Biking in Bagan
Bagan, Myanmar
March 19, 2009
Pahto means shrine or other religious structure with a hallow interior in Burmese.
Paya means holy one for Buddhist figures, zedi (stupa - solid hemispherical or gently tapering cylindrical cone, topped with jewel and/or metal finials; often contain relics of Buddha) and other religious monuments.
Kyaung - Myanmar Buddhist monastery; pronounced chown
Naga - multiheaded dragon-serpent from often seen sheltering or protecting the Buddha (when he was meditating and trying to achieve enlightenment)
Note - I have written the name in brackets because this is the spelling in Lonely Planet. This book was hard to find, we had to buy in at the airport, but it was a HUGE asset for us while in Myanmar
. Some of the pricing is out of date, but we would have had to rely on guides (extra expense) if it had not been for this book! Also, since there is not a lot of explanation, the book has been a great help for filling in some of the blanks.
Another great breakfast, not sure when I will have another one so good, so I stuffed myself!
Ape Ua Da Na Temple (Abeyadana Pahto) is an 11th century Temple with Sinhalese-style stupa built by Kyanzittha's Bengali wife, Abeyadana. She waited for him in this place, he was hiding from his predecessor King Sawlu. The frescos are beautiful and have been restored by Unesco. They are of Bodhisattvas such as Avalokitesvara and Hindu deities - Brahamam, Vishnu, Shiva and Indra.
The lady selling paintings outside explained one image - it is a combination of 5 animals. You can see the elephant trunk, the dragon head, the lion leg, the crocodile back and the teeth of the tiger along the back
. We bought a painting of 2 tigers in acrylic and a sand painting of a Buddha statue after the earthquake (had not seen that one before) for 8000 Kyat. I liked the lady here, she was not following us around and did not give us the hard sell.
Sein Nyet Ama and Nyima (Seinnyet Nyima Paya & Seinnyet Ama Pahto) is a stupa and shrine that were believed to be built by Queen Seinnyet in the 11th century, but the architecture indicates that it would have been built 2 centuries later. I did not go in (did I mention that you have to take off your socks and shoes at each Temple and the ground is not always smooth or clean?), it looked run down. Bill wandered in and told me that there was a lot of graffiti here and the floor was broken up.
Soe Mingyi Monestary (Somingyi Kyaung) is named after the lady who sponsored the construction around 1204. This monastery is unique because it has monastic cells clustered around a courtyard. We climbed the flimsy wooden staircase to walk around
. There was not much to see here.
Nagayon Temple has a main Buddha that is sheltered by a huge naga. It is said that Kyanzittha built this Temple on the spot where he was sheltered while fleeing from his angry brother and predecessor Sawlu. There are original Hindu statues and 2 original Buddhas carved from sandstone. The frescos are of Buddha's life, his 550 lives and the King's story is along the top.
We purchased an acrylic painting with birds and a sandstone painting with a figure from Paya Thone Zu for 7000 Kyat. When we were leaving (after untangling ourselves from a guy selling figurines and a lady selling laquerware) a young man from the first temple showed up. He was selling books and I had told him that the only one I was interested in was a cookbook that I had seen at the hotel. He brought me the exact same book, brand new, and I bought it for $13 (hotel was selling for $20).
We stopped to pick up our laundry and were mobbed by the teenagers
. We bought a small owl for 2000 Kyat plus a pin (then she wanted one for her sister, it never ends), a bowl for 7000 Kyat plus a pin and a larger owl from the girl who did our laundry for 2000 Kyat. Since she did not want a pin, I gave it to the other girl for her sister. We did not buy from everyone and one girl was bitterly disappointed.
We had another huge spread of meat and veggies/relish for lunch at Golden Myanmar for 8100 Kyat.
For a break during the heat of the day, we hung by the pool and did some reading.
We decided to keep the bikes (it will be dark after dinner, but the roads are not busy and people are mindful of pedestrians and bikes at night).
We dodged the usual group outside our hotel, but when we went to a nearby Temple we realized that the camera was still in the room. We were followed by motorbikes to the money exchange upon our second departure
Nice Light Lunch - Myanmar Buffets
.
The one guy had paintings that he wanted to sell us. His friend was interested in foreign currency. Bill ended up selling him $5 CDN.
We started making our way toward Nyaung U. At one point there was a boy riding his bike along side Bill and the CDN currency guy showed up again. He had been going the other way on his motorbike and he turned around to talk to me. Can't we just be alone???
The boy stayed with us while we went to one Temple. The name was not printed in English, so I am not sure which one it was. It is a larger Temple with faded frescos. There is a small building out back. We climbed the low wall to get a view, but there was not much to see. It did not clear the power lines. The sky is more clear than it has been for a while. The last time we had a clear sky was in Yangon.
Bill gave the boy a small tip, so he did not follow us up the road. We tried to use the internet, but it was not working. The server in Yangon must be down.
We went to Aroma II (Indian restaurant) for dinner. Their policy is "No good, no pay". Celestine was there to settle her tab from last night and she recommended paneer (cheese) and chicken. The chicken had no skin and no bone (very unusual). Bill had mouton.
The wind kicked up a bit and we are hoping the sky clears (it did not).
On our ride home I turned too soon and had to walk my bike on the sand. Bill kept going and soon I was not sure if I was following him or if he went straight. After a bit I stopped and waited. He was gone... I went back to where I lost him and fortunately he did too! He had seen me with the light behind him and kept going. He did not know that I was not sure if it was him or not because he was so far ahead. We scared each other! But, it turned out OK and we made it back to the hotel safely.