It turns out that a lot of these temples were in ruins, both from age and earthquakes. Bagan has dozens of small earthquakes each year and had a major one in 1975. Against the advice of archaeologists and Unesco, the military government over the last thirty years rebuilt many of the temples which were in ruins. Because of that no-no, Unesco will not declare the area a World Heritage Site. Nonetheless, it is pretty incredible to see.
A few people had booked a balloon flight over Bagan at sunrise on Monday and they said it was even more incredible from the air. A few other hearty souls went to one of the temples to watch the sunrise. I slept till an almost civilized hour. Then we went for a bike ride to a local village and to visit a few of the less visited temples. The village was interesting but the ride was pretty much a disaster. One of the men was very unsteady and slow, we went on sandy paths that were hard for everyone, and three people got flat tires. We spent a lot of time standing in the hot sun waiting for people. There was actually a bike repair outside the last temple, but by then the guide had given up and called for our bus. Five of us rode on to lunch and the rest were happy to go by bus. We had free time after lunch, so I took my bike and rode the entire loop again. It is amazing to ride by all of the temples. Both days we went to a temple in the evening to watch the sunset, an activity I am more than willing to participate in.
And this morning we were on the road to Mandalay. The road, frankly, was not very interesting, but so far, Mandalay is. We visited the 150 year old palace of the last kings, decorated in beautiful carved teak. Then we went to the Kuthadow Pagoda which is said to house the world largest book. The tripitaka, which can loosely be called the Scriptures of Buddhism, is engraved on 729 marble pages, each housed in one of the 729 little mini-pagodas around the main pagoda.
Finally we went for our nightly sunset viewing on top of Mandalay Hill. A single hill rises in the middle of a flat plain. You can see the city to the south, the river flowing by, and lush farmland, with the outlines of mountains in the distance.
At the Kuthadow Pagoda, we met two Burmese women who had traveled over a thousand kilometers to view the sites of Mandalay, and they asked us to take a picture with them. So I gave my camera to the guide as well.
On Mandalay Hill three young monks, ages 14 and 15, struck up a conversation with me. They said they walk to Mandalay Hill every night, a walk which takes an hour each way, to practice their English. I am always happy to oblige people who want to practice English because I get to ask all kinds of nosy questions in my sincere effort to help them improve their English.
Tomorrow we are off again at 7:30 for what sounds like another full day. At least in Mandalay, unlike Bagan, there is internet. Slow, but it mostly works. That is actually pretty amazing in a country where three quarters of the population lacks electricity and most villages have no running water. The repressive military government finally opened up (maybe, somewhat) in 2010, and they are really trying to modernize and be attractive to tourists, but the infrastructure is extremely poor. They have a long way to go, both to join the 21st Century and to have real democracy.
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