First day in Myanmar! We have just landed in Yangon. Our tour guide that will be traveling with us throughout our entire stay in Myanmar greeted us when we arrived. Her name is Aye Aye. From the airport we went directly to a Pagoda called the Shwezigone Pagoda. It was built in 850 and it was finished in 1120. The king that started to build it is Anawrohta. He built the lower half of the Pagoda, and Kyansitta built the upper half. There are 4 Buddhas in the Pagoda and one in each direction: north, south, east, and west. Each of the 7 corners in the Pagoda represents a day of the week. In Myanmar they have an animal that represents each weekday. Monday-Tiger, Tuesday- Lion, Wednesday Morning-Elephant with tusks, Wednesday Night-Elephant without tusks, Thursday- Rat, Friday- Guinea Pig, Saturday- Dragon, and Sunday- Garuda bird. Each corner has a statue of Buddha and a bowl of water for people to pour water on the Buddha. The point of this is to clean the Buddha, which is a way to pray. After they do this, they sit down to meditate. Inside the Shwedagon Pagoda, there is an enshrined tooth relic from the Buddha. After we finished visiting the Pagoda, we checked in at the hotel and then went to sleep.
Day 2:
Today we will leave to Bagan. In the 11th century, 190 Pyu villages united together to become Bagan, which became the capital until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. It is located east of the Ayeyarwady River and north of Yangon. There are around 2000 Pagodas in Bagan. In 1975 there was an earthquake that damaged many Pagodas and then again in 2016 another earthquake hit-- this time much more powerful. In total 400 Pagodas were damaged; this is why many Pagodas were under repair when we were visiting.
Today we will leave to Bagan. In the 11th century, 190 Pyu villages united together to become Bagan, which became the capital until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. It is located east of the Ayeyarwady River and north of Yangon. There are around 2000 Pagodas in Bagan. In 1975 there was an earthquake that damaged many Pagodas and then again in 2016 another earthquake hit-- this time much more powerful. In total 400 Pagodas were damaged; this is why many Pagodas were under repair when we were visiting.
Bagan is divided into 3 towns: The Airport Town and Market, Old Bagan, and New Bagan. When we arrived, we drove through the airport town to the Old Bagan. Before leaving the airport town, we stopped to visit the market. The market is quite different than western market. It is open and fresh foods come in everyday. We tried many snacks at the market but my favorite was tamarind flakes. To make tamarind flakes you have to take the tamarind seeds and make them into a paste then shape them into a circle and put them out in the sun to dry. Don’t worry if you feel kind of jealous of me! I am bringing some bags back home so you can try! In the Old Bagan, we visited two temples. The first temple is the Htilominlo Temple. This temple was built around the 13th century. The king that built this temple wanted to give the throne to his youngest son, but it was tradition to give the throne to his oldest son.He set the Royal Umbrella between the two sons and made an oath that whichever son the umbrella would fall over on was the son who would receive the throne. The Royal Umbrella fell over on the youngest son; therefore, the king built this temple in honor of his youngest son. The name of this temple means: hti-umbrella, lo-want, min-king, and lo-want.
When we were exiting the pagoda, we stopped to see the sand paintings, which we learned how to make. First, iron a cotton cloth. Then, put Neem(an indian lilac) juice over it. Sprinkle fine white sand on top and roll with a glass bottle. Repeat 5 times. Draw your picture over the sand with a pencil. Then, paint it with acrilic color or carve out the sand in the shape of your picture.
After learning about the sand painting, we went to the Dhammayangyi Temple. This temple is the largest temple in Bagan.The king that started building this temple also built two Buddha statues inside. When the youngest son killed his father and brother to get the throne, he built a brick wall covering the two Buddha statues and, he built a larger one in front to try to make up for his sins. This temple is unique because there is no stupa to go along with it. A temple and a stupa are the two parts to a Pagoda. A stupa is religious building that is completely solid inside. A temple is building that is hollow inside and contains Buddha images inside for people to come and worship. The stupa and the temple together create a Pagoda.
