Hey All,
What a great road trip today. Like before going through all the villages and small towns was a blast. The road is full of hazards you are constantly having to negotiate. Buses will stop and unload, as well as the open back pick up trucks loaded with people, herds of goats and cows using the road, trucks that break down and in pieces, its just unreal.
Left at 0830 and the first stop of the day was the City of Bago. I had several places I wanted to see there and he surprised me with a couple of other stops. The first was this huge 4 sided Buddha Statue at this Pagoda. It was really big and very cool. I wanted to see this really big reclining Buddha that had been built in 994. It was in a covered building and its hard to grasp you are looking at something that is over 1000 years old. On the back side it told the story of how and why the Buddha Statue was built and is very cool.
Only a stones throw away is another even bigger reclining Buddha that is only about 5 years old. Its out in the open but you can see they have the supports to cover it once they have all the funding they need. Its massive.
While in Bago we stopped for lunch and had a red curry with chicken and rice which was good. As we were leaving he told me he had another place in town for me to check out. We drove off the road a bit down these narrow bumpy dirt roads and hit this little off the path Temple, and boy was I getting the stares at this place. He took me inside and it was cool but nothing special, then pointed to a building off to the side and said for me to check that out.
Now, let me first explain to you that I am DEATHLY afraid of snakes, I hate them, dont want to be in the same zip code with them. At the gates to this place they had snake outlines done in metal which is nothing new around Temples, then when I entered there was a huge picture of a monk holding a large snake that was taken a long time ago. I am an idiot and still did not get the connection and was walking around the room checking things out and noticed a water feature build with tile that was full of water. A man was sitting in the corner and he motioned me over, and when I got to where he was, about 6 inches from me was this huge Burmese Python. I froze and almost wet my pants. I did not move and could feel the sweat running down my forehead. It was not in a cage, just laying there checking the fat white guy that looked like a Super Size meal at the SnakeDonalds. I glided back a few steps and the guy grinned a bit when he realized how bad it scared me. I managed to raise my camera and get a few shots before exiting the building. As I was leaving I was making sure there were no more in this place that would get me. I could not get out of that temple fast enough. Holy Cow that thing was huge.
I thanked my driver for the surprise, which I dont think he quite got the sarcasm.
We drove the rest of the way without incident, just enjoying the scenery. There is no way to take a pic and have you get a feel for how much I enjoyed that ride.
As we were getting about an hour away, we passed through a small town and they were also having the parade. I kept hearing this "thump - thump" that was starting to shake the windows in the car. When we got to the front, there was a moto thing with a flatbed on back of it that had an 8-10 ft high wall of speakers. I kid you not it was huge. From behind it looked like a big black wall. I could not figure out what it was. I have never seen any speaker set up that huge, and it was pumping out the music. I thought the windows were going to rattle out of the car. I tried to get a picture but there was a line of cars and no place to stop. Later in a town up the raod saw another one and could not get the camera in time. I told the driver I must get a photo before the next few days are up, because that is the only way someone is going to believe that. His tip is depending on it and he owes me for the snake thing.
We arrived in Mawlamyine around 5:30 and checking into the small hotel. I had read there are some really cool BBQ stands on the road after dark along the riverfront that are excellent. I offered to buy him supper if he would show me where they were, and I was not disappointed, they were excellent. There are many items on skewers and you pick what you want and the quantity and they cook it up for you. I had Chicken Wings, Chicken, Mutton and my favorite was the Mutton, so good. When I was done I had a whole plate of skewers, I guess I made a pig of myself. The meal for 2 was 5300 Kyats ($5.30) and that included a large bottle of water.
It was pretty dark along the river so I could not see a lot so tomorrow I want to get up early and take some photos. I also requested a couple of special stops tomorrow, more on that later. I love it because I control the agenda.
Now, just an observation: I noticed that whenever you hand someone money or anything, they cup their right wrist with their left hand to accept it. They also do this when giving you back change or handing you a room key. Its really interesting and never seen any other culture do this.
