We arrived at Pakoku about 4 p.m. and anchored for the night. The shore was lined with piles of bags, boxes, and other usual accessories. Natives were seen in all directions with a new array of articles, some bearing baskets suspended from bamboo poles across the shoulders, while bullock carts and other primitive vehicles, together with the variety of style and color of the attire worn by the natives, made a scene truly picturesque. We also stopped at Mirout. Here were mud volcanoes, which some of the party visited, being carried there in bullock carts, and found them rather interesting, the volcanoes emitting mud instead of lava.
We arrived at a place near old Pagan at four in the morning, and never can I forget the spectacle presented from my stateroom window. There was total darkness, save where long lines of natives with lanterns, coming from the woods in every direction, were seen carrying boxes, bales, and baskets of freight to the shore. Once at the landing, the rush and commotion and waving of lanterns were truly Burmese. The next point in our progress was old Pagan, where we saw many pagodas, but we were told that there were as many as a thousand in the days of her prosperity.
On the river we constantly passed shipping of various kinds, sometimes huge rafts of teakwood propelled by natives, mostly devoid of attire; the peculiar Burman paddy boats of old Egyptian style are used for transporting unhulled rice. A more peaceful trip cannot be imagined, and it has been compared to a passage up the Nile.
On the Irrawaddy River, near Sagoing
Prome: We arrived at Prome the evening of January 12th, but owing to some hours' delay we were disappointed in not having the expected drive or visiting the celebrated pagoda. We took the night train for Rangoon and were so fortunate as to have the de luxe cars again.
Rangoon: We reached the city early the following morning. Rangoon is located on the ocean and is furthermore aided by the Irrawaddy River, which is navigable for over nine hundred miles. It has an unrivalled location for future growth and permanence. Rangoon's increase has been phenomenal for this latitude; in 1852 it was a small fishing village; in 1904 the inhabitants numbered two hundred and fifty thousand, and there has since been a marked increase. The population is divided into Burmese, Hindus, Mohammedans, and Christians, with a sprinkling of other nationalities,—a variety which is distinctly recognized in the life of the city. It has a large export trade in rice, lumber, and oil, and a visit to one of the factories is almost always included by tourists.
The shipping at Rangoon presents a picturesque variety, as ocean steamers, river steamers, paddy boats, and quaint smaller vessels are always in evidence. The civil and municipal buildings do not, however, compare with those of such rival cities in India as Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. The bazars in the European quarter are unusually fine, and it was a pleasure to visit them, silks, curios, and silver work being well displayed. In the native quarter those of the inhabitants to be seen on the street (previously described) had no distinctive character, but the native silk bazars were mostly in a large, low, poorly lighted building, divided into aisles. A visit to this neighborhood showed the happy-go-lucky features noticed in Mandalay.