"By the old Moulmein pagoda,
Looking eastward to the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin,
and I know she thinks o' me."
Such are the opening lines to Kipling's classic poem, Mandalay. Moulmein (or Mawlamyine to locals) was the first British capital of Burma. The old city lies at the mouth of the Salween River, and serves as the capital of Mon State.
I woke up many a time on that train ride to Moulmein, initially to the sounds of the carriages crashing incessantly against the iron rails beneath; then to the plethora of smells that engulfed us as people got on and off the train; and finally to a beautiful sunrise. We arrived at the iconic Moulmein Railway Station around 9.00am, and then made our way via motorcycle taxis to one of the cheap accommodations recommended on the Lonely Planet guidebook - Breeze Guest House.
The little guest house is strategically located along Strand Road, facing the Andaman Sea. After a quick bath and some breakfast at Help Grandmother and Grandfather Restaurant (they literally have these words splayed across their facade), we sought some guidance from the Breeze front desk for places of interest around the city. This is when we met Raju - our amazing Moulmein guide and perhaps the most unforgettable Burmese we came across during the course of our trip. The beauty of it was this - Raju immediately recognised me as a Tamil-speaker, and struck up a conversation with me in our native language (well if I were nitpicky, native to our ancestry). Prior to the trip, I definitely would not have expected to be communicating with a Burmese local in Tamil. Raju the guide then proceeded to take us around Moulmein on his tuktuk, as we visited the many pagodas and caves in and around the old city.
The more 'outdoorsy' Sleeping Buddha
Somewhere between these pagoda excursions, Raju brought us for some street-side toddy to cool ourselves off a little after hours walking under striking sunlight. It was a first for me, and my initial impression of the drink was pretty good. Little did I know what was about to follow..
My first experience with toddy - delicious yet laced with monstrous repercussions
The Kyaik-Than-Lan Pagoda
Sunset by the Moulmein pagoda
A hefty meal later, we strolled back to the guest house to call it a night. Now you recall that glass of toddy I had earlier that afternoon? Well it finally kicked in. No, it was not alcohol-induced light-headedness let alone cognitive impairment. The impact was bigger than that.. and longer-lasting. Here came the rumbling, churning aftermath that messed my stomach (and by virtue of its intensity, myself) for the next two days of the trip. Toddy-induced diarrhoea.
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