Also, just to clarify, and I wont get into detail, but they do wear something under their Longyi. Also, the women wear these beautful colorful skirts, but they are not skirts, they are also Longyi, but they call them something different. I will show you a Longyi at some point, because its like a barrell and you fold it around you. Kinda cool, its truly one size fits all.
Happy Travels, Don
Day 2: Mawlamyine
I forgot to mention yesterday some information I learned about the Parades to the Monestaries that I have been seeing. I noticed that whenever I am in a business, like a bank or hotel, in the lobby the have a huge almost like Christmas Tree set up with all kinds of donations for the monks, like books, toiletry supplies, just all kinds of stuff. These are the same tree like things I have seen in the back of the vehicles parading down the road. My driver told me that those parades are usually all the employees of a business or organization and they are headed to a monestary to donate the items that were collected from their employees. The bigger the parade and more trucks you see carrying a "tree" the bigger the business. Now it is making more sense.
Also yesterday, I saw a group walking down the side of the road in a parade type thing but it was a bit different. They had lines of ladies all dressed in colorful dresses carrying umbrellas and was playing music too. At the end was 4 horses carrying about 12-13 yo boys all dressed in gold and their father holding a gold umbrella above their head. The driver told me they were headed to the monestary to start their time as Monks. This time can be as low as a few months, to the rest of their life. He said once the reach the monestary they shave their heads and get white robes which signify a novice monk.
Left this morning with a couple of request for my driver. This first was I wanted to see the morning Market. I have always believed that the market is the soul of a city. It was fun and made some great photos. The market here is huge.
From there we went to this boat dock under the big bridge. Once again was approached by the machine gun wearing army man and my driver assured me it was OK. He was there to protect the bridge, a lone wolf I guess. Not far out you could see this island and we got a boat to take us over. This place is now a monestary but is known as Shampoo Island. Seems the island was once a place where the royal family would go to get their hair washed. OK, so it used to be a Salon. Right now its a place that monks live and also a place where monks go for Meditation in one of the little booths that overlook the river. There is a little path around the island with all kinds of statues and the monestary. Took about 20 minutes to round the whole island.
The we drove about an hour south of Mawlamyine on a personal goal. On my first trip abroad in 2007 to Thailand, one of my stops was to visit the Bridge over the River Kwai and ride on the infamous Death Railway, the rail line built with Asian workers and Prisoners of War by the Japanese. Thousands died building the line from Thailand through the jungles to Burma at the coast. Having been at the terminus of the line I wanted to visit the beginning. First we visited one of the cemeteries where some of the British, Australian and Dutch prisoners of war are buried. From there we went on a short drive and was shocked. The driver pulled over and pointed to these really old decaying concrete gates, overgrown with weeds and stated thats where you wanted to go. I went through the gate and there is not even a path in the grass. Ahead I saw some track and an old sign that stated it was the beginning of the line. It looked like hardly anyone had ever even been here before. I was expecting so much more. There was an old steam engine that had no markings at all, but had read the Japanese had donated the engine as its like the ones that were used on the rail line. I was just in shock that this site is so hidden and unless you knew where you were going you would never find it. There is not a sign anywhere marking the spot from the road. Amazing.
On the way back we made a few stops which were interesting and stopped to have some lunch. As we were pulling into one place the road was lined with the red robed monk statues which the driver said numbered about 500. He then told me we were going to see a large reclining Buddha. I had just seen 2 yesterday and kinda yawned a bit, but when we rounded the corner my mouth dropped open. He said it was the largest ever and words cannot describe how big this is, it literally takes up the side of a mountain. I am not sure how long it is and sine I dont have google its hard to say, just take my word, its big.
It was really hot again today and its been very draining on me with this humidity day in and day out but the end is in sight and I keep gutting it up.
Had dinner again along the Riverfront back at the same BBQ place as it was so good the night before. Tomorrow we head for Hpa An (pronounced Pa An) which is only about 1 1/2 drive from here but much to see on the way and in the area. I will spend the night in Hpa An.
