Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

glenn kangiser · February 19, 2013, 02:07:23 PM

It is tropical there, Ben. Currently winter temps - lows of 69 to highs of 95. Average lows in Yangon now are about 66f.

http://www.yangon.climatemps.com/

Overall averages

http://www.myanmar.climatemps.com/

Bagan where Miss Wah Wah lives

http://www.meoweather.com/history/Myanmar/na/21.3666667/95.4666667/Bagan.html

Mountain area, Taunggyi

tops out at around 85 in April -- I think lows were in the 50s when I was there with a max low of around 45. People were running around freezing there with coats on. I wore a tee shirt --- cool but not too cold...

ben2go · February 19, 2013, 02:16:40 PM

Interesting.Kind of the same weather as the Bahamas.

February 19, 2013, 02:36:20 PM

Yes.. probably about the same latitude. Nice and warm.

We headed out of Bagan ...looks like up highway 2 toward Nyaung U from my GPS locations on my photos.

I would like to post some of the daily life pictures here shot from the window of the car as Myo was driving.

Bicycles are very common here and a three wheeler can be used as a truck by these poor but resourceful people.... so can a two wheeler sometimes...

Lacking a bicycle there is always the back pack.. I'm tough but I wonder how long I could do that?

Horse and buggy are common everywhere sharing the road with people, bikes and trucks alike....

Every sort of hand cart is used to move goods through the market with people making way for them even in a crowd...

...and this... often makes me worry about the safety of the ladies there... side saddle on the back of a motorcycle ... maybe forty or fifty miles per hour or more on the highways.... with three people on the 100cc plus or minus motorcycle quite often or even with a couple small children.......

ben2go · February 19, 2013, 03:14:07 PM

They have the Nike attitude,just do it.

Ain't many people in the US that can handle that kind of far out thinking and way of doing things.

glenn kangiser · February 19, 2013, 03:31:29 PM

Yes, Ben... I agree. Living 50 years with minimal possessions, they have had to make do with whatever they could find, forget the bad times and just continue to make do and .... be happy..... I doubt we could do that....

While I can't well remember names when they are told to me, with the help of my pix and the GPS, I remember that Nyaung U Market is a pretty famous market, Myo told me.

We stopped there and got out for some photo ops. I am going to post quite a few photos... a miniscule amount of the ones I have.... If it is too much let me know. I love the colors and people pix in the markets so I sometimes get a bit carried away there... [ouch]

On the head everywhere... keeps it out of the way...

Need a ride?

The cart in use....

Smiles everywhere....

Fresh Chicken.... he was walking around the yard this morning..... little refrigeration in a lot of these areas so it has to be fresh....

Baskets and hats.....

Corn, beans, peas.... what can I help you with?

Lots of people here....

I'll take one of those...

Cooking oil I think - common is peanut and sesame as well as others..

I must say that nearly everybody had a smile for the big American in the leather cowboy hat...

I hope it stays that way...

February 19, 2013, 08:13:39 PM

Well.... since nobody is screaming that they have seen too many pix here are some more market pix...

I love it...

OK ....so this is where I got the Thanaka lesson.... and a nice smile.....I posted a pix of this earlier but it was just a random shot out of sequence...

a sweet cheerful lady...

I love the certified weight on the scale here... yet no one worries about it... she is giving them a certain weight plus a "D" cells worth of product... everyone agrees that that is fair.... Note the Thanaka wood with bark under the weight. I got a prepared kind in a jar.

Note the merchant lady powering up the pendulum powered fly chaser... a common sight there and at the open air food markets... a plastic bag full of rice or other weight on a string.... ingenious...

Note the smiles on everyone here... they are for the crazy American walking by snapping pictures of everything that moves or.... even does not move.... never once did I get a cross look for taking pictures .... there was much discussion as I walked by, everywhere though..

Always wide smiles and appreciation ... I think for helping to take their story to the outside world.

I have to tell you... I felt 100% safe there and always felt like everyone of these people could be my friend. Try walking down the street in one of our big cities in the US.... you will be wishing for your concealed carry permit. Don't believe me... let me give you a tour of Fresno or Stockton.

I feel right at home with the people of Burma... like extended family.

I encourage anyone looking for a place to go to not hesitate to go here before the rest of the world finds out. I don't know how long it can stay this way.....

ben2go · February 19, 2013, 10:32:00 PM

Keep the pics coming.I am enjoying the tour and world lessons.I do have a question tho.What is the name of the woven hats that look like an upside down funnel?I have always wanted an authentic hat like that.Never mind.I found it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conical_Asian_hat

glenn kangiser · February 20, 2013, 03:59:10 AM

Good thing you found that Ben, or I might have told you it was an Asian upside down funnel hat. Maybe Myo can give us a Burmese name for it.

