Nanmyint

The hotel breakfast was very adequate. We saw that one of the couples staying at the hotel were the bride and groom from the big wedding we had witnessed in the Yangon hotel. Apparently one set of parents/in-laws were accompanying them on the honeymoon! Near as we could tell, however, the parents were in a separate room.

After breakfast, Mary and I took another brief walk around the neighborhood, then boarded the bus to a rendezvous with horse-drawn carriages driven by locals who drove us through the area of a number of the pagodas. We stopped briefly at the "ghost pagoda," one of the largest, and named for the "cries" heard at night when the wind blows through it. The legend is that the builder would come to inspect the work, and if he found any substandard workmanship, the workman responsible would be executed on the spot. We're not sure how many died during the construction, but we can't imagine that the punishment would be carried out too many times before the quality of the workmanship rose to a rather high level!

After leaving our carriages behind, the bus took us to a sandalwood museum. This could have been skipped, though it was interesting to see that the use of ground sandalwood as a cosmetic goes back more than 2000 years, and that petrified sandalwood, which is also plentiful in this part of the world, is made into jewelry as sort of a cheap substitute for jade. I also discovered that the sandalwood mixture works pretty well on insect bites, as I had picked up a few bites on my right foot during our time out in the countryside.

As the bus was heading back to the hotel, we happened to pass the lacquer-ware factory from yesterday, and a great cry went out from the group to stop once again. Several purchases were made, including one by Mary and I. Then it was on to the hotel for a period of relaxation and lunch on our own. Mary and I ate only a few pieces of fruit, as we've been feeling quite overfed. Sitting by the pool was extremely pleasant, as the weather in nearly perfect -- probably around 80 with sun and very little humidity. It's hard to believe people back in Iowa are battling record low temperatures. Stories of the cold there have even made the international news stations!

Mid-afternoon our group left again to see the archaeological museum of Bagan, which focused primarily on the Bagan period of Myanmar's history, 11th-13th centuries C.E., during which most of the pagodas in the area were built. However, there were also some artifacts from the Pyu Period, beginning in the 1st century C.E., during which Myanmar's distinctive culture began to emerge. We found it quite an interesting display, and the locals are clearly very proud of this very new and very ornate building.

We then drove quite a ways to Nanmyint, a very fancy resort hotel with golf course where there is a new, 11-story tall observation tower. We rode the lift to the 9th floor restaurant where we were served a soft drink and could walk around, looking out the windows. We then climbed the stairs to the open-air observation deck to take photos and marvel at the view. On the way down, five of us entered the elevator and started down when there was a sudden power failure. There was no emergency lighting, so we were stuck in the lift in total darkness. Cell phones quickly produced some light, and after about a minute, the doors popped open a bit and we could push them the rest of the way. We were on an unfinished floor, with nothing but bare concrete and steel beams. But we got out and found the stairway, finally getting down to a waiting area on a lower floor where we sat to catch our breath. Then we continued down on the exterior stairway, winding around the tower, to the third floor. By then the power had been restored, and we got back on the elevator to go the rest of the way. It was truly our adventure for the day!

We continued farther out into the countryside and visited a rural village that has not yet been ruined by tourists. The people were somewhat curious about us, but extremely friendly and welcoming. We were invited into the yards of several people who were anxious to show off their bamboo homes, children, livestock, cigars, etc. It was an interesting learning experience, especially watching people carrying water to their homes in preparation for the evening meal. We don't realize how spoiled we are in the First World.

After a bit over an hour at the rural village, we drove back into the city, very near the hotel, where we ate at an outdoor restaurant with live entertainment consisting of musicians, dancers, and puppeteers. It was quite interesting, but became somewhat repetitive and the air began to get chilly for some (possibly way down into the 60s)! One interesting bit: After the marionette show, the puppets come down into the crowd (with their operators right behind, of course) to beg for tips. They can do what would be unseemly for the humans.