Hukaung Vista

N26°59'; E 96°11'

Hukaung Valley Wildlife Reserve (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey; Mandalay Express) somewhere between 21 mile camp and Namyun in Kachin State, Myanmar. I remember thinking when I took this picture in 2006 that this was one of the most beautiful pieces of forest that I had ever seen. Still think so. Hope things clear up in Kachin before too long (see Cease Fire? Maybe Not) so that I can get back in and finish my work there. 

Crossing the Taron (From The Archive)

Heading north from Tanai (see Tanai and Tolagyi Tour of Tanai), you have to cross the Taron River to get into the Hukaung Tiger Reserve.  During the dry season you can usually drive across the river in a four-wheel drive truck. After the rains start, you have to use the local ferry. [NOTE: The trip usually costs about 15,000 kyat, but sometimes the ferry isn't there, or the crew isn't there, or the motor is broken, or there's no gasoline, and no amount of money will get you across the river]. 

View from Mile 7 Basecamp

I took this shot looking down from the bridge toward the river (and the communal bathing spot) during a pre-breakfast, early morning stroll along the Ledo Road in northern Myanmar. We collected a lot of rattans in this beautiful piece of forest (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey). [NOTE: The palms visible along the left bank of the river are all rattans (Calamus)].

Loading the Tolagyi

Good job for a slow Sunday morning in the village of Shinlonga (see Shinlonga and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).  Finally load the broken tolagyi (see Tolagyi Tour of Tanai) into the dump truck and take it to the shop in Tanai to be fixed (maybe). Took 16 people about an hour of pushing and lifting and head scratching and opining - but they got it into the back of the truck.  No word, yet, if it has been fixed. [NOTE: The "HTR" painted on the bed of the tolagyi stands for Hukaung Tiger Reserve]. 

Hukaung Logs

One of the main reasons for starting the community forestry work in the Hukaung Valley (see Naw Aung and His Sagawa) is that a lot of the important subsistence resources for villagers, e.g. timber and rattan, are being harvested commercially and gradually depleted by outsiders.  For example, the load of sagawa logs shown above being hauled across the Taron River to Tanai (see Crossing the Taron). 

Tiger Tracks

Although my recent fieldwork in Myanmar (see The Last Stake and Naw Aung and His Sagawa) was conducted in a tiger reserve, I never really thought much about the fact that there might be tigers prowling around until I saw these casts set out to dry at the reserve headquarters in Tanai. [NOTE: They were collected recently, I was told.  I was also told that the casts were collected from quite far away and not to worry].

Chinlone

Every day after work when we were in Shinlonga, the guys would get together and play chinlone for about an hour before it got dark. Amazing to watch. Certainly one of the most unique and beautiful ball games in the world - and the ball is made out of rattan. [NOTE: I always wondered where they got the energy to do this after working all day; music by Avishai Cohen].

Takhet

Takhet is a Naga village inside the Hukaung Tiger Reserve of Myanmar.  I spent a couple of days here in late May doing some community forestry work, and had a very nice lunch in this house. Couple of points. First, note the firebox sitting on top of the bamboo floor. Second, the Naga family that lives here was out working in their rice field the day we dropped by to make lunch. The village head said, "No problem, make yourself at home". We did.  [NOTE: We met the family later that evening and they were very gracious.  No problem, indeed. And yes, the firebox eventually will burn through the floor.]   

Crossing the Taron

Heading north from Tanai (see Tanai and Tolagyi Tour of Tanai), you have to cross the Taron River to get into the Hukaung Tiger Reserve.  During the dry season you can usually drive across the river in a four-wheel drive truck. After the rains start, you have to use the local ferry. [NOTE: The trip usually costs about 15,000 kyat, but sometimes the ferry isn't there, or the crew isn't there, or the motor is broken, or there's no gasoline, and no amount of money will get you across the river].