefire. In 1996, the Mon Unity League was founded. SLORC troops continuedto operate in defiance of the agreement. The human rights situation in Mon Statehas not improved. International organizations have repeatedly accused theMyanmar government for massive human rights violations in Mon State, includingforced labor, arbitrary detention, population transfer, property confiscation, andrape.
Government
Executive
Legislative
Judiciary
Demographics and geography
The population was 2,054,393 according to2014 Census. The majority are Mon. However,there is a large number of ethnic Bamar, aswell as members of the Kayin and PaO ethnicgroups and a small, dwindling AngloBurmese
community. Many are isolated and many do
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1983 1,680,157 +27.8%2014 2,054,393 +22.3%Source: 2014 Myanmar Census[1]
Limestone landscape nearMudon, south of Mawlamyaing.
community. Many are isolated and many donot understand or speak Burmese. There is aThai Community in Kyaikkami. The majority ofpeople are Buddhist.
Bordering Bago Division in the south ofSittaung River Mouth, Kayin State in the east,Thailand and Taninthayi Division in the south andAndaman Sea and Gulf of Mottama in the West,Mon state is situated between latitudes 14°52'north and 17°32 ' north and east longitudes 96°51' east and 98° 13' east.
Climate and weather
Mon State has a tropical climate. It has temperateweather as it is located in the low latitude zone and near the sea. The state hasonly slight changes in temperature. The average temperature of Mawlamyine inJanuary is 78 °F (25.6 °C) and in April is 85 °F (29.4 °C). Annual rainfall inMawlamyine is 190 inches (4.8 m) and in Thaton is 217 inches (5.5 m). Rain isespecially heavy in July and August.
Economy
Mon State has a cultivated area of nearly 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²), mostlyunder rice. The major secondary crop is rubber. Orchards and rubber plantationsare found in the mountainous areas while Coastal fishing and related industriessuch as production of dried fish, fish sauce and agaragar are in southern part, Yedistrict. Production of Betel nut is also a sustaining business of Mon state, as theMon peasants preserved their heredity land onwards along with the governmentregulations, however, there are some many parts of uncultivated crude land in thearea closed to neighbour Karen state. Moreover, modern business developmentincludes growing of cashew trees (acajoύ, in Portuguese), from which they collectthe cashew nut for market elsewhere.
Other industries include paper, sugar, rubber tires. Thaton has a major factory(Burmese, KaSaLa) of rubber products run by Ministry of Industry (1). Forestscover approximately half of the area and timber production is one of the majorcontributors to the economy. Minerals extracted from the area include salt,antimony, and granite. Natural resources such as
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Mawlamyine Bridge looks unmodernized, but it's thelongest bridge of Myanmarthat serves the flow of thenorthsouth economy.
antimony, and granite. Natural resources such asforest products, and onshore and offshore mineralresources, are exploited only by top Myanmarmilitary leaders and foreign companies. At thepresent time one of the biggest foreign investmentsinto Myanmar is for the exploitation of natural gasreserves in Mon State. The Yadana Gas projectwhich connected pipelines alongside the towns ofMon state made harassed danger to the native Monland and Mon people.
In Mudon, a city near Mawlamyaing, there is an applied research center foragricultural science with laboratory bases in rubber plantation and fertilization ofsome other species.
In the past during the socialist regime, the trading of Mon state was exceptionalbecause the Mon business persons had deals with the foreign enterprises fromSingapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Imports and exports of goods from and to thatcountries were made via seaports of Mawlamyaing, Ye and Thanbyuzayat district.Although it seemed to be unofficial trading in the past, it absolutely developed MonState if compared to the decline economy of the current situation.
The future plans with tourism will benefit Mon state a lot as it has excellenttransportation with the capital Rangoon. Transportation routes include Train, Bus,Sea line and Airlines. The newly opened Mawlamyaing Bridge gives quick accessfrom southern Ye to North Bago and Rangoon by a day journey. Three PagodaPass is an alternative route which communicates Mon state with neighbourKanchanaburi province of Thailand.
