The (Monkey) King and I on Mount Popa

Due to a brief illness and unreliable internet access I’ve been unable to update this blog for the past few days, but now those problems are behind me so it’s time to get cracking again.

For my last day in Bagan, I made the two hour trip to the famed and revered Mout Popa. Mount Popa is a bit of a misnomer, because when most people, Burmese and foreigners alike, refer to the mountain, nine times out of ten they are referring to this:

  

Yea. That is the Popa Taungkalat monastery. Unbelievably picturesque and dramatic when viewed from any angle, the monastery sits atop an outcropping of the actual mountain. Anyone can go to the top, but there is no elevator and the view is not for the faint of heart. Although I was beginning to feel quite sick by the time we arrived at the base of the monastery, there was no way I was going to let that impede my experience having come so far to see it. Ultimately, the climb was tiring but not so horrible, and I reached the top without incident, save for some encounters with the monkeys.

 Before I go on, I’ll speak a bit on the monkeys. They are Macaques, and there are a lot of them. Making the climb up the monastery steps, you really get the feeling that you are inside an old Travel Channel documentary (before it turned into Food Network 2). We arrived early in the morning, before most of the European tourists had had their tea or croissants or whatever they do, so it was just us and the locals for the most part. The monkeys are everywhere, jumping around, begging for food, and in some cases grabbing onto you or trying to steal your belongings. It’s really an eclectic environment, but also an authentic experience to be sure.

Once I reached the top, I took a moment just to gather myself and enjoy the view before exploring the summit. There really isn’t much to see at the top, just the usual Buddha statues and collection boxes; the best part is the gorgeous scenery visible in all directions. The monkeys become fewer and farther between the higher you get, and at the top I found only one. He was large and looked old, and I theorized that perhaps only one monkey out of the lot of them gets the honor to sit at the top, and this particular monkey was the king. I had a chat with him about how I had figured this out, and then we posed for a picture together.

Back in Bagan, there were still a couple of things I had yet to examine. I took a closer look at the still-intact portions of the old city walls, and also toured the reconstructed version of the palace. Night was beginning to fall, so Anna and I took a pleasant ride in one of the many horse carts that weave through the monument zone, followed by a self-guided tour of some of the large pagodas that are lit up at night. It was an excellent way to spend my final night in Bagan, and satisfied that I had made the most of my stay I began looking forward to my trip to Mandalay the  next day.

Bagan!

Looking out over the Old City

I know I said in my last post that I would be visiting Naypyidaw, but due to some changes in our schedule we only spent the night in the capital city and left early Saturday morning for Bagan. I was fine with this as I will have time toward the tail end of my trip to go back and explore Naypyidaw, and more time in Bagan is nothing to complain about.

To sum it up, Bagan is one of the big reasons I decided to go through with this trip in the first place. A sprawling valley filled with over 2400 Buddhist pagodas, stupas, and other religious monuments mostly from the 10^th-13^th centuries, Bagan was once the capital of an ancient kingdom called Pagan, first to unify the peoples that more or less constitute modern Myanmar. Today, one can wonder through the fields exploring for days on end- big pagodas, small pagodas, brick, sandstone, white, gold, etc., etc. For someone like me Bagan is an absolute fairytale land with no equal. It is by far the greatest sight I have every laid eyes on.

We started off Saturday afternoon in New Bagan touring a lacquerware shop. Burmese lacquerware is famed the world over for the impeccable craftsmanship and attention to detail with which it is made, and after seeing the process for myself I can understand why. Most pieces were out of my price range but I picked up a few small boxes for some friends. From the shop it was on to the pagodas, starting off with a medium sized one containing much of the original mural work on its interior walls. The parts which did not survive had been chiseled off by a some German guy in the 1890s who had been kind enough to leave his signature behind on the wall just to make sure everyone would be clear on who took them.

In the opposite direction

Eventually after examining a few more specific Pagodas up close, we were taken by our guide to one with exterior stairs leading about 5 stories up, affording amazing view of the surrounding countryside. The thing that one must understand about Bagan, what makes it so amazing, is that the scenery of the place is already breathtaking without the pagodas. On both sides you have mountain ridges jutting up into the sky with sweeping plain in the foreground and the immense Irrawaddy River winding along beside. Whenst you add the grandeur of the monuments, the sight is just indescribable. There are literally more pagodas than you could possibly count. I had trouble framing photographs because there was always another wonder lurking right outside the frame that I wanted to include. You try and get it all in to capture the magnitude of the moment and there’s just no way. I could stand atop the highest peak taking photos until the cows come home (of which there are many in Bagan) and it still wouldn’t come close to actually being here. But I tried.

reflecting pool

a monk

We climbed to the top of this one

This morning, the wonders of Bagan were again the focus. This time without a guide initially, we went biking in the opposite direction from yesterday and made a circle around the far side of the monument zone. From there we simply went wondering and exploring amidst the ruins, eventually coming upon on of the larger and more weather-beaten stupas, which we were able to scale via an internal staircase. I doubt many will get this reference, but wandering around in Bagan is rather like the PlayStation 2 game Shadow of the Colossus. Ruins smattered haphazardly about, dramatic vistas in every directing with peaks looming off in the distance, capped by barely visible monuments of unknown origin. You can see the weather from miles off- clouds moving in and fading away, far off storms viewed like a naval battle miles out as seen from shore. The drama increased when we made our way to a recently built viewing tower. The immensity of the valley never ceases to amaze, and from even higher up the scene was even more impressive.

After lunch we again met with our guide, and were shown a rather interesting pagoda that was dug into the side of a cliff, apparently built for a king in need of a hiding place, and quite unique in Bagan. We went to what I would best term a palm farm, where the process by which the various properties of the palm tree are harvested and put to use, and then to a street fair. The day’s travels were concluded with a cruise along the Irrawaddy to view the sunset. The scenery from the river was nothing short of majestic, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the British must have though when setting eyes on all of those stone peaks emerging out of the brush. Probably something along the lines of ‘bloody hell we have hit the jackpot’. At any rate, a dip in the pool and some gin to close out the day and that’s what the past two days have looked like. I knew Bagan would be amazing, but seriously… no words…