The romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir - Khamkoo

BHAMO AND THE IRAWADI 57
back during the day, and we were told that this
defile is the finest of the three. The second
defile is
certainly
not as fine as the Rhine or
the Moselle, to say nothing of the Hudson ;
and
the third defile is
very
Cliveden.
much like the Thames at
Bhamo is 1028 miles from Rangoon by the river,
according to the distances given by the Flotilla
Company. Thirty miles down the river is Sawadi
(Kaung Taung), and between this place and Sinkan,
13 miles below, is the second defile. Approaching
this the first view is similar to that seen coming
down the Thames when the
Quarry Woods are
seen rising behind Bisham. Then a bold cliff,
800 feet high, with almost perpendicular sides,
appears to the right, its top covered with trees,
and here the river narrows to little more than a
hundred yards. Perched on a small hill at the foot
of the cliff is a tiny pagoda, looking very fresh and
bright in its framing of green trees. The majestic
river flows swiftly between its rock-bound banks
in the heart of a wilderness where modern progress
is now represented by the steamer which hurries
down the stream, and the telegraph wires spanning