myanmar mutts 1

zzzzzz....

On the left is a picture of a dog. Obviously this dog looks quite contented. Nice plump belly indicating a well fed,well nourished dog. No evidence of bones sticking out or any visible rib cage.

A comfortable well maintained bed. It's even a purpose built dog bed.(note the paws) The bed also contains a blanket which the dog will arrange for its own comfort. Soft cushioning for the head allowing for a peaceful sleep. Dreams? Well if androids dream of electric sheep I think this dog will be dreaming of a sheep bone. She loves to bury bones in the backyard.Perhaps she will be dreaming of a walk in the woods or on the beach. She might be dreaming of some morsels from the family dinner, and make no mistake she is part of a family. She could be dreaming of having her belly rubbed or maybe chasing a ball (maybe not!) but whatever her dreams they are likely to come true. We can also rest assured that she isn't carrying or likely to pick up any diseases or illness. She is fully inoculated. No chance of her getting pregnant form a roaming dog:she's spade. Overall a picture of peace,health and contentment. A typical Australian family dog. You know one of those dogs "that thinks it's people". 

 

grrrrr..

In contrast this photograph paints a different picture. Similar looking dogs  similar states of repose. Certainly the dog looks relaxed enough but is this the sleep of the serene? Doubtful. There is no plump belly here, only visible ribcage and spine. There is no blanket or soft bed for this pup. Just a spot on the ground it has managed to find. There is a sense here that sleep maybe fleeting, bought on by the fatigue of life, that it's important for this dog to wake up get some food. This not the sleep of the well fed but the exhausted and weak.

This dog won't be dreaming of walks, chasing balls or morsels from the family table. She wouldn't be thinking of a belly rub. That is so far outside her universe that it is not even a concept. More than likely it will be dreaming of where it will be trying to scrounge a mouthful of food or, if it's lucky, might come across a prize of a dropped meal or thrown away unfinished dinner. The dog's condition shows its vulnerability to illness. No inoculations or microchips here. No backyards to bury bones. No walks only wanderings bought on by hunger pains. For some Myanmar dogs this is the reality of life on the streets.

 

btw this is a male dog!

One is struck by the number of stray dogs there are in Myanmar. It's a fact of life that you will see dogs wandering around the street, sleeping on steps, scrounging around outdoor restaurants, fighting, rutting and everything else that dogs do. Even though dogs are quite common they keep a respectful distance from humans. They are fully aware of where they stand in the pecking order. They also have their own pecking order.

 

 

At the top is the alpha male . This is the local alpha. Lets call him Alfie. Alfie has got it pretty good actually. He certainly looks in good condition. No malnutrition here.

You don't actually see him eating very often but I don't think he goes without. Alfie does seem to have people look after him. He can often be seen sitting, lord like, in a chair covered with paper (not quite the bed of the Australian dog but still..) at the entrance to the street as though he is keeping watch on the comings and goings of the street. Alfie also seems to have carte blanche to move under and share an umbrella when it rains. It gives him a certain dignity not enjoyed by many street dogs. As a consequence of Alfie's presence in the street there are not many other dogs around here. And like Muhammad Ali he has a pretty face. This tells us that he is a successful alpha. The other dogs keep away. Not many scratches or scars. It's quite common to see dogs with scars and scratches all over their faces and even bodies. Often at night you can hear dog fights going on. And these dogs fight for real. When they're puppies they will play fight but once they've grown to alpha status or sub adult their fights become fair dinkum. Having witnessed a dog fight I can tell you that they are not pleasant. They are viscous and savage. Teeth ripping at flesh, limbs and fur flying in all directions, wild animal sounds. Even if you are at a safe distance it still you can still feel threatened. We are used to living with dogs that are compliant, loyal, tail wagging neutered little "people". When we see testosterone driven rage we realise that any dog we see on the streets has that type of viscousness in them. And that is reinforced when we see dogs with faces crisscrossed with the scars and brands of previous encounters. The dogs life here is a hard one but dogs survive and have a niche in life here.

 

 

 

 

more food

previously on monsoon Myanmar.....
We were talking about food...street food....the variety and volume of food available for consumption is truly unique. One food mentioned briefly which, strictly speaking, is not a monsoon food but appears to be a summer food is...

The cricket. Also a summer sport but I suppose the less said about that the better. Some eminent thinkers have  predicted that insects will be our future sources of protein and I would think that in some parts of Myanmar they probably are already. Here in Yangon they sold in stalls with mountains of them. Thousands and thousands of deep fried bugs. Whether these are wild or farmed (never seen a cricket farm) thousands are consumed each summer. Probably helps with crop farming as well as providing a source of protein. Being of delicate constitution myself I couldn't bring myself to eat one but I'm told reliably that they are a good beer snack. Future missives may include a little info on Yangon's beer stations. The crickets seemed to disappear with the onset of the monsoon just like the sun!

