-
We reached Katha yesterday by boat from Bhamo. Our stop here was motivated by transportation – we had to spend a night here to get to a neighboring town, where we’ll catch the train to Mandalay. We’re on a fast track right now (time is tick tick ticking away), so we’re only allowed one night – which turns out to be a big bummer. Katha seems to be a really cool little provincial town. For those George Orwell fans, it’s the inspiration for his novel Burmese Days, which I’ve sadly not read.
I woke up this morning and took myself on a little self-guided walking tour. Despite the stares and sometimes muffled laughter (you don’t get too many tourists here, apparently) I found even more to love about this little town. Forget Yangon or Mandalay. The Burma in my mind (what I had imagined this country to look like) is here, in Katha.
What did it for me is the architecture. Rusting corrugated or thatched roofs cover time-worn wooden buildings, which lean against one another. Shutters all over town had been thrown open to let in the morning sun. Ancient men were sunning themselves on their front porches while fruit vendors were setting up shop along the little dusty town roads.
No, not every building is as rustic – progress is a hard thing to stop – but it seems there are still remnants of the town that Orwell patrolled, nearly 100 years ago. In short, it was a damn fine stroll. One that made me long for more time to meander and explore. (and shop – see about my A-mazing basket for the reason).
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Myanmar (Burma). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
About Us
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
-
