{"id":1108,"date":"2019-01-30T08:41:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T08:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=1108"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T20:29:22","slug":"myanmar-oz-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=1108","title":{"rendered":"MYANMAR & OZ. 07"},"content":{"rendered":"

60% of the population of Myanmar has no mains electricity.\u00a0 In the country we still see satellite dishes everywhere – they depend on solar panels for their TV’s and phone chargers.\u00a0 And they all have phones!\u00a0 A few years ago a SIM card cost $US 2,000.\u00a0 Now they are just $1.\u00a0 Phones have gone from status symbols to must-have items in a very short time!<\/p>\n

The Irrawaddy – pronounced (and officially written) Ayeyarwady – is a big river! Geographically, it starts at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai Rivers 480 ft above sea level.<\/p>\n

The bit we are on ranges from just 900 feet wide at the narrowest in the dry season to well over a mile at the widest.\u00a0 Almost 1,350 nautical miles long (don’t you just love it when the units keep changing!).\u00a0 The headwaters are some 20,000 feet above sea level.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Myanmar’s military dictatorship signed a multi billion dollar agreement with China for the construction of seven hydroelectric dams, yielding a total 13,360 MW, in the N’mai and Mali Rivers, including the 3,600 MW Myitsone Dam at the confluence of both rivers. Environmental organisations have raised concerns about the ecological impacts on the river’s biodiverse ecosystems.\u00a0 Animals potentially impacted include the threatened Irrawaddy dolphin and the Irrawaddy river shark, two endangered species.\u00a0 Apparently, work has been halted for the present – but China now wants it’s money back!<\/p>\n

We’ve been cruising up the river for six days now and have passed under just four bridges!\u00a0 If you miss one, it’s a hell of a long detour over the next one … or a dodgy swim!\u00a0 OK, I’ll go with the diversion idea.\u00a0 We are now moored just downstream of the fifth bridge at Magway…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Currently we are coming to the height of the dry season and water is flowing peacefully through just 3 of the 18 spans.\u00a0 In the monsoon they are all flooded.<\/p>\n

However, I’m getting ahead of myself.\u00a0 That was today (Wednesday) – but we haven’t done Tuesday yet.\u00a0 A bit like the daily corners in the pagodas – my days are getting mixed up!<\/p>\n

OK.\u00a0 On Tuesday we visited Thayetmyo.\u00a0 First stop – the post office to post our cards back home.\u00a0 The post office is a large wooden building dating back to colonial times.\u00a0 The counter is just a table with three ladies standing beside it…<\/p>\n

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Having written, adressed and stamped our cards, we posted them in the only post box we have seen in the country …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now, apparently, we have to wait 6 weeks for them to be delivered!<\/p>\n

Back in the incredibly bumpy tuk-tuk for the ride to the local golf course.\u00a0 Before we moved off, we were joined by a local who was away with the fairies.\u00a0 Carrying a plastic bag half full of whisky, he smelt like he’d spilt a good percentage of the bag’s contents while trying to drink it.\u00a0 I guess he thought he could cadge a ride.<\/p>\n

The Thayet Golf Club, founded by the British in 1887, is affiliated to St Andrews.\u00a0 The rumour is that if you are a member here you can play on the famous Scottish course.\u00a0 I’m betting that membership fees here are way less than in Scotland.\u00a0 Sounds like a bit of a loophole here!\u00a0 I hear there are 27 local members and 4,525 Scottish members taking advantage of the reciprocal membership arrangements!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We managed three putts each in a boys versus girls competition.\u00a0 The orange family girls won by one point, but the yellow fellows managed a two point advantage.\u00a0 So I reckon that it was a clear victory for the chaps!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Back in the torture wagons and next stop the local prison …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After that we had another visit to yet another market selling the same wide range of stuff to the locals.\u00a0 Colourful, noisy, somewhat smelly, rather un-hygienic, bustling, crowded spaces.\u00a0 We decided to walk home from here.\u00a0 Immediately beside the “dock” there was an interesting remnant of some old building or wall which had been appropriated as a place of worship…<\/p>\n

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Now – before we go any further – I have to report a disaster!\u00a0 I managed to drop my phone this morning.\u00a0 Smashed the screen on the sharp edge of a table.\u00a0 It carried on working for a while before it died a death.\u00a0 Now, as Glenda would say, I’m in mourning!\u00a0 However, have transferred to my old phone …\u00a0 So maybe I can carry on, but currently have lost access to the photos of last couple of days.\u00a0 So there’s going to be a bit of a gap…<\/p>\n

So. I’ll stop there and think what to do.\u00a0 All very tragic!<\/p>\n

THE MOOSE HUNTERS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Norwegian hunters got a bush pilot to fly them into the Canadian wilderness, where they managed to bag two big Bull Moose. As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said he and his plane could take the weight of only the hunters, their gear and one Moose.<\/em><\/p>\n

The hunters objected strongly saying, “Last year we shot two, and the pilot let us take them both…and he had exactly the same airplane as yours.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Reluctantly the pilot, not wanting to be outdone by another bush pilot, gave in and everything was loaded.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, even under full power, the little plane couldn’t handle the load and went down, crashing in the wooded wilderness.<\/em><\/p>\n

Somehow, surrounded by the moose, clothing and sleeping bags, Sven and Ole survived the crash.<\/em><\/p>\n

After climbing out of the wreckage, Sven asked, “Any idea where we are?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Ole replied, “I think we’re pretty close to where we crashed last year.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

60% of the population of Myanmar has no mains electricity.\u00a0 In the country we still see satellite dishes everywhere – they depend on solar panels for their TV’s and phone chargers.\u00a0 And they all have phones!\u00a0 A few years ago… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-myanmar-2019"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1108"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8138,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1108\/revisions\/8138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}