Hello, again, Blogonauts!

This blog is a few days behind schedule, so I'll cut the verbiage a bit short and allow the pictures to add a thousand words each to the narrative.

On Friday, January 31, Co-Co our Mandalay taxidermist ... no, Autocorrect, that would imply we're stuffed instead of merely drowsy ... our Mandalay taxi driver gathered us from the hotel before dawn to deliver us speedily to Mandalay's docks on the Irriwaddy River. The Irriwaddy is the seasonally-variable gush that drains much of Myanmar into the Gulf of Martaban.

Our day was spent with about 30 other passengers aboard the boat operated by Malikha River Cruises. The trip was supposed to take up to 8 hours, but instead it lasted more than 10 because the trip was actually further than planned.

Understandably, the Irriwaddy's water level drops in dry season (i.e., now). It had fallen so low that, instead of sailing directly down river, the captain had to steer the boat from side to side in a zig-zag fashion in order to avoid running aground on sand bars.

Nonetheless, it did not take away from the pleasure of witnessing river life in Myanmar. We saw faith sites, farms, fishermen, make-shift rafts, and a couple of interesting bridges along the way. Occasional barges motored vigorously upstream as we meandered down. And the high banks show how much water flows here as the river drains the drench that occurs each rainy season.

Enjoy the photos of the day. The boat was an altogether recommended way to travel from point to point. (Much better than a bus on a rutted roadway.)

Blog to you later!