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