Wednesday, 19 April 2017
O/N @ Myanmar International Terminal Thilawa
Stats @ Ship’s Time 8:45p (MMT) … UTC 2:15p (19 April)
Temp: 83.3F (28.5C)
Position: 16.39.66N / 96.15.20E
When it rains, collect the water.
~ Burmese Proverb ~
We should have stuck to our 7:30a pick-up … we were up early anyway. And Linn and Thiha, despite the long drive from Yangon, said when we met them that they arrived early since traffic was good. In any event, by 7:45a we were on our way for another day of sightseeing in Myanmar.
Linn had said that the 72-mile (115 km) drive to Bago would take about three hours … if we went by way of Yangon … the usual route. But he and Thiha had come up with an alternate route to shave off at least ½-hour from that time. So, instead of taking a left out of the port, we took a right. The road was partially paved with concrete, but we still had our share of rutted dirt roads to navigate as we passed through villages and drove alongside rice paddies to get to the main highway. Along the way, we passed pedestrians — monks and civilians — and plenty of vehicles, including bicycles, motorbikes, cars, trucks, and busses. Everyone was going about their usual routine. And the filth we saw yesterday abounded today as well. In the end, the drive took under two hours — thanks in part to the Water Festival and ensuing Burmese New Year holiday that has been keeping most people off the roads.
The main highway is a toll road. The interesting thing is that the tolls are odd amounts. Let’s say MMK 264 for one stretch of the road. But no one has coins or small bills, so they round up to the next hundred. The amount of extra tolls thus collected by the government is mind boggling … but no one seems fazed by it. It’s the “Myanmar Way.”
Since we were ahead of schedule, Linn suggested we stop at a town on our way where pottery is a cottage industry. He was hoping to get a demonstration of pottery making, but the potters had all left to go to their hometowns. We did wander around, though, and saw the finished jugs intended for storing water or dry goods, as well as the partially lacquered big pots that are buried in the ground and used to pickle vegetables. We also saw the kiln — which was unusual to my way of thinking. It seems they light a big fire, cover it with soil and ash, bury the clay pots that are to be fired in the mound, and cover it all with straw for up to 5 days, and leave them to bake.
With still more time on our hands before our first planned stop, next we went to our first temple of the day — once again starting the “take off shoes and socks, walk around, clean feet, put on socks and shoes” cycle for temple visitations.
Kyaikpun Paya [temple] gets it name from the Mon words of “Kyaik,” meaning Buddha, and “Pon,” meaning four. The shrine has four seated Buddhas, each 90 feet (27m) tall, positioned around a big pillar. Representing the four Buddhas that have already been and gone, the shrine was built during the 7th century, and renovated in the 15th century. As we stood facing the Buddha overlooking the entrance, Linn shared with us that the one on the backside had been damaged by an earthquake, and when it was rebuilt the face was made to look slightly different. As is tradition, we walked around in a clockwise manner before leaving.
By the time we were back in the car, it was just short of 11:00a — time to visit Kha Khat Waing Kyaun, a monastery that Linn described as a major learning center. The reason for our visit was to see the monks — some 500 of them — file out to have lunch. There were a lot fewer today — again due to many of them having gone to visit family over the Burmese New Year holiday. I have to admit I felt a bit uncomfortable here — after all, how would I feel if I were on the receiving end and had a bunch of people show up to photograph me at the Terrace Café buffet line? But Linn assured me that the monks think it’s hilarious, so I went along.
First, a wooden drum was sounded several times to alert the monks to queue up for lunch. Since they eat only twice a day — both meals before noon — they are anxious not to miss what is essentially their last meal of the day (fruit juice allowed to keep them hydrated the rest of the day). Then one of the laymen responsible for serving the food sounded a gong. This was the signal for the monks to proceed to the dining hall. Two huge vats stood on either side of the entrance — there was rice inside the pots … didn’t look like there was much of it … perhaps because there were less than a hundred monks … perhaps because the alms collected for this meal bought only so much rice. In any event, each monk carried a covered bowl, which they opened to have it filled with the rice that was being dished out. A Thai couple, benefactors of today’s meal, were assisting with the serving of the rice and also giving alms to each monk.
Their bowls filled, the monks proceeded into the dining room and sat on the floor around small tables that had been set with a few other dishes of food … I didn’t go in far enough to see what was in the bowls. After a short chant, they began eating. We left at this point to give the monks their privacy. Even though we didn’t need the warning, Linn had asked that we not take photos once the monks started eating … either the other guides did not make the same request, or their requests were disregarded as I saw plenty of people taking photographs … rude!
