Suitcase and World: The Art of Rolling Cigarettes.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Art of Rolling Cigarettes.


We ended our morning today with lunch at a place called the Eyeful Lake Restaurant which serves traditional Burmese dishes to tourists.  We headed right there after a quick stop at a local foundry.

I've gotten accustomed to traveling by boat from one place to another.  There are no streets here but even so, you can see that the buildings are laid out in a grid system as if there were street blocks.


When Polo said we would be having lunch at a local restaurant, I imagined a small neighborhood joint of some sort.


Instead, our boat captain pulled up to this massive structure.  That's a big place.....the biggest restaurant we've eaten at so far.   Who knows how the food is but one thing for certain, it has a nice view of the lake!



On the way to our table, Polo saw the traditional fishing cone and decided to explain to us how it was used.  The cone is thrust down into the water until it touches ground.  Whatever fish are trapped inside are then speared - the spear is plunged down through an opening at the top of the cone.


We sat and took in the view of the lake while we ordered our meal with help from Polo.  He would not be joining us at the table but I hoped that the restaurant would give him a meal.



While we waited for our food to be delivered to the table, Polo told us we could pay the gift shop a visit.  Oh what the heck.  I wasn't planning to buy anything but you never know.

Seated in the gift shop area were several women rolling Burmese cigarettes. We had seen the cigarettes for sale in the market but this was a chance for us to see how they were actually rolled.  As you might expect, the experienced women make it look a lot easier than it really is!


We closely watched one woman roll a cigarette all the while trying to figure out the technique.  Her fingers moved with such swiftness, it was hard to keep up. We had to watch a few more times.  All in all, it took her less than a minute.



Then, Bro decided to give it his best shot.  He's always a good sport to give something a try.  It proved to not be easy.  He tried twice, with close direction from the woman who even held his hands at time.  Sadly, I think both his cigarettes would have failed a quality check had she not (gently) corrected his mistakes  :-)



After a few good laughs, we headed back to our table to enjoy our lunch.  We had a full afternoon ahead of us so there was no lingering.  Meal done, it was back on the boat and on to our next destination!