The After-the-Trip Letter

It was good to be clear of the dirt and the muddy Hooghly River (I thought Calcutta was a seaport, but like New Orleans, it is 150 miles from the Ocean) and to have blue water under our bows again. 

Side note: This is her first time back at sea since January 7, when she first got to Cocanada, India (now Kakinada), and then spent shore leave touring to the Taj Mahal, among other things.

In Rangoon there was a rickshaw ride one evening I'll not forget...through Chinatown...it was like being a spectator in a play...then out of the lights and din and clamor of the bazaar to the quiet of the Royal Lakes. 

Across the water lay the reflection of the flood-lit golden spire of the ShweDagon pagoda, and from over the hill came a soft dissonant jangle of temple bells. We were truly "out East". 

Side note: Cinematic, no? I wonder who she was with on this ride?? You’ll have to read on to find out!

For the quiz later: Rangoon is now Yangon, and Burma now Myanmar.

And ‘Truly out East’ is even further east of what the British had deemed east.

In Rangoon there was a rickshaw ride one evening I’ll not forget…through Chinatown…it was like being a spectator in a play…then out of the lights and din and clamor of the bazaar to the quiet of the Royal Lakes.

The Day-to-Day Journal

Sun. Jan. 23: At 5 a.m. the anchor chains began grinding and three hours later we were out in the river. Anchored in less than an hour to wait for the tide. Up anchor at 12:30. 

The rest of the a.m. with Shag, tho I did unpack first -- and oh the dirty clothes. 

Visited topside as we sailed down the river in the afternoon -- same jupe mills, brickyards, bathers, hay boats with no freeboard, sail way up on top. Nothing close enough for a good picture. 

Anchor again at 6:30 p.m. with only 14 ft. under our own draft of 23'. 

Ate too many cashew nuts to be interested in dinner. With S. and J. until 9 and turned in at once.

Side note: Astute observers will remember she went to the market in Calcutta specifically to purchase these cashews.

[Present location:] Lat. 14° 48' N; Long. 89° 40" E; Dist. 111 mi.; Av. Speed 15.46 mph. 

Mon. Jan. 24: 

Clean blue sea water again — so good to see it! Writing in a.m. — so impossibly much to put down. 

Shag ordered to change room today. Capt. very chipper after lunch. Saw the chart of the Hooghly River. Sounding all the time, continual dredging. 

Shag, bearded Capt. in his den after dinner, may get a room alone. Chatted Morton.

Side note: Not to be gossipy, but a room alone… OOoo.

[Present location:] Lat. 15° 45' N; Long. 43° 54" E; Dist. 340 mi.; Av. Speed 14.54 mph 

Tue. Jan. 25: Wash and iron. Write journal — busy day. 

Wed. Jan. 26: Anchored at midnight off the pilot ship. Pilot came on at 6:00 a.m., started away at 7:00. 

Slowly up the Rangoon River - no bathers, the whole country side looks cleaner than India.

Customs and immigration officials on at 11:30, we are anchored off Lewis St. jetty. Passengers ashore in silver launch at 3:00 p.m. to Marine Club (swankest in East) for information. Ruth and I shopped, saw some exquisite Chinese things. 

Shag came over at 5. It was terrifically hot I felt very washed up. Had tea. 

Shag and I took a rickshaw ride (12 As. per hour) saw extensive markets, an enormous Chinatown - some strange sights.

Side note: The rickshaw ride was with Shag!! There are some pictures from the era here.

It was a weird feeling riding in the midst of it. Out to the Royal Lakes, where it was quiet and the night was very dark and beautiful. Got down and walked along the water's edge and listened to the temple bells and in the distance saw the gold spire of Shwe Dagon. 

Burma -- there was a magic about it! 

Back to town for tea and toast at the Strand. Return to the S. Willow in a sampan, in spite of wild tales we've heard of treacherous current, lives lost, women attacked and robbed, it was a quick safe journey.

Side note: S. Willow, for those new is the Silverwillow, the boat she is traveling on. A sampan is a small boat and she sounds snarky about it, like she expected a ride that would give her a story.

Thur. Jan. 27: Passengers ashore at 8 a.m. after early breakfast, in two cars for a drive around the city. Saw umbrella manufacture, went thru a rice mill, saw Shwe Dagon and Sule Pagodas, drove around the lake, stop at sacred fish tank (eels in slimy green water), Ko Dad Gui Pagoda. It is a large city, very clean -- no castes as in India. 

Got the curse — feeling very blah. P.m. in bed, but hot, interruptions, I got no sleep. Couldn't go ashore, Shag and I had a peaceful evening in the hammock watching the swift moving reflections from shore lights in the strong current of the Rangoon River. 

The clamor of the rice loading games seemed an overtone far away. Acres of clothes hung on lines at the laundry, very colorful, most startling. When the tide turned every boat spun around like a top, never saw such a violent surge, faster than turning with a tug.  

Fri. Jan. 28: Took pictures of harbor craft - very glad didn’t go ashore. It was very hot, still feeling punk. Away at 2:00, past teak saw mills where the elephants work when they work. 

Ship vibrating badly, we're drawing 26' and there are only a couple of feet under that. In hammock on port side, gale of wind, finally went in to bed - no sleep. Evening with Jim, who began asking questions.

Side note: QUESTIONS! I suspect the questions are about Shag and the amount of time the two of them spend together, for instance in ‘the hammock watching the swift moving reflections from shore lights in the strong current of the Rangoon River…’ and other things together.

Also, this link I believe shows the sacred fish tank, though it doesn’t look much like a tank.

[Present location] Lat. 11° 57' N; Long. 96° 53" E; Dist. 277 mi.; Av. Speed 14.81 mph  

Sat. Jan. 29: Very hot and sticky, did a little washing and was ready for a bath. Letters and reading. P.m. off for Jim. Wrote at his table while he studied. Boat drill 4:00 p.m. Showed Capt. my Indian purchases. With Shag until 9:45, much later than I intended, slept out, warmest night we've had. 

[Present location:] Lat. 5° 38' N; Long. 99° 36" E; Dist. 362 mi.; Av. Speed 15.08 mph 

Sun. Jan. 30: Cooler toward morning. Up at 6:00 when the Chinese started washing decks. Writing letters, slow job. Jim cleaning deep tanks this p.m. Aft With S. later.

Side note: Things are heating up with Shag it seems as they head to sea once again. The next stop is the Dutch East Indies, which would soon-ish be Indonesia. The Dutch, like the English, often used a direction based naming scheme for lands. These were usually relative to the homeland, which can make total sense in a country or town or street or anything with boundary, but not in a big round world.