Took a trip out of Yangon by double-decker ferry then mini-bus packed with locals to Twante, a small village where the highlights are the potters and the pagoda. The potters make bog-standard pots (nothing to sell to tourists), but interestingly one was making clay / ceramic water filters designed by Americans and distributed by (among others) Save the Children. The pagoda was being refurbished post Cyclone Gigi (can't remember the name, begins with a G... Nargis was in '08 I think, this one was '10), masons hammers clink-clinking away. The moon is full now, hence it's time for the full-moon festival -- and Twante had a full-on celebration going with men-in-cow-costume performers (kind of like a Chinese dragon, just a little clumsier), musicians (gongs, drums), and dancers. The trip took about 1 1/2 hr each way, and we were 'taxi-ed' around the town by tri-shaw (a bike with a side-car) in the broiling mid-day heat (12.30-2.30pm ish). What do they say about Mad Dogs and Englishmen?
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