Mount Popa, Myanmar

Off to Mt. Popa, about 60 km from Bagan, which is close to a two hour drive each way. The road is only a lane and a half wide, if that at times. Went by lots of very tiny, very poor rural villages. Ox carts pulling water barrels, no electricity, thatch huts and roofs, lots of smiling kids, and of course dogs dozing in the middle of the road.

We travelled across the large plain that is the Bagan area then started climbing as we hit the surrounding hills. Final elevation gain was a couple thousand feet, where it was much greener and cooler.

Legend is that Mount Popa is the core of an extinct volcano. What you see is this amazing isolated pillar that rises a few hundred meters, sheer sides all round, and a temple atop it. There’s a tiny village at the base with a monastery and a few shops, and of course children who came to greet us. Lots of wild monkeys lounging about at the approach to the temple steps.

The children sell small paper wrapped cones of peanuts to toss to the monkeys. 1,000 kyat gets you a handful (about eighty cents US). One child showed us what to do and tossed a handful and the monkeys went nuts (so to speak). Lots of chattering. So, I got a handful, and wanted to share the wealth about instead of throw it all at once, so threw a few in one direction, a few in another, then got a shock as one leapt up to grab the remainder from my hand. Three good, bloody, scratches on my left hand. Lesson: monkeys don’t have patience, and if the locals throw the treats all at once, so should you. I also learned why the kids who sell the peanuts all have long sticks in one hand - - - for shooing the monkeys away. You can also buy bunches of small banana’s to toss one by one.

I had been chatting to an older local monk (originally educated in an Anglican school in what was Rangoon, so great English) before I got scratched. Vivienne had antiseptic hand wipes, and the Monk went and got soap and lead me to faucet to scrub my hand. I also got a prayer and a blessing. All bases covered for good health. I do know too that my tetanus shot is current.

Yes, I'm wearing a cheesey tourist shirt, but it fits, it was clean, and it cost $3.

More on Bagan, Myanmar

OK, I took well over 300 pictures on this trip and have had a hard time deciding which to post, so here are a few more of the Bagan area, including the market.

Bagan, Myanmar

According to my Lonely Planet guide book, there are over 3,000 pagodas here, and they’re still building more. Many have amazing murals inside. Lots of statues inside various wall nooks. Birds and bats nesting inside. Many are wired and lit up outside at night.

This large, central plain has been formally occupied since about the fifth century AD. Kublai Khan and his raiders came through here in 1287. Over a 230 year period, when there was a mix of Hindu and Buddhist tradition, over 4400 temples were built. Neglect, earthquakes and looting were the end of many. The golden era ended when the Mongol hordes of Khan came rolling through. The sites were then deserted and fell to neglect. In 1975 a major earthquake hit. Some pagodas fell, many were badly damaged. Rebuilding has been ongoing ever since.

Fascinating pagodas, each different in its own way, yet similar to the last.

Had dinner at a large open sided restaurant next door to the hotel, which featured a puppet show accompanied by badly recorded and rather loud music. We took time to feed portions of our meal to one of the local cats, who had a post-meal nap curled up beside my foot. Not like Viet Nam – no cat on the menu so far.

Hired a driver to drive us around the area, and up to Mount Popa afterwards. He first took us to a local market. Bustling, local place with lots of fresh produce. Interesting that there was no meat on display. Perhaps that’s in a separate wet market? Again, the moment you pause or make eye contact with a souvenir vendor, child or beggar, you’re prey for them all. Relentless. Got some great pictures, and started my Christmas shopping. Saw the bark used to make thanakha (the face paint) being sold in multiple spots. It’s rubbed on a small wet stone to make a bit of paste each day.

Yangon, Myanmar

Went to my travel Doc a few days before flying out to Yangon for updated shots and malaria pills (in case of a trip to the interior). He then e-mailed me the full country travel briefing on health issues for Myanmar. Two lines that stood out (aside from the usual typhus, malaria, plague, dengue fever, etc. warnings)… “Truck drivers traversing from China to Rangoon are known to drive under the influence of methamphetamine-spiked betel nuts. Drunken and/or drugged drivers are common on the roads during the four-day Buddhist water festival in early spring.” So, meth spiked betel nuts. Too strange. I have this mental image of a street-side vendor saying “roasted, salted or meth betel nuts today sir?” Do they come in a plastic or paper bag? What size?

Nipped out this afternoon to the Shwedagon Paya (check it on Google for lots of great pictures). It’s THE sight to see in Yangon. Massive bell shaped gold (real gold leaf) pagoda (stupa – bell shaped monument) at the centre of a massive site. Legend is that it houses eight hairs from the original Buddha. Close to 100 metres high. Legend is that it’s 2500 years old, but it’s actually thought the original site dates to about 600 AD, with the huge stupa being built late 1700’s. Still, it’s amazing. The pagoda site itself is comprised of hundreds of smaller temples and various Buddha statues in differing poses.

It’s a ten minute walk from my hotel (drenched in sweat by the time I got there. Incredible humidity). It’s on a hill, with four entrances around a large circle. Being a Buddhist site, shoes & socks come off at the bottom of the hill (glad I had my day pack). Odd feeling going up several escalators (real pilgrims take the stairs) in bare feet. Very slippery tile flooring with the intermittent rain. Few tourists in the country generally, even less in the rainy season now (actually, it’s not rain. It’s monsoon deluges.) Lots of locals, and monks of various ages in saffron robes. A tiny old guy became my self appointed guide (common, and yes, a US dollars tip is expected).