Thursday, 23 November 2017
Myanmar Day 6 Thant Kyi Hillfi
Our mode of transport changed yesterday from coaches to mini buses. This was because the Panhwar tied up to the river bank at a small village that had a long, narrow, dusty access across to the bitumen road. We were taken past quite a lot of light industry on the way which we found out was a government petroleum drilling set up. As well we saw some small tripods on the hillsides which were private small scale drilling rigs. The villagers on this side of the river are poor because they have rocky hills instead of alluvial flats and can grow very little. So they drill the oil which is only about 20 metres down and produces betwen 20 and 45 gallons per day. There is only very crude processing available to them from which they extract poor qality diesel for local use and wax which they send to Yangon to make candles for the temples. Even the government has outdated technology to process the oil so it is shipped out of the country for processing and then they have to buy fuel. Our guide made a case for engineers to invest in the industry here so they can process the oil themselves.
We eventually reached the bitumen road to the temple at the top of the hill. The view was spectacular in both directions; over the river and into the hilly heartland which is desert. How they managed to transport the materials for this rich temple up here was difficult to imagine. The story is that Buddha visited this place and foretold the development of the city of Bagan across the river. There is a statue of Buddha pointing toward Bagan. Then a king returning from the conquest of Ayruthia (wrong spelling) in Thailand riding a white elephant said he would settle where ever the elephant chose. And he chose this hill top overlooking Bagan. The rest is history as they say.
In the afternoon we tied up at the village of Salay for a walking tour. This naturally included stops at a temple and an old monastery which is now a museum. Along the way though we saw lots of colonial buildings because this was a centre for the British Burma Oil Company. Many of them have faded beauty now but this village is still quite prosperous. The temple, Shinbin Maha Paya, has a laquerware Buhdda which apparently was washed down river to this village in the monsoon floods. It is huge and has been dated to 14th Century. The story goes that the villagers tried to drag it up onto dry land but couldn't manage. Then a rich woman whispered into the Buddha's ear that if it allowed them to take him from the river she would build a temple over him. And so it happened . The plinth of the seated statue has been recently beautifully decorated with cut glass mosaic. We were able to peer into a trap door in the base to see up into the hollow bamboo construction of the statue. Defitiely unique because although there are smaller lacquer Buddhas this one is huge. This was also the first opportunity we had to see native turtles which were in a pond in the temple grounds.
Last night was the 2nd half of the film "The Lady". Very sad, well acted depiction of her years of house arrest and the emotional struggle when her husband was dying of cancer and she knew that if she left to go to him in England she would never be allowed back. It was clear that he shared her vision for Burma and supported her throughout.
We eventually reached the bitumen road to the temple at the top of the hill. The view was spectacular in both directions; over the river and into the hilly heartland which is desert. How they managed to transport the materials for this rich temple up here was difficult to imagine. The story is that Buddha visited this place and foretold the development of the city of Bagan across the river. There is a statue of Buddha pointing toward Bagan. Then a king returning from the conquest of Ayruthia (wrong spelling) in Thailand riding a white elephant said he would settle where ever the elephant chose. And he chose this hill top overlooking Bagan. The rest is history as they say.
In the afternoon we tied up at the village of Salay for a walking tour. This naturally included stops at a temple and an old monastery which is now a museum. Along the way though we saw lots of colonial buildings because this was a centre for the British Burma Oil Company. Many of them have faded beauty now but this village is still quite prosperous. The temple, Shinbin Maha Paya, has a laquerware Buhdda which apparently was washed down river to this village in the monsoon floods. It is huge and has been dated to 14th Century. The story goes that the villagers tried to drag it up onto dry land but couldn't manage. Then a rich woman whispered into the Buddha's ear that if it allowed them to take him from the river she would build a temple over him. And so it happened . The plinth of the seated statue has been recently beautifully decorated with cut glass mosaic. We were able to peer into a trap door in the base to see up into the hollow bamboo construction of the statue. Defitiely unique because although there are smaller lacquer Buddhas this one is huge. This was also the first opportunity we had to see native turtles which were in a pond in the temple grounds.
