The Romantic East
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t ra h ed b Ta ber L n d on P h o og p y , o LTER D EL MA R WA . THE R O MA N T I EA S T BU RMA A SSA M KA SHMIR , , W A LT ER D E L M A R A UT HO R OF ‘ ’ F ’ AROU ND T HE WORL D T HROUGH JA PA rgjA ND ‘ DIA OF To- D A Y CON TAINING SIXT Y- FOU R FULL - PAGE I LLU ST RAT ION S FROM PHOT OGRAPHS L O ND O N A D AM A ND C HA R L ES B L A C K 1 9 06 A ll r igi d: reserved P R E F A C E The R oman ti c E ast is a narrative of a tour in Burma, Assam, and Kashmir, and it completes the series begun in A r oun d the Wor ld thr ough - J ap an and continued in I n di a of To day. The romantic side of Burma is to be found in its people, who are of all Oriental races the least spoiled by contact with the West . The romance of Kashmir lies in the country itself, while the romance of Assam is a purely commercial one, connected with the tea industry . The R oman ti c E ast Offers some guidance as to what may be seen during a short tour ; and it will serve a useful purpose if it induces those who intend to travel at some future time to mature their plans in the present, for now is — the time to Visit Burma and Kashmir before the V 21 8 6 5 8 vi THE ROMANTIC EAST character of the Burmese people is changed by the steady influx of alien immigrants, and before the amenities Of the Kashmir Valley are endangered by the new railway. The majority of the illustrations are from my own cameras, but several are selected from the large collection of Burmese photographs taken 1 9 05. n by Mr W. W Schumacher in The desig on the cover represents a corner of the E in dawya Pagoda, Mandalay. C O NTE NT S C H APTE R I GOLDE N BURMA — — PAGE The ideal East Burmese characteristics The Yell ow — — — Peril Annexation Religion Marriage and divorce — - Burmese women Costumes A few figures CH APTER II THE FIRST VIEW — — Madras to Rangoon The Rangoon river Plague proteo — — tion Pagoda—s and dagobas The fraternity of the Yellow Robe Monks and monasteries C HAPTE R III RANGOON — — The Shwe Dagon pagoda Gawdam a the Buddha Tagon — — dain gs The great bell of Rangoon The story of the tiger C HA PTE R IV RA NGOON ( con ti n ued) — — Sule pagoda Nats The Central J ail — — elephants Silver-ware Rangoon hotels Vl l THE ROMANTIC EAST C H APTE R V RANGOON TO BHAMO — — — Pegu The Shwe -hmaw-daw The great Buddha Karen — — — women Toungoo Amarapura and Ava Sagaing — Katha Shwegu C H A PTE R VI BHAMO AND THE I RA WA D I — — The road to China The races of Upper Burma Chins — — — — Shans Kachins Palaungs The river The de files — The road to the Ruby Mines The Mingon bell and — pagoda Petroleum C H APTE R VII MANDALAY ’ — The Queen s Golden Monastery Fort Dufferin and the — Royal Palace The centre of the universe King Thebaw and his Queens C HAPTER VIII MANDALAY ( con ti nued) — — Sermons in stones The Ei n dawya pagoda The game of — — chinlon A Burmese pwe The Great Temple and the Maham an i C H APTER IX GOKTE IK — The railway to Lashio The Gokteik gorge and viaduct — — The natural bridge Maymyo The excursion to M oulmein CONTENTS ix C HAPTER X MOULMEIN PAGE ’ — — The Duke s Head The great Moulmein pagoda The — — — bells Ivory carvers Kado A modern shrine C HAPTER XI CHRISTMAS IN BURMA — Christmas Eve smoking concert Christmas at the Farm — — ’ Caves Rangoon to Chittagong New Year s Day at Akyab C H APTER XII ASSAM — - — Chittagong The Assam Bengal railway Big game — — The planters The romance of Assam The tea industry C HAPTER XIII ASSAM ( con ti nued) — Climate The Brahmaputra from Nigri Ting to Dubri — — A mournful river Birds Th e new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam C HAP TE R XIV THE ROAD TO KA SHMIR — — The Happy Valley The City of Sri D hanJIbhoy and — — — Son A tramp in the snow Muree K ohala Bridge 1 24 b THE ROMANTIC EAST C HAPTE R XV KOHALA BRIDGE TO CHA KOTI PAGE — — The J ehlam and Kishan gan ga A dangerous road Domel — — The great gorge An accident to the tonga driver