Happy Travels, Don
Day 3: Hpa An
Had another personal journey to take care of this morning. I had read that there is one of the original Baptist Churches here in Mawlawyine built in the early 1800's, even before the British took control of the country around 1850. We looked a bit for it last night but could not find it, but did find a Catholic Church built in 1857 which was cool. My ever diligent driver did some investigative work after he dropped me off last night and we went to searching again. Turns out the church they sent him to was an Anglican Church, so I was loosing hope. He asked a couple of people but they kept sending us to the Catholic Church, but by chance I saw an old church down a street and sure enough, that was it. It is the First Baptist Church founded by Dr. Judson in 1827. It needs a little paint and TLC, but in pretty good shape. I tried to go in but it was locked up. There was a building next door that is more open, so not sure if they have services there or in the original church. The newer building would be cooler for sure in this heat. There s a small cemetery next to the church with 3 graves, all family members of the Judsons, one a grandson who died at a little over 1 year old. I enjoyed the visit, just wish I could have seen the inside.
We then headed out of town and stopped and visited this Cave Temple that was very cool. The walls of the cave have carvings all up and down the walls. There must have been 200 Buddha statues throughout the place, and it was fairly cool in there which was a bonus.
We passed over a few old bridges which were a bit like a rollercoaster, but what caught my eye was the military presence in the area. Before we could cross 2-3 guys in uniform carrying guns would look through the car, but usually when they saw tourist they were quick about it, some vehicles were pulled over with searches going on. I asked the driver why the security and he said in the area of Hpa An there have been some issues lately. Oh thanks for giving me that heads up. Several more times we drove through barbed wire road blocks at bridges and such, even just at crossroads you would see 5-6 military guys.
Today was cave day as we stopped at another cave, this one really big. We walked past the statues at the entrance and kept going with a flashlight. I did not really see much beyond this but I followed like a trooper. I could hear bats overhead which was fun, meaning the floor was going to be slick with guano, so note to self, dont fall down. We went up and down and kept going and it was HOT and HUMID in this cave. I was soaked after about 20 minutes. I finally asked where this is going and he said to a lake at the other side. Soon a group of local young people joined us and was enjoying watching the fat guy struggle with the heat and climbing. Finally we reached the opening and a couple of boats were there to take us back. It did go through a low cave opening which was cool, but for the most part, I could have done without the cave walk. The boat had no seats, you just sat in the floor of the boat and it was a very narrow one for sure. I almost never got up when we got back as my feet went to sleep and I could not get up. The students came to help and found amusement in my peril. During the boat trip we went through this field of flowers growing out of the water and they were so beautiful. I did enjoy the boat trip.
I told him no more treks through hot caves and he laughed and said no problem. We visited a couple more sights that were cool, one was this temple that the entrance was filled with acres and acres of sitting Buddha statues everywhere. There were thousands of them and they were all lined up perfectly in rows and went on back into the tree line. I noticed some were covered and some were not, and the driver stated they will eventually all me covered as a person will make a donation to have one covered, then pick the one out they want, and they build a cover. I forgot to ask what a donation was, must remember to do that tomorrow. They are letting the grass get a little deep and he said they mow it from time to time and its about time again. Any longer and you will not be able to see the statues.
Some of these places were way off down dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere. I guess that explains why I hardly saw anyone else today. It did afford me the chance to get some really good pictures of the rural areas. I enjoyed that for sure.