Last night was the 2nd half of the film "The Lady". Very sad, well acted depiction of her years of house arrest and the emotional struggle when her husband was dying of cancer and she knew that if she left to go to him in England she would never be allowed back. It was clear that he shared her vision for Burma and supported her throughout.
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Photos Bagan
Since we seem to have reasonable internet speed and it is too early for much competition I will try posting a couple of photos. Gail
Myanmar: Bagan Day 5
Yesterday was a big day because we were in Bagan famous for it's history and 2,400 temples. This is just half the number that were here before a major earhquake in the 1970's. Our group began with a visit to the local market. Here we walked through a huge array of locally grown vegetables, spices, chicken, pork and fish. The fish were most notable for the HUGE catfish which drooped off either side of the large scales being used to weigh them. There was quite a variety of fish all caught in the Irrawaddy and some pond bred fish and prawns.
From there we wandered through the fabrics section with very little pressure to buy. However once an interest was shown the stall holder did their utmost to produce something that met our requirements.
Then began a finely coordinated visit to four different pagodas which had been chosen to display particular features of the 11th to 13th Century architectural style. This region has been settled since the 2nd Century because it is a slightly elevated plateau on a stable limestone base. The 10 hundreds began a particularly stable period with the unification of 19 villages into a city state. From there it developed peacefully for three hundred years until invasion by the Mon. This is my rough recall of the information from the efforts of our guides to educate us.
The style of the stupas or central solid "spine" of the pagoda showed the significant changes in design from single story, simple round cones to those supported on two story bases with increasingly complex decorative features and more elegant elongate outlines. The features of the Buddhas within also evolved from Indian heritage features to Burmese. The area of Bagan is a well recognised Archialogical precinct but during the period of strict military regime prior to 2010 there was no outside expertise permitted and some ineffective repair work to the earthquake damage was undertaken. Since the intercession of Baraq Obama and Hilary Clinton in 2010 UNESCO has become re involved and gradually restoration is being undertaken. We first went to a temple built in 1120 which was huge and elaborate with gold paint and surrounding complex. Here we saw a group of women who had brought lunch to the monks sitting in the cloister area and being rehearsed by a monk in the 8 princliples of Buddhist rules for living.
From there we went to an older temple to see wall frescos which had been restored after being painted over with limestone wash. We also saw the evidence of where a German tourist had made repeated visits to remove some of these small detailed pictures of the Buddha's life. Imterestingly during WW 2 the Japanesse and the Allies had an embargo on bombing Bagan because of the significance of the area. This resulted in some unintended damage to the interior of the temples because the people from strife torn areas moved into them and smoke from their cooking fires damaged the walls.
The next pagoda was middle era and demonstrated the increasingly sophistocated internal architecture. Here the design incorporated sound baffles to reduce echos, through flow currents of air for coolness and careful imtroduction of natural light including windows to shine light on the Buddha's face at midday. Also the external use of locking cornerstones of limstone which held the building firmly and minimised shaking damage during quakes.
The grand finale was the Ananda Temple which is the first one to be completely restored under UNESCO supevision. It has had the natural limestone and brick render cleaned and minor quake damage repaired. It is significant for the limited use of gold paint also. We could clearly see the value of the locking style of construction in this huge complex where quake damage had been limited to one small part of the roof which was easily repaired. Possibly the most impressive feature inside were the huge teak doors weighing 2-3 tons which can still pivot but which have been secured to remove risk of getting tourists toes amputated.
The afternoon involved a visit to a laquerware factory which was fascinating and gave increased respect for the means of making these products. Then on to a specially constructed mound designed to give sunset viewing of the Bagan skyline. This was a bit of a phizzer because the mound was not very high and clouds from a hurricane over Yangon obscured the sunset. We happily went back early to our welcome berth and dinner. After dinner we saw tthe first half of an excellant movie on the development of Aung Sun Suchi's political career. It was hilarious when the crew had obviously decided how late we should be watching and turned the film off mid point after an hour to loud protests from the audience. We will be back tonight to see the 2nd half.