Transport
Ye Airport
Administrative divisions
Mon state has a capital of Mawlamyaing, the third largest city in Myanmar. It wasformerly known as Moulmein under the British colonial rule till the late 1980s.Administrative body is set under South Eastern Regional Command of Myanmar
Army in Mawlamyine and Mawyawaddy Navy Command controls coastline security.
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Army in Mawlamyine and Mawyawaddy Navy Command controls coastline security.There are dispersed army infantry battalions at many towns in Mon state, andThaton has a Light Infantry Division (44th). Major districts are divided for example,Mawlamyaing, Thaton, and Ye districts. At present, army infantries are denselyplaced in the former neutral territory of Ye district for future plans. Ye has becomethe major city for Southern Mon State with Sector Operation Command of AirDefense, and Military Operations Command 19 based headquarters.
Mon State consists of two districts:
Mawlamyine DistrictThaton District
Cities and towns and villages
Cities with large district Towns Villages
Mawlamyaing Mudon Kawtbane
Thaton Paung Kamawak
Thanbyuzayat Belin Phaauk
Ye Mottama Panga
Kyaikmaraw Kyaikkami Jaingyike
Kyaikhto Sittaung Theinsake
Bakwai Lamine Mawkanin
Chaungzon Kamarwatt Ywar Lut
Islands
Belukyun
Kalargoke island
Education
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities
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Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main citiesof Yangon and Mandalay. The following is a summary of the public school systemin the state in the academic year 20022003.[3]
AY 2002
2003Primary Middle High
Schools 1210 87 56
Teachers 6200 3200 900
Students 222,000 81,000 26,000
All institutions of higher education in the state are located in Mawlamyaing.Mawlamyaing University is the main university in the state.
Health care
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military governmentspends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care,consistently ranking among the lowest in the world.[4][5] Although health care isnominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even inpublic clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities andequipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the state, inthe fiscal year 20022003.[6]
2002–2003 # Hospitals # Beds
Specialist hospitals
General hospitals with specialistservices
1 350
General hospitals 10 341
Health clinics 14 224
Total 25 915
Even by the low standards of Myanmar, the available health services in Mon State
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Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is at3,615 ft (1,102 m) high
Even by the low standards of Myanmar, the available health services in Mon Stateare shockingly low. A state of 2.5 million people has less than 1000 hospital beds.
Notable sites
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (or) kyaikisiyo pagoda Afamous religious site with a steeple built on a rockcovered with gold leaf, precariously balanced on thesite of a cliff. Legend says that Buddha's hair wasplaced inside the pagoda, and its power keeps therock from falling.Thaton the former capital of an ancient Monkingdom, much earlier than Bagan.Thanbyuzayat War Memorial death railwayconnected with the Bridge over the River Kwai.Satse and KyaikKami 18 miles (29 km) fromThanbyuzayati is a popular beach resort inMyanmar.Belukyun (Belu island) opposite to Mawlamyaing is rich in chemical resourcesas well as traditional handmake products business.
Mudon Kan Gyi Pagoda and Kangyi Pagoda lies on the hill west of the vast lakeeast of Mudon. It was built to enshrine a Buddha's hair relic granted by Buddha ashe and five hundred arahantas were going on sojourn this way on completion ofeight vasas to a hermit named (Min) Maung staying there. The original was builtinto a higher one 40 cubits high by town mayor of Zaya.
See also
Mon State Cultural MuseumRamannadesaMon Desa
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References
1. Census Report. The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. 2. Naypyitaw:Ministry of Immigration and Population. May 2015. p. 17.
2. Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16847/16847h/16847h.htm), Vol. 3 by Sir Charles Eliot
3. "Education statistics by level and by State and Division". Myanmar Central StatisticalOrganization. Retrieved 20090410.