Our next stop took us to the tallest stupa in Myanmar. In hindsight, we should have gone to lunch first as the visit to the temple delayed our meal to coincide with three bus loads of Oceania tourgoers arriving first at the stupa and then at the restaurant just ahead of us. In fact, the three busses created such a traffic jam that we got out of our car to walk to both instead of sitting in the car far longer than we wanted to.
Shwemawdaw Paya — also referred to as the Golden God Temple — was another amazing sight. The temple complex is not as elaborate as Shwedagon, but its stupa is 375 feet (114m) tall. The original stupa, only 70 feet (21m) tall, was built in the 10th century, but was damaged several times by earthquakes. The most recent damage was in 1930, but it’s the top of the stupa that fell during the 1917 earthquake that is on display here … adding a unique twist to the temple. As with the other stupas, enshrined here are two hairs of Buddha and some tooth relics.
Lunch was at Hanthawaddy, the primary tourist restaurant in Bago. We were shown to a small dining room, adjacent to the big room that was filled with O tourgoers eating a meal consisting of a set menu. As he did yesterday, Linn went to join Thiha for lunch, telling us he would come back an hour later to collect us. We needed every minute of that hour as service for those of us ordering off the menu was slow. Seeing the large portions our friends had received ahead of us, we ordered our food to share — chicken cashew, spring rolls, coconut rice … washed down with cold beer and hot coffee … no iced coffee for Mui … not until we get to Dubai. In the end, we had about 20 minutes to scarf down our food, and we never did get the dipping sauce for the spring rolls. This was a cheaper meal — the whole thing costing about MMK 15,000, or about USD $11 with tip.
Our afternoon sightseeing started at the reconstructed Kambawzarhardi Royal Palace. The original palace, which was burned down in 1599, was built in 1553 and consisted of 76 apartments and halls. The richly gilded reconstruction dates back to 1992 and gives visitors an impression of the splendor and wealth of the second Burmese Empire. It was rebuilt using the original design — based on excavations that unearthed some of the old teak columns and other artifacts, and original drawings of the building. The interior contains no furnishings or personal items from the day as all this was looted after the fire. A model of a royal carriage is one of the few things on display.
Of the rebuilt buildings, we went in to see the Great Audience Hall. Not wanting to remove his shoes, Mui declined to go into the throne room where a replica of one of the royal thrones is on display. It was here that I once again found myself the center of attention and posed with three young ladies who asked to have their photos taken with me. With such radiant smiles how could I say no to them?
Hintha Gon Paya was next on the temple visit list Linn had drawn up for us. This temple is dedicated to the mythical bird known as the Hamsa. Linn drew our attention to the figures decorating the bottom of every pillar inside the temple, and told us the story … as follows. At one time, the hill on which the shrine stands was the only place in this vast land that was not under water. So, the hill was the only place for the hamsa to land. First the male landed, and then the female followed, perching on the back of the male. Thus it came to be known that if a man marries a woman from Bago, he will be henpecked!
At our last two stops we saw reclining Buddha images. The first one was the Shwethalyaung Buddha. The original one is believed to have been built in 994 during the reign of King Migadepa of the Mon Kingdom. The 180-foot (55m) long and 52-foot (16m) high statue was lost in the mid 18th century when the area was pillaged. During British colonial rule, the statue was found and restored, and in 1930 the mosaic pillows on which Buddha is resting his head were added. The feet, as always are highly decorated.
Murals on the back wall of the Buddha tell the story of how the ogre-worshipping King Migadepa was all set to kill his Buddha-worshipping son and daughter-in-law unless they swore their allegiance to the ogre. To save their lives, they said they would, and prayed that Buddha would hear them and crumble the ogre — the false idol — before they had to worship it. Buddha came through for them, and the king converted to Buddhism in the face of such a miracle.
The last Buddha we saw was a short drive from this temple. We did not have to take off shoes since we would be viewing it — and a series of statues representing Buddha and the monks queuing up with their alms bowls — from across a pond. I think this was Mya Tha Lyaung … but I am not positive.
Thus our sightseeing in Bago came to an end. The drive back to Port Thilawa took longer due to traffic, but we were back on the ship before dark. We bid Linn and Thiha tata — goodbye in the local language — expressing our hope that we might see them again next year when we return. As with all the Myanmar people we met these two days, their genuine smiles and sense of humor made all the difference to our enjoyment of a country still very much in the infancy phase of tourism.
© 2015-2017 — All rights reserved by Erin Erkun.
Your level of energy is inspiring! You are taking full advantage of every stop!
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