From there we wandered through the fabrics section with very little pressure to buy. However once an interest was shown the stall holder did their utmost to produce something that met our requirements.
Then began a finely coordinated visit to four different pagodas which had been chosen to display particular features of the 11th to 13th Century architectural style. This region has been settled since the 2nd Century because it is a slightly elevated plateau on a stable limestone base. The 10 hundreds began a particularly stable period with the unification of 19 villages into a city state. From there it developed peacefully for three hundred years until invasion by the Mon. This is my rough recall of the information from the efforts of our guides to educate us.
The style of the stupas or central solid "spine" of the pagoda showed the significant changes in design from single story, simple round cones to those supported on two story bases with increasingly complex decorative features and more elegant elongate outlines. The features of the Buddhas within also evolved from Indian heritage features to Burmese. The area of Bagan is a well recognised Archialogical precinct but during the period of strict military regime prior to 2010 there was no outside expertise permitted and some ineffective repair work to the earthquake damage was undertaken. Since the intercession of Baraq Obama and Hilary Clinton in 2010 UNESCO has become re involved and gradually restoration is being undertaken. We first went to a temple built in 1120 which was huge and elaborate with gold paint and surrounding complex. Here we saw a group of women who had brought lunch to the monks sitting in the cloister area and being rehearsed by a monk in the 8 princliples of Buddhist rules for living.
From there we went to an older temple to see wall frescos which had been restored after being painted over with limestone wash. We also saw the evidence of where a German tourist had made repeated visits to remove some of these small detailed pictures of the Buddha's life. Imterestingly during WW 2 the Japanesse and the Allies had an embargo on bombing Bagan because of the significance of the area. This resulted in some unintended damage to the interior of the temples because the people from strife torn areas moved into them and smoke from their cooking fires damaged the walls.
The next pagoda was middle era and demonstrated the increasingly sophistocated internal architecture. Here the design incorporated sound baffles to reduce echos, through flow currents of air for coolness and careful imtroduction of natural light including windows to shine light on the Buddha's face at midday. Also the external use of locking cornerstones of limstone which held the building firmly and minimised shaking damage during quakes.
The grand finale was the Ananda Temple which is the first one to be completely restored under UNESCO supevision. It has had the natural limestone and brick render cleaned and minor quake damage repaired. It is significant for the limited use of gold paint also. We could clearly see the value of the locking style of construction in this huge complex where quake damage had been limited to one small part of the roof which was easily repaired. Possibly the most impressive feature inside were the huge teak doors weighing 2-3 tons which can still pivot but which have been secured to remove risk of getting tourists toes amputated.
The afternoon involved a visit to a laquerware factory which was fascinating and gave increased respect for the means of making these products. Then on to a specially constructed mound designed to give sunset viewing of the Bagan skyline. This was a bit of a phizzer because the mound was not very high and clouds from a hurricane over Yangon obscured the sunset. We happily went back early to our welcome berth and dinner. After dinner we saw tthe first half of an excellant movie on the development of Aung Sun Suchi's political career. It was hilarious when the crew had obviously decided how late we should be watching and turned the film off mid point after an hour to loud protests from the audience. We will be back tonight to see the 2nd half.
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Myanmar Day 4 : Yandabo
This morning we tied up to the river bank and spent the morning in the "village" of Yandabo which is famous for its pottery. The population is about 10,000 including the surrounding rural area. Approximately 50% of the community, 78 families, derive their income from making functional pots and the remaining population are farmers. The pots are primarily water carriers but they also make steamers for cooking, terracotta fire stands for resting their cooking pots on and garden pots. They are make from the clay and sand of the riverbank and from yucky grey colour become a beatiful terracotta colour. They are stacked on the riverbank when they are completed and wholesalers buy them and distribute them on boats up and down the river. We saw the entire process as we meandered through the village from mixing the clay and sand and forming it into large balls with their feet to forming the pots on a pottery wheel. The women are extremely skillful potters and make about 100 per 10 hour day. They are very proud of their product which is strong enough when dry to stand on even before firing. They are all decorated with patterns which are applied using a wooden mallet. They are fired in huge rakku style kilns built to hold between 1500 and 2000 pots at a time. These are one use only kilns built on a bed of wood and damped down with ash from previous firings. They can be 15 feet high and the men stand and lie on the lower layers to build the upper levels as the women throw the pots up to them. We saw a couple being prepared and one actually firing. It was a lot of work for a return of $1 Australian per pot but it gives them a good living.
