Yet Another Ancient City

July 19

Mingun

We went to Mingun with two Burmese friends of ours. They wanted to take us site seeing and since we had seen most of the places around Mandalay, we decided to head across the river. Unfortunately, we had to pay the historical fee that we were trying to avoid in Sagaing (the fee was for both locations). And, we were unable to take the local boat across the river and so our friends were stuck paying the tourist fee, which is three times the amount as the local boat. This is the stuff that really irked me about travelling in Burma.

Mingun Paya (temple):

Built by King Thibaw's grandfather. King Thibaw was the last king of Burma. His grandfather was from Shwebo, which is the town over the mountains. As the legend goes, he wanted to see his hometown form the top of the paya and so he began to build what would have been the world's tallest paya if it had ever been completed. Unfortunately, he died before it could be finished and no other king recommissioned the project.

All that remains of the magnificent structure is a 173 foot high stack of bricks. Some of the bricks are crumbling and there are deep fissures in the paya from an earthquake. It's a bit of an adventure climbing up the pile, but the views of the Ayeywady River and hills that block the views of Shwebo.

Myathendan Paya

Our tour guides informed us that this pagoda was built from bricks taken from the vast Mingun Paya. The paya is unusual and gorgeous. There are 7 waves encircling the paya which are said to represent the 7 oceans (though our LP says that they represent the 7 mountain ranges of the mythical world - for some reason I trust our guides more). There are three entrances followed by three staircases which lead to the top. The middle and most grand staircase was strictly for the king and queen. The left side was for the princes and the right side for their followers. Today, everyone is a king or a queen.

This is a kid trying to sell me incense to burn at the alter. I can't understand why they were so persistent. I highly doubt that most Westerners buy it considering they're usually not Buddhist, but perhaps I'm wrong. It made me feel better to know that they heckled our tour guides just as much as me. It's just their nature.

Mingun Bell

Impressive. The second largest bell in the world and the largest uncracked bell in the world. It ways 55,555 viss and is 1/3 of the size of the largest bell in Russia.

Another Ancient City

July 18


Sagaing

We loved biking around the city. We rode our bikes everywhere, since they were quicker than walking and cheaper than riding public transportation. We had enjoyed our ride to Amurapura so much that we decided to hit up another ancient city. Sagaing (pronounced Zuh-gine with a g as in girl) is situated across the Ayeyawady (Irrawaddy ) River from Mandalay and Amurapura.

Sagaing is one of several ancient in the area. Mandalay, Sagaing, Mingun, and Ava are all along the Ayeywady and they have all been the capital of various kingdoms throughout Burma's history.

One of the reasons we decided to attempt the 2 hour bike ride to Sagaing was to worm our way out of the governments tourist fee for visiting the site. We had heard if one went on tour, or possibly via public transportation the government officials would catch you and make you buy a ticket to see the city. We passed over the bridge with ease, it seemed that the officials weren't on the look out for foreigners that day.

The Burmese are very fond of paying for services, or having others pay for services. Thus, when we arrived at the Sagaing central market we parked our bikes on a spot of dirt for a fee of 50 Kyat each. We received a number, which we gave to the "garage" attendant in exchange for our bikes once we were finished looking around.

After breakfasting at the market twice (its too difficult NOT to try all of the food!), we set off to explore the city. First we road along the river until we found an old fort that was used during the second Anglo-Burmese war. There wasn't much left aside from a few canons and the surrounding wall, but it offered some nice views of the river. We met a man who tried to talk to us though our Burmese and his English were both extremely poor. He handed us a copy of the history of the fort that had been translated into bad English. As we left he held out a visitor book which gently suggested a "donation." For what, I don't know, I guess he is the grounds keeper.

