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298

Tuesday, Feb. 22 -  
[[strikethrough]] October 24 [[/strikethrough]]

noise all night - on deck - which was beautifully picturesque - with the pongees lying around in their yellow & orange robes. The evening light & the muted colors was a wonderful sight. We fell asleep covered with mosquito netting - for the first time since I arrived in the East.

Our boat is called 'Maha' meaning 'big one'. All along the coast - the 'Sagang' Hills covered every few feet with Pagodas & nunneries - Simply extraordinary - There is a saying - every hillock in Burma has a pagoda built on it. Now our boatman sings & calls out a message - in a young, high voice & I learn that he is testing the water for depth with his long iron pole. It get quite shallow near the shore at this time of year. The River - called the Irrawaddy -


299

Along the Irrawaddy    
Feb. 22
[[strikethrough]] October 25 [[/strikethrough]] 

is wide & misty grey green - Today the current is as quiet as [[strikethrough]] a la [[/strikethrough]] the surface of a lake. All over its surface are sponges of all sizes - here & there solitary sampans

5 PM - Water smooth as glass with heavenly shaped trees placidly revealing their shapes in the water below. This landscape has always seemed photographic & banal to me - but I am reminded of one of Cezanne's finest canvasses - trees reflected in water - he made of it - his interpretation, rather, a reality - his personal truth. One must attempt it - sky, trees & water -

Incredible moment - pale rose violet sky & sea greyed green trees, with mysterious grey white Pagoda silhouetted against a pale vermilion sun. One of the unforgettable sunsets of Burma.