Trekking in the Hills

 Our transport and our local guide, Michel, on the right.

 Scenes from the hike.

 Planting and tending mandarin trees.

 Traditional women from the local tribe.

 Our excellent local lunch...

 and where it was prepared.

 Local farmer.

 Picking tea leaves.

A beautiful lush area to walk.

Thursday, May 31^st.

This hotel did not have a buffet or a la carte breakfast, but instead set the table with a set breakfast. Orange juice, large papaya, melon, mango and watermelon slices, a crepe pancake, whole wheat toast and two eggs of your choice, excellent (and I get to have it again tomorrow!).

We were picked up by a driver and local guide and a little truck for our trekking trip. They drove us about twenty minutes out of town to a little village where we started our hike. We walked through the hills past little farms growing all manner of fruits and vegetables. The weather was mostly cloudy which was good as it made it cooler. We saw many people working preparing the fields for the upcoming monsoon and the start of the growing season for rice and other crops. We saw a small tea plantation and many fruit trees.

Most of the morning was up hill, as we crossed through the fields and then onto a road that ran up into the hills. I was upfront for a bit and stopped to talk to a family that were tending young orange or mandarin trees. There were four adults and a young girl holding a baby. The girl spoke a bit if English, so we were able to converse a bit. We stopped a little further at a small village where we had lunch. As soon as we went into the family home, it started to rain. We were talking amongst ourselves when two young Danish girls came in with their guide and they were soaked through. They were traveling independently and were interested in our trip, so we talked to them about it and GAdventures and Intrepid. Our guide, Michel, had disappeared but came back a while later with our food. Turns out he was in the kitchen preparing our food with the family. They served us a chicken stock soup, rice, a chicken and potato dish and three other cooked vegetable dishes. For dessert there was banana and mango. It was a delicious meal. It rained for the whole time we were in that house having lunch, but when Pu Pu asked if we wanted to walk back down (about two hours) or take the truck, the weather seemed to brighten, and we opted to walk, and we are glad we did because it stayed dry the whole way. The road however, was a muddy and the red soil clung to our boots. However, we enjoyed the hike as we went down a different road and partly through a pine forest. We met our truck when we got back to the bottom and he drove us for a half hour back to our hotel. We had hiked about 15 kilometres total through some beautiful rural surroundings, great day. The rest of the afternoon was ours to do what we wanted. I relaxed and showered and then asked the guy in the lobby where I might find a barber. He gave me directions and I went and got my face and head shaved for two dollars. As soon as I walked out of the barber shop it started to rain and I went back to the hotel and it came down. Timing is everything today.

We met up for dinner and went to a local Nepali restaurant called Everest for dinner and then back for bed.

Taung Kalat Monastery

Palm business products.

Fermenting palm wine.

Now to figure how to get it home.

A band of macaques harassing people for food. 

The entrance to the monastery.

Taung Kalat Monastery.

Some of the art work at the monastery.

A river flowing swiftly with storm run off.

Men fishing the river...

and women selling the catch.

Rural scene on the road up the mountain.

Wednesday, May 30th.

Our first stop was at a palm tree plantation to see what the locals use the trees for. Well as it turns out they use it much the way the natives used to use buffalo, they waste nothing. We saw the ladders they use to harvest both the sweet sap from high up and the palm fruit. The sap is collected and boiled down until it is made into sugar. The palm leaves are used to weave hats, boxes, and to send to the lacquerware shops. The trunks of the tree are used for tables and furniture. The fronds are used for the roofs of the houses and the husks from the fruit are sold to farmers to feed their animals. While having a cup of tea we sampled some of the products they make from the sugar and some of the fried nuts they prepare. They also gave us some tempura of onion and a root vegetable. It tasted like onion rings.

