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Irrawaddy Steamers 2010, Part 1 |
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This is part of our 2010 Burma Crusade. We had left Mon State behind and had hired an extremely thirsty taxi to explore the Irrawaddy Delta, armed with a piece of paper of very dubious provenance but fairly safe in the knowledge that security was much relaxed in this area - indeed, we were not checked once between Yangon and Pathein, later with only one exception almost the only place where the people from the immigration department was in hotels and they were easily seen off because a confident Han totally has their measure. At Pantanaw - famous as the home town of U Thant, the one time Secretary General of the United Nations, we found a tree growing out of the mill chimney, Tangye #10959 had most likely worked its last shift. Down the road in Inma, the rather photogrenic Marshall we had seen idle in 2005 was now more than a little asthmatic, but it was working:
Undaunted we headed on for Kyaunggon and were granted a wild elephant chase through the long grass to a mill which was long closed and engineless although I had to hop over a wall to prove it. When we found our real target, we were able to record the Tangye as #11581 but it was unloved and under wraps having been replaced by a 'gasifier'. Down the road, the disgusting small Struthers Wells (USA) engine had given way to this little gem - Cowie Brothers of Glasgow #238. Of course they were agents and the actual builder is lost in history, as it was we were too early by a week or so for the new season. Later, I consulted my records and discovered that in 2005 I had seen this engine in pieces in the grass round the back of a mill in Pathein which had replaced it with a larger (anonymous) version which was more powerful.
Across the river, we planned visits to two mills, but got delayed at the first where the T. Shore type engine was due to burst into life at any moment and never did. Sometimes you have to risk life, limb and the equipment to get the shot... We had to rush for Pathein as the sun was about to set, these two mills were put in the diary for the return journey..
We had decided to try a new hotel, as our previous establishment, albeit cheaper, threw in a cast of millions of mosquitoes as extras. This one did the job and had an internet section, we declined to pay an amazing USD 33 for the palace nearby. At least the windows sealed themselves and there was some kind of air conditioning to discourage the invaders. Sadly, our favourite restaurant had vanished and we were reduced to a Burmese dinner which was as good as it was cheap, although the hygiene standards looked very dubious. Overall, though it was an improvement on our previous experience here. Next morning, Han too found his favourite tea shop was no more which threw him for the rest of the day. So I guided us to the river bank mills where we had failed to catch baby Tangye #1432 at work by just a few minutes in 2005. It's the oldest known Tangye in a rice mill in the country, but it clearly won't work here again and the other (unknown) small engine here is similarly now long out of use. Pathein is home to over twenty rice mills but we had bashed them to death in 2005/6 and there was no time on this trip for a revisit - in any case it was clear in passing that most of them had yet to start the new season.
After this we spent a little time filling up with petrol and back tracking to an excellent tea shop which Yuehong and I insisted on returning to having spotted it from the back of the car. Given the quality of restaurants in the area, a hearty breakfast of local Chinese buns and other pastries is always a good idea. Twenty minutes later, we discovered another mill on the north side of town with a small Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies engine had given up on steam and things were looking quite grim. In such circumstances, there is only one choice, that is to ignore the omens and keep on trying... |
