Bagan

Once again we woke up early to catch the river boat to Bagan.

We found the outside chairs were all filled with tourists and the other option was inside in a dark unappealing area. We looked around and the only seats we could find to take outside were the ones from the cafeteria. Upon asking if we could use one outside the enterprising worker told us we could rent them for $1 each. I am not sure what one would use in the cafeteria if they were all “rented out” but he did not seem to care.

Just as we were about to do the deal we found a couple of empty seats outside at the back of the boat and parked ourselves there for the 8 hour boat ride.

As had been the case when we were on the Amazon the water levels were low and the depth sounder consisted of two men on either side of the bow poking sticks to touch the bottom and calling to the captain so he could negotiate the river.

It was a very easy pleasant trip although we were a bit disappointed that there was not as much village life on the river as we had had in Laos in the Mekong.

We arrived in Bagan and took a taxi to the Thiri Malar hotel which for US$30 a night was a great deal. All of our hotels included breakfast and this one has a lovely rooftop restaurant with a view of some of the numerous temples in the area.

Bagan is the region where, in the 11^th century the kings introduced the Tibetan Buddhism still practiced today in Myanmar. They built 4400 temples of which 2230 are still standing.  Many were destroyed in an earthquake in 1975 but UNESCO is helping with the restoration and much work is being done. The area covered is enormous and the vistas of never ending temples are in all directions.

We arranged a horse and cart for the following day and had an enjoyable day going from temple to temple. They ranged in size from really small to huge and inside many were yet more Buddha one facing each direction in the bigger ones. There were frescoes which had been painted on many of the walls and ceilings; UNESCO has been restoring these as much as possible. The Hindu influence was obvious in many of them marking the transition from the Hindu and Indian Buddhist faiths to the Tibetan Buddhism which replaced it. One thing we had noticed is that the Buddha of Myanmar are slim as opposed to the fat Chinese ones—guess beauty and power is in the eye of the beholder!!

The only problem was the never ending offers of things for sale. At each temple depending on the size and how many tourists would be expected were locals trying to sell their wares. Some were selling the sometimes lovely sand paintings made from the local sand—the biggest issue is that there are 300 would be artists in the area and we felt we were hit on by most of them. Lacquer ware is also made in the region of a really high quality and really lovely. The people selling around the temples sell some of questionable quality so we avoided them as best we could. We felt bad as these people are obviously just trying to find a way to feed their families but it does take away from going to yet another temple. There are also a lot of mass produced tourist items we saw at markets all over the country.

The area is set up for Western tourists and has a huge range of accommodation and restaurants available. The tour bus industry is at its’ peak here and new fancy hotels are popping up everywhere. Food is very cheap and we could usually eat for not a lot more than $10 between us including beer. The food was of a high standard and quality.

At sunset hundreds of tourists come to the Shwesandaw Paya; a huge temple with outdoor balconies with stunning views over the temple area to await the setting sun. It is spectacular and worth being one of the masses.

The following day we visited one of the major lacquer ware factories where they demonstrated the laborious procedure involved making the wares. First bamboo is stripped and then woven to make the object. It is then coated in lacquer sap from a particular tree after which a layer of cotton is lacquered on for strength. Then up to 20 coats of lacquer are applied for the best quality and it will be dried. Then the decoration is carved and several colours will be applied one at a time to be carved through. The more detail the more expensive the item and there are some stunning objects being made.  Will. It may take several months to complete the most labour intensive objects.

The biggest problem for both the tourist and the factory is that there is no way of supplementing your cash as you travel Myanmar. ATM’s at this stage are nonexistent and they are unable to process credit cards. Some of the pieces are quite expensive—we saw large items for $1000 which although are well worth the price most tourists do not have that much disposable cash with them. One enterprising factory had managed by befriending a European who helps them use a credit card. They copy your visa details and email them to Europe. The card is processed in Europe and somehow the factory gets its’ money. I am sure that this will open up shortly as the local merchants are very aware how much they are losing in sales. We took advantage of this opportunity and bought some lovely pieces.

That afternoon we hired another horse and cart and asked him to take us to the lesser frequented temples hoping to be hassled less. It was an improvement but there are always the enterprising seller who will hope that by being alone at a temple will have a better chance at selling.

We watched in one market where the ladies offered us the white paste they paint on their faces. To make this they put water on a board and rub the stick of the lacquer tree until a white paste of the right consistency is made. They use it as a sunscreen but I think they also use it as a makeup. Sometimes they paint in on in a decorative way and we had a hard time feeling it enhanced their beauty as many of them would be so beautiful without it!!

We also stopped at a local village and were able to witness village life as it would be away from the tourist areas.

The following day we rented bicycles which were fun and we tried sometimes succeeding in finding yet more remote temples.

One last evening at the “sunset temple” and we were to leave early the next morning for the flight to Lake Inle. All in all it had been a relaxing three days exploring this fascinating area.