This article is part of a weekly series on cruising in The Sun Herald, Sydney. If you are interested in being featured, please send an email to jane@janeefraser.com.au
WHO Glenda Halliwell, of Coffs Harbour, on her 10th cruise.
WHAT Visiting a small village in Burma.
WHERE On the banks of the Irrawaddy River, near Mandalay in central Burma.
THE SHIP Glenda, who is a Jetset Travel agent but travelled at her own expense, cruised with her husband Alan on an eight-night cruise from Mandalay to Prome, in Burma. They cruised on the Orient Pandaw, a 60-passenger river ship booked through Cruiseco (cruising.com.au).
“The village was called Yandabo and it was a very small and traditional Burmese village. We got off the ship and there was the usual entourage of people waiting to see what was going on, including some inquisitive kids and a few Buddhist monks.
“The village is known for its pottery, so we went along to see how it was made. They had dug up local clay and a man was there mixing it with his feet; holding onto a rope as he used his feet to work the clay. Then it was handed onto the next member of the family – it seems everyone has a job – and was kneaded into blocks, ready to be moulded into pots.
“The end product is a pot for storing water and they sell them for about 50 cents, after all that work. Some would end up in markets in the bigger towns and cities but they mostly sell them in local markets along the river.
“We also went to the local school, which had been built from…(more)
