The only common language we shared were mimics or smiles – and this was more than enough. So, arriving at my first open-house in Phayartaung, I sat with the women and children to have tea. But since the monastery wakes up at 4:30am, so not that early for Phayartaung standards. However, this is not your usual open-house party. Whenever a villager builds a new house, for example, when a couple gets married, they will invite all neighbours to feast and pray in the house. This community is like a great family and every now and then they celebrate their achievements together. And I was kindly invited to go to the party. This tradition remains until today in many places. So people used candles, or leaves as an invitation. Back in the days, in rural areas, it was difficult to have access to papers, imagine cards. I didn’t get what was happening, but then Aung Min explained that this was an invitation for the open-house of the man’s son. During the meal, a man came and gave a candle to Aung Min. One day, I was at the Inle Lake Sanctuary having an amazing lunch with Aung Min, the cook there is a talented young man, former student of Phayartaung Monastery, who prepares beautiful dishes. Aung Min is a local and knows everything around and can provide tailored and very authentic tours. This a great way to stay in a place that values sustainability in every aspect.
The place is hidden gem, it is totally solar powered and sources its food and services from the community and gives a percentage of its profits to the monastery. The Inle Sanctuary Phayartaung is run by Aung Min, who employs former students from the local school. People come for breakfast, chat and, of course, buy groceries, clothing, kitchen, house utensils and much more.Īnd just by the market place lies the only hotel in Phayartaung. More than a shopping place, this is a social event. Ox cars are the main transport from the canoes to the market area. The sellers begin to arrive on the day before from the lake. On the other days the market is on other villages nearby. As the name suggests, it happens every 5 day, by the lake. The main activity in the village is the 5-day market. And food stalls appear now and then, mostly selling snacks for the kids and teachers in the school. Throughout the village, few small shops sell the basics for daily necessities. They keep a longyi on to cover most of the body. But they don’t take all their clothing off. They come with their buckets filled with what they need and go on their routine cheerfully. There are big water containers where the villagers come to wash up in the end of the day. Not far from there is the communal shower place, one for girls, another for the boys. They cheer each other every time the balls hits the ground. They are going to become beautiful bags – that are like a signature of Myanmar.įew meters ahead, children are playing volleyball by the lake in an improvised court. Three young women are concentrated in their work and another heavily pregnant is arranging the threads. They are using bright colourful threads in some rustic machinery powered by their feet. In one of the corners a small weaving factory catches my attention. When they hear the bells, they go to the front of their houses to wait for them. The days begin with the alms round, when novices and monks walk barefoot throughout the village with their alms bowls collecting rice. Sometimes these shy faces would come and greet you with a big warm smile. The place is calm, you can hear the sounds of birds and children playing around and hiding from any foreign face. Walking around Phayartaung village is like a travel in time. Here, the days pass slowly and are calm, just like the waters of the lake. Phayartaung Monastery is the heart of the village with the same name, a calm fishing village that lies on the banks of the Samkar lake (sometimes referred as Sakar, Sagar…). This is the fourth post about Phayartaung, in Myanmar, a place where smiles come easily and life has a especial taste, of old days, fresh air and love.