Myanmar 10/29/2016 - 11/15/2016

Wednesday 11/2/2016 - Bagan: Menisithu Market, Shwezigon Pagoda, Ever Stand Lacquerware Workshop, Htilominlo Temple, Ananda Temple, 360 degree view of Bagan, Dinner with a local family

Craig slept soundly until 1:30 a.m. I woke up at 2:30. We both knew there was no hope of sleeping further, both because of the time difference and a fear of oversleeping our alarm. So we got up, packed, and did some things on the computer. We set our luggage out at 4:45, and then headed down to the lobby to check out. Since we were leaving before the dining room opened, the hotel provided us with a boxed breakfast. We made ourselves a cup of coffee in the lobby and then blearily boarded the van to the airport at 5 o'clock.

This seems to be the one time of day when the city is not choked with traffic. We ate as much of our breakfasts as we had time for on the ride (a hard boiled egg, a slice of poundcake, a banana, an orange, a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich, orange juice and water).

The domestic airport is in the process of being decommissioned in favor of a larger, more modern one. This was an impressive building that resembled the interior of an old train station. There were large carved teak wooid columns and a second floor loft area. Zaw checked our bags for us, gave us our handwritten boarding passes, and affixed a sticker to our shirts. We went through security, and then boarded our Mann Yadanarpon Airlines propeller plane.

Even though the flight to Bagan was only an hour and 20 minutes, they fed us a small breakfast and then gave us small hard candies called "Pizza candy" which were shaped like slices of pizza. We joked that "little pizza candy" sounded like "little piece of candy" from a beloved Family Guy skit. We would get a lot of mileage out of that joke because we would encounter these candies on every domestic flight.

As we descended into Bagan, we noticed the landscape turning very green. We could see some of the 3300 pagodas which have dotted the plains of Bagan since the 11th century.

When we landed, Zaw collected our checked luggage. As we exited the airport, we saw a man with a sign that said "Myths and Mountains: Dr. Toni and Party". That was us! Outside, it was already hot and humid, even though it was only 8 o'clock in the morning!

We got into our van amd headed to our first stop: Menisithu Market in Nyaung U. We walked through the market, which sold all manner of goods, from produce to clothing to dry goods. Unlike Yangon, where we were totally left alone by hawkers as we walked down the city streets, the sellers here were very aggressive (Bagan is a very popular tourist destination).

One woman came up to me and just started dressing me in a silk longyi and matching silk blouse. The longyi is the traditional skirt worn by both men and women in Myanmar. Then she dressed Craig in a coordinating longyi and white shirt. I don't usually fall for this approach, but I really liked the outfit and it surprisingly fit me very well. It is always difficult to find large sizes when traveling. And, we wanted to buy some local clothing anyway, so it was good to do early in the trip. After some haggling, we purchased the outfits and she threw in a silk scarf. We are looking forward to dressing up in our new traditional Myanmar clothing.

Craig also bought a T-shirt with the Myanmar alphabet on it (since we had learned about it yesterday at the National Museum), and I bought a small marionette. A local man approached me with a folded piece of white paper in his hand. He unfolded it and flashed the contents at me. "Rubies?" he said. As Craig approached, the man folded the paper back up and swiftly hid it. There was a sense of intrigue that something illicit was going on. Either the man truly was trying to sell me black market rubies, or, more likely, he was trying to pass off cut colored glass as rubies.

We found our group sitting at a tea shop, and we got local coffee with condensed milk. It was very tasty. Tea shops in Myanmar are like the salons of Europe. People get together to discuss current events, meet new people, etc.

Settlement in Bagan dates back to the 2nd century A.D. City walls were built in the 9th century. Today, Bagan is the most popular tourist destination in Myanmar thanks to its proliferation of medieval pagodeas. In the city's heyday (11th to 13th century), there were 5000 pagodas of varying sizes and ornate-ness covering 26 square miles. When Kublai Khan invaded the area in 1287, the locals dismantled some of the pagodas and repurposed the bricks for fortification. An earthquake also took its toll on the pagodas in 1975. Now there are around 3300 pagodas remaining.

Constructing pagodas is thought to bring good karma, but reconstructing an existing pagoda brings even better karma. This was not good for the pagodas, as people rebuilt them with shoddy workmanship (using larger modern bricks and large mortar lines). Because of this, UNESCO has never accepted Bagan as a World Heritage site. An earthquake this past August struck the area and damaged some pagodas. Interestingly, only the "restored" pagodas fell - the original ones survived just fine. Now that Myanmar is more open, they have invited UNESCO back to help with proper restoration.

