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Published: July 23rd 2009
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From Monywa we crossed a hot and dusty plain to Pakkoku stopping shortly for us to pick up a couple of giant mangoes. We were unnerved to see our driver enjoying a drink or two with his meal. Along the road we were stopped twice to present passports so the immigration police could jot down our details. At Pakkoku a Myanmar couple, wearing neat western clothes and both carrying cellphones, invited us to share a horse cart. Along the way we passed an old teak monastery shaded by big Tamarind trees and saw the beginnings of a market/festival taking place but we didn't get a chance to visit. The couple helped us get to the ferry which we caught to Nyaung U, near to the Bagan temples. They were heading towards Yangon after visiting relatives. It was very interesting talking to them about their experiences. They had both learned to speak English and were working in a hotel in Yangon when they were given the opportunity to apply for work at a hotel in Dubai. They spent two years working in Dubai. Leaving it behind with out sympathy and were recently back in Myanmar. Their plan now is to search for
jobs in Singapore with hopes of moving there in the near future. Singapore is held very highly in Myanmar, people's perceptions as a prosperous place to live. No doubt it is compared to anything they're used to.
The boat sailed for two hours along the calm waters. I braved the rooftop for about fifteen minutes before hiding away to a shady spot on the side of the boat. Along the route we passed a few villages tucked between the coconut and tutti trees. Eventually I saw a few crumbling Payas near the cliff edge of the east bank and I knew we had arrived.
After eating lunch and settling in a comfortable guesthouse we arranged with a horse-cart driver to take us around the temples for sunset.
We climbed aboard the carriage in the hot sun and trotted off down the road. About 15 minutes later we veered off onto a dusty dirt track. Almost immediately we saw the red-brick Payas glowing in the sunshine. In between the Payas, recently planted fields had small green shoots and palm trees lined the fields. It is really a beautiful setting. We stopped at a Paya and climbed up. Immediately
we were greeted by a painting seller but we held him off climbing up to a get a view point for sunset. When we arrived at the top and looked around at all the Payas protruding from the countryside, with the hazy mountains in the background and the shiny Ayeryaddy, the view was breathtaking. We sat and enjoyed, listening to nothing more than bird chatter. Very serene and quiet.
That night we stopped for Burmese salads at a vegetarian restaurant in Nyuang U. When we asked our driver if he would pick us up again in the morning he said he would arrive at 4:30am. We gulped, and went straight to bed.
In the black of night our driver arrived to pick us up. It was quiet and dark and comfortably cool and we felt a bit of suspense for our trip to the temples, it felt surreal. There were only a few signs of life, a couple of women prepared a meal in steaming pots near the side of the road and the odd figure would appear out of the black carrying goods heading towards the market in the opposite direction.
We stopped at a Paya
Bagan Day1 006
Bagan bound on a perfect afternoon that glowed gold with bright lights but moved onto a different one our guide had chosen for the sunrise. It had a view of a large white temple with gold tipped spires and many other temples dotting the eastern landscape. The sun rising was another beautiful event. It was really quiet for about 15 minutes until we were joined by a chatty young girl selling postcards. This was at about 5:00am. She literally lived next door, her families' hut was in the same courtyard. She and the four others followed and managed to climb the steep Payas in about 30 seconds to a height of, maybe, 20 metres.
After watching the sun rise, we rode to a really large crumbling temple. Along the way we passed farmers steering ox and plough, the ancient landscape was quiet and calm. Inside the temples were large Buddha statues and murals. The larger temples felt cold and damp like caves and we looked up to see creepy bats hanging around. It was a lot of fun snooping around and climbing up the narrow staircases to the rooftops.
At about 10:30am and after several temples the sun had risen and was beaming intensely.
We were bagged, hot and hungry and so asked our enthusiastic driver to take us back to our guesthouse. We ate at a nearby teashop whose ''tea boys'' practiced the game of jumping and hitting a lighter suspended (on string) permanent with their heads as they ran to the kitchen delivering orders. We ate slowly, eyes drooping, and went back to our room to rest.
Our driver arrived at 4:30pm, we asked if he had rested, he said yes, grinning. He took us around to several temples, some of which we could go inside and look at the colourful murals. Others we were able to climb up and take in the view. He took us to a different temple for sunset which was just as beautiful. When we finished we were really enjoying ourselves and had only visited a fraction of the Payas. Despite being tired we decided to have one last early morning visit the next day.
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