Day 3:
Today we woke up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go on a balloon tour. The balloon tour was amazing and we got to see a lot of the temples that cover Bagan. We also got to watch the sunrise. After our balloon tour we went to Gu Byauk Gyi Temple. This temple is the oldest temple in Myanmar. The walls of the temple are covered in beautiful murals. The atmosphere of the temple is similar to a cave; it is very dark and the air is quite cool. There are two kinds of murals: dry murals that don’t last long and wet murals. The wet murals are painted on wet plaster, so it is impossible to correct mistakes. In this temple, there was a mixture of both types of murals. The murals were full of colors: white, black, red, green, and blue. Each color was made from a different mineral: white from lime, black from soot, fishballs, charcoal, black clay, and oil lamp smoke, red from red clay and vermillion, green from molochite (a granular material), and blue from indigo. To prevent the colors from fading, the artists put Neem juice between the plaster and the painting. Many of the murals that we saw were badly deteriorated. There are many ways that the deterioration could have happened: insects, natural disasters, lightning, bats, and humans.
The next pagoda we went to was the Mya Zedi Pagoda. The kings that built this temple also wanted to give the throne to his youngest son. This son was half Mon and half Burmese. When the king did give the throne to his youngest son, the oldest son did not complain, in fact he donated a statue to this temple on behalf of his brother. He also carved into stone in four languages: Pyu, Mon, Burmese, and Pali all his donations to Buddha. The Mon king from the south and the Burmese king from the center went to war. The Mom king was captured as a prisoner. He was placed under house-arrest in Bagan. During his time in house-arrest, he donated money to build 4 Buddha statues; 3 sitting and 1 reclining. Once he was released from house-arrest, he built a temple to house the Buddhas.
Next we went to a Lacquer Ware workshop. We learned how to make them. First put bamboo straps between your two toes and slowly strip of half of the bamboo. Weave the bamboo straps to make the object that you desire. Put cotton over the bamboo weaving to protect the bamboo from rotting. Then, put raisin sap over the cotton and polish with sandpaper. Put raisin sap over again and store in a cellar until totally dry. Repeat 8 times. Make sure the cellar is quite humid. Once the lacquer has dried carve your drawing onto the piece. Put the the first color all over then wash it off with water. Put the second color over then wash it off. Polish the piece with coconut oil or peanut oil.
The fourth temple of day 2 was the Nan Temple. The king that built this temple was King Manuha. This temple is a Hindu temple with a Brama figure inside made of fine cement. On the walls of the temple there are stuccos of the Mon people. The next temple is the Ananda Temple. It was built from the 1084-1112 and built by King Kyansittha. Ananda means endless wisdom of Buddha. This temple is an Indian style building. There are 4 standing Buddhas on the four sides. The original Buddhas were made from metal; the replacements were made with teak (a type of wood). We didn’t stay very long at the last two pagodas. The second to last pagoda is the Dhammayazika Pagoda. This pagoda has 5 entrances and it was built in 1196 during the rule of the king Narapatisith. The last pagoda is the Shwesandaw Pagoda. This pagoda has 5 terraces. We climbed to the 5th terrace and watched the sunset. I loved Bagan, its temples, its people, and it tamarind flakes!
Now we are in Mandalay. The king that built Mandalay was King Mindon who ruled from 1858-1878. The burmese name for Mandalay is Yadanarbon City. The population of Mandalay is 1.225 million people. The ethnic groups are Burmese, Indian, Chinese, and Shan. Mandalay is divided into two parts, old and new. Mandalay was divided because archeologists wanted to do some digging some they asked the government to relocate all the local people to another part of the town. In the end most of the locals moved away. This created the new and the old town.
First we went to the Kuthodaw Pagoda. This pagoda was built in 1959. This pagoda holds the world’s largest book. The book is made of stone. There are 729 slabs of stone (5 inches long, 3.5 inches wide). If you were to pile the slabs on top of each other it would be 20 stories high and if you were to lay them out next to each other it would be 13 acres long. Also, if someone was to read nonstop day and night it would take 5 months and 3 days but, if you read 8 hours in a day it would take 1 year and 3 months. Next we went to Shwe Kyaung or the Golden Monastery. There are very intricate wood carving in the buildings. Then we went to Mandalay Hill to watch the sunset. A little bit later into the evening we watched the Moustache Brothers Show. This show is a comedy show making fun of the government. At the end of the show there was a traditional Balinese dancing performance.