In the 1990's, the government instituted a forced relocation of people living in the walled archaeological zone (now known as "Old Bagan") to a "New Bagan" 4 kilometers away, to maintain the integrity of the site.

We stopped in Old Bagan to view Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta. The king brought relics of the Buddha back from Sri Lanka, transporting them on the back of a white elephant. Wherever the elephant knelt down, he built a pagoda (four in total). Shwezigon is one of these. Its construction was completed in 1102 A.D.

King Anawrahta is responsible for the adoption of Theravada Buddhism in Bagan in the 11th century. A monk from the Mon kingdom of Thaton converted King Anawrahta, who was looking for a way to reform the Ari Buddhism being practiced in Bagan at the time. King Anawrahta asked Manuha, King of Thaton, to give him a copy of the Buddhist teachings known as the Tripitaka. King Manuha refused, so Anawrahta conquered Thaton in 1057 and took the teachings, monks, and craftspeople by force.

In order to get his people to accept this new form of Buddhism, he incorporated Nat worship with the Theravada teachings. Nats are spirits (usually martryrs) worshipped in a local animist / folk religion. He didn't allow the Nat system to go unchecked, though, so he designated a pantheon of 37 official Nats. He ordered images of these Nats to be placed alongside images of Buddha in the newly-built pagodas.

Asked why he allowed the nats to be placed in Buddhist temples and pagodas, Anawrahta answered "Men will not come for the sake of new faith. Let them come for their old gods, and gradually they will be won over."

- Harvey 1925 via Wikipedia

This was a successful strategy, as people didn't view Theravada Buddhism as a threat to their existing faith. Soon everyone viewed the Nat worship as going hand-in-hand with Theravada Buddhism. This temple is a very important pilgrimage destination for Burmese Buddhists today, as it represents the genesis of the synthesis of the two religions.

The gold leaf that covers this sandstone pagoda is much thinner than that in Yangon. As a result, the monsoon rains wash the gold leaf off, and it needs to be re-gilded on a regular basis. They are in the middle of regilding the pagoda, so the main stupa was obscured by tarps. But the site was very impressive nonetheless. Many gilded hti (umbrellas) reached toward the sky, which was bright blue and mottled with small puffy white clouds. The gilded, ornate pyatthat roofs of small pavilions shone in the sunlight.

The square terraces at the bottom of the pagoda and the statues of chinthes (mythical half-lion half-gryphons) were orange underneath, with squares of gold leaf overlaid on top. Zaw showed us small square pieces of gold leaf for sale. People make pilgimages to this sacred place, and they purchase a square of gold leaf and affix it to the temple as an act of Buddhist merit-making.

The terraces were inlaid at intervals with glazed terra cotta tiles depicting scenes from the Jataka (previous lives of the Buddha). 550 tiles remain out of an original 584. There is a flight of stairs on each side of the square terraces at the base of the pagoda, which led up to the stupa itself.

In the southeast of the pagoda, we visited the Hall of 37 Nats. The Nat images which had previously adorned the stupa were moved to this separate worship hall. One of the only original pieces dating back to the founding of the temple is a gilded carved wooden sculpture of Thagyamin, king of the Nats.

Next we stopped at Ever Stand Lacquerware Workshop, where Mala, from a 3rd generation lacquerware family, taught us about the process, which dates back to the 11th century (the time of the Shwezigon Pagoda).

Lacquerware pieces start out as bamboo forms (for small pieces) or teak wood bases (for furniture). There are various techniques for making the forms, including weaving bamboo fibers into a basket (sometimes hairs from horse tails are also woven in), and coiling bamboo into rings to create round pieces. The form is sealed with a coat of lacquer. Lacquer is the black, tar-like sap from the Melanorrhoea Usitata tree. This is then dried in an underground cellar, as the heat of the sun and the humidity would melt it right off the form.

Once dry, the object is smoothed with sandpaper or a hand-operated lathe with a blade. A second coat of lacquer is applied, this time mixed with teak sawdust or bone for increased strength. After drying in the cellar, a coat of lacquer mixed with fine clay is applied to fill gaps and get a nice smooth surface on which to apply the final coats.

Now, anywhere from 12 to 20 coats of pure lacquer are applied. Men engrave simple designs with a stylus, and then women do the finer engraving. Colors can be applied using dyes made from natural materials (cinnabar, ochre, indigo). After color is applied, it is set with acacia gum and the excess is wiped off using teak charcoal. More engravings are made and the coloring process is repeated. Gold and silver leaf can also be applied at this stage.

Each coat of lacquer takes between three and ten days to dry, making this a time-consuming process. When the designs are finished, pulverized petrified wood is used to polish the lacquerware. For highest quality pieces, the entire process start-to-finish can take 40 weeks!

