Adventures with Julia

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort, Bagan, Burma

Woke up feeling a little sad to be leaving our delightful ship, but ready for the next adventure.  We arrived in Bagan about 9am after passing many temples visible from the river.  We are all becoming a bit “stupafied”, but know the next three days in Bagan will completely finish us off as there are thousands of temples and stupas here.  Fortunately, Ken and Davies have selected only a few important ones for us to explore and a few others to stop at for quick photos.  Otherwise we will enjoy seeing most from the air-conditioned comfort of our bus.

Began’s 2 ½ centuries of temple building from the 11th to the 13^th coincided with the region’s transformation from Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist beliefs to Theravada Buddhist beliefs that have since characterized Burma, Lao and other Asian countries.  It is unclear what caused Bagan’s decline at the end of the 13^th century, but there is plenty of speculation.  Some believe Kublai Khan’s army swept through the city looting and ransacking.  Others think the city was never abandoned, but continued as an important religious and cultural center into the 14^th century and beyond.  Gradually, fighting among various minority groups, frequent earthquakes—there were at least 16 between 1174 and the big one in 1975—and general weathering and neglect did most of the damage.

The enduring religious significance of Bagan is the cause of the site’s recent transformation from piles of picturesque brick ruins to a practically complete 13^th century city minus the homes, monasteries and palaces that would have been made of wood.

Our first stop was a photo shoot only.  Thatbyinnyu Temple is Bagan’s highest.  Made entirely of brick, as are many other temples and stupas in Bagan, it is monumental in size and 207 feet tall.  Built in 1144, it is a classic example of Bagan’s middle period.  At Ken’s suggestion we climbed the ruins of a nearby brick wall to take advantage of the improved perspective.  It was certainly an imposing structure worthy of more than a few photos.

Our next stop was the Shwezigon Temple.  The gilded stupa sits on three rising terraces.   At the cardinal points are four 13-ft high, bronze, standing Buddhas.  Cast in 1102, they are Bagan’s largest surviving Buddhas.

There are also a number of sculptures I found interesting; especially a small, gilded, stone statue of a young 12^th century princess; several carved and painted wooden statues of Buddha in his process of becoming enlightened; a bronze, standing statue of Buddha holding a seed and representing his healing characteristics and a 15^th century king rendered in bronze.

Our third stop was Htilominlo Temple built in 1218 that we photographed from the outside only.   That was followed by a small temple that contains late 13^th century painted murals, which are sadly missing most of their facial features.  On the four sides of the interior, small gilded Buddhas were encased with jeweled regalia.   I was surprised to see diamonds, rubies and sapphires glimmering next to Buddha images.   They were hard to photograph behind the glass cases and neon lighting.  We were all really hot and sweaty by this time.

However, we still had the Ananda Temple to visit before lunch.  From the outside it is stunning with its shimmering gold 170ft. high corncob looking top visible from a long distance across the plains.  It is a large complex with many vendor stalls and long double corridors originally intended to allow masses of worshippers to be in one corridor while the king used the other uninhibited.  It was built in 1095 and has unusually large arched windows for that time in SE Asia.   The perfectly proportioned temple heralds the stylistic end of the early Bagan period and the beginning of the middle period.  The structure has the shape of a Greek cross.  There are huge carved teak doors that separate interior halls from cross passages on all four sides.  Facing outward from the center are four 31ft tall standing Buddha statues made of solid teakwood.  The Buddha on the south side vaguely appears to look sad when viewed up close and mirthful when viewed from a distance.

The heat really depleted everyone’s energy and we were ready for lunch, even though we were not very hungry.   The restaurant was called Eden BBB and had a lovely water garden entrance.   The open dining hall was full of people and I thought we would be sitting in the noisy, uncooled space, but Ken led us into a private, air-conditioned room that was most comfortable.    The Burmese meal was, as usual,  delicious.   Every Burmese meal so far has started with a delicious spicy hot noodle soup.  One would think it would be too hot on a hot day, but it always tastes good and is rehydrating as well.   In addition to curried meat or fish dishes there are usually nicely steamed green vegetables, sautéed squash and eggplant.   Sometimes we also get a few deep fried dishes, such as egg rolls.  Dessert is usually fresh fruit.  We certainly have no complaints about the food and the tasty Burmese beer is served ice cold.

Back at the hotel, Mark and I headed straight for the pool.  Unfortunately, the water is way too warm to be refreshing, but better than being sticky hot.   I worked on this post.  We learned that the hotel has a good Wi Fi connection from the lobby only.  So I will send the posts I have ready and finish this one tomorrow.  We can also receive and send email.  The whole group is hanging out in the lobby.

At 4:30 we were off again on horse carts, two per cart, to meander at our own pace through the sandy plain filled with temples and forests of trees.   It was nice to be able to stop when we wanted and take photos from all sorts of angles with the late afternoon sun at our back.   At last we arrived at a minor temple, called Gune, we climbed to capture the sunset.   Very steep steps and tight squeezes through tiny arches made for an interesting assent, but we all succeeded.  The bricks were still very warm from the afternoon sun and there was no breeze to cool us.  The view was nice, but the sunset was a bust.  We got off the temple as soon as the orb was gone.   By the way, have I mentioned that no shoes or socks are allowed in or on any temple?  Well, we are all spending a lot of time barefoot and slowly getting used to it.

Our horse cart took us directly back to the hotel.   Dinner fur me was a nice green salad and a mojito—a refreshing green meal.  Mark and a guy from Atlanta named Richard had mojitos and cigars while we sat on the patio of the hotel.  Gradually the heat dissipated, but the air did not get cool.  Eventually, I slipped out to the lobby to send two posts.  Felt good to get something to you even if I cannot send photos.  Every time I try the computer gets hung up  in the download.   The process is very slow here.   I started on a new post, but got too sleepy after the mojito.

Sweet dreams,   Julia