4. "PPI: Almost Half of All World Health Spending is in the United States". 20070117.5. Yasmin Anwar (20070628). 06.28.2007 "Burma junta faulted for rampant diseases"Check |url= value (help). UC Berkeley News.
6. "Hospitals and Dispensaries by State and Division". Myanmar Central StatisticalOrganization. Retrieved 20090411.
External links
Kaowao News Group (http://www.kaowao.org/News.81.php?#6)Mawlamyaing culture (http://www.mawlamyine.com)Monzel.be (http://www.monzel.be) (in Burmese)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mon_State&oldid=768522254"
Categories: Mon State States of Myanmar 1974 establishments in BurmaStates and territories established in 1974 Andaman Sea
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3/25/2017 Bilu Island Wikipedia
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Bilu Island ဘလးကျနး
Island of Mon State
Location of Bilu IslandCoordinates: 16.369383°N 97.517714°E
Country MyanmarRegion Mon StateDistrict Mawlamyine DistrictTownship Chaungzon TownshipTimezone
Myanmar Standard Time(UTC+6:30)
Bilu IslandFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bilu Island (Burmese: ဘလးကျနး;Bilu Kyun, lit. "ogre island") is anisland in Chaungzon Township,Mon State, located west ofMawlamyine.[1] The island isroughly the size of Singapore, andinhabited by 200,000 people.[1][2]
On 8 February 2015, the MonState government began aconstruction project to build a1,586 metres (5,203 ft) bridge,the Bilu IslandThanlwin Bridge, toconnect Mawlamyine's Mupunjetty to Bilu Island's Kanyawvillage, the first to beconstructed.[3][4] The project,which is estimated to costUS$60 million, will be constructedby a JapanBurma joint venture.[4]Bilu Island is not connected to thenational electricity grid.[4] Thepeople in this island depend onsome interesting home industriessuch as black boards for schools,rubber bands, cane products,wooden pipes, pencils, pens andtobacco.
References
Bilu Island is located inMyanmar
Bilu Island
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1. "Introducing Bilu Kyun". LonelyPlanet. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
2. Danmark, Maria (25 March 2013). "Bilu Kyun Island in Mon State: a transport timewarp". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
3. "ဘလးကျနးသလငတတား ပနနကရကအခမးအနားပြလပ". လတလပသော မနသတငးအေဂျငစ(in Burmese). 9 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
4. Naw Say Phaw Waa (16 February 2015). "Ministers break ground on new Mawlamyinebridge". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bilu_Island&oldid=770119312"
Categories: Islands of Myanmar Populated places in Mon StateMyanmar geography stubs
This page was last modified on 13 March 2017, at 15:01.Text is available under the Creative Commons AttributionShareAlike License;additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Useand Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the WikimediaFoundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization.
3/25/2017 Bilu Island
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Bilu IslandIf you’re “Lookin’ lazy at the sea” from Mawlamyine, then you’relooking at the point where the mighty Than Lwin merges into theislandstudded Gulf of Martaban. The large, relatively flat islandyou see directly opposite and west of town is picturesque andfascinating Bilu Kyun (Bilu Island).
Bilu Island is known locally as Ogre Island; we heard several stories behind the name, with our
favourite coming from an islander who reckoned that in ancient times locals were notorious for being
particularly ugly. They liked to file their teeth to points and preferred to eat their meat raw, so became
known to mainlanders as ogres…
On the boat. Photo: Mark Ord
These days the island is famous for its wellpreserved and distinctive Mon culture. We found the
residents charming and perfectly normal looking. Bilu is large, with more than 60 villages on the
island. Rice paddies and rubber plantations provide a living for many and the locals also maintain a
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remarkable range of traditional cottage industries. The boat trip there is worth doing on its own; the
scenery is bucolic and people extremely friendly. Visits to the local handicraft displays can provide a
handy framework to your visit.
Too large to do on foot, your best bet is to sort out one of the local motorbike taxis, tuk tuks or, if
you’re a larger group, hire one of the trucks that wait at the main island jetty at Nat Maw village. By
the way: passports may or may not be checked at the Bilu jetty, so take at least a photocopy of yours.