We were assured by a crew member that it would be a nice shady walk but discovered that some main streets had had the trees cut down in preparation for the installation of power lines. I am sure the locals will think it worthwhile when it does arrive as they currently rely on photovoltaic panels for power. Not very convenient during the 3 month rainy season.
We also visited the school and delivered pens, pencils and stationary as suggested because these things are expensive and the schools are minimally funded. Teachers salaries only. The children were charming and sang for us. I guess the disruption of our visit was worthwhile for the goodies it provided.
We were also entertained by watching some of the local men trying to start a crank handle ignition diesal engine truck known locally as "Chinese Buffalos". The three men who had driven it to the sand pile had no idea how to crank it and the two trying took off in all directions as the motor fired and they didn't know how to release it. Eventually a knowledgeable man walked up, handed his child to one of the men and cranked it competantly to cheers from the onlookers.
This afternoon we have traveĺed down river to the ancient city of Bagan which was in the height of its development between 900 and 1300 with 5000 pagodas built. Walking tour tomorrow.
We were assured by a crew member that it would be a nice shady walk but discovered that some main streets had had the trees cut down in preparation for the installation of power lines. I am sure the locals will think it worthwhile when it does arrive as they currently rely on photovoltaic panels for power. Not very convenient during the 3 month rainy season.
We also visited the school and delivered pens, pencils and stationary as suggested because these things are expensive and the schools are minimally funded. Teachers salaries only. The children were charming and sang for us. I guess the disruption of our visit was worthwhile for the goodies it provided.
We were also entertained by watching some of the local men trying to start a crank handle ignition diesal engine truck known locally as "Chinese Buffalos". The three men who had driven it to the sand pile had no idea how to crank it and the two trying took off in all directions as the motor fired and they didn't know how to release it. Eventually a knowledgeable man walked up, handed his child to one of the men and cranked it competantly to cheers from the onlookers.
This afternoon we have traveĺed down river to the ancient city of Bagan which was in the height of its development between 900 and 1300 with 5000 pagodas built. Walking tour tomorrow.
Monday, 20 November 2017
Myanmar Day 2-3
Our transfer to the Princess Panhwar went seamlessly. We had time to look around the Mandalay Hill Resort which is a gracious Raj era hotel. Might have to try and stay there if we ever come back.
The boat is very comfortable with all mod cons. Only three seasons old and very well designed. The crew are fantastic and the food superb. We are trying to be disciplined with how much we eat but it is all very tempting. Fortunately most of it is pretty healthy food and we are eating the Asian food options frequently which I don't think are fattening.
On Sunday we didn't move from the quay until the evening and spent the day touring the important sights in Mandalay. We first went to the workshop which makes the gold leaf for the temples. This is a labour intensive 7 day process per batch and it transforms small gold ingots to gold leaf which is finer than paper - fly away thickness. From there we went to the most revered pagoda, the Mahamuni Buddha. This statue is believed to be an actual representation of Buddha but his face has been covered with 2 tons of glod leaf over the centuries so it has reduced his features somewhat. People (men only) were queuing to add their piece of gold leaf while we were there. Also there was an initiation ceremony for novice monks and nuns -7 year olds who must spend time in the monastery at least twice in their formative years to ensure that they understand Buddhist principles for living. They and their families were beautifully and ornately dressed. Our guide was very excited that we were able to see this parade as it is not a regular occurrence.