Day two in Mandalay. First, we went to a gold leaf making workshop. The gold leaf is stored in bamboo paper. To make this bamboo paper, first cut the bamboo into strips and boil in water for a day. Put slaked lime and keep for a year. Pound it with a mallet. Mix with water. Spread out and let it dry. To make the gold leaf you simply use a mallet and bang the piece of gold until it becomes flat. Then, store the the gold leaf with a bamboo paper between. Then, we went to the Mahagandayon Monastery and we got to see the monks lining up to get their lunch. The monks cannot talk while they are eating because they are thanking the people who gave them donations of food and asking Buddha to bless them. In Myanmar boys have to be at least 7 years old. In Myanmar monks don’t have to be vegetarian but they could if they want to. Next we went to a bronze casting workshop. To cast bronze first make make a steel frame. Then, mix rice husk and clay into a paste to shape your figure. Put bees wax all over the statue. Put iron all over the statue’s body. Put another layer of clay and fasten the iron belt. In Myanmar they choose an auspicious day to cast the bronze. To cast the bronze pour bronze inside the statue and slowly strip of the clay. Finally, polish the statue.
Next, we went to the MahaMuni Temple. This temple was built in the 17th century. Maha means great and muni means Buddha. This temple was taken from the Rakhine state in the 17th century. The Buddha located inside this temple is covered with 24 carat gold. The whole Buddha weighs 12 tons, the statue= 12 tons and the gold=4 tons. The people in Mandalay believe that the Buddha himself is taking care of this statue and keeping it from cracking. Next we went to alabaster carvings. 32 miles north of Mandalay there are many marble mines. The marble is moved to Mandalay by boat and carved into all kinds of statues and distributed all over the country.
After visiting the alabaster workshop, we visited the wood carvings. When I entered the shop I could smell the warm and woody smell. Above my head there were beautiful carvings of Buddha and his disciples watching over me. To enter the workshop we got to pass through the area where the carving were made. Everything is made by hand. I was so amazed at the skill of the workers and how much patiences they had. This workshop has been one of my favorites. I really enjoyed my visit in Mandalay and I hope I can come back again sometime in the future.
Inlay Lake! This town is 3000 feet above sea level and it is 720 km away from Yangon. There are 64 villages around the lake and around 100,000 people live here. Inlay Lake is famous for its floating gardens. To make these floating gardens you have to plant water hyacinth, put fertilizer, and secure it in place with dried taro stems. Then, spread grass and dried plants on top and plant your tomatoes.
When Myanmar was closed off the rest of the world, people could not buy good from other countries for their everyday lives, so they had to make their own supplies and good. This is why many people became craftsmans. To travel to all the workshops, we took a boat. First, we went to the gold and silver smith. Then, we saw the Padaung Tribe. This tribe wears rings around their necks. At 9 years old they have 14 rings, at 14 years old they have 17 rings, and at 20 years old they have 21 rings. By the time they are 20 they have 8-10 kg around their necks. Then we went to the Lotus weaving shop. First, they take out the strands from the lotus stems. Then, they use these strands to weave cloths, but pure lotus is very expensive so most of the times they make the cloths out of silk and do patterns with the lotus. Next we went to the blacksmith shop. In Inlay Lake, blacksmiths are very important because they make the tools the farmers need to harvest and plant the food. We got to watch the beginning stages of making a knife. One person who place the metal in the fire to make it softer. Then he would transfer it to a block of stone. 3 more people would come and take turn banging on the metal. Then the metal who be put back into the fire and they would repeat these steps until the blade became flat and sharp. The final workshop we went to was the cigar workshop. To make the cigar, you would roll cordia leaves into a little funnel and put tobacco stems and leaves inside. To give flavor to the cigar you would either put rice liquor, brown sugar, honey, or star anise juice (orange liqueur and lemon juice).
Finally we went to the Chauk Htut Gyi Temple. It was built in 1907. This temple hold a 65 meter long reclining Buddha. The sole of the feet of the Buddha are full of engravings and Buddhist symbols. Then we went the the Scott Market. What I found interesting about this market is that there were many foreigners at this market. This market is very big so we couldn’t stay really long. This is everything we did in Inlay Lake. I loved Inlay Lake because I love visiting workshops and learning how the locals live.
Today is our last day in Myanmar. We are in Yangon again. Today we will visit the National Museum and then catch our flight to Malaysia the Indonesia. My favorite part in the museum was the clothing section. It had the typical clothes from every ethnic group in Myanmar. Now we will leave to Indonesia!
Burmese Language:
- Tip
- Nip
- Tone
- Lay
- Ngar
- Chauk
- Kun Nip
- Ship
- Koe
- Tip-Sè
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