We arrived in Hpa An about 5 ish and went to my hotel. Yikes, not what I was expecting but then again, this is not exactly the big city. When she gave me my room key it was 104 which was a relief because this place was 4 stories tall with steep stairs. They guy grabbed my bag and started up the stairs and I thought maybe the 2nd floor was the first floor, but not so, as he kept climbing and climbing. I noticed on the first floor the rooms started with a 4 and the 2nd floor they started with a 3. I get the picure finally, they do things backwards here, lol. With all the cave climbing and stairs at temples, by the end of the day my knee is done and when I finally made it to the top I was about to DIE. The room was huge and when he turned the air on it sounded like a blender full of bolts. The room was a sauna and all I wanted to do was put my knee up. I laid there dying and knew it would take hours for that unit to cool this room down, but I did not want to go down those stairs again to ask for another room. Having had a big lunch, I was not too concerned about getting out for a meal. I ate a couple of my granola bars and was good. The room eventually cooled down some, but the power went out several times and when it came back on, they air would not. I guess this happened during the night because I would wake up just soaked and hot. I had to switch beds during the night to let the first one dry out - lol. Oh well, you have to have at least one bad hotel experience in a country like this, I have been very lucky I guess.
Happy Travels, Don
Day 4: Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (The Golden Rock)
Hey All,
What are the odds? The only rain I have seen this whole trip was a downpour while at the Swedegon Pagoda in Yangon on Day 2. I would have traded rain for any other day than today and what do I get, wake up to a downpour. Not today, please not today. But this is travel. you have to go with the flow.
At breakfast it looks like its clearing, but it does not. We stop for coffee and fried bread at a little road side stand and once again it fools us like its about to clear up. It rains the entire 3 1/2 hour drive to the town at the base of the mountain. Its just a steady rain, but enough to sock things in. But, I decide to head on up anyway.
My driver drops me off at this big covered area with these large open back trucks line up.
First a bit about the Golden Rock. The Golden Rock is the 3rd of the 3 important Buddhist sites that I had intended to visit and was really looking forward to this one. People save for months and whole families make the trek up this mountain to this holy site, sometimes only once in a lifetime. Its almost like a pilgrimage for them. Its a big rock that sits dangling off the side of a mountain, and this is at least the 4th site I have visited that contains one of the Buddha's hairs. If you look at pictures, it is amazing how the rock stays up as its only touching the rock below it at the one end and you can take a photo with the sun out and see light completely under it. It really is a marvel. Tradition says the only thing holding the rock on the mountain is the Buddha's hair.
As the truck pulls out the excitement grows and so does the rain. Everyone on the truck is wearing a poncho, but I missed the poncho lady when I came in, but remembered I have one in my backpack. I pulled it out and put it on with the help of the people behind me. It was much needed as I would have been even more soaked. The truck goes up this switchback climb going back and forth with some really steep climbs for about 15 minutes, then pulls under another canopy. Here they collect the 2500 kyats, which I guess if you dont have you have to walk back down the mountain. There are many people who walk up the whole way, but these are some dedicated people. Once again we take off and drive another 20-25 minutes of back and forth and really steep climbs with some really steep drop offs if you missed a curve. They start singing in the truck and I would join in but I have no clue what they are saying. Soon we are up in the clouds and the great view is nothing but a big fog. As we arrive at the terminal, there is no platform and you have to climb out of the truck which was a chore for me. There was hardly anything to put your feet on and what little there was is slick as can be. I made it down but dont know how.
I had no idea where I was going so I started following the crowd. It was a sea of people as trucks were just one after another. There were also people headed down the hill back home after the night. I soon spotted the first hotel and knew mine would be pretty quick. I saw the sign and checked in soaked as could be. They took me to my room which was right by a viewing deck that should be a breathtaking view - NOT.
By this time it was 2:30 and I sat in the room a bit drying off and hoping the rain would slack up. No such luck, so about 3:30 I put on my poncho and headed off to find the rock. People were still arriving as I headed to the entrance of the Pagoda. As you enter there is this huge terrace area with a tile floor. I was understood from my reading that this area is where the locals camp out for the night as whole families stake out an area and its one big party. They cannot afford the expensive hotels at the top so they just camp under the stars. There were people milling about, but not sure where all the whords of people went. The wind was blowing so hard my umbarella kept turning inside out so I quickly gave up on that idea. I found the rock and managed a few photos in the rain and fog, but it was rather deserted at this time. I loitered around a bit and the rain was coming down worse than ever so I headed back to the hotel.
