The road to Mandalay part 2

I thought given the nature and location of this trip a map would be appropriate. (I did try and rotate this but the Google rotate key decided not to cooperate.)

The ship often up anchored at 6:00 so that we were at a fresh site to visit by 9:00. We moored at Gwe Chaung fort just downstream of Minhla. Here the oxen were being washed (in some cases reluctantly) prior to hitching up and taking water from the river to the village some 5 Km's away. 

The fort was a short climb and with a great view but was built in the hillside so it was all but invisible to any travelling upstream. Further up on the West bank was a second fort. These were built by the Italians and French as a defence to the British during the 1885 war. The idea was that the attackers would not notice the first fort, sail straight past and then get ambushed from behind. However the Brits found out about the first fort and had a second following fleet to take this out!

The fort was a substantial garrison and included a special tunnel to house the elephants.

In the afternoon we arrived at Magwa and explored the town by Trishaws. The peliton was quite large and like "Le Tour" generated much positive interest from bystanders with constant waves and the occasional high five. 

We travelled up to the Myathalon Pagoda and had a great view of the sunset. "Le Tour" effort was not exactly shared around...



The view of the pagoda from the river on the following day gives an idea of its size and magnificent location.

Close up the sun made some of the details glow.

The bells may all be rung by anyone (well really its hitting with a stick!) 

Our bike ride back was very exciting as my driver decided to race the others. In the half light with headlights beaming towards us overtaking and bouncing around (he had springs to his seat but my side car did not!) again underscored why insurance was compulsory. It got the adrenalin running but it was good to see the ship calmly waiting for us.

The day was rounded off nicely by yet another great dinner on board. This one had a significant difference as it was Helen's birthday (8 Nov) and the crew had arranged for a cake and their quite different version of Happy Birthday.

The following day saw us back on the West bank at a village called Salay at the base of the Tan Kyi Taung mountain. A cement barge was being offloaded in the background.

We travelled by "WW11" jeeps (a bit of imaginative sales talk given the range of Hyundai vehicles) up the mountain to a wonderful hill top Pagoda some 1000 foot above the river. The view went for miles with the winding river underpinning the leisurely pace of the. On the far bank can be seen the area of Bagan where we would spend two days. Here there were over 4000 Stupas, Pagodas and temples (it's a size thing) however many have been lost to earthquakes so numbers are down to some (2500). (There was an earthquake during our visit but we new nothing of this until later (see https://www.google.com.au/search?q=burma+earthquake+2012&hl=en&tbo=u&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enAU480AU480&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GKixUOf8KO-YmQXNqoHgCA&sqi=2&ved=0CDwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=641 for some pictures by others).

 The Stupa on the top was glorious in the late afternoon sun.

Back at Salay the local villagers treated us to an elephant dance which included table top dancing. The dancers were clearly very athletic, as watching in the evening heat was exhausting enough.

The following morning as we crossed back to the East bank we awoke to a completely unexpected site, 7 hot air balloons drifting over a myriad of Stupas and Pagodas. This was Bagen, the Burmese tourist equivalent of Mecca. It would have been quite a sight from the balloons, however they are heavily booked well in advance.

The next day and half was all about "shoes off please" as we visited a range of temples. This one was only viewed from afar and was not maintained. Called the Dhamma-yan it was built by a King who was killed in the Pagoda. As a result no one wants to go near it in case they suffer the same fate. By comparison others (many of which were much less spectacular) are restored as funds are available (it is the way to Nirvana).

The Shwe-zi-gon Pagoda is well maintained and has some wonderful side attractions in addition to the main Stupa.

 

The road to Mandalay part 1

Sometime at the beginning of 2012 Martin asked whether we would be interested in a cruise on the Irrawaddy. My face must have indicated both enthusiasm for a cruise and confusion as to the location. However, when the road to Mandalay was mentioned I realised we were talking Burma (now Myanmar).

The flight was via Singapore and as Helen wanted to catch up with a friend we opted to leave early and have a couple of nights stay. This gave us an opportunity to catch up on the latest developments and we walked around Marina Bay Sands shown here with the Helix bridge in the middle ground and sports park in the foreground.

 

The shopping area adjoining the Casino was very spacious and included a canal with Sanpans which flowed under the coffee shop.

The canal also formed part of a spectacular stormwater system.

way

We made our way up to the top of the Tower for lunch. What a view! These two structures are hot houses modelled on the Eden project in Devon.

Lunch was a long term commitment with plenty of great wine and food interspersed with trips outside to take in the view. We arrived in great weather and finished with deluges of rain and a violent electrical storm. Helen and Larraine seemed to enjoy themselves regardless of the weather. 

The following day we caught the flight to Yangon which is the Southern end of Burma. The lack of machinery and dependence on manual labour was immediately apparent.

 

It was not long before we were also aware of the number and extent of Pagodas. We quickly got into the routine of taking off and bagging our shoes. All pagodas are on high ground and we were fortunate to be able to take a lift to the Shwe Dagon which is the largest in Yangon. As the heat and humidity would have made this a tough challenge. Pagodas are covered in gold leaf which gets washed off during the regular downpours of the wet season. The storm water run is carefully collected and the gold settled off for re-use.

Some of the pagodas have colourful worshipping areas.

 

Labour is cheap ($1 goes a very long way). There is real enthusiasm for some work such as distribution of the newspapers now that the regime appears to have turned a significant corner. 

It does not matter where you are the Brits like their customs - tea for two. (Bring back colonialism?)

 

The 6 hour coach ride from Yangon to Paya where we joined the Pandaw Orient was very exciting. The coach travelled quite fast down a road barely wide enough for two vehicles. As no one (motor bikes or cyclists) look behind them there was a good deal of hooting to announce our arrival and suggestion that they should pull over. It was apparent why travel insurance was compulsory for this trip.

The Irrawaddy (it means elephant) river has a large height range between the wet and dry winter season. We travelled in late Autumn and the river was dropping at some 2.5 inches per day. This was an opportunity for the local stevedores. The blue bag is ours!

Pagodas and sunsets go together well together: 

 

When the sun set the ships lights created an exotic ambience, this is outside our cabin door.

 

Of major concern were the amount of logs headed downstream, most of which were Teak. The story that these were from a soon to be submerged dam catchment just did not add up with the number of barges.

 

We stopped for a trip at Thayet-Myo and were treated to a pony and trap ride. 30 traps made for quite a wagon train.

Sue and Martin went on ahead.

While we were a little slower out of the gate due to our novice driver.

 
The Tamarind trees made quite a frame to the view of the ship. Our cabin is on the second deck just to the right of the cross bracing.

 

After all that trapping, cocktails on the front deck were the order of the day. Sue had read about a local cocktail called Pagu club which comprised Gin, Cointreau and orange juice. Seemed to work OK!

Later in the afternoon we were given a presentation on the local Longhe (like a simple overlarge skirt) and how to wear it using various tucking in techniques. This included headware - and the result Ninja Umpa!!!

Given the varying water levels and lack of infrastructure the ship had to be self sufficient. This included mooring arrangements. The deck hand holding the post down was later replaced with sand bags.

At the end of the day we were treated to another great sunset.