Further explorations of the street food scene means looking at the street restaurant. Pop ups are a novel new concept in the west but this has been a way of life for the restaurateur in Yangon. No doubt people have their own spots and no doubt good spots would be highly prized. A good location would be outside a temple, office or a cinema. (The cinema is very popular here and is a unique experience but more on that in the future!) Here is a typical outdoor restaurant. Stool style seating, plenty of cover and not to mention happy proprietors. This is slightly after lunch time so there is not many customers. This is one thousands of these types of stalls found all over the country. Indeed in some places in rural areas this would be your only option for eating. Here is an example of what a typical Myanmar meal would consist of. Usually customers would select the type of meat (not much choice either chicken or pork)they would want and a couple of vegetables to go with it. Notice the large pot. This would be full of rice. In some places it would be full of simmering stock which would be added to noodles. Another interesting aspect of this "restaurant" would be the seating. As I mentioned these places aren't really for romance and sitting on tiny seats eating from tiny tables really takes the romance out of anything. Your correspondent is about 193cm or 6ft 2or 3 in the old so his knees would be around his ears as he eats. Of course the average Myanmar is a little shorter and don't seem to have any trouble happily sitting around on these stools eating and chatting away. There is a place to wash the used dishes and usually some cold tea is offered. Larger establishments will often have a fridge and they will sell beer ,soft drinks and cold water. The only water that can be drunk here is bottled water.

As the reader will also notice this stall is set right on the gutter. This doesn't encourage much confidence in the hygiene of these street stalls. One of the unfortunate "qualities "of  life in Myanmar is the sporadic nature of rubbish removal and poor rubbish receptacles meaning there is a lot of uneaten food and scraps left of the ground. It's not unusual to see an enterprising rat or two seizing  scraps fallen from tables or mouths of diners. More on rats when I write on the cinema experience! 

street food

Myanmar offers a range of street food for the adventurous or perhaps foolhardy traveller. Of course the street food is definitely not for tourists it is for locals and caters to local tastes. Stalls are set up all over the streets serving all the courses of a good meal. Naturally the food is quite cheap certainly by western standards and its purpose is to provide decent food for workers served quickly. All of the stalls are simple and portable. Asian style food certainly makes for ease of setting up a street stall.
All you seem to need a few tables, seats, some sort of shelter and of course cooking facilities. Most stall holders have an ice box of some description also. The cooking is not usually done on gas but with hot coals. They heat up the stock and keep it bubbling while they cook the noodles or rice. In fact most of the rice is dispensed from large metal pots which are kept on heat.

This is an example of a typical street "restaurant". Plastic chairs are the norm for these places. Some of them are stool style as we see here, some are a more traditional style with a back and some are just tiny.  Note the cooking pots sitting on coal stoves. A stall like this would serve noodles or even rice dishes. As I mentioned every course of a meal is available on the street....lets have a look at some entrees...

This is a very popular snack or first course if one is wandering the streets having a progressive dinner. These are entrails or offal on a stick. Each stick is dipped into the simmering broth hopefully killing off all the bacteria. Judging by the popularity of these places it seems they are quite safe,though I dare say an acquired taste for westerners with delicate stomachs like myself. Note the cans used for various dipping sauces. The stool is also there as people will sit here and a number of sticks of offal just to get the flavour buds working! Needless to say this isn't the sort of place you'd come for a romantic dinner or to celebrate a successful business deal; they tend to not have extensive wine lists!

The next entrée we could sample is something a more familiar. The humble deep fried snack. In this case samosas and spring rolls. Once again very popular and quite common. This is also an indicator of the ethnic make up of Yangon. This photo was taken somewhere between Chinatown and what I've come to regard as little India. This stall holder obviously is making sure they capture business from both places...but of course who can resist something that's been deep fried. The hot oil is also kept bubbling with a coal/charcoal fire. In fact there are many stalls which fry food and most of the oil is heated without gas or electricity. A personal favourite is the hand cut potatoes deep fried on the street packaged and sold like potato chips (or crisps if you're from the UK). Excellent with beer almost as good as deep fried crickets!

Of course one has to be very careful walking around especially during the monsoon. It wouldn't pay to slip over and land in a pot full of hot cooking oil. As you would expect none of the cooking oil or hot coals have any safety guards around them. But that is the way things are here. There is a "refreshing" lack of safety precautions everywhere. (Don't get me started on crossing the roads...)

waiting.....

Every 4 or 5 days I have to have my water tank filled up. This is a tank which is in the bathroom and holds an unknown amount of water. This usually involves me having to text the landlord ,who owns a gold and jewellery store on the corner, who then sends one of his workers to attend to the pump. I have to then switch on the pump in my apartment whilst the worker attends to the main pump downstairs. The tank usually fills within an hour or so. I probably don't need to fill so often but it has run out on occasion. Today the difference is that switching on the pump caused the electricity to go out completely so now I have to wait....I think! It can often be very hard to understand the instructions from the workers as they speak little or no English. So here I sit and wait. I think I'm waiting for the electricity to be properly reconnected so that the water pump can be used. There has been a few interruptions to the electricity over the last few days. I assume this is due to the work that has been going on out in the street. They have dug up the footpath and of course the hole has been filled with monsoon water. It certainly has disturbed the rats. I've seen a couple of rats and mice scurrying about in the day time: not their favourite time to be active. They have built some precarious looking steps over these ditches. People actually get in here and dig out the mud and dirt. I was nearly swamped by some as a worker shovelled out onto the street.

The monsoon seems to be a good time to do this type of work. The ground is nice and soft and easy to dig. Of course the safety precautions are no where near what they would be in Australia. Certainly there would be no open drains like this. There is also the problem of mosquitos. I'm not sure if any precautions are taken to ensure mozzies aren't breeding in these places. Dengue is a problem even in the cities here. Well I'm still waiting for the water....further missives later