Bagan and the Thingyan Water Festival
The city of Bagan promised to be spectacular. It is a historical place that holds the largest concentration of temples, pagodas and Buddhist ruins in the world. There are more than 2,000 monuments. Bagan is often compared to Angor Wat though very different.
The magic of Bagan has been blurred for many reasons. First, I arrived in the city with a strong flu and the Water Festival started the next day. Two factors that made me spend more time in my room then outside. I was so happy to be in Myanmar that I had a hard time to accept that my body refused to follow my sparkling state of mind. Why my body needed so much rest now? I was also supposed to fly a hot air balloon above the temples but the company canceled the trip the same morning due to the temperature (too windy). Not only I was sick and wet but also terribly disappointed.
The Water Festival was very exciting the first day. To see young people and parents throw water with water guns or worse with garden hoses and buckets of water to every single person in the streets (except monks and pregnant women) was fun to see. To live it for 5 days though became quite annoying! Every time you were going out it was almost impossible to hide from the water points. Most of the locals seemed to act softer with tourists. The fact remained that you were drenched by buckets of water several times during the day from morning till night. Despite the 42 degrees Celsius, to be soaking wet on your bike to visit the temples quickly became unpleasant and uncomfortable. Here’s a video to give you a better idea.
Early morning to early evening, the speakers were blasting the same old music from the 90’s (The Vengaboys do you remember?). The kids were having fun doing stunts on their motorbike while other were drinking and dancing completely drenched.
I was a good player. I had a few “showers” and came back to the guesthouse completely wet. But because of the Festival I also preferred to take care of my health instead of going out after the buckets of water. The buses did not run during the holiday season. I flew in between the cities while other travellers took the train. They told me that not only people were throwing water through the windows of the train some even got on board to throw water to the passengers. The trip lasted more than ten hours.
The calm pagodas contrasted with the electrifying energy in the streets of Bagan. After cycling 30 minutes to an hour under a burning sun, “stopping” at the water points and then managing the sandy roads to access the pagodas was a challenge. I visited some important pagodas but I especially enjoyed discovering the smaller and deserted ones.
The distance between each of the pagodas was however considerable. One thing is certain, I do not recommend visiting Bagan in April, the hottest month of the year, during the Water Festival. Way too hot and the Festival complicates things way too much.
Inle Lake after the Water Festival
The region of Inle Lake was definitely my favorite.
This area reminded me how nature gives me a feeling of well-being and serenity. The green vegetation and the slightly cooler climate contrasted with the dust of Mandalay and Bagan.
It was the most touristy place (with Bagan) that I visited. People seemed way more used to tourists and for the first time, I saw a child asking me for money just by showing me his hand. He was not a beggar. A 12,500 Kyat entrance fee (about $14 CAD) for tourists is now required to enter the village. Same thing in Bagan where you have to pay 25,000 kyat ($27 CAD) to visit the old town.
Here’s a selection of my best photos during a boat trip on the lake.
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The two largest cities: Mandalay and Yangon
Mandalay was my first contact with Myanmar. As I wrote in my previous article, I was immediately seduced despite the excessive heat. Mandalay was the hottest of the four cities I visited. More than 42 degrees Celsius every day.
The city is relatively undeveloped with many unpaved roads except a part of the city which is more modern.
Few tourists linger in Mandalay. This might explain why I felt locals had the biggest curiosity when looking at me. I was quite often the only Westerner to visit the temples. There were a lot of tourists on holidays but they were from other parts of Myanmar. I was absolutely surprised to see how families and children in temples were spontaneously coming to me with their phone to take pictures with me.
To explore the outskirts of Mandalay where are located Amarapura, Sagaing and the U-Bein bridge at sunrise was absolutely amazing.
Yangon
The former capital of Myanmar is very different from Mandalay. The first thing I noticed is the colonial buildings with their faded colours. A picture perfect landscape that immediately reminded me of La Havana (Cuba).
Yangon is definitely more modern while retaining its authentic side. The trendy cafes with expatriates alongside tea shops installed on sidewalks and other kiosks of shan noodles get along quite well in my point of view.
In other cities visited, the community seemed to be generally composed of people of Myanmar. In Yangon it’s different. There is a large community of Chinese and Bangladeshis and Indian people in addition of Japanese and other expatriates.
Another interesting fact, motorcycles are prohibited in the city. There are only cars that all look similar imported mostly from Japan. Taxis are also more present than elsewhere. The city seems very safe and enjoyable despite people begging on the street. I also saw many Hindu families sleeping on the sidewalk.
Temples
I visited several temples during my stay in Myanmar. The gold reminded me of the temples of Thailand but had nothing to do with those visited in Sri Lanka.
In Myanmar temples are not only a place of worship but also a place where families, couples and friends spend some time together. In the afternoon or at night, some bring their lunch box placed in round metal containers in a woven basket and just sit down and eat. We see them everywhere.
It’s easy to tell that Myanmar people cherish their temples. It is very common to see them buying gold leaves at the entrance of a temple that they will put on the statutes of Buddha. The gold leaves are produced in Mandalay.
Fragrant jasmine flowers, roses and lotus flowers are also sold at the temples for people that wish to deposit offering for Buddha. The flowers are impermanent. Fresh flowers will soon become scentless and withered. In Buddhism, it reminds us that all things are impermanent. We should value what we have now and live in the present moment.
In Yangon, at the magnificent Shwe Dagon Pagoda, I learned that people come to pray before the Buddha according to the day they were born. I learned I was born on a Saturday, which would make me a calm and reclusive person – yes, i agree :).
I felt a deep peace when I visiting this pagoda, the largest in the country. So I went there two nights in a row including the night of a full moon. On both nights I stayed there for three hours until closing time. I couldn’t leave the site. I meditated, walked around, observed people and talked with locals.
While I was praying in the space said to be for wishes, a man took my picture. He came to me when I was done to ask me if he could publish the picture on his Facebook. He said he was honoured to see a Western woman paying respect to his culture and his country. I felt touched by his reaction and I gave him the right to publish it.
Three weeks is too short to really learn about a country. Not knowing too much what was the situation in Myanmar during this important period of changes, I preferred to stick to the four main tourist cities for this time. But now that I have seen the country I have a strong feeling that I will come back to Myanmar soon.
Happiness and serenity
Nathalie
