Go Temples Go
Trip Start
Jan 07, 2011
1
15
22
Trip End
Feb 01, 2011
Bagan, Mandalay, Myanmar
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The plane was half empty so it was ok to put my backpack on the seat next to me. No one’s too fussed about things here it seems.
We landed after a quick flight and I think we were all psyched after a big travel day yesterday.
We could already see some of the 1000’s of temples as we landed. The hotel was called Kumadara. It was lovely – almost a little resort with bungalows and 2 story units surrounding a court yard, with a pool in the back and 200 temples in its backyard. The dining hall had open walls and if your stomach wasn’t churning, it was a good place to be king. Nonetheless we upgraded our room to a junior suite for an extra $10/day – mostly because we could and what the heck. We had a nice balcony view of many temples and I didn’t expect there to be so many or for them to be in such good condition.
After we settled in, we rented a horse drawn cart for $17 for the day to take us around. We climbed the first temple we met for excellent views of the countryside. This place is literally all temples. Everywhere. Temples. I’m not kidding. So many, you skip 90% of them and focus on the big ones. We went to one that had an old couple living in its backyard. They had a small spread and were drying fruit in the yard. Dad was cutting some bamboo under a tree and Mom was pretty much just lying on the front porch. They both looked to be about 75. Down we swooped. Hi, can we take your photo? With my telephoto lens I had to back up – elegantly stepping on the sweet plums drying in the yard. I took a few shots and since the people have generally been so friendly and agreeable to photos on this trip, I asked her to come out a little into the light for a better photo. I gave her my OSU soccer T shirt as a thank you (and of course took a few shots of her holding it up – I’m sure I overstayed my camera welcome!!)
A few more temples and then a nice lunch in a very nice open air restaurant. Tim was still sick so he went for a nap in the horse cart while Rob and I walked around the area. There was a huge pottery area with huge jars – about 3-4 feet high covering half a football field. A few trucks and carts were there loading up and buyers were sticking their heads in and tapping the sides to ensure there were no cracks. These pots would be good for storing water or grain/rice/cheerios etc.
We talked with a number of vendors, but they generally speak little English and seem somewhat reserved – perhaps it’s the language – perhaps it’s a general wariness. It’s a little hard to figure these people out. Are they feeling the boot of the government on their necks or is it simply the boot of poverty (or do those go hand in hand?). They seem to be dirt poor in many cases. Some obviously are doing well from tourism but many are farmers living in small shacks. There is very little transport here –most people walk. A bicycle seems a luxury and a motorcycle at $4-500 minimum is out of the grasp of most. I’ve never seen so many people walking everywhere. That seems to be a quick way to generate some wealth or leisure time.
There is a big laquerware industry here and some of the farmers own 3 or 4 cows, a few pigs etc – but they are often cow rich and house poor.
We watched an ok sunset from the top of one of the temples. The sun generally rises and sets like an orange ball. It’s dry season. There were zero clouds.
