We originally thought we had the morning free but we were mistaken. It turns out there were a lot more places to visit before we headed back to the delightful (she said somewhat sarcastically) Mandalay Airport. But that's really okay. We are doers when on our travels in case you couldn't tell.
Our first stop was Shwenandwaw Kyaung, or the Golden Palace Monastery. It is made of teak and was originally a home of King Mindon who died there in 1878. The king who followed him wasn't able to deal with Mindon's ghost and had the whole place dismantled, taken out of the palace grounds, and rebuilt as a monastery. It was good he did as the palace was destroyed during World War II. These teak monasteries are starting to run together so I am not sure what to say about it, other than the wood had amazing detail built into it. And when we were there a group of school kids came in who stared at us the whole time. Maybe they were from an outer region that doesn't see many foreigners. They seriously were fascinated by us. Or maybe they were wondering why Caucasians get so dewy (or as Mary Sheehan would hate to hear me say...moist) so early in the day.
Stop two was Kuthodaw Paya, also called the World's Largest Book. There seem to be quite a few "world's largest" here. Regardless, this was pretty cool. There are 729 text-inscribed marble slabs, in 729 white stupas. Each slab is a page of the 15 books of the Tripitaka although I am not sure what that is. I didn't catch it. Let's assume it is a holy Buddhist book which is likely a safe assumption. The stupas surround a pagoda and the whole area was getting ready for a festival so they were lots of people and stands around. And not just souvenir but games and rides. The pagoda festival was beginning there in two days.
Stop 3 was Mandalay Hill. Visitors used to have to climb up steps in bare feet to get here but now you can drive. Which is good as it is 760 ft up. It is odd though because when you get there, you take an escalator up a bit. The real attraction when you get up there is the 360 degree views of the are. There are a number of Buddhas of course and apparently one is non-traditional in that it is not in the normal mudra position but instead points to the city below. I believe we missed that one although we did see a Buddha holding a smaller Buddha which we liked. The Buddhas are also starting to run together. It is apparently a great place to watch sunset but we were there at 1130 or so. They were also preparing for the festival as well. At one point, a couple came over to Lallande and Steph with a camera. Thinking they wanted them to take their picture, they said yes. It turns out that the woman wanted her picture taken with Steph and Lallande. Turn about is fair play, I suppose, as we have been taking many pictures of locals, particularly monks and children. To get back down, we had to take an elevator. While in there Tonton was talking to two other people in Burmese and having a good laugh. Moira said, "I feel like I am in the nail place." Or part of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine was in the nail place.
Oh and we had a first here. We had to pay a camera fee of the equivalent of $1 to take pictures. I guess that is one way to raise money for your pagoda.
Stop 4 was a gold leaf workshop which was pretty fascinating. They make the gold that people buy to put on the Buddhas. It is a very labor intensive process.
- They first take solid gold and make it into a gold ribbon.
- They then increase the size by beating this piece for 30 minutes. And by beating it, I mean hitting a small pad of paper with a heavy hammer (although Moira didn't think it was too heavy).
- Next, they cut it into 6 pieces.
- Step 5 is to increase the size again by beating this piece for 30 minutes again.
- Step 6 is like step 5 except they beat it for 5 hours. I can't do anything for 5 hours, let alone hit something with a hammer. Well, I could sleep for 5 hours straight. There were three men doing this in a very rhythmic motion. They do it in three minutes increments and have to stop at times to cool it off. Their stop watch is a ladle in a bowl with a small hole in it. When the ladle sinks, the three minutes are up.
- The final step is to make and pack them on straw paper in the shape of a square.
The men who do the pounding are solid muscle. Moira decided if it was a class at Reebok it would be totally full. We like to pay for physical activity in the US that other people do as manual labor for pay or as a necessity in other parts of the world. Speaking of pay, Tonton said the people who do this get paid each day, at the end of the day, and that all the workers from various steps pool the lay together and split it. I think it is based on how much they produce.
Stop 5 was the Mahamuni Paya which is another place that is considered very holy and where Burmese Buddhists go on a pilgrimage. It has one of the country's most famous seated Buddhas that is believed to be over 2,000 years old. The pagoda it is in was built in 1784 and destroyed by fire in 1884. It had to be rebuilt. The buddha has had so much gold leaf placed over it that you can no longer see his fingers and distinguish some other parts. They polish his face every day at 4 AM (you can't put gold leaf there). And only men are allowed to put the gold leaf on him so women have to watch from the sides or on the TV monitors (no joke). There are also some ancient statutes there from Angkor Wat including an elephant and some of the Hindu god Shiva. Locals believe that if you rub the body part on those where you have problems, you will be healed. Figuring I have nothing to lose, I rubbed the right ankle. Moira went for the whole foot and then said maybe she should just rub the whole body. While there, we also saw some young children getting ready for their ceremony to become monks and nuns. They are all dressed up in robes with make up and jewelry, even the boys. On the first day, they go to their grandparents or family's pagoda and are presented there. It is quite the big deal with photos and such. It is considered an honor. The second day they are presented at the monastery or nunnery where their heads are shaved and where they get their robes. They then have to stay for a week and after that, each child chooses if they want to continue or go back home. Some looked so young. I mean, it would be like Lallande enrolling Jack. And Jack, if you are reading this, know that she will never do that.