Some of the drivers speak some English and act as local guides and invaluable they are, too. Rates
depend on how long you’d like to stay on the island, but roughly speaking expect to pay 10,000 to
12,000 kyat a day for a motorbike or around 25,000 to 35,000 for a tuk tuk or truck. For this, the
driver will act as guide too.
Bamboo hat making. Photo: Mark Ord
The various island villages each have their own specialties which give a focal point to each village visit.
We found many fascinating but don’t worry: Inle Lake this is not. There’s no hard sell or souvenir
shops — indeed many places sold nothing at all and just seemed pleased to have some visitors — long
may that last. Note that if you’re on an organised tour, then a contribution by the guide will be
incorporated into the tour price, but if you’re on your own ask your driver about a donation.
See what your driver suggests, go with the flow and do note that many of the handicrafts that we
initially poohpoohed turned out to be the most interesting. Don’t miss the backyard rubber band
making and other options include classic Burmese bamboo hat fabrication, tobacco pipes,
cheroots, walking sticks, weaving and old fashioned slate writing boards. The slate quarries
themselves are also sometimes included.
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Rubber band making on Bilu. Photo: Mark Ord
Tong Sone is the largest town. It has several curry, noodle and tea shops along its main street while
more can be found at the nearby Nat Maw Jetty car park. There’s even a KBZ bank in Tong Sone with
an ATM. Handicraftwise, it’s known for its weaving. Nee Mote is the hatmaking village, Mudon is
known for slate and Wya Lut has the wood carving and rubber band making wrapped up.
At time of writing there is no accommodation for foreigners on Bilu Island. Information as to the last
boat varied between 15:30 and 16:30, but if you do miss the last boat you will be obliged to hire your
own — so don’t miss it!
The crossing takes from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon which boat you take, and costs
2,000 kyat per person. Both government and private ferries make the crossing. The former departs
from the jetty by the main market on Strand Road and the latter leaves from the Chaung Sone Jetty a
couple of kilometres south of the town centre. Government ones are larger but slower. For a timetable,
see our Mawlamyine travel section.
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Weaving away. Photo: Mark Ord
Breeze Guesthouse organises regular day trips for around $15 per person. OtherHOTELS will find
you a driver and vehicle. It is relatively easy to organise on your own, though. Either way, Bilu
Island should not be missed.
As of early 2016, a new bridge is under construction to link the island and mainland. While that will
make life easier for residents, it will also change the island. Completion is due some time in 2017; visit
sooner rather than later.
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Browse tours in Burma Myanmar on Tourradar.com
By Mark Ord.
Last updated on 24th June, 2016.
Across the water from Mawlamyine
Location map for Bilu Island
*
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Magical Mawlamyine & The OgreIsland August 14, 2014 Mike & Anne
It’s three o’clock in the morning in Mawlamyine, Myanmar and we are looking fora place to sleep. Going from overnight bus to taxi van, we wind down themountain with toward the moonlit shimmer of the Thanlwin river. The cabbytakes us toBREEZES GUEST HOUSE , a crumbling colonial mansion on thewaterfront. We stand in front of the ornate doorway with a raised ist, afraid toknock at this ungodly hour. Wrap, wrap, tap…Mr. Anthony, the 70‑something
Welcome! We’reMike & Anne
We left on our honeymoon in2012 and have beentraveling the world eversince.Here's the HoneyTrek story...
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innkeeper, opens the door and sleepily motions us in. “It’s $8 for a veeerrrrrysmall room,” he says, “or $40 for the Rubber Baron’s master suite with originalfurnishings.” Not quite sure where we were or what we were getting into, wetook the closest, cheapest room and rested up for three unforgettable days inMawlamyine and Ogre Island.