From there we went on to a wood carving and a silk workshop where we contributed to the country's economy. The tourist trade and the flow on to businesses is very important to those employed below the level of the military and I was happy to help! We then visited the Kuthodaw Pagoda where the teachings of Buddha were first written out in Myanmar. Previously they had been handed down by word of mouth but in 1836 they were carved into marble slabs in sanscrit which is very intricate. There are 729 slabs standing at least a metre hgh each with it's own little protective house. Shwenandaw Monastery was the last stop over before lunch and the third round of shoe removal. Why didn't I pack those slip on shoes? We did go back to the boat for lunch and a bit of a rest. Then in the late afternoon we went to a large lake which for many years could only be traversed by boat. Then a very long foot bridge of tall Teak poles was built and people had easy access to the city. It is still in operation and there were crowds of people there to stroll along it and to watch the sun set. We were taken out onto the lake in sampans to watch the sunset and it was beautiful.
Today we are just a little way down river at the town of Sagaing. Population 200,000. We drove to the top of Sagaing Hill to visit the Pagoda and take in the view. We overlooked the Irrawaddy and hundreds of small temples. This is primarily a religious comunity with many monasteries. We stopped off at another stupa to photograph the different style which was influenced by the Sri Lankan Buddhists.
We then tackled a horse drawn cart ride to a teak constructed Monastery. They were ponies really and we had our first view if rice paddies. The monastery had the most amazing pillars holding up it's 9 tiered roof. The logs were 60 feet tall and between 3 and 4 feet in circumference. All the walls were intricately carved and there was quite a story about the first monks to occupy the building. This was the first time we were harrassed by women wanting to sell souveniers. They were persistant and innovative. When we didn't buy first up some of them hopped on their scooters and followed us to the monastery waiting for us to re emerge.
This afternoon has been free time and it was nice to relax. Now it is time for a shower and to saunter down to dinner.
The boat is very comfortable with all mod cons. Only three seasons old and very well designed. The crew are fantastic and the food superb. We are trying to be disciplined with how much we eat but it is all very tempting. Fortunately most of it is pretty healthy food and we are eating the Asian food options frequently which I don't think are fattening.
On Sunday we didn't move from the quay until the evening and spent the day touring the important sights in Mandalay. We first went to the workshop which makes the gold leaf for the temples. This is a labour intensive 7 day process per batch and it transforms small gold ingots to gold leaf which is finer than paper - fly away thickness. From there we went to the most revered pagoda, the Mahamuni Buddha. This statue is believed to be an actual representation of Buddha but his face has been covered with 2 tons of glod leaf over the centuries so it has reduced his features somewhat. People (men only) were queuing to add their piece of gold leaf while we were there. Also there was an initiation ceremony for novice monks and nuns -7 year olds who must spend time in the monastery at least twice in their formative years to ensure that they understand Buddhist principles for living. They and their families were beautifully and ornately dressed. Our guide was very excited that we were able to see this parade as it is not a regular occurrence.
From there we went on to a wood carving and a silk workshop where we contributed to the country's economy. The tourist trade and the flow on to businesses is very important to those employed below the level of the military and I was happy to help! We then visited the Kuthodaw Pagoda where the teachings of Buddha were first written out in Myanmar. Previously they had been handed down by word of mouth but in 1836 they were carved into marble slabs in sanscrit which is very intricate. There are 729 slabs standing at least a metre hgh each with it's own little protective house. Shwenandaw Monastery was the last stop over before lunch and the third round of shoe removal. Why didn't I pack those slip on shoes? We did go back to the boat for lunch and a bit of a rest. Then in the late afternoon we went to a large lake which for many years could only be traversed by boat. Then a very long foot bridge of tall Teak poles was built and people had easy access to the city. It is still in operation and there were crowds of people there to stroll along it and to watch the sun set. We were taken out onto the lake in sampans to watch the sunset and it was beautiful.
Today we are just a little way down river at the town of Sagaing. Population 200,000. We drove to the top of Sagaing Hill to visit the Pagoda and take in the view. We overlooked the Irrawaddy and hundreds of small temples. This is primarily a religious comunity with many monasteries. We stopped off at another stupa to photograph the different style which was influenced by the Sri Lankan Buddhists.
