Namyun Kids

An image from 2005 of two kids in Namyun (see Investigate Mountains Thoroughly) near the Indian border. They were up early for the morning market. As was I. [NOTE: Love the dog in the background. Also up early. Probably hoping for some breakfast].

Elephant Lunch

Another shot of the Kachin elephants (see A Bridge Too Far, Bathing the Elephant, and Standing Around). In this one, Aung Bu grabs some lunch on his way out of the forest. Gung Aung, the mahout, looks on wistfully as its probably time for his lunch, too.

Movies from Myanmar III

Today's post is entitled That Truck. This noble vehicle has been hauling gasoline up and down the Ledo Road for over 50 years. [NOTE: Music by Radiohead].

Movies from Myanmar II

This clip, Shopping For Supplies, gives a taste of the main market in Tanai where we bought supplies before heading up the Ledo Road for six weeks of collecting rattan specimens and running inventory transects. What a magical place to shop.

Happenings in Kachin

Lovely photo from the 2005 Naga festival in Kachin State, Myanmar (see Naga Festival and Manau Leader). Real reason for this post, however, is that the Myanmar government has halted construction on the controversial Myitsone Dam on the Irawaddy River in northern Kachin State (click here for more about this surprising development). Financed by the Chinese, the dam would have been the first to span the Irrawaddy and was a showcase project of the previous military government. Victory for the dissidents in Kachin? A step in the right direction? Will I be getting back into the Hukaung Valley anytime soon? I'd love to know what is really going on here. [NOTE: Photo by U Tun Shuang (see Tea Break)].

Rattan Truck II

I've always really liked this image.  I had paused to catch my breath near 7 mile camp on the Ledo Road (see Myanmar 2005 and Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey) when this old green trunk loaded with people, fuel, and rattan came barreling by. You can see where my interest was. Everything in the image is slightly out of focus because of the speed of the truck - except the rattan cane next to the passenger's window.  

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)].

Room with a View

As 2009 draws to a close, I reflect on the view that I was provided every morning as I crawled out of my tent to start another day of forest inventories in the Shinlonga management area (see The Last Stake). Doesn't get much better than this. [NOTE: We set up our base camp on the bank of Mawning River.  The field crews and I hiked in 2 hours from the village, while the tents, food, and bags were brought up by boat].

The Last Stake

After running two kilometers of line through a tract of forest located several hours walk from the village of Shinlonga in the Hukaung Tiger Reserve (see Naw Aung and His Sagawa), setting the last stake was an auspicious occasion. [NOTE: It took three days to clear the line and set all 20 stakes. These stakes form the baseline of a 100 hectare intensive management area for the community, and are the starting points of inventory transects. It's an amazing thing that we are doing here]. 

Ferryman

You still have to take a ferry to cross the Taron River in Kachin State (see Crossing the Taron), but the ferry operator has changed and things seem to have improved a bit. The ferry, for example, will now hold two trucks, there is a permanent ramp to drive on to it, and the "protective" railings are painted bright yellow and red. Not to mention that the new ferryman is a total professional. [NOTE: The trip still costs 15,000 kyat for Forest Department vehicles].