Based on the tariff we’re paying, our accommodation at Bagan Lodge is far more plush than we had expected. The room is huge and elegantly appointed with twin hand basins at either end of a large bathroom. The gardens outside our unit have manicured lawns with orchids and many other flowering plants aplenty.
We had a sumptuous breakfast next to the swimming pool before heading off on a day’s further exploration within this small but historically significant city.
Our first stop was at the 13th century Gubyaukgyi Temple north-east of Old Bagan.
This temple retains much of its original stucco work of the exterior walls. A pair of huge nats (nature spirits) flank the main entrance to the inner shrine. These spirits reveal that at this period of history, Buddhism was not necessarily the dominant religion but was often complemented by traditional beliefs. The building has a distinctive pyramidal sanctuary tower surmounting its roof. The feature that draws tourists to this temple is the inner murals. The walls and ceilings inside this large and dark temple are covered with pictures depicting the life of the Buddha; (a sort of 13th century version of Facebook!). A number of sections have been damaged or stolen but what remains are magnificent in their depiction of life at that time. The colours used in painting these murals have survived the test of time and are still very colourful and beautiful.
Children outside the Gubyaukgyi Temple
We then visited the Khay Min Ga complex where in an area of just a few hectares there were numerous temples and stupas.
Cautiously venturing up a dark, narrow and steep staircase we climbed to the top of the Oak Kyaung Gyi Temple to see the panoramic view and we certainly weren’t disappointed. In all directions one could view dozens of stupas and temples most constructed from red brick but some partially white from their lime stucco walls and several with gold spires. Some are still undergoing repairs needed because of the most recent earthquake occurring in 2015. The restoration work being done on high stupas involved protection to workers with bamboo latticework scaffolding held together with ropes.
Our final visit for the morning was to the Shwezigon Pagoda at the north-eastern corner of the Archaeological Zone.
Child cooling off, market near Shwezigon Pagoda
This pagoda is gilded and was considered the most important religious site during the reign of King Anawrahta who was the founder of the Bagan Empire. The building of this spectacular pagoda took the span of two lifetimes, the king and his son, but the end result is breathtaking if not excessively gaudy due to the never ending view of gold.
It is estimated that the upper coverage of this pagoda entails 36 tonnes of gold and that each section of the external surface had gold plate, not just a micro thin layer of gold foil.
Within the pagoda we are led to believe that there is a tooth relic of Buddha as well as a gold image of King Anawrahta and a Chinese emerald Buddha.
We didn’t venture inside the Shwezigon Pagoda as it was an annual festival day dedicated especially to this golden shrine.
A large crowd had gathered to present alms to the hundreds of monks who paraded in file though the adjacent square to the sound of distorted singing emanating from loud speakers. Sacks of money, food and other contributions were collected for the monks later to be divided up and any excess to be distributed to the poor.
Then from the first elevated balcony of the pagoda officials started throwing money (paper notes) into the air and the crowd went berserk trying to grab this flying currency. The equivalent of over one thousand US$ were thrown out to the crowd over a period of just a few minutes.
Before leaving we went into a small adjacent room and observed the Shrine of the 37Mahagari Nats which is dominated by a gold statue of Thagyamin the king of the nats.
Lunch was in a local restaurant where we were served numerous (small) dishes of locally prepared foods with specialities being goat meat, chillied tomato, eggplant, some mystery vegetables and spicy beans, all for 5,000 kyat (about AUD5.00). Our group of ten all agreed that it was a delicious repast especially with the cold beers and fruit juices to supplement the meal. The temperature outside was now in the low to mid thirties.
After an afternoon break we ventured out again to visit a lacquer-ware factory. Bagan has been the centre for lacquer-ware production since the skills were brought here from Siam (Thailand) in 1563.
We watched the various stages of production from the weaving of bamboo and rattan frames through to the moulding and drying of the lacquer layers into which the engraving takes place. The prices of items on sale in the adjacent shop were very high but they are not unreasonable when one considers the hours entailed in making each item. The factory appeared to be very ancient and primitive and the labourers present were expected to work at manual skills that in the western world would now be performed by machines. The labourers work eight hours a day for seven days a week with the average worker earning around eight dollars (US) a day!
In the late afternoon we spent an hour out on the Irrawaddy River with great expectations of observing the sunset. A cloudy sky put paid to this objective and we then headed home.
Our boatman, Irrawaddy River sunset cruise
Sunset from the Irrawaddy River
We’ve had an extraordinary day and been so lucky to visit Bagan precisely when their annual religious festival takes place.
Despite ones feelings about the limitations religion places upon the freedom of thought of individuals it is clear that the Buddhist religion has an important role in the development of Myanmar as it has been the catalyst for the burgeoning tourism industry here.
Tomorrow we have a relatively free day without formal commitments and will spend some of the day relaxing and catching up on emails and other such communications.