Yan-gone

It was back to Yangon after Mandalay for a final day in the city (a relaxed affair but still got out to see some HUGE Buddha's) and then I was off to Kuala Lumpur.

Big Buddha 

BIGGER Buddha

Back in Mandalay

My return to Mandalay couldn't match the magic of that first visit but I still had another fun bike ride, heading out on a day trip to the royal town of Innwa. I found a lot of distractions on the way so didn't get there till late in the afternoon. 

The first distraction was the Mahamuni Buddha Temple in southwest Mandalay. I got to wear a longyi for the first time to cover up my legs and was given a short tour around the big golden Buddha by one of the monks. He couldn't speak much english but all he really wanted to emphasis that this was a MAHAMUNI Buddhist temple. Lots of people praying and queuing up to lay gold leaf on the Buddha (men only) for good luck.

Mahamuni Buddha Temple

Laying gold leave on to the Buddha

 

Making Buddha's in Mandalay

When I eventually made it to Innwa I had just enough time to see the sights and another gorgeous sunset: more pagodas, temples and monasteries; a mini Bagan.

Slight earthquake damage

Tourist wagons

Leaning tower of Innwa

On my way to Mandalay

Burmese trains have a bit of a reputation. My train from Bagan to Mandalay was slow but pretty smooth so I was intrigued to see how bad it really was when I made the much longer journey from Myitkyina to Mandalay.

There's a constant roll to the carriages but the train is generally going so slowly you don't really notice the motion - you just see it where the carriages are coupled. There is however the occasional violent shudder that ripples through the carriages and on the odd occasion that the train picks up speed, the carriages really do start to bounce. But it never lasts long and a temporary crawl seems to follow every bout of speed. The train really comes alive in these slow, meandering moments. Every joint, bolt, hinge... whatever, creaking and groaning over the laid back click clack of the wheels on the rails.

There is a constant stream of activity up and down the alleyway with sellers touting their food, drinks, snacks and alms. Each zone seems to have its speciality, so if you something takes your fancy you'd best get it then 'cos the 5 sellers now won't be on the next leg.

I'm sat in the open doorway with a beer and a cigarette. The sun has set and the skies cleared for the stars to shine through the florescent glow from the strip light in the carriage. Fireflies sporadically light up amongst the dark green of the passing trees. We've been crawling along for some time, a beautiful opportunity to enjoy this moment of transitory bliss, but the speed is picking up now and the infamous bounce and roll starting to build...

The scheduled arrival time in Mandalay is, I think, around 04:30 (we left at 07:45 so it should be about 20 hrs). Are we on time? No idea.

First class

Yes... I was slightly disappointed to find! We rolled into Mandalay on time at the ungodly hour of 4.30 am.

Myitkyina

Myitkyina was on Dhe's hit list of places to visit so we met up again on Friday to see what Kachin culture was all about. Not many tourists make it into the north and I'm pretty sure we were the only ones there that weekend. It definitely felt more raw and communicating was a lot more of a challenge!

Kachin cuisine (as dry as it looks) and specially wrapped plates for the tourists

The city is quite new so there are no historical sights as such. The place had a nice atmosphere though and the Ayeyarwady river in all its glory snakes past. 

Tourist attraction #1? The bridge across the river.

Nothing too spectacular as bridges go but you get a commanding view up and down the river. It's a popular sunset spot too. Just park your bike on the bridge and admire the view!

We had a lot of fun running around the area on a scooter. The big (/only?) tourist attraction here is a trip up the valley to see the confluence of the rivers so we headed up there on Sat. A lovely route through villages, trees and up into the hills before you pop out where the rivers meet. We set off a bit late and arrived just as the sun disappeared behind the hill. 

Always a Pagoda 

We enjoyed the changing light, pretty pink clouds and rising mist over the river and then thought we'd best set off to cover some ground before it got really dark.

That's where the adventure began...

I'd actually had the foresight to check the lights before we left. As the night set in however we quickly discovered that although our headlight did work, it didn't work at casting any useful light out in front of us.

Not an uncommon problem in Myanmar it seems though and we managed to cover some good ground in convoy following another light-less bike that was being led home by his fully functional friend.

Luckily I also had my head torch and we eventually nosed our way home safely, only taking a bit longer than the journey out. It was a challenge, but a lot of fun scooting along, peering into the dark with the stars above and fire flies blinking to the side. As less than 50% of the bikes here seem to have lights there wasn't much traffic to worry about at that time. Just had to stay on the road...

Dhe had to head home again and I had a nice afternoon wandering around the town where there was a relaxed Sunday vibe and a colourful street market. Found some tasty walnuts and some fruit, in preparation for the 20 odd hour train ride back to Mandalay I was going to take in the morning.

Mandalay

My third pre-dawn start in a row was a bit of a killer, but needs must and I was up early again to get the train to Mandalay. 

Bagan train station

Burmese trains have a reputation for bumpiness but this route was fairly mellow, probably just because we never picked up enough speed to get the train rattling. The route took us through rural farmland and seeing the rudimentary farming methods in use gives a good impression of how little development there has been in the last 60 years. A group of women sat next to me must have thought I looked hungry as they kept feeding me their fare of greens and something similar to fried broad beans. Not actually that tasty - salty and slightly bitter. 