We wandered around watching the artisans creating beautiful pieces in various stages of production. One man formed strips of bamboo into rings, and then stacked them to create round forms. A man with a lathe smoothed forms. Men applied black tar-like lacquer to the forms. A man engraved the outline of a design onto a large vase. A few young women each did detailed engraving on small lacquer boxes. Some of the women sang softly and sweetly as they worked. People washed and polished the finished pieces. It was amazing to witness this millenium-old art form being performed today in its traditional way.

We went down into the cellar where dozens of glossy black pieces were drying. Then we went to the showroom to do some shopping. Mala pointed out the house right next to the showroom, where she was born. The showroom had many lovely things. There were a variety of levels of intricacy, and they were priced accordingly. This meant that there was something for every price range.

As I was paying for my purchases, I noticed photos of President Obama with the family who runs the workshop. Mala got quite animated. She explained that he didn't come to the workshop, but he visited Nyapyidaw. Mala and her family were invited to meet him in Nyapyidaw and demonstrate their family's art form. She was quite proud of this, and was obviously still excited about two years later.

Next we went to lunch at the Be Kind To Animals Moon Vegetarian Restaurant (2) in New Bagan. There is another location in Old Bagan, hence the "2" in its name. This was a funky little restaurant, open-air but with a roof to protect us from the deadly midday sun. We each ordered a main course and then shared a bunch of appetizers. The appetizers included spring rolls, ginger salad, popadums with guacamole, and banana bud salad. Everything was delicious and came with interesting sauces. Craig had iced lemon tea, and I ordered a vanilla milkshake. The server misheard me, and brought me a banana milk shake instead. But it was delicious!

For the main course, Craig got a massaman curry and I got an aubergine curry. We opted for coconut rice, which was delicious. For dessert, they have us small discs of tamarind candy that literally melted in our mouths. We lingered over lively conversation at lunch, and then we were all ready for a siesta.

The van drove us to our hotel, the Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort. With its location on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, the property reminded me a bit of the River Retreat Resort in India. We were welcomed to the reception building with cold drinks. We checked in and then got settled in our room B44, located in a little bungalow. The room was lovely, with a view out across the perfectly manicured lawns to the river.

The resort had a spa (and would even give us a complimentary 10 minute massage for free if we were willing to do it right then), and many other amenities. However, our schedule was so full that we decided to just rest in the air conditioning until our appointed meetingtime for our afternoon excursion. Although I did take a brief walk around the grounds to get some photos. It was beautiful to observe a boat on the river, framed by a sandstone arch.

At 3:30, we met the group at reception and took the van to our next destination. This was Htilominlo Temple, which was built by king Htilominlo in 1211. This king came to power due to the cleverness of his mother. She was the youngest and lowest ranking wife of his father, King Narapatisithu. His father had an infected finger, and she helped to cure him. In gratitude, he granted her one wish. She wished for her son, fourth in line for the throne, to become the next king.

The king had to keep his promise to her, but knew that the other heirs would not accept the decision. So he sat his heirs n a circle and put an umbrella in the center. He said that the umbrella woulod choose the next king (sort of like spin the bottle). He made sure the umbrella fell toward his youngest wife's son. The name Htilominlo means "the umbrella wants the king".

The temple is 150 feet tall, made of sandstone and stucco. The mortar is so thin that not even a needle could fit between bricks (if the king could fit a needle between bricks, he chopped off the hands of the offending artisan). The temple has withstood earthquakes due to its sturdy constructon, using sandstone keystones and "standing soldier" brick formations (horizontal layers of bricks and vertical layers). On the exterior, there are carvings of kirtimukha (ogre faces with fangs) on the stucco. Flaking green and yellow glazed tiles belie additional ornamentation lost to history.

We entered the temple, at the center of which are four chambers, each containing a larger than life gilded Buddha, oriented toward the four cardinal directions. There were also frescoes of Buddha on the walls. There are Indian influences in the architecture, including Mughal-inspired frescoes and archways. This time period of the temple is contemporary with the Mughal empire in India, and the Buddhas in this temple resemble Indian Buddhas.

Around the perimeter of the temple, there are souvenir stalls. We saw a demonstration of sand painting here. A piece of cloth is painted with acacia gum, and then a line of fine sand from the Irawaddy River is poured on to the bottom of the cloth. The cloth is themn rolled from bottom to top, evenly spreading the sand onto the whole cloth. Acrylic paint is then used to paint on the sand. The resulting arwork is beautiful, and you can crumple it up and it doesn't wrinkle, and sand won't fall off. We were tempted to buy something, especially since this is a technique unique to this area. But our wallspace is at a premium, so we passed.