Stop 6 was lunch at a Thai place, Tom Yam Koong Hot Pot. It was pretty good, even though when asked a choice of cuisine we choose Myanmar. It does get props for potentially having the nicest, cleanest public bathroom we have ever used. Yes, we remember things like this. The worst were in Egypt and Jordan.
Stop 7 after lunch was a wood working shop. It is amazing to see the detail they out into the hand carved work. Moira found a reclining Buddha to purchase (her day of the week Buddha) which was one of her goals. Steph and I marveled at the puppets and Steph thinks they must supply the country from there as puppet or marionette shows seem to be a national pastime.
And that was the end of Mandalay except for the hour long drive to the airport. And miracle upon miracles, our flight to Bagan left on time. This was a first within Myanmar. Prior to landing, the pilot announced it was 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit). I do not think it is a coincidence that is the same temperature that Tonton said it was in Mingun and the temperature last night in Mandalay. I think it is always 32 here. Or that is what they tell tourists.
Our guide, Swe, met us at the airport. He seems very sweet and happy. More like Tharpu than Tonton. He told us it would be about 5 minutes to the hotel. We were beginning to think every hotel was an hour away (like every temperature is 32 degrees) so that was a nice surprise. He told us there are three areas - Old Bagan, New Bagan and something that begins with an N. Which I later discovered is Nyaung. Swe also told us that it is rainy season here but it never rains (foreshadowing).
He took us straight to the hotel which is beautiful. It is the Aureum Palace and is an open design with almost everything made from teak (sense a theme here?). Our rooms are villas on the lake and so nice. This whole place is almost plopped down within the temples and pagodas of Bagan. It is like staying in the center of Angkor Wat. Our view is across a small lake, facing temples. The hotel gave us a ticket to go to the top of a tower owned by the hotel ams right at the entrance to see sunset, which was around 6. By the time we got there and got to the top (inhaling turpentine fumes along the way...they are still refinishing it), the sun was behind a cloud. So we kind of missed it. But we did get a great view of the area.
It is always happy hour time here so we sat by the pool, enjoying our favorite drink, Red Mountain Sauvignon Blanc. In trying to decide our next step, Moira, Steph and I opted for a dip in the amazing infinity pool, which looks out on the temples, while Lallande opted for a massage. It wasn't exactly Sophie's choice. In the pool, we ran into the German family from the Yangon airport. They took the boat from Mandalay - 12 hours. The dad told me it wasn't worth it. Our flight was 30 minutes. We'll take that.
There really aren't dinner options here except the hotel but it was quite good. The chef, who is from Thailand, came over to make sure we enjoyed it. We did. I had pad Thai and it was honestly the best I ever had. Everyone tried it and agreed. During dinner, there was a guy playing a guitar and singing. He looked to be in his late 20s, wore jeans and sang English type songs...American Pie, some Beatles, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Jason Mraz's I'm Yours etc. However, due to his accent, it was more like "Tie a chellow ribbon round the old oak tree." Not to make fun of him, as he easy pretty foos, but we all walked away singing it that way. Last night (and part of today) we were singing a Burmese song called Mingalaba, which is how they say hello here so I suppose this is better
Things we learned:
- Owls are considered good luck. There are figurines and images everywhere.
- At night, when we leave to go to bed, people say "dream sweet." Which is sweet.
- Mandalay's city area is laid out in a grid with numbers streets.
- There are 54 quarters in Mandalay. Each quarter has a pagoda festival, some earlier, some later.
- it is 13 hours by rail from Mandalay to Yangon. Train travel is not speedy here.
- People don't carry umbrellas here to shield the sun like they do in Yangon
- Temples are hollow. Pagodas are solid.
Final note: I neglected to mention that last night at dinner, sitting outside, we felt like we were getting bit by bugs. The waiter brought out coils but it still was bothering us. Moira actually felt it the night before at the barbecue place as well. And 24 hours later, or last night and today, she had about 20 bug bites emerge. My feet started to itch late in the day as some bites came out. And then I got itchier. When I changed into my bathing suit, I noticed bites all over my legs. As best I can count, I have over 120 bites on my legs. They are a mess and I am itchy as anything. Good thing I have some Benedryl. Steph got some bites too but Lallande seems to mostly be spared, which makes sense as she didn't join us for dinner the night before. Or maybe growing up in Louisiana, she became immune.
Number of flight segments to date: 6
Number of airport bus rides: 5
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