Cautiously saving the lives on the Rail Road

The train got into Mandalay at 2 and I had a hot, sweaty but enjoyable walk through the city to find my hostel. Mandalay is quite a new city so there's no grand colonial architecture around. It's got a great vibe though and the people seem particularly friendly. Out for a bike ride in the late afternoon, and taking the more scenic back roads, I seemed to get a shouted hello or a wave from every other scooter that passed me. I got multiple cheers from a pickup full of women.

Boats on the Ayeyarwady

Street life

I followed the magnificent river Ayeyarwady south and then headed to the famous Ubein bridge for sunset, passing through lively festive street stalls, before entering a maze of small streets and alleys in the town near the bridge. I would never have been able to navigate that confusing spaghetti mess of streets myself but everyone knew where I was going and a shouted "Ubein?" unerringly got a point in the right direction. Weaving machines are everywhere and the sound of them thrashing away filled the streets as I picked my way through the neighbourhood.

The Ubein bridge stretches across the lagoon in the background

 I found my way to the bridge just in time for sunset and although I knew it's one of Myanmar's top tourist attractions I still wasn't quite prepared for the throng of people stretching across the full length of the bridge to the other side of the lagoon. Given the stream of people leaving I thought the sun must have disappeared behind cloud but no, the fiery red ball was setting on cue, reflected prettily in the lakes water.

The teak planks of the Ubein bridge

Tourist boats vie for the best photo spot

My cycle home proved to be a bit of an adventure. A nice quiet route down the back roads proved a little too quiet and someone eventually had to lead me out of what, I think, was a sprawling monastery complex I'd somehow ended up in.

It was truly an excellent afternoon and a lot of fun. The vibrancy of the city, the sight of the mighty river, and the open friendliness of the locals made it one of my favourite experiences in Myanmar so far.

What I'd really been looking forward to all day however was the opportunity to finally remove my stitches. They smoothly slid out and my little hole had healed nicely.

I got treated to a birthday meal that night by a couple of guys from my hostel. Myanmar isn't exactly renowned for its wild nightlife but there's certainly some unique experiences to be found; dining at the Unique restaurant for example. It's a modern, sharp restaurant with great food but when 9 pm strikes, the blinds are lowered, the lights dimmed and then the DJ (yes the DJ, spinning vinyl in his DJ booth) starts pumping out high tempo techno to accompany your meal. And then there's the lasers and flourescent AK47 shishas. Definitely got a unique thing going on.

Bagan #2

I dived head on into the Pagoda (/temple) experience today. Up for the sunrise again (not that there was much sun to be seen) I've been on them, in them, over them, through them, up them and down them, with small ones, big ones, plain ones, elaborate ones, touristy ones and empty ones. All of them with their own unique charm and characteristics.

My favourite was a collection of 3 small temples I came across well off the main tourist trail, down by the riverside in old Bagan. The 3 entrances each guarded by 2 beautiful and imposing mythical beasts. Combined with the riverside setting and a solitary old man with two dogs, gazing out over the river, I rapidly fell in love with the place.

Exploring further I was amazed to find a busy village nearby, packed with tethered cows up and down the sandy streets. It was like discovering a lost tribe and I did feel a little self conscience wandering the streets photographing cows. As is the Burmese way however no one paid me much attention but those that did, did so with a smile.

It was a bizarre surprise given that all the residents were relocated (not voluntarily) from old to new Bagan around 20 years ago, to preserve the heritage for high end hotels and tourists.

Luckily I didn't leave the village thinking the people had secretly moved home; a local informed me as I was making my exit that the people here were not locals at all, but had been displaced by the floods (of around a month ago in western Myanmar) - hence all the cattle unusually occupying the streets.

Old Bagan has the greatest collection of big Pagodas and temples and the most variety in style and design. I was still expecting a village of sorts (despite knowing everyone had been forcibly moved out) but it is just an area of temples and hotels with a cluster of restaurants outside the town walls. Still quite spread out though and I surprisingly had to check the map a few times to find the main attractions.

The pick of the big ones was the Anonda Pagoda. A blinding white in the sun, the inside was dominated by four giant standing Buddha's and high cool passage ways.

Outside of old Bagan, I was expecting more from the Sulamani Paya given that it's apparently rated by many as the most beautiful in Bagan. The outside was nice but nothing (relatively) spectacular, but the large inside walls were painted with largely intact original murals. I'd seen better in the morning however.

I went in hunt of an 'underground' monastery in the  late afternoon and think I found it. Not quite as exciting as it sounded however. No longer used and the underground element comprising of some sunken, brick parade type areas. That is of course, if I was really where I thought I was. It did have a nice temple you could climb however so I stayed there for sunset and had a lovely hour to relax and read a little although the sunset was as spectacular as the sunrise. The experience only slightly tempered by one of the two other people there convinced his whistling was communicating with the birds.

Bagan is undoubtedly touristy (by Burmese standards) and you do get hassle from people trying to sell you things. They're often so damn friendly about it however that I've found myself repeatedly buying things. Something I don't really do that often. Even if you don't buy, the people are still friendly and like to give you a mini tour of whatever temple or Pagoda you're visiting at the time. It's the low season and the 'lucky' tourist money they're all looking for is hard to come by. The Burmese charm has absolutely won me over today, though I expect it's quite a different experience in the peak season.