Away from the computer tonight but will try to get more pix up tomorrow.

ben2go · February 20, 2013, 07:45:10 AM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on February 20, 2013, 03:59:10 AM
Good thing you found that Ben, or I might have told you it was an Asian upside down funnel hat. Maybe Myo can give us a Burmese name for it.

Away from the computer tonight but will try to get more pix up tomorrow.

February 20, 2013, 11:51:58 PM

Hmm.. that fly-chaser isn't a bad idea.. I'm looking forward to learning more about the peanut oil pressing!

glenn kangiser · February 21, 2013, 12:19:50 AM

Hmmm.... Peanut Oil pressing...

That was this one, Andrew...

Simply get your ground nuts, or peanuts if you prefer to call them, and pour them in the center of the press. Have your cow, ox, pony or water buffalo as you prefer, go around in circles as you ride and add more peanuts to the mortar type area in the middle. The peanut oil runs down the bottom and is collected in a can near the vertical pivot axle. the solids make a kind of a funnel shaped cone that is dried and fed to your animal of choice to keep him going around in those nice circles without protest.

Note that the weight of the rider and pivoting horizontal arm is riding on the pestle so that there is extreme pressure on the peanut pulp squeezing the oil out of it.... thrust is actually up on the "Y" fork of the horizontal arm forcing the pestle down tight on the pulp. The horizontal arm is suspended on the top of the pestle by the connecting link to the right of the man riding it... I hope that makes sense...

Looking around the Bagan area a bit more moving from place to place...

As you can see from the speed of this man on the motorcycle whizzing by the window... getting around Myanmar is a series of avoided accidents.... the worlds best drivers I think.... cars may pass trucks on blind corners as there are no lines on the highway in most areas or reasons to prohibit it or police who care... it is a land of freedom in some ways, and not regulated to death for profit of government like the US...

The entire road must be used due to the extreme variation in modes and speeds of transportation.

Cars, trucks, wagons, motorcycles, pedestrians, water buffalo, ox carts and Brahma cattle all share the road equally. It is ok to pass on a blind corner as long as you give the guy coming head on on the motorcycle a few feet to pass..... and he knows and understands that you will. A blinking right turn signal does not mean the truck is turning right. It means there is too much traffic coming for you to pass safely.

A blinking left turn signal means you can now pass to the left ... and if there is a motorcycle coming head on that there is enough room for him to pass also... or at least that if you hurry you should make it around the truck with a couple feet to spare before the truck coming at you gets there.... beep...beeeeeeeeep ......

Myo knows how to do this with the greatest skill......

Beautiful people and friendly faces....

We stop for another 19 course lunch...

Excuse me... he wasn't done bringing food yet...

Make that 21 course....

Yummy... he's looking right at me.... actually tastes good too.

I made up my mind I was going to eat whatever my friends ate. They were kind enough to warn me before I ate something that they suspected might kill me.... like the little Vietnamese peppers.... one little taste and the top of my head blew off and hit the ceiling and didn't come down for about 20 minutes....

Very common to have the little fish whole from the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy commonly dried, salted and preserved....... it is a traditional Myanmar dish and served at many of the meals.

They once offered me a hamburger where there was an opportunity for me to have some American food... I respectfully declined.... I came here for Burmese culture and food....

OK ... the tasty little half size bananas... does that make this a 23 course dinner... did I really gain 8 lbs in 11 days?

??

A common food around Myanmar.... yum.... a bit less dense and more flavorful than the Dole Banana we are used to.

Ok... now to the Htilo Minlo 13th Century Temple where we met the girls you saw earlier with Myo....

The girls also wanted their picture with the Odd Looking American... you know... the one who looks like Chuck Norris...

Lots of friendly vendors here just trying to make a living.... not much more than their daily bread if that....

Take off your shoes and you can come inside and have a look around...

Ancient.....

This is where the nice young lady spent time with us telling us the history of the temple and showed me the secret way to the monastery roof next to the Htilo Minlo Temple... for better pictures of it. She refused a payment for her time saying she did not want free money ... she just wanted me to buy from her shop. I tried to explain that the time she spent was valuable and worth it... she wasn't having that... only money for real goods purchased... so I bought a few nice things that were small enough to pack in my ever growing stash....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GziX66IQW-M

glenn kangiser · February 21, 2013, 12:06:23 PM

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf670orHKcA

Corny... why did I put that on there.....

Anybody thirsty?

After you suck the milk out of it you can get it cut in half to scrape the pulp out of it for a great snack...

