One Pagoda, Two Pagoda, Three Pagoda……..
Day 3 saw us travel from Yangon to Bagan via Naypyidaw (more soon). A trip of about 10 hours in total but relatively easy driving with the vast majority of travel on a relatively modern two lane highway, albeit not with it’s fair share of bumps and stray animals and Burmese farmers. There are regular ‘service centres’ along the way, these are clean and tidy and pretty cheap, lunch for 7 including ice cream for the kids and beer for Mum and Dad totalled 21,700 kyat (about 24NZD)
With a bit of gentle persuasion we managed to convince our driver to detour through Nayypidaw, the somewhat interesting and controversial capital of Myanmar. It is literally a brand new city purpose built from scratch. Complete with modern roading networks (most about 6 or 8 lanes wide), new hotels, shopping centres, housing estates (with the roofs colour coded to your functional area of employment) hospitals, schools and a stadium the only thing missing is people, it is reported that almost 1 million live here, we saw just a handful. It really has to be seen to be believed, we only drove through it as a short detour but it was an experience in itself.
Not long after passing through Naypidaw we turned off the highway and were back on country roads for the final two hours to Bagan. This part of the journey is far more typical of developing nations in SEA, no real road rules (other than toot to pass) and roads shared fairly between buses, trucks, cars, scooters, animals and pedestrians.
Having arrived in Bagan under the cover of darkness the following morning was a real treat. Formerly Pagan the ‘city’ was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan the first Kingdom to unify what today constitutes Myanmar. During the height of the Kingdom between the 11th & 13th centuries over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed of which over 2,000 survive to the present day. Many people will think once you have seen one you have seen them all but it simply isn’t the case. Each temple, pagoda or monastery has it’s own unique history and point of difference. It is common for visitors to be up early to climb a temple or pagoda for sunrise, with three travel wary children we skipped this option but we did climb the Shwe San Daw pagoda for sunset. The weather didn’t play ball allowing only small glimpses but don’t let this stop you, climbing a pagoda in Bagan at any time of the day is a must to get an appreciation for the area. Going in the opposite direction a real highlight was the Kyat Khayon Monastery, as well as typical above ground structures this particular Monastery also has a series of tunnels, sleeping areas and meditation rooms underground where some Monks will stay for days, weeks or even months.
As well as it’s ancient history Bagan is also the centre of the lacquerware industry in Myanmar. This does mean that everywhere you go a street vendor will try to sell you some but it also gives you the chance to visit a workshop and witness these intricate items being manufactured. There are a number of these workshops that you can take in, no doubt many only there for the benefit of tourists. We certainly aren’t experts in the genuine article but we visited Everstand Lacquerware, it certainly seemed very authentic and we would definitely recommend a visit. There are some amazing works on display however many aren’t very travel friendly on either the luggage limits or the wallet.
We managed Bagan one very full day, it is doable but if you have the opportunity to take more time we would encourage it. The ‘villages’ of Nyuang U, Old Bagan and New Bagan that make up the town of Bagan all deserve some time in their own right. We were spoilt to have the services of our English speaking drivers and we would recommend to anyone visiting Bagan to employ the services of an English speaking guide for at least some of your time there.
Day 5 saw us travel from Bagan to Mandalay via Mount Popa, again Mount Popa has to be seen to be believed. Sitting 770 steps atop the 1,518m (above sea level) extinct volcano are a number of Nat (spirits worshipped in conjunction with Buddhism) temples making it a popular destination for Burmese Pilgrims. Mount Popa is a bit off the beaten track but well worth the effort to see it.
One thing that initially took us by surprise was that every temple, pagoda and monastery is adorned with vendors selling everything from clothing to postcards, to artwork to jewellery to laquerware, it isn’t quite what you expect from historical sacred sites but it is just the way of life and something you get used to very quickly. The vendors in Myanmar are not pushy like those in many other Asian countries but they are very determined, upon arriving at one pagoda we were greated by the very same vendor who Matt had brushed off at the previous pagoda several hundred meters up the road, just how she got there before us is still a mystery but enough of an effort for Matt to cave and acquire another pair of baggy printed cotton pants.
Next stop Mandalay…
Noodles and Notepads 