Bagan

Early this morning I took an Air Bagan flight from Rangoon to Nyaung U, the gateway town for visitors to Myanmar's famous Bagan temples. During the eleventh century the kings of the area that is now Bagan had a hey-day building thousands of Buddhist temples. At least 4000 were built and today over 2000 remain, many of which have been well preserved for centuries.

I hired a guide for the day as well as a horse and cart with an accompanying driver. By 9:00 this morning I had dumped my bag off at a local guesthouse in Nyaung U and was off to see the temples.

My first visit of the day was to Shwe-zi-gon Paya, a pagoda just outside of Nyaung U. Shwe-zi-gon was completed in the year 1087 and is considered to be the prototype for Myanmar style pagodas. When I visited Schwedegon Pagoda in Rangoon yesterday I was really impressed with what I saw, but I didn't really recognize the significance of it all. The best analogy I can draw from what I've now learned is that pagodas are to the Burmese what cathederals are to Catholics. My guide, Khin, mentioned that just about every city and town in Myanmar has a pagoda. I can vouch for that because as I flew into Nyaung U this morning I saw hundreds of tiny villages below, most of which had a small pagoda.

The next temple of the day was Gu-byauk-gyi, a red brick temple sitting on the edge of a small farm. Khin led me out to the farm, where a Burmese man was plowing his field with the help of two cows and a rickety wooden contraption. I watched the man plow for a few minutes and realized that for many people in Myanmar, life hasn't changed much in the last few hundred years. I walked back through the field and Khin led me through the temple. Gu-byauk-gyi is known for it's interior walls, which are covered with thirteeth century artwork. Khin described to me the meaning of some of the artwork, including a depiction of Buddha praying as well as on of the “temptation of Buddha”.

Khin spoke English well enough that it was easy to break the ice with him and after an hour or two it felt like Khin was just a buddy I was hanging out for the day rather than a paid tour guide. The one constant among locals in Myanmar is that they all despise the government. Khin told me that he used to have a nice camera that was given to him by a tourist. He said it was a 7 megapixel Sony that cost the tourist $400 (a prohibitive amount for a Burmese man who makes $10 on a good day). I let Khin use my camera just for fun and based on his photography skills, I can tell that he's had a lot of practice on his own. Last Sepember when the monks demonstrated against the government Khin used his camera to take pictures of the violence committed by the state police, and when the police noticed him they confiscated the camera.

It's a shame that the government is so unfair with the people here. As a tourist of course there's not much I can do about it, but it's encouraging that the local citizens at least know that their own government is corrupt. Before coming to Myanmar I was under the impression that the people didn't realize how backwards the government is. If they've never experienced anything else, how could they know that something better is out there? After talking with Khin and with Omkgaya yesterday, I realize that at least people are upset with the government and that if the means were there to replace it, just about everyone in Myanmar would.

Khin and I had several other worthwhile conversations while riding in the horse cart and wandering through the temples. Khin told me that he plans to start a business selling eggs to supplement his income as a tour guide. He said that for two or three hundred US dollars he can buy a hundred chickens along with the necessary medicine and housing. Khin was excited at the prospect of another source of income and of course I hope he finds a way to do it soon.

A few of the other highlights of the day included visits to Shwe-leik-too, where I climbed through narrow brick stairways to the top of the temple, Ananda-Phaya, a white temple that featured a Buddha statue that appeared to be either smiling or frowning, depending on how far away I stood, and Dhamma-yn-gyi Pahto, Bagan's largest temple, where Khin showed me some ancient Burmese script written on the walls.

As Khin and I walked through Dhamma-yn-gyi I told him about my grandparents who lived in Burma during the 1950's. When I told him that my grandma is still alive and that she's now 95 years old, Khin was dumbfounded. I imagine that 95 years would be an impossible lifespan in Myanmar. As we walked back to the horse cart Khin spoke up and said that my grandma must have incredibly good karma.

Later tonight I met up with Khin and my driver, Myintkyaw, to watch the sunset from the top of one of the ancient temples. The rainy season is just starting up in this part of Myanmar so there were a few clouds obscuring the horizon, but the sunset was still a pretty good show. Khin showed me some twelfth century artwork on the interior walls of some nearby temples, then we climbed up a bigger temple to enjoy the view. As the sun lowered and the sky turned orange, Khin and I took turns taking shots with my camera. We explored the top of the temple and found several different vantage points that offered different angles of the sun-filled landscape. When the sky finally went dark I headed down the narrow brick stairway to the ground-level and lounged in the back of the horse cart as Myintkyaw drove us back to Nyaung U.