After a sumptuous lunch (fried fish, vegetables, sunny-side-ups and locally grown fluffy rice), we decided to stay in the house since it was too hot to explore the village. As we sipped the usual tea, we realised that most of the villagers were back in their house for their afternoon siestas. With the little help from a Burmese-English dictionary, we brushed up our limited knowledge of Burmese by learning commonly-used terms while the villagers also learnt certain English words. Some of the men (and older women) would prepare their betel nut fix; a concoction of the areca nut, betel leaves, lime (or calcium hydroxide) and tobacco leaves (for that extra kick in nicotine). Chewed for its mild stimulating effects, it causes a minor sensation in the body and slightly heightened alertness. It also makes me sleepy which I conveniently use it as an excuse for my afternoon nap.

When it gets cooler in the late afternoon (about 4pm), we set off again to explore the other parts of the village. While some men were already completing their work for the day, the women were making full use of the remaining sunlight to prepare dinner. We accepted frequent offers for tea from several families (though my stomach was already bloated). My host (cum guide) would tab on his wrist (denoting it was getting late) and urge us to move on. We would understand later that he wanted us to finish our baths and dinner before it gets really dark.

The main highlight of the day (for me at least) was the "mandatory" swim in the river. Children in the delta are taught how to swim when young. While there are no sterile swimming pools which Sillyporeans are so familiar of, there are plenty of rivers where one could pick up their water survival skills. You might think I must be crazy (hey, I did the Ganges and so what's the big deal?) to jump into a muddy river with the occasional diesel patch (from the engines of the boats) floating by. Although murky, it was surprisingly refreshing (though I did not sink my head into the water). After 15mins of pure watery fun, we bathed in front of the house (and under broad daylight) with the rain water collected in large water jars. I was not allowed to bath nude though. *Grins*

Dinner was relatively a similar affair (same food as well!) as compared to lunch. By observing nearby, our hosts made sure that we were well taken care off. Throughout my stay, we did not see our hosts eat apart from breakfast (afternote: It was indicated in Lonely Planet that it is not unusual for the hosts to not join the guests at the table). After-dinner affairs are the usual sit around with a diesel lamp where tea (again) would be served. These tea meetings serve as interactive session where we would try to tell them what Sillypore is like (e.g. urban jungle, standard of living) with our broken command of Burmese. I had great fun in asking them for 4lakh kyats (equivalent of S$500 which is the fine for spitting) whenever someone spits.

Before we knew it, it was bed time and our hosts helped us by setting up the mosquito net. There were no comfortable beds or air-conditioning; all of us slept on rattan sheets. As I slowly fell asleep in the tranquillity from Daw's evening rendition of the triple gems and five precepts, I marvelled on how their world could be so different from mine even though it was under the same blue sky.