Advertisement
Published: January 29th 2006
Edit Blog Post
So, yet again, we are not actually in Myanmar but felt this country deserves multiple independent entries. Where were we...ahhh, Rangoon. Actually- this entry requires three parts-
Part I:
"The Middle Seat - Filth, Phlegm, and Flatus"
After a few days of exploring the city we headed out to see Bagan - an overnight bus ride away. We had heard horror stories about bus travel in this region so we were pleasantly surprised when we settled into our seats and even found they had placed a bottle of drinking water and a trash bag in from of each seat- luxury! We prepared for the ride and were ready to be on our blissfully ignorant way when, suddenly, they lowered the middle seat. To those of you unfamiliar with the middle seat- it basically folds out from the arm of the regular seat and we are personally certain that it was created to ensure that the bus becomes more of a death trap then it already is. Now, if you are lucky (which we weren't)- you may end up with a petite and modest Burmese woman sitting there. In our case, we may have possibly gotten the most disgusting human being
Monkey Business
At the Popa, Popa Pagoda, they fell in love. ever to sit next to us. I'll try to spare you the gorie details- but the guy was an older guy with either a smoker's cough or TB (no coverage of the mouth), who farted and spat into the little plastic 'trash' bag in front of our seats. He also repeatedly touched us whenever he passed out. It didn't take us long to figure out that the little trash bag was actually placed there so that the passengers can chew on their betel nuts and hock lugies into them. I suppose we should be happy- in China people apparently just spit on the floors and carpets. Explain this- how are a people so enamored with propriety and modesty on one hand, able to be so loose in other ways??? We still don't get it and I think it's not something we'll get used to anytime soon...so, enough of that.
Thankfully we passed out until 3am, when all of the white people were asked to get off the bus to pay the entrance fee for Bagan. We paid the obligatory $10 (or a ludicrously high government exchange rate of 13000 kyat) and entered the Bagan Archeological Zone.
Part II:
Beggar Children Bagan
We hated to objectify the natives but for 100 kyat (a dime) this is one great picture. The paint on their faces is actually tree bark which serves as make-up, moisturizer, and sunscreen in Burma. Look for it on your next trip to the make-up counter at Saks. "Minglabah - How are you? in Burmese"
Though the 3am awakening was unpleasant and the thought of getting into a strange town with no reservation in the middle of the night unnerving- we were quickly relieved (and a little surprised) to find several horse drawn buggies waiting at the bus stop. Yes- that's right- buggies. We hopped in one with another woman we met on the bus, and were taken to Yar Kinh Thah hotel where a family was waiting to check in anyone who showed up. We instantly passed out. A few hours later we awakened to the sound of hooves trotting down the street and looked out onto Bagan. Our first day postbus was pretty rough. Well, Jon was fine but I think I caught something fom the gross man. In any case- I spent the first day shivering and febrile in bed while Jon went out exploring the town on bicycle, which is the thing to do here. The pictures were fabulous! The following day I was well enough to do the same and so we did. Did we mention that there are so few westerners here that locals paid to have their picture taken with us?
Making Palm Sugar
There are villages along the road to Mt Popa with various oils, palm products, and palm whiskey ooh eeh Anyway- we felt a little like celebrities....OK- so Bagan is this incredible area where ancient Kings built many temples. In fact, by the looks of it, anyone with any power built at least a few and there are literally hundreds of them dotting the landscape- some more than 1000 years old (for more exact details on archeological finds please check out some other peoples' entries on this area- we were really there for the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom aspect of it all- and don't think we weren't humming the tune while we rode around). Riding around the area on a little bike with a basket was excellent- though a little treacherous when in the sandy areas in the pagoda fields. Many of the pagodas are in bad shape from years of wear and from a big earthquake that hit the area in 1975. Others are still intact and we took advantage to climb up and watch the sunrise and sunsets from some of them- Incredible! The people, as in all of Burma, were just wonderful - everyone with a smile and 'minglabah' on their lips. For a mental image of the bike ride picture Pee Wee's Big
Adventure with Jon in the lead role.
"Popa Pagoda"
OK- so it's not Popa Pagoda but ever since we came up with it- we can't stop singing it to the obvious tune of Copa...Our last day in Bagan we joined our friend, Keren, from the bus on a day trip to Mt. Popa - a huge mountain about an hour away from Bagan where an old monastary sits on a very tall peak. Our driver took the opportunity to stop at little hut, probably owned by his relatives, where a whole operation was run from palm trees- oil (made with a contraption that uses an ox as it's totating motor), sugar, and moonshine- all from palms. Very interesting. We had some tea (ubiquitous in Burma) and nuts (they make fabulous peanuts here!) and went on our way.
Mt. Popa was, indeed, very picturesque and impressive- but more impressive still, and certainly more entertaining- were the monkeys. No one had warned us that the entire place was completely overrun with them and so they made for great picture material and conversation (see below). We returned from here in time for a much needed afternoon nap and then a last glimpse of the sunset around the pagodas and last minute souveniers (party tricks) run. We found our favorite restaurant that night- "Wonderful Tasty"- and it was.
All in all we took an extra day here just for the atmosphere - and so had to scrap our next destination, Mandalay, in favor of spending some quality time at our next point of interest -Inle Lake.
PS please excuse the lack of picts. Technical difficulties arose. Also our lovely bronzen sheen is likely dust and sweat not a grade A tan... Talk more soon
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0369s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dana
non-member comment
Fantastic
You both looks fantastic---dirt and dust or not. If I was in your shoes, I would look like shit on a stick! Traveling agrees with you. D