We then tackled a horse drawn cart ride to a teak constructed Monastery. They were ponies really and we had our first view if rice paddies. The monastery had the most amazing pillars holding up it's 9 tiered roof. The logs were 60 feet tall and between 3 and 4 feet in circumference. All the walls were intricately carved and there was quite a story about the first monks to occupy the building. This was the first time we were harrassed by women wanting to sell souveniers. They were persistant and innovative. When we didn't buy first up some of them hopped on their scooters and followed us to the monastery waiting for us to re emerge.
This afternoon has been free time and it was nice to relax. Now it is time for a shower and to saunter down to dinner.
Friday, 17 November 2017
Myanmar Nov 2017: Off to Mandalay
The departure time 0f 1:10 am was made less of a pain by having a delicious meal with Ingrid at her house close to the airport the evening of departure. It was still boring waiting the two plus hours before take off but that is not to be avoided. It was interesting watching for the Singapore aircraft and wondering if we would be late leaving because it did not arrive until about 45 minutes before we were due to leave. However they were very efficient fueling up and getting us all on board and we left exactly on time. A tiny Aisan couple of mother and daughter did their best to sabotage this smooth process. They each had a huge suitcase to lift into the overhead lockers and which were too heavy for them to lift by themselves especially as they weren't tall enough to lever them in over the lip of the locker. Then somehow a neck cushion filled with tiny polstyrene beads was broken in the struggle and rained down over everyone below. The case was so heavy that even the stewardess had trouble trying to get it out of the way and the inflow of passengers seized up. Eventually there were three airline staff trying to sort out the log jamb with urgent public announcements telling everyone to take their seats. We still took off on time -just.
We had a five hour stop over in Changi Airport so the fact that it is huge with lots to look at and lots of restaurants to choose from helped. The flight from Singapore to Mandalay was longer than it appeared because there was a 1.5 hour time adjustment backwards which meant we were in the air for over 3 hours. We were lucky because the flight was going on the Yangon afterwards and we were glad the route wasn't the other was around.
Our hotel is down town which we wanted and let me just say we are pleased that they have given us the best room in the hotel. Mandalay reminds us of Bangkok when we first went there in the early 1980's. However the pavements may be broken up but they are swept clean and hosed down every evening or morning. Many peple will return a smile when we are out walking and we have not once been hustled to buy something. The taxi drivers are keen for the work but accept a brief shake of the head. We spent this morning walking down to the Jade Market by the river. This was fascinating with hundreds of people milling around the market showing their little pieces of stone to the buyers and hoping for a sale. There also were hundreds of sellers of sometimes tiny pieces of polished jade looking to make a sale. We then found the more salubrious downtown area which had traffic lights with walk signs and a couple of large emporiums. One was quite new and only really occupied on the lower part of it's five floors. This afternoon we have relaxed to recover from our overnight flight and a strenuous morning. Tomorrow morning we join the cruise.
We had a five hour stop over in Changi Airport so the fact that it is huge with lots to look at and lots of restaurants to choose from helped. The flight from Singapore to Mandalay was longer than it appeared because there was a 1.5 hour time adjustment backwards which meant we were in the air for over 3 hours. We were lucky because the flight was going on the Yangon afterwards and we were glad the route wasn't the other was around.
Our hotel is down town which we wanted and let me just say we are pleased that they have given us the best room in the hotel. Mandalay reminds us of Bangkok when we first went there in the early 1980's. However the pavements may be broken up but they are swept clean and hosed down every evening or morning. Many peple will return a smile when we are out walking and we have not once been hustled to buy something. The taxi drivers are keen for the work but accept a brief shake of the head. We spent this morning walking down to the Jade Market by the river. This was fascinating with hundreds of people milling around the market showing their little pieces of stone to the buyers and hoping for a sale. There also were hundreds of sellers of sometimes tiny pieces of polished jade looking to make a sale. We then found the more salubrious downtown area which had traffic lights with walk signs and a couple of large emporiums. One was quite new and only really occupied on the lower part of it's five floors. This afternoon we have relaxed to recover from our overnight flight and a strenuous morning. Tomorrow morning we join the cruise.
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