The temperature had risen to 102 degrees by the time we awoke but wemotivated to explore the streets of what used to be called Little London. The Britsmade Mawlamyine their irst Burmese capital in the 1800s and gave it thetrappings of home. Today their grand colonial buildings are selling anything fromcell phones to chicken feed and the wide boulevards are tented markets. It’s notwhat it used be but it’s a fascinating place to explore. We watched the vendorsand shoppers haggle while we took a two‑hour lunch to beat the heat.
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As the sun set we hiked toward Kyaikthanlan Paya, the tallest stupa and bestvantage point in town. We took the Lonely Planet tip to approach the templecomplex via the long‑covered walkway that gracefully extends from Kyaik ThanLan Phayar Street. The Mon‑style architecture was dazzling, from shrines tomonasteries to homes, all nestled amongst the trees.
Kyaikthanlan Paya was like a miniature version of the dazzling ShwedagonPagoda in Yangon, but with fabulous views of the riverside city.
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If you sit long enough in Myanmar, friendly locals are bound to approach. As wewere admiring the view, these adorable girls came up to us, curious abouteverything from our hair to our clothes to guide book, but mostly the sound ofour voice. We exchanged basic English and Myanmar language lessons andunforgettable smiles.
The Ogre Island
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An hour across the river from Mawlamyine sits Bilu Kyun, aka Ogre Island. If thename wasn’t intriguing enough, it’s home to 64 villages specializing in all sorts ofcrafts from coconut mats, bamboo hats, rubber bands, wooden instruments…made with virtually no supplies or electric tools. We took the morning ferry,cramming in with what seemed like a thousand people in a dingy and prayed wewouldn’t sink. Note: If you go here, you need to catch the 3pm boat home;foreigners aren’t allowed to sleep on the island (because of the Ogres, of course).
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The island was too massive to walk, bike, or navigate on our own so we hopped ina truck with a local guide and the only other two tourists for a half‑day tour. Wemade about ive stops at various workshops, passing by lily‑pond lakes, pastures,and tiny villages from a bygone era.
Horse and cart are the primary mode of transportation on the island, followed bybicycles, then cars made in what can only be described as “Mr‑Potato‑Head‑style”
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construction. Motor, lights, fender, gas tanks, wheels, and wooden seats werestrategically slapped together for some crazy amazing vehicles.
Our irst stop on the craftsman tour was a resilient little wood‑working studio.Using what I’m sure were spare parts from a “Mr. Potato Head car” gone wrong,this father‑son team was whittling the most beautiful pipes, furnishings, and thisrocking guitar in the shape of a Phoenix.
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Have you ever thought about how a rubber band is made? No, because they areso simple, cheap, and ubiquitous–who would? Well, we have a heck of a lot morerespect for the humble rubber band after watching its construction. Over thecourse of two days one must boil the tree sap, dye it, dip it, dry it, peel it, dry itagain, dice it, then hand‑separate thousands of springy rings. Rubber bands andtheir makers, we salute you!!
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Next we went to a stilted home turned hat workshop. Similar conical hats can befound in other parts of Asia but we’d never seen them being built. Impressivelyenough no man‑made materials are used; bamboo husks are the source foreverything from the brim to the needles and thread.
The time warp continued with a visit to the brick‑making factory. In the extremeheat (100+ in the shade of a tree), men were hand‑making mud bricks, drying
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them in the sun, then hauling them to a massive ire‑burning kiln. And somehowthey were still smiling.
Our time here was such an amazing reminder of how many things we take forgranted–from cars to the rubber band. And an even greater reminder toappreciate everything you’ve got.
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11 thoughts on “Magical Mawlamyine &The Ogre Island”
I love the picture of you with the children laughing behind you, what a sweetmoment! The pagoda is stunning, so lavish especially in contrast to the simplelives of the villagers in your other pictures. It looks like a fascinating place!
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Nancy Mock
HoneyTrek Anne
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Nancy we are so glad to have you along for the ride! That wassuch a sweet moment, it started with the litltlest girl. She justwalked right up to us, not saying a word but smiling ear to ear.Myanmar is the country where we learned the most wordsbecause you constantly are conversing with people–Englishskills or not!