Chakoti C HA PTE R XVI CHA KOTI TO SRINAGAR — — — The J ehlam gorge A breakdown Uri Oriental cunning — — — Avalanches and landslides Rampur The Temple — — — of B un i ar Baramula Patan Srinagar C H APTER XVII THE VENICE OF THE E AST — — Early birds Merchants and tourists Thieves and — — swindlers Curios and trophies Punts and house boats C H APTE R XVIII THE BRIDGES A ND THE CITY — — Mayasam The bridges - Sher Garhi palace Mosq ue — — Shah Hamadan The great mosq ue Hari Parbat Tinpot temples C H APTER XIX THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY I N THE WORLD — ’ D ff r o of Fro the of S o o o i e ent p —ints view m steps l m n s Throne The valley and the mountain barriers Kashmir and the Kashmiris CONTENTS xi C HAP TE R XX THE GARDENS OF TH E GREAT MOGULS PAGE — — — Rotten Row The City Lake Nishat Bagh Shalimar — — Bagh Lalla Rookh Nasim Bagh C HAP TER XXI SRINAGAR TO BARAMULA — “ — Manjhi s and nautch - girls The river of milk The — — — Naru canal Winter birds Si n gharas Volur Lake C HAPTER XXII A ND SO HOME — Baramula to Rawal Pindi The last dak LI ST OF I LLU STRATI ONS The Author Frontisp iece FACING PAGE Alien Immigrants 2 A Professional Beauty smoking a Torch 6 Taken by an Amateur 8 “ White Wings 1 2 Burmese Boats 14 Burmese Monks 20 r of o - o 24 Ca ved Base Tag n Daing, Shwe Dag n Shrine on Shwe Dagon Platform 26 ’ Women s Tresses offered at Shwe Dagon Shrine 28 o a oo 3 0 The Sule Nat, Sule Pag da, R ng n oo J o r 3 2 Rang n ail, utside the Ent ance r- r oo 3 4 Timbe Ya d Elephants , Rang n r oo 3 6 St eet Scene , Rang n - - o 3 8 Shwe hmaw daw Pag da, Pegu r i 40 The G eat Recl ning Buddha, Pegu o of o r 42 The Pag da the F u Buddhas, Pegu Shwegu on the Irawadi 4 8 o o 52 Chinese Sh p, Bham A o o Irawadi D efile 56 ngel R ck, Sec nd The Great Bell at Mingon 60 xiv THE ROMANTIC EAST FACING PAGE r 64 22. o r o Watch T we , Mandalay F t 2 - r hebaw rr r 66 3 . The Summer house whe e King T su ende ed ’ 24 M M or 6 8 . i n don s o T mb, andalay F t 2 of n o 2 5 . The Game Chi l n 7 26 . r r 74 Musicians and Dance s , Bu mese Pwe Ar o r 6 27 . akan Pag da and Tu tle Tank 7 28 . r t o Ar o 7 8 Ent ance akan Pag da, Mandalay 2 o — r ro 8 0 9 . G kteik Viaduct T ain app aching f o 2 3 0. r o 8 Ent ance Cave, G kteik Viaduct 3 1 l o o 8 8 . The Bel , M ulmein Pag da 2 o 0 3 . Kad Landing 9 3 r on or of o o 2 3 . Sh ines N th Side Kad Pag da 9 o rr 3 4 . M ulmein Hackney Ca iage 96 3 5. r r 8 Ch istmas Lunch with the Buddhas, Fa m Caves 9 “ ” of r 3 6 . The Only Lady the Pa ty 1 00 r on Ar o 1 4 3 7 . Ba ge akan C ast 0 o r 1 3 8 . B ats at Chandpu 08 ’ r to r o A 1 3 . 10 9 Ent ance Plante s Bungal w, ssam 4 D oori a A 0. 1 1 2 Tea Estate, ssam 1 A - on r r 1 4 . Landing place the B ahmaput a 1 6 2 Gam iri hat on r r 4 . g the B ahmaput a 1 1 8 of r r 43 . View the B ahmaput a 1 20 4 Our o 4 . T nga with Luggage tied Outside 1 26 4 oo rr our 5 . C lies ca ying Luggage over the Snow 1 3 0 “ ’ 4 o o o ro 6 . S l m n s Th ne 1 3 4 ’ 4 o o 7 . The Museum and S l mon s Throne from the River 1 3 8 4 8 . r r 1 42 The Museum, S inaga fr 4 . o r r 1 4 9 View m the Bund, S inaga 6 r r fro 50. S inaga Bund m the Museum 1 50 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING r r i r r She Ga h Palace, S inaga atteh on e of r r r F Kadal, the B idges at S inaga o of ri r M sq ue Shah Hamadan, S naga “ Z a o r h r r r aina K dal, The F u t B idge, S inaga r o r r The G eat M sq ue, S inaga r r r r Ha i Pa bat, S inaga o fro r r Temple D me made m Biscuit Tins, S inaga On r r r the Rive , S inaga r r r Rive side Scene, S inaga Our Party leaving Srinagar by H ouse - boat Kashmiri Beauties A ll on r a r Vi age the Na u C nal, Kashmi - r r o r r Duck Hunte nea S pu , Kashmi oo or - o r Volur r L king N th east ve Lake, Kashmi 2 THE ROMANTIC EAST S - - the least spoilt, in pite of its oil mills, rice mills, - and timber yards, by contact with the West, and the most pleasing in regard to the character of its people.