Yummy....

glenn kangiser · February 22, 2013, 01:49:24 AM

Moving on to the Ananda Phaya area.... I love to take pictures of architecture and building methods in other countries.

This is what I call the brute force roof support method. No snow load here so it works but this is mostly just relying on the strength of the slightly too small beam as evidenced by the slight downward bow in the center. With about the same amount of material or less it could have been made into a truss that could have been way stronger...but.. hey... it works.

This temple is known for the changing looks on the Buddha's face from a non-smile up close to a smile as you move out.... a showing of the artists talent.

Outside, nearby, one of my favorite trucks here in Myanmar....

I call it "Post Apocalyptic Style".... something straight out of a Mad Max movie.... I love it...

Many horse carts around this area.

A little cutie waiting for mom and dad in the back of a truck...

There there.... don't get shy on me now....

Bu Hpaya.... more gold... obviously not in Fresno, Toto....

This is along the edge of the Irrawaddy in Old Bagan, so I got a nice shot of some boats but wanted to blow it up a bit to show river life...

At Dhammayan-gyi pagoda these two students snagged me from nowhere... for a photo op... Hey thanks guys...

None of my friends noticed as I was at the back of the line so I figured they thought I got lost... hey ... the kids wanted a pix with Chuck Norris... what could I say....

A nice mix of cows and goats on the way out of there...

...and a procession of oxcarts hauling tourists also...

...very nicely decorated I might add...

Shwe-san-daw where the authorities finally caught up with me....

It seems they wanted the American to pay for the care-taking of Old Bagan... no problem ... like about $5 as I recall. A bargain for seeing all of the history.

So you expect me to climb that?

No problem... I'm from Mariposa...I even helped a ladies kid hop all the way to the top... had to make it fun for him as he was scared to death of me... but she was having a rough time so I helped anyway...

Kids will be kids though no matter where..... fun loving kids...

Nice view from up here...

Now back to the bottom as I follow the ladies who obviously never looked behind them when they were climbing up... it's OK.. I'm in no hurry... take your time...

Time to see if I can find the others who were waiting somewhere in the throngs of people at the bottom now...

glenn kangiser · February 22, 2013, 10:58:10 PM

I love Firefox.... not..... sometimes...

Had a great big post ready and previewed it.... then promptly never saw it again.... [ouch]

We left Bagan headed for Mt Popa I see from my GPS logs and Myo's Itinerary for our trip... as I didn't know where we were most of the time.....

Traveling along that road Myo saw the Toddy Palms and the little stand at the bottom.

OK... meaning... lets get out and have a look around...

The Toddy Palm farmer climbs the palms daily to gather the sap from the trees in ceramic pots.

The sap is rather sugary and collects in the pots that are tied to the end of the fruit stalk.

Here is a shot of him up on the bamboo ladder...

and a short video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR65LNLS3rY

February 22, 2013, 11:26:23 PM

They don't generally care for safety ropes... it inhibits their climbing ability.... Myo says they do fall once in a while from the rickety bamboo ladders....

The palm sap is used in several ways....

It is fermented into a beer that Myo and I took a taste of....

The bugs... wasps, etc can be strained out of it and you can drink it fresh...

I tried that too...

...it can be boiled down and concentrated into a syrup that is then made into a smoky flavored sugar or sugar candy that is used in many Asian recipes....

...or the beer can be distilled into the White Lightening that I posted about earlier....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtxyYxgdaAE

glenn kangiser · February 22, 2013, 11:59:54 PM

Our Toddy Palm farmer friends garden demonstration plot...delineated by limbs....

He also grows ground nuts.. (peanuts) and other crops.

Seems this would be a good way for us to start transplant plots under plastic before garden season officially starts too....

Which reminds me...

My peas are blooming in my small plot at the Underground Complex...

....and

I have some spinach about ready to eat and tons of volunteer carrots where I spread the seeds from one of the old crop carrots...

PEG688 · February 23, 2013, 09:17:14 AM

No one likes a show off Glenn

Just kidding , and jealous of that garden!

Redoverfarm · February 23, 2013, 09:21:22 AM

Glenn if you had to describe your trip what was the most valuable asset that you have gained over there? I already have the answer but I thought I would let your mind wonder.

glenn kangiser · February 23, 2013, 01:26:28 PM

I can see you want some more garden pictures, PEG.... I'll try to get out there and get some today...

John, I don't think I need any material things to survive in the world...

Just a genuine respect and love for my brothers and sisters in the world, an interest in their needs and wants and a willingness to do my share if needed and they will return it a hundredfold it seems.