Great reading your blog about Mawlamyine as we are headed there in a fewdays. Do you by any chance have any information about boats running fromMawlamyine to Hpa‑An at this time of year. Thanks so much for any info youcan provide!
How exciting you are heading to Mawlamyine in a couple days! Ithink things can change so quickly so we wouldn’t want to giveyou speciic info on ferries (we ultimately took the bus to Hpa‑An). However, Mr.Anthony ofBREEZES GUEST HOUSE issuper tapped in to all things in the area, even if you don’t staythere, go chat with him! Best of luck and enjoy Hpa‑An–that’sour next blog!
Lauren
HoneyTrek Anne
Lauren
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Thanks! We igured everything was subject tochange so we went ahead and emailed Breezes toind out about the boat options. I’ll deinitely checkout your Hpa‑An blog as that will be our next stop.Have a great trip!
I must admit I have not given a lot of thought into the production of a rubberband. Your posts are making me want to get back to Myanmar in a hurry andexplore the places I wasn’t allowed to last time. This being one of them.
Mawlamyine was closed off then, eh? So crazy. There are still anumber of places in the North that they won’t let you go but I’msure so much great stuff has opened up since you went! We hopeyou get to go again soon and thanks so much for all yourawesome and thoughtful comments!
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Beautiful read! Happy to have found a travel blog run by wonderfulstorytellers. As someone who grew up in post‑colonial Calcutta, I’m veryinterested in the changing tides of such towns and cities, as old Britishbuildings and cultures get incorporated into local ones, creating suchinteresting and distinct local lavours. I’ve not been to Myanmar yet, which is ashame as it’s so close to where I grew up! to‑be‑remedied.
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Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island) isn’t quite as scary as it sounds. Rather than a hideaway for nasty monsters, it’s a beautiful
Mon island directly west of Mawlamyine. Roughly the size of Singapore, Bilu Kyun comprises 78 villages that are
home to more than 200,000 people. It's a green, fecund place, home to palm‑studded rice fields and fruit
plantations, and has the vibe of a tropical island, only without the beaches.
Some of Bilu Kyun's villages are associated with the production of various handicrafts and household items, from
coconut‑fibre mats to slate tablets, although the number of workshops has declined in recent years and many of those
remaining are now more geared to tourists than anything else.
There's public transport to Bilu Kyun, but the boats run a confusing schedule from a variety of piers. The local
authorities also require notice to visit Bilu Kyun. That may change once a new bridge linking the island to the
mainland is completed in 2017, but until then the best way to approach the island is via a day tour. Mr Antony or Mr
Khaing at lead informative tours, which typically run from 9am to 5pm, circling the island,
stopping in at various craft workshops and tacking on a swim stop. The K18,000 fee per person covers transport and
lunch.
At research time, foreigners were not allowed to stay overnight on Bilu Kyun.
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Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island)Mon State
Pagodas & Monuments | Landscape | 0 comments
While it may be impossible to prove that ogresonce existed on Bilu Kyun island, there certainlyaren't any there today.
At least, not that the Mon natives living there can tell. The villages thatdot the island are home to expert craftsmen now, and their ability totransform raw goods into daily necessities is well worth a visit. Inmodern times, these cottage workshops also produce morerecognizable items such as pens and rubber bands (sourced fromnearby plantations).
One particular village, Ywa Loot, is not to be missed as its craftsmenspecialize in creating handmade smoking pipes that are valued acrossthe country for their quality. Some Burmese have even been known toeschew imported Western pipes in favour of this local product.
Check ahead with guide services on whether the workshops will beopen, as many only open their doors when there is local demand.Getting to Bilu Kyun is easiest through Mawlamyine, the capital of theMon state and a major sea port. From there, it is a short boat ride tothe island.
For more on islands, click here.
