After leaving Australia, we flew to Bangkok, Thailand, where we stayed overnight before continuing on to Yangon, Myanmar. Rather than do a blog for each day, we decided to lump the Yangon photos in one or two blogs and jump ahead to December 17th, which is the day we flew to Bagan.
Bagan is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Pagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years, Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed these religious monuments in an area of 40 square miles in the Bagan plains. The prosperous city grew in size and grandeur, and became a cosmopolitan center for religious and secular studies, specializing in Pali scholarship in grammar and philosophical-psychological studies as well as works in a variety of languages on prosody, phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. The city attracted monks and students from as far as India, Sri Lanka and the Khmer Empire.
The Pagan Empire collapsed in 1287 due to repeated Mongol invasions. The city, once home to some 50,000 to 200,000 people, had been reduced to a small town, never to regain its preeminence. The old capital remained a pilgrimage destination, but pilgrimage was focused only on the most prominent temples out of the thousands. The rest—thousands of less famous, out-of-the-way temples—fell into disrepair, and most did not survive the test of time.
People often speak of THE Buddha, as if there were only one--the historical character known as Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni Buddha. But in reality, Buddha means "enlightened one," and Buddhist scriptures and art portray many different Buddhas. There are Buddhas who teach and those who do not. There are Buddhas of past, present and future.
We took a break from our temple tours to visit a lacquerware factory. Before lacquer (gum tree sap, dyed black with iron hydroxide), the surface of the wooden object - perhaps a glass, or chopsticks, or a bookshelf, or even a chest of drawers - is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments.
These ladies are working on various cups, bowls and plates. While it was a little bit of a staged demonstration, we did learn a lot about the process. And, yes, we did come home with a lacquered bottle opener and two lacquered pint glasses!
For most of the day, we pretty much had the temples to ourselves. As sunset approached, our tour guide took us to sunset point, where we met hundreds of other tour groups. We did our best to stake out our view spot.
We spent our time taking in the view and snapping family photos.
Our patience was rewarded by an amazing sunset over the mountains with the temples in the foreground.
After sunset, we found a local restaurant and enjoyed Myanmar curries and salads.
On December 18th, our tour guide picked us up bright and early and we spent the day visiting a local village, where we watched weavers work their looms. And, yes, we came home with a new table cloth for our RV cockpit table. After the village tour, it was time for more temples! The highlight was a visit to the Shwezigon Pagoda.
Construction of the Shwezigon Pagoda began during the reign of King Anawrahta, who was the founder of the Pagan Dynasty, in 1059 and was completed in 1102 AD, during the reign of his son King Kyansittha.
Over the centuries the pagoda had been damaged by many earthquakes and other natural calamities, and has been refurbished several times. In recent renovations it has been covered by more than 30,000 copper plates. However, the lowest level terraces have remained as they were.
Several shrines and temple buildings have been added to the complex since construction of the stupa. As the pagoda enshrines a number of sacred Buddhist relics, it is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists.
This building is topped with a Sikhara, a tower like structure originating from North India.
As another sunset approached, we decided to forego the crowded sunset point and head out on a river boat to catch sunset on the Irrawaddy River. The Irrawaddy is Myanmar's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Pictured below, the river boats lined up to wait for their passengers.
Our boat's little diesel engine roared to life and we were soon skimming our way out to the middle of the river. Once our captain found the perfect spot, he cut the engine and we bobbed in the slow moving current as we waited for the sun to set.
And, so ends our adventures in Bagan. The temples are amazing. However, we weren't prepared for the amount of barefoot walking needed to see them. We were very footsore by the end of our two days of touring. Had we realized this, we might have toughened up our tootsies before the trip. That said, Bagan is a magical place and you should put it on your bucket list.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.