Bagan

Though we went to bed early neither of us slept particularly well. We were up by 3:45 a.m. to get on the coach to the airport and catch a very early flight on a small turbo-prop from Yangon to Bagan. Though it was only about an hour flight, we were served a soft drink, offered a newspaper, and served a light breakfast that was superior to the box breakfast we had been given at the hotel (it was awful!). Upon landing, we noted that the airport workers (including the women sweeping the tarmac with brooms!) and all of the cabbies and coach drivers outside were wearing parkas and stocking caps. We were in short sleeves, as it was in the upper 60s!

The land around Bagan appears to be scrub grass savannah with very few crops being grown and trees only in the fence rows, or if in a wooded area, spread about sparsely. When we got closer, it was clear that it is very poor soil, a fine sand, almost dust or powder. We can't imagine how bad the dirt roads here must be in the rainy season! We were in a "city" of 70,000 but had not yet seen any homes or dwellings, only the countless monuments, shrines, temples and pagodas dating back 700-1,000 years. It is clearly an area less modern, less prosperous and less developed than Yangon.

Our first stop was a pagoda described to us only as "the second highest." The highest one was pointed out to us several times, but it is no longer open for climbing. This was a brick terraced pyramid roughly 60 feet tall at the top terrace, with an elongated dome set on top of it. Several of us climbed to the top terrace, while several others stopped at about the second. The steps were extremely steep with wide and irregular risers and narrow treads. I could see why some would be spooked by the climb, especially since we had to leave our shoes at the bottom and go up with bare feet. The view, however, was spectacular, especially in early morning light. One could see for several miles, and pagodas rose at some point in virtually every direction.

The souvenir hawkers at the bottom -- and everywhere else in town -- were much more aggressive. Many are children, who should most properly be in school. Though the country has not been open to tourists long, they have learned very quickly. In a country where the average laborer earns 3000 Baht (just slightly more than $3) per day, it isn't surprising that trading on tourists would be attractive.

We drove on to a lacquer-ware factory where the process was explained by a personable little man who seemed to very much enjoy giving his talk. Myanmar lacquer-ware is much different from that we've seen in China. The Chinese process involves decorating a copper core with a thick glaze and firing it. This process involves bamboo or horse-hair forms covered with many coats of tree-resin lacquer that is hand polished. Our guide advised us not to buy in the shop at the factory, but that she would take us to another shop that would be cheaper. We found the second shop to be more expensive and to have less interesting designs. We wished we had purchased something at the first place.

We had lunch at a very pleasant outdoor restaurant along the bank of the Ayr Aye Waddy (often called the Irrawaddy River by the colonials, but since Waddy is the Burmese word for river, it is redundant, as well as mispronounced). The food was carried to the table on a kind of cart hung from pole that was carried over the shoulders of two guys, with a third guy walking ahead and sounding a gong. Quite a spectacle! And the food was excellent, as well.

After lunch we checked in at our hotel. We were surprised to discover how nice it was, and more surprised to find wi-fi (though the connection was so slow that the devices of our group quickly overwhelmed it and made use of the internet impossible). Our guide had warned us that there would be no internet in this remote spot, but things are developing here so quickly that it's hard to keep up, even when one is here every two or three weeks. We were planning to rent bicycles and ride around the town, but with the early morning and the lingering effects of jet lag, Mary was feeling particular bad, and my energy level was low, so we rested at the hotel until our evening activity. We did manage to rally for a walk around the neighborhood, observing dirt streets that we can't imagine would be passable in the rainy season, very rough thatched homes alongside fairly nice stucco houses, and stray dogs everywhere. We saw a huge number of students heading home after school at 3 p.m. The uniforms are the same for boys and girls: white shirt, and plain dark green, ankle-length sarong wrap-around skirt for both.

Our evening consisted of a boat ride across the Ayr Aye Waddy to watch the sunset. It was pleasant, though not spectacular. Our guide brought beer and snacks, but no bottle opener, so we had to improvise (recalling our college days, before twist-off caps). I didn't spill too much, and broke no bottle necks. There were many boats on the river doing what we were doing -- all tourists, no locals. The other boats, like ours, were barely seaworthy, with rough-sounding outboards that were reluctant to start and tillers made from used pipes. The children selling souvenirs were back with us as soon as the boat touch the bank on return.

We went to dinner at a gorgeous, very modern, outdoor restaurant with live music from two traditional musicians. The young man playing the traditional Burmese harp and bamboo xylophone was quite accomplished. The somewhat older woman who "sang" was awful. None of the others in our group could hear through the pentatonic tune that she was off key, but our guide (who knew from memory every song the woman sang, and who would have done a much better job) agreed that she was not very good. Our guide also mentioned and demonstrated slightly, while still seated at the table, that there were dances that accompanied these traditional tunes. The woman on stage was merely sitting. Just from watching our guide's hand gestures, it was clear that she had had dance training. If the guide thing doesn't work out for her she can still do OK as a stage entertainer.

We returned to the hotel and by 8:30 p.m. could no longer stay awake, but we were awake again very early. I resorted to a sleeping pill, but only managed a few more hours of sleep.