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8th day
At dawn we float over Bagan in a hot air balloon - I see laughing children, looking up and waving.
What will today bring? I have read many books about art and the production of old lacquerware.
I visit a small family shop – the whole family is involved in the production of traditional goods. They explain the production process. It will take months until such pieces are finished. The family “artists” create new and ancient designs. Each family member plays their own part in the process.
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“Pagan is in many ways the most extraordinary and religious city in the world.
Jerusalem, Rome, Kiew, Benares, none boast such an immense number of temples, with such a riot of forms and ornamentation, as this wonderful deserted capital on the Irrawaddy…. The whole area is dense with pagodas of every form and size, even the ground is littered with temple ruins so that it is said you can’t move your hand or feet without touching a sacred fragment.”
Shway Yoe (Sir James Scott), The Burman: His Life and Notions, 1882
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We continue to Mount Popa. On the way we stop in Salay, a small picturesque place, pagodas jostling with colonial buildings, next to ancient monasteries.
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Our 9th day already
Fog shrouds Mount Popa, and I can feel the mischievous presence of the 37 Nats. These ghosts are an important fact in daily Burmese life and to propitiate them we are not allowed to wear red or black clothes. Don’t swear!
“Popa” is the Sanskrit word for flower - from the top we will enjoy the wonderful view over the wide plain south of Bagan.
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Our hotel lies in a high tropical garden with thousands of butterflies, and has fantastic views down to the extinct volcano. We climb the sacred mountain - our steps trailed by greedy monkeys.
The Buddhist faith has melded with the belief in Nats, for whom this mountain is supposed to be home. The belief in these ghosts exists alongside Theravada Buddhism, but Nat belief rules life.
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“We left Popa after lunch.
I thought we would be heading straight to Bagan but apparently there was another shrine not to be missed. We had to make a detour, a narrow twisting lane through banana plantations. Owning a banana plantation where monkeys ruled the roost seemed a foolhardy enterprise, to say the least, although bananas are part of the ritual offerings at nat shrines and in great demand in this area.”
Ma Thanegi, The Native Tourist: In Search of Turtle Eggs, Day Four, 2000
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10th day - Inle Lake
The whole cycle of life takes place on the lake: Here on the lake people live, love, give birth, work, plant and die. You can find tomatoes, avocados, potatoes and all kinds of other fruits and vegetables on the floating gardens.
Our long-tail boat passes the famous Intha leg rowers and then we visit a weaving-mill, ladies producing Cheeroots and the monastery of the jumping cats.
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