Salayto Bagan

Cruising on the river is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the people who live their whole lives here.  We get to observe from the water as well as make stops at small villages along the way and stroll the dusty streets which to this point have seen very few tourists though this will change in years to come as tourism expands in Myanmar.  

Salay was one small village that we explored by foot.  A group of locals, especially children, always are on hand to greet us when we come ashore wanting nothing more than smiles and high fives.  How refreshing.  This town is famous for its beautiful Yoke Sone Kyaung wooden monastery which is adorned with spectacular woodcarvings.  Though the town has only six thousand inhabitants it is dotted with pagodas and religious monuments.  To enter a Buddhist temple one must go barefoot thus we have never removed our shoes or washed our feet so many times in a day.

Farther up the river we visited Tant Kyi Taung where a pagoda built in 1059 sits high on the hilltop and looks over to Bagan.  Unfortunately the haze obliterated the view somewhat what was still quite something to view the landscape from a different vantage point.

Our next stop was Bagan where we spent a couple of nights to explore this fascinating city.  The capital of the first Burmese empire Bagan has over 2300 religious monuments which are in different shapes and sizes and were built between the 11th and 13th centuries.  Bagan is the richest archeological site in Southeastern Asia.  Arriving in the evening we went to the Guni Temple and climbed to the top to watch the sunset.  Though the sunset itself was not overly spectacular the panorama views were outstanding.  One could see stupas and monuments in every direction.  After the sunset we went to a monastery for a candlelight blessing by one of the monks before returning to the boat.  The next day in Bagan we explored temples, colorful markets, visited a lacquer factory and went to a jaggery palm sugar workshop.  Eric did a different excursion and went to Mt Popa which is an extinct volcano where there are 777 steps to the summit where a pagoda awaits.  It is believed to be the home of 37 nats or spirits.  One has to be careful that one of the numerous monkeys does not steal one of your possessions as you use the stairs.

On the boat we both had massages and I decided to try the Burmese massage as it seemed fitting. Thank God the therapist was the size of six year old Kayla because she was kneeling on my thighs and back and had the strongest hands I have encountered in a therapist. Thought I would be bruised from head to toe but felt great the next day.

The hawkers in Bagan, which is the tourist center of Myanmar take selling to a whole new level.  As soon as we got off of the boat we were approached by very cute young women that introduced themselves and asked our names then proceeded to try and sell things. To show their persistence every time we went somewhere they would jump on their motor bikes and follow.  They were never pushy pushy so it got to be a bit funny after awhile though I have to admit that Chuchu was so cute and as she kept saying please do not forget me I did have to buy something from her. 

Gentleman busy sewing on his tredle sewing machine like my grandmothers

Reading in the sunshine. All the homes are open air.

Each house  had these hanging outside.  They are apparently to help fight fires before help arrives.  Does not give much hope for success.

These pots are the stoves that are used in the majority of homes and the stone discs are used to make the natural makeup using the tree bark.

All ages wear the traditional longyi and sandals.  Only in the city do they wear anything under them.

Wooden monastery in Salay built of teak

This is an ancient book inscribed on papyrus in gold leaf. Beautifully preserved.

Wood carvings all around the outside of the monastery tell the stories of the life of the times.

It was amazing to see how well preserved these beautiful carvings were.

This gentleman was doing razor blade painting.  The pictures to the left were made by an elderly lady out of tiny strips of bamboo.

The people of Salay found this Buddha floating down the river a couple of hundred years ago and built a pagoda for it.

Animal monuments welcome you to many pagodas.  

These two stupas are such a contrast with one covered in grass and weed and one in glittering gold leaf within the same complex

A river logging operation 

Pagoda sitting high on the hill offering panoramic views.

The white elephant is a widely worshiped religious animal in Myanmar 

Misty view from the top of the hill with the long staircase visible in the foreground.

This wooden bridge was a bit precarious looking but we thankfully crossed successfully 

Band for the elephant dance.  Most of them were chewing betel

Traditional elephant dance was very colorful and entertaining 

The costume is apparently quite heavy and the two men inside are well trained.  There are competitions held between the villages.

A Myanmar "marina"

Temples in Bagan are stunning and in amazing condition when you consider they are almost a thousand years old.

Mom and child taking a nap in the heat of the day

The whole skyline of Bagan is punctuated with temples 

Bagan sunset

Bagan suffered a large earthquake last year and many monuments suffered significant damage 

Monk giving us a candlelight blessing 

Shwezigan Pagoda constructed of beautiful white stone

Wonderful carvings that have survived the centuries 

Crowded market in Bagan

Vendors sit right up on the table with their goods.  Vendors were quick to show us their unusual products.  Bargaining was expected and was quite fun.

Some of the temples and monuments were in clusters which were like eye candy with a picture in every direction 

No barriers anywhere and very few people which made it even better

A traditional marionette puppet show was very entertaining 

This man demonstrated how to climb and harvest the juice from the jaggery Palm tree.  The juice is very sweet and they then ferment it making it into wine or cook it down into sugar.

This small house was home to seven. No indoor plumbing here.

This is the kitchen for the above home

The 18day old baby sleeps here during the day while his mom is working

This man is making the bamboo forms for the lacquer pots

Some lacquer pots are flexible and are made from woven horse hair. This girl is weaving each hair one by one.

Each lacquerware product is hand painted.  A very labour intensive process that once one sees how quality products are made it is easy to understand the prices.