Myanmar Capitols

Mandalay was the last capital of Myanmar before the British colonization in 1885, and the city is surrounded by other ancient capitals dating back to 1315. This morning I hired a motorbike and a driver to take me to three of the ancient capitals: Amarapura, Inwa, and Saigang.
My first stop of the day was at Pahtodawgyi, a large whitewashed stupa in the ancient capital of Amarapura with views from the top of the nearby lake and of the famous U Bein's Bridge. I climbed the stupa and snapped a few pictures, and then it was off to Maha Ganayon Kyaung, a large Buddhist monestary. Maha Ganayon was easily one of my favorite stops of the day. I wandered through a complex of fifteen or twenty buildings that made up the facility and was surrounded by young monks who call the place home. I passed by monks bathing in their robes, large groups of monks walking from one building to another, monks sitting and chatting with each other, and monks studying out of Burmese texts.
Towards the end of my visit I had a long conversation with a young monk who spoke very good English. The conversation, like so many others I've had with locals in Myanmar, revolved around politics and the unfortunate situation with the Myanmar government. The monk talked about the destruction caused by the cyclone in the Irrawaddy Delta in Southern Myanmar. He told me that all the initial relief efforts were by local citizens not affiliated with any organization. The Myanmar government did nothing. Apparently the state television channel broadcast images of soldiers from the military regime cleaning debris off the streets and distributing aid, but everyone in Myanmar knew that the soldiers did nothing and that the television broadcasts were pure propaganda. What's even more frustrating is that when foriegn countries offered aid to Myanmar the government originally refused the aid and suggested that the money to be given to the regime so they could distribute it themselves. I can only imagine what they really would have done with it. As the monk said it, he is, “not a rich man”, but he donated two hundred dollars himself to the local relief efforts. It's a shame that the government of Myanmar won't do anything, even with its infinite resources. The monk talked about the upcoming presidential elections in the United States and voiced his support for John McCain. McCain, he said, is sympathetic to Myanmar and, if elected, would possibly support a regime change in the country. I thought to myself that an invasion of Myanmar would be a tough sell to the American people, especially after the Iraq War, but of course I hope that somehow the regime falls and the situation gets straightened out.

After the monestary my driver took me to U Bein's Bridge, a 200 year-old wooden structure made of teak. U Bein's Bridge is almost a mile long and is famous not just because it is a great people watching spot, but also because it is one of the most photogenic sights in Myanmar. I crossed the bridge to a village on the other side of the lake and climbed a tower at Kyauktawgyi Paya on the other end to get a better view. On my way back I passed by villagers walking their bikes across the bridge, monks on their way to a nearby monestary, and local Burmese who probably had come to people watch just like me. I'm sure that the people at the bridge enjoyed watching me at least as much as I enjoyed watching them. As a foriegner with white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, I stick out no matter where I go. Everywhere I looked people followed me with their eyes, and when I'd look over or smile, they'd laugh and turn away. I've now become so used to everyone watching me that sometimes I'm surprised when people don't. A few times, when noticing someone who looks at me and then turns away without staring, I've caught myself thinking, “what's wrong with that person?”.
The next ancient capital was Inwa, which easily felt the most ancient and authentic of the three cities I visited today. At Inwa I took a ferry across the Irrawaddy River to an island where the city was built. I hired a horse cart to take me to a few well-known sights, the first of which was a monestary called Bagaya Kyaung. Bagaya is made completely of teak and features a seven-tiered wooden pavilion with red roofs that contrast well with the dark teak wood. The place is still used as a real monestary for novice monks and I was fortunate enough to catch a class in progress inside. I noticed a young monk that was about seven years old and decided he'd make a great photo op. Unfortunately when I asked politely for his picture he shook his head and ran off to play with his friends.
My next stop in Inwa was a masonry tower called Nanmyin which is better known by it's nickname, “The Leaning Tower of Inwa”. The Leaning Tower is the last remnant of a palace built by one of the rulers of Inwa. An 1838 earthquake tilted the tower a few degrees, but visitors can still climb the red wooden staircase to the top. I headed up the staircase, followed by some little kids trying to sell me one-dollar jade necklaces, and when I reached the top I realized I had interrupted a young Burmese couple who were using the isolated spot to make out for a while. Just for kicks I gave my camera to the male half of the couple and asked him to take a picture of me with the view.
I made one last visit in Inwa to an ancient, yellow, masonry monestary called Maha Aungmye Bonzan. Afterwards it was back to the ferry and across the river where I had a quick lunch of noodles and headed off on the motorbike.

The final ancient capital of the day was Saigang, the earliest of the three capitals and one famous for its landscape, which is covered with golden stupas. The biggest attraction at Saigang is the view from it's hill. Even though I swore to myself yesterday that I was through climbing steps to the tops of hills, I went ahead and climbed anyway. The view from the top made it worthwhile. The golden stupa is a sight so typical of Myanmar and it was fun to look out from the top of Saigang hill and see hundreds of them dotting the tree-covered landscape. On my way back down a local man showed me the 20 year-old corpse of his grandfather, still dressed in saffron monk's robes, and then it was back to Mandalay.
Yesterday I meant to fit in a visit to Mahamuni Paya, one of Mandalay's most famous sights, but was so tired after all the concrete steps that I skipped it and headed back to the hotel. Fortunately there was time this afternoon for a quick visit on my way back from Saigang. The main attraction at Mahamuni is a sixth century Buddha statue. It is tradition at Mahamuni to buy a small flake of gold leaf and apply it to the Buddha. Originally the statue was cast in bronze, but after hundreds of years of visitors, it is now covered in a layer of gold that is fifteen centimeters thick. The visit was fun, but I really would liked to have seen the other tradition at Mahamuni: a 4 AM morning ceremony during which a team of monks washes the Buddha's face and brushes it's teeth.