The most valuable asset I have gained over there I think is more friends, close friends and less close friends. A confirmation that given the respect they deserve, those not obsessed with greed, power and wealth also care for each other, as well as their fellow man from the other side of the world.

Some may not care for what I have to say next but this is the reality I see. My friends over there.... Myo, Win Ko Ko have also been educated in the US from some of the most prestigious Colleges. Because they care about the people and improving quality of life there rather than riches and power, they have much the same views as I do.

Myo is a Humphrey Fellow...http://humphrey.ucdavis.edu/fellowship/2010_2011/Kyaw.html

Win is a Fulbright fellow. http://newsletter.fulbrightonline.org/183.html

They are both brought here by our Department of State so I cannot say all of our policies are bad. Deep down the motives are for profit of the world bankers who run our country and our allied countries but some of the results are for the good of the people of the world also, so there I can say ... Hey State Department... Thanks for bringing these wonderful people over here. As to the for profit aspect... that is a deeper subject I will spare you from unless you ask... [ouch]

Here is how I feel with regard to our leaderships direction of our foreign policy.

There is no such thing as collateral damage.... just murder.

I see the need for us to change our foreign policies to less indiscriminate bombing, drone strikes etc. because I see that each person killed is an individual with aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, brothers, children, cares, needs, wants, loves. I know I will find the same thing in other countries that I find here with the exception that we have not attacked this country.... yet. The people have not been personally touched by a US Drone strike or our weapons of death as many nearby countries have.

Terrorists... our foreign policies and indiscriminate killing create them and our leadership knows it.... they are good for our weapons of mass destruction sales. They give us a reason to deploy thousands of tons of war machines which our political invested interests profit from. They are simply a vehicle for transfer of American tax dollars into the pockets of those invested in the weapons of death industries of the US and allied countries. Killing for fun and profit.... plunder for oil, gems and riches. Note that there is currently a Unocal pipeline going across or being put across Burma to Thailand. The Generals are cooperating at the expense of the needs of their people so no need for us to bomb them as we did for the pipeline in Afghanistan.

I realize there are many factors that figure into this but can only mention some of the realities.

The largest cities in Burma have multiple daily power outages as resources are being sold by government to Thailand, China and others, for personal profits and interests rather than improving conditions for the people. Hopefully that is on the verge of change and conditions will improve.

The policies we allow our industries and leadership to get away with disgust me.

That said..... Yes... I feel the most valuable asset I gained on this trip is more real people that are my friends.... People I love... people who love me....

So.... after that long winded reply... What do you see, John?

glenn kangiser · February 23, 2013, 09:41:27 PM

Got this video up the other day... didn't get it posted yet though as I recall....

Got rat problems? How about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EJ4ApVVAvk

February 23, 2013, 09:47:49 PM

If that don't kill'em,I'd be scared.

glenn kangiser · February 23, 2013, 10:25:50 PM

I was told by Myo that the rat was killed when the trap went off.

I was trying to find the specifics of how it was made... I think I saw one in front of the General Aung San market.... should have bought it... [ouch]

glenn kangiser · February 23, 2013, 11:22:35 PM

A good face to face meeting with the farmers cow....

a look up the ladder he climbs daily...

Kidding around a bit with the kids by the road for a photo op....

...and we are off to the next stand down the road... the peanut oil demonstration....

Now ...for Andrew, a bit more on making the Peanut or Ground Nut oil.... I don't think I loaded this previously...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF5ndJznP7E

Myo says the peanut oil we have in the states is not right... too refined with no essence of the peanut... no tantalizing smell... I bought some and so far it seems he is correct..... [ouch]

Here the farmer breaks a treat for the cow off of the dried cake from a previous batch...

...... and demonstrates how his beloved cow loves the tasty treat.... Missed that tongue sticking way out....

So... that is a bit more about making the peanut oil...

glenn kangiser · February 24, 2013, 01:39:43 AM

Hey PEG....

A few more garden pix from the garden at the Underground Command Center.... it is not being well taken care of by me, but that is the great thing when you can leave it pretty well alone and it keeps on producing...

Broccoli flowerlets.. after you pick the main head it continues to make a lot of smaller heads or shoots that taste great...

Purple cauliflower..... yum...

Cabbages eh?

Planted some Chioggia Beets a couple days ago too....covered them with Saran Wrap to keep the birds off of them and water in until they germinate and get a chance to get well started.

Ernest T. Bass · February 24, 2013, 08:24:06 PM

Thanks for the oil video.. It makes a bit more sense now. All the bits and pieces of that apparatus make a rather simple operation look a little complicated, but I guess they've tweaked it over the years to get it just-so.