– ODO- 15440 – 15531km
– Location- Monywa, Myanmar
– Weather- 22-34 Overcast at dawn
The road got worse and worse. Steep climbs of loose mud, sand and rocks. My wheels span and mud clogged my rack and brakes. After only 40km I stopped at a small town of farmers and construction workers for lunch. I loved the flavours of India, but my usual lunch of dal and roti was pretty good at slowing up the digestion. The Burmese vegetarian lunch is simple and full of fresh greens. Each day I stop around 1pm and sit under deep ornings thatched with palm leaves. Glass cabinets of biscuits devide the wooden tables and benches from the kitchen. I sit and try to communicate my lack of desire for chicken or pork to a man. He disappears behind the partition and service begins.
First a bowl of rice and my plate was laid out in front of me. Then small dishes of veg, fried aubergine, roasted peanuts, some small brown beans, some kind of pickle and fried spinach. The final bowl was a soup with large chunks of a succulent. It looked as if it would be tough and veiny but it was soft with little bite and seasoned nicely with pepper. As I finished each bowl a woman would appear from a side door and refill it. When I was done I couldn’t eat anymore. The food is simple very health. Little to no fat with just a little oil in the soup and the fried aubergine. The rice keeps me going all afternoon.