Zaw pointed out a pair of women from the Kayan ethicity (colloquially known as the "long neck tribe"). These women wear heavy brass coils around their necks and knees, and are familiar to most Americans even if they don't recognized the name of the tribe. They are from the border area with Thailand, and were here demonstrating their backstrap loom weaving techniques (very similar to Mayan weaving techniques) and selling textiles.

Next we went to Ananda temple, inspired by eight Indian monks who arrived at the court of King Kyanzittha, and dating back to 1105. Through meditation, the monks implanted a vision of a Himalayan cave temple in the king's consciousness. The king ordered for a replica to be built in the form of Ananda temple. As we crossed the plaza, approaching the temple, we noticed the undulating white spires which were meant to call to mind the snowcapped Himalayas.

There were many police here as well as a film crew, so someone important was visiting.The exterior of the temple displayed many amazingly well-preserved green glazed terra cotta tiles depicting three dimensional scenes from the Jataka (previous lives of the Buddha).

This is a temple built in the Greek Cross (cruciform) style, with four gilded carved teak standing Buddhas facing in the cardinal directions from the center sanctum sanctorum. Incredibly tall teak doors separated the sanctum sanctorum from outer corridors which contained innumerable wall niches housing gilded Buddha statues. There were also stone carvings in which the human figures were very curvaceous and reminiscent of the stone carvings in Khajuraho, India.

There were many frescoes here which have been covered up by layers of stucco over the years. Myanmar has now enlisted the help of Indian artisans to help restore the frescoes. Zaw used a flashlight to illuminate the frescoes for us.

Although it was cloudy, there was a small break in the clouds for sunset. We headed to a Shwesandaw Pagoda, which afforded a 360 degree view of the plains of Bagan.

King Anawrahta built this temple in 1057 to house hairs from Buddha's head which the king had plundered from Thaton. The pagoda has five terraces, and all are accessible to visitors. Luckily, there were handrails on the very steep exterior staircases. We laughed that this is something that Craig's neurologist wouldn't approve of, but...carpe diem! We hoisted ourselves up five flights of steps using our arm strength. He did, however, stay away from the edges of the terraces, as he didn't trust his balance.

From the top terrace, at the base of the stupa, we had a lovely view of the plains of Bagan, dotted by temples as far as the eye could see. It was quite crowded on each terrace, but we slowly and carefully walked around in a clockwise direction, admiring the views. We spent half an hour here as the sky subtly turned from yellow to pink. This made two days in a row where we were in the perfect spot to view sunset, but the weather hadn't fully cooperated. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the subtle shift in cloud color and the twilight.

When it became dark, we met up with the group, dodging some bold hawkers who were desparate to make a sale at the end of the day.

We got back into the van and drove to a local family's house for dinner. Community-based tourism is starting to gain traction here. They train local families to host meals for tourists at their homes. They rotate through families so that everyone gets a turn. The families feel very honored to be asked to host tourists at their homes.

When we arrived, they were finishing up preparations: lighting candles and placing them on either side of a walkway to lead us in. They had a table set up outside for us. There were four generations of the family present, including some very cute little kids. They were sitting on an elevated bamboo platform next to their simple house. The house had woven walls and a platform floor, similar to ethnic minority homes we had seen in Vietnam.

I walked over to greet the family and thank them for their hospitality in my limited Burmese vocabulary. They were huddled around some candles, and one of the young children was playing with a cell phone. They happily posed for a photo, and I held the camera out to show them. Most of them smiled and giggled, but the littlest baby burst into tears. I apologized and the family giggled.

I took my seat at the table. They had prepared quite a feast, which was served in a lacquerware bowl with many compartments. Dinner included spring rolls, green tomatoes with sesame seeds, peanut salad, fish curry, chicken curry, noodles, and fruit. It started to rain just as we began eating, so they moved the table under a thatched-roofed area where they have their outdoor kitchen.

The food was great, and, as always, we enjoyed getting a glimpse into how local families live. Unfortunately, the rain made for tight quarters around the table, and made the logistics of interacting with the family difficult. They mostly stayed on their raised platform, out of the rain, with some of them standing by in case we needed anything additional. The thatched roof leaked a tiny bit and I got dripped on. One of the men from the family brought an umbrella and held it over me. I insisted that it was not necessary and was no problem at all.

By 8 o'clock, we said our thank yous and goodnights. We came back to the hotel and went straight to sleep!

Shwezigon Pagoda

Htilominlo Temple

Ananda Temple

Shwesandaw Pagoda