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Bilu Kyun Island in Mon State: atransport time warpBy Maria Danmark | Monday, 25 March 2013
There aren’t any cars on Mon State’s Bilu Kyun Island. Locals getaround in horsedrawn carts, motorbikes, tuktuks or theoccasional bus. In fact, until very recently, it was the Bronze Ageinvention, the horsedrawn vehicle, that was the most commonform of transportation for the island’s 200,000 inhabitants.
One of Bilu Kyun Island's pony and carts. (Maria Danmark/The Myanmar Times)
According to Lonely Planet Myanmar (2011) “on the island, all local transportis by horse and cart, though the more distant villages can be linked by one ofthe few rattling buses.”
According to Mr Anthony, a guide based in Mawlamyine, motorbikes and tuktuks began to appear on the island two years ago. In that short space of time, itis these latter types of vehicles that now greet passengers disembarking theferry at the village of NutMaw. The pony carts are all but disappearing, Mr
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ferry at the village of NutMaw. The pony carts are all but disappearing, MrAnthony said.
As a guide, he views the change pragmatically. Because foreigners aren’tpermitted to stay on the island (which is also known as “Ogre Island”)overnight, it’s more convenient to show tourists around the 64 villages usingmotorised transport. The downside is that like in many other parts of ruralMyanmar, the nostalgic charm has been usurped by modernity.
However in the village of Kalwi, where tuktuks are prohibited, it appears thathorsedrawn carts outnumber motorbikes – though it could also simply be amatter of time before this changes. Cars remain prohibited throughout theisland and tuktuks are only permitted in NutMaw, where the ferry fromMawlamyine arrives.
U Soe Min Tun lives in Kalwi and has been involved in the family’s ponycartbusiness for a decade. After his father immigrated to Thailand to find a job, USoe Min Tun and his older brother set up the business as a means ofsupporting their family.
They started out with two ponies and a cart that they bought in Mawlamyine,the capital of Mon State.
“It was very hard in the beginning, because we had no idea about how to run abusiness or train ponies. The training was actually the hardest part,” U SoeMin Tun said.
He explained that he had no idea how tough it would be to train the poniesand said that the early days with passengers were “horrible,” because neitherhe nor the ponies knew how to send and receive instructions, such as tuggingon the reins to stop.
U Soe Min Tun is now an expert and has even built his own carts.
When the brothers started their business there were only four othercompetitors in his village. The ponycart business expanded over time as anincreasing number of tourists began to visit the island and locals sought toenter the trade after losing their jobs in the island’s limited job sectors.
U Soe Min Tun said that he leads about five tours a day and the number ofhorsedrawn carts is now 25.
But despite the increase in passenger numbers, he still feels the pinch ofcompetition.
“We earned more in the past than we do. We make about K8000 a day, whichisn’t always enough to meet my family’s needs,” U Soe Min Tun said.
The family had also been relying on the money sent from U Soe Min Tun’ssisters in Singapore – one of whom left a child behind in Bilu Kyun Island.However he said that the family has been forced to cut down on their expensesbecause his other sister is now married and has stopped sending money.
U Soe Min Tun and his brother have therefore tried to diversify by investing ina motorbike so that they can offer a speedier form of transport to customers.
“But I seldom use it,” he said. ^ scroll to top
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“I actually prefer to travel with the ponies. This is partly because I can carrymore passengers, but also because I am attached to the ponies,” he explained.
U Soe Min Tun doesn’t believe that cars will appear on the island any timesoon.
“If this were to happen, it would have to be little by little. The roads are in suchbad shape – even for driving a pony and cart.”
At this point Mr Anthony quipped, “Myanmar is a holy country, because of allthe holes in the roads.”
Although there are plans to improve the roads within three or four months,there has been no announcement that the ban on cars will be relaxed.
“We have enough transport on the island. We don’t need cars,” said U Soe MinTun.
However he added that he and his brother would be interested in buying a carif ever there was an opportunity to do so.
But he added firmly: “But no matter what, we would definitely keep our poniesbecause they have sort of become part of the family,” he added.
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