The main tourist attraction of Sagaing is Sagaing Hill. We made our way to this hill, and parked our bikes at the base because there was no way I was able to pedal up the steep slopes. I was a bit tired by this time, since we'd be riding around for half the day already, but Casey insisted we visit the top. I must admit, that I wasn't so thrilled to see yet another hillside pagoda and I was nervous that they would ask us for our "tickets", but I followed Casey anyway. I'm sure glad I did. The walk up was pleasant as much of the hill is still forested (or re-forested). The views from the top was breathtaking - we could see just how large the hill was with a backdrop of the river. After taking in the views we set off down the dusty road to Mandalay and the guesthouse we called home.

One reason we wanted to try biking to Sagaing was because

Journey up a Hill and Down Again

15 July 2007


Yankin Hill

Yankin is Burmese for "Free from Enemies." The hill is so named because legend has it that the Buddha was able to escape his enemies there. Another story states that when Buddha was a fish he was King of All Fish and he lived in a pond inside a cave on top of the mound. Clearly, this is a special hill.

The hill is not only special because the Buddha once resided there, it also has connections with many of the nats. The worship of nats predates Buddhism in Burma and is incorporated by many Buddhists. When Buddha arrived into the lives of the Burmese, he was given the rank of the highest nat. Nats are an extraordinary mixed collection of deities, including spirits of trees, rivers, ancestors, snakes, and the ghosts of people who have met a violent or tragic death. When in good spirits they can bring wealth and good luck, but when they are provoked, they can reek havoc. In order to appease the nats and to bring good luck, the Burmese set up shrines and nat houses, where they provide offerings of food, drink.

On Yankin Hill there is a shrine to the nat that inhabits the township. Worshippers visit the nat house and perform a little ritual. First one must walk around the shrine 3 times then kneel down to pray to the nat 3 times and finally lift a ball that is at the base of the statue. Only after this, and tipping the monks who "guard" the shrine, will your wish be granted.

At the top of the Hill is a monastery with three large Sambar Deers with bells around their necks. They are the closest animals to reindeer I'd seen in a long time. They were "saved" by a monk, who granted them existence on the hill where Pilgrims feed them biscuits while trying to pet them. I'm not sure if this is what most people mean when they save animals, but its the closest thing to the Humane Society that we saw.

We were brought to Yankin Hill by a Chinese-Burmese family. They took us there to woo us into teaching their daughter English. We hadn't yet visited any sites in Mandalay with anyone we knew and it we had a very interesting time. Without their explanations, the hill would've been just another sacred site, instead we were able to come away with a deeper understanding of why the locals pay tribute to shrines that dot the route to the top.

Mya Kyauck Monastery

Near the base of Yankin Hill is a monastery with an enlightened monk. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Buddhism, enlightenment is what Buddhists strive for. Only through enlightenment does the cycle of suffering end. The Buddha attained enlightenment, but chose to stay in this world in order to teach other about the way towards enlightenment. Needless to say, an enlightened monk doesn't happen everyday and it is a big deal. This is evident by the large fresco of the monk that's painted on the side of the main pagoda.

We were lucky enough to meet with the enlightened monk. Now, I don't know what I was expected from an enlightened monk, but I thought they're be an air about him, something that would radiate from his being, which would confirm his status. Instead, what I found was an ordinary monk who liked to discuss his international travels and the monasteries famous mineral water.

One day, the monk decided to build a well on the monastery land. After making this decision, he begins mediating. During his mediation, the Dragon King, who lives on the grounds, appears to the monk and tells him the best place to build the well. After the well was built, water samples were analyzed and it was discovered that it is the best drinking water in the world - even better then spring water in the Western world, so we're told. The water is so special, that once some Japanese businessmen came to the monastery with US dollars and asked to buy the water for exportation to Japan. Not wanting money, the monk refused. The monastery does bottle and sell the water and they publish a pamphlet listing the benefits of the water, which range from curing diseases to keeping one hydrated.

After our interesting discussion with the Enlightened Monk, we were able to tour a small room that was filled with boxes of stones. These tet tho are said to appear after the cremation of a monk. The more tet tho are present, the more enlightened the monk was upon his death. Somehow this monastery gained a large collection of these stones, which were placed in fish tanks labeled with the name of the monk along with Buddha paraphernalia. I wonder how many tet tho will be present upon my death?