At night this place is a carnival atmosphere with the Golden Rock all lit up and the terrace area full of people, but not tonight. I have been in my room and its has not slacked up one bit. The power has gone out several times which is no surprise. I dont think I have ever been in a rain this hard and continuous for going on 5 hours now with not a single drop off. Now I am worried about mud slides, and here I am stuck up on this mountain with no way down. Why did I have to think about that.
I not only came here with the intention of seeing the Golden Rock, which I did, but to experience the Golden Rock, and that I missed out on. A once in a lifetime experience, raind out, not only for me but for all those who saved and traveled long distances to have this night. I feel for them much more than me.
It rained all night long and never let up as far as I know. I was hoping to head back to the rock in the next morning but that turned out to be futile as it was just pouring outside. As I walked back towards the trucks there were thousands of people headed back with me and I have not clue where they were, but I guess they have their spots that I just did not see.
At the truck loading area it was a free for all, I was being kind and just got shoved out of the way several times so quickly learned it was every man for himself. These 3 little ladies took pity on me and helped me procure a seat on a truck as they could see I was struggling. I sat behind them and they just grinned when we got seated. The truck drivers kept piling them in closer and closer and it really was uncomfortable. The poncho was starting to fray with the wind and the ware and before long I was just drenched again. When we got to the shed where you pay, I pulled out 10,000 kyats and paid for the 3 ladies and if they could have moved I am sure they would have hugged me - lol. It was my half way around the world random act of kindness - lol.
It was a great experience, and despite the downpour, one I will never forget. I just wish I could have gotten the true Golden Rock experience.
Happy Travels, Don
Day 5: Back to Yangon and My Last Day in Myanmar
Hey All,
The trip back to Yangon was rainy all the way. The roads were almost to the point of being flooded and there were several spots that my driver said a day later and we would have been stuck. It made for a slow long driver but enjoyed the scenery anyway.
At one point 2 ambulances came by us with lights flashing and within a minute we were at a toll booth. I kid you not, the ambulances had to get in line with the cars and pay a toll at the booth. Now, there is an open lane that motorbikes use since they don't pay so its not like they had no choice. But I actually saw them hand money out the window. I just looked at my driver and said "you have to be kidding". He just laughed as always.
Despite the rain there were several of the Parades again, and most I saw today were students from schools all parading together with their tree of donated items. It was fun to watch. I do love the music they play, as you would expect maybe some old Buddhist folk songs, but instead you could close your eyes and think you were in a New York dance club.
It was after dark when I got back to the hotel I had reserved but they did not have the reservation and were full. My driver called his office and they had me another place right away. Those guys have been so great to work with.
I was up early this morning and took a cab to the big tourist market to buy some trinkets because as usual I wait to the last minute. The good news is the rain has slowed down and looks like it may be clearing up just in time for me to leave. I wonder around taking some photos and head back to the room to get ready and get this sent out. I am going to try to get a nap as I leave tonight at 11:30, and I don't sleep on planes. It will be a 32 hour marathon back home with 4 flights and a 6 hour layover in Beijing.
Bagan and Mandalay have already started to succumb to the big buses but there is still plenty of places to see and have it to yourself. My favorite places were Mrauk U, Mawlamyine, Pyay and the Golden Rock. The people here are incredibly friendly and nice. They have gone out of their way to help me when I needed it, like those 2 cab drivers in Yangon on my first day. I wish these people well and hope they get the freedoms they long to have.
I want to thank everyone for the emails and encouragement. Its not easy doing this, especially in a country where the Wifi is almost non-existent, but I enjoy it.
Where to next? I don't know, maybe I will have an answer by the time I land in Los Angeles.
One last shout out. tomorrow is my Mom's 80th Birthday. I moved my trip back a week to be home for this day, even though it will be later in the day. Mom, you are my Angel and I love you so much. I hope you have a great day.
I will leave you with a few more shots of my time here.
Happy Travels, Don
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