Then we moved on. We drove for another hour to a low mountain area and as we drove up Pu Pu was trying to find a monastery on a hill top, but it was encased in fog. So, we drove to the base of the hill where we found people trying to buy fruit and vegetables and being harassed by macaque monkeys. From here there are 800 steps up to the monastery. You can keep your shoes on for the first 150, so up we went past several shops of souvenir sellers and chapels where the faithful could pray to the deities. When we got to that point I decided to continue to the top as I had heard that this monastery was beautiful. Pu Pu and Young didn’t want to, partly because they didn’t want to remove their shoes. The rest of the steps were treacherous because they were smooth tiles and were very wet and slippery from the rain and were also mined with monkey droppings. I carefully climbed the very steep steps until I reached the top. The monastery is perched high up on a volcanic rock formation and covers it completely. There were numerous stupas, chapels and viewpoints. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the view because of the mist. I stayed for a bit and then began the descent, which was more dangerous. I almost wiped out four times as the floor and the steps were incredibly slippery. It was like being on ice. I get religious traditions and rules, but this is stupid. They need to provide a less slippery surface. I am sure that there have been people who have hurt themselves. Anyway, I survived and made it to the bottom with wet dirty feet and hands, from holding onto the handrail. Thankfully they provide a little alcove at the 150 step spot where I left my shoes, to wash up with detergent,

Then we walked the rest of the way down and surprise, the mist had cleared and we could see the monastery at the top. Young bought some bananas from a seller and was saved from the monkeys when the woman pulled out a slingshot and aimed at them and they scattered. Pu Pu got us back in the van to drive to the view spot where we could see the Taung Kalat Monastery quite clearly. It is more beautiful and impressive from here than on the top. Again, it is amazing the effort devote people will make in the name of religion. I can’t imagine lugging all of the building materials up there.

Next, we descended back to the valley and took a different road part way up the Popa Mountain to a resort that commands an amazing view of the monastery. We got there just in time to see it disappear again in cloud. We had lunch there and enjoyed the surroundings and the quite of being on the mountain. Just when we finished the cloud lifted yet again and we got a couple of good pictures.

After that we continued on our journey. We had a five or six hour drive to Kalaw, a town famous in the region for trekking. On route we came across some fisherman using nets to catch fish in the dirty runoff from the rains and then we also saw the women selling their catch on the side of the road. Most of it was very small but there were a few foot-long snakeheads. The last hour of the drive was all switchbacks up into the mountains on a road that is under construction. We finally arrived at the town and found our lovely little bed and breakfast hotel and moved in. We had an hour to relax before meeting up and walking to a little local place for dinner. Then we retuned about 8:00 and retired to our rooms.

Ancient Bagan

Lacquerware workshop. 

The crafts people.

The showroom.

My motorcycle for the day.

Shots of various temples are the complex.

A village where the souvenir sellers live.

Tuesday, May 29^th.

It rained all during the night and was still raining in the morning. This was to be our free day to explore the temples of ancient Bagan, but first Pu Pu took us for a short walk to a lacquerware business. Lacquer is a sap from a tree that grows in the drier regions of Myanmar and other south Asian countries 1000+ metres above sea level. It is tapped like maple syrup or rubber and the sap turns black when it oxidizes. Lacquer objects are made mainly from bamboo, or teak wood if the object is square or a statue. Pu Pu showed us the steps of turning the thin pieces of bamboo into beautiful objects. She also gave us the time frame. It can take as little as 63 days to get a nine-layer lacquer cup and as much as years to get the huge red finished object in the showroom shot, which sells for about $14000 dollars. This is because the object has to be dried in a climate-controlled basement for three weeks between coats of lacquer. We had a short tour of the workshop where we could see the crafts people preforming what she explained. I have seen a number of shops this year where people are working at a craft that has been handed down for hundreds of years, and every time I see one, I marvel at the skill and technique but am ever thankful that I don’t have that as a job.

Then back to the hotel. Young was going to hang out, and I had organized renting a little e-bike to go exploring. Unfortunately, as I said it was raining. Luckily it was not raining hard and the weather and rain were not cold. So, I set off. I enjoyed riding the bike and getting off the main road onto the little dirt trails that criss cross the complex. I visited the old walled city of Bagan with its incredibly thick walls and many temples before heading out into the country. I stumbled upon a little village where local people who sell souvenirs at the temples live. It was pretty basic and with the rain, the houses did not look inviting. I took a number of shots as I rode around, but with the rain it was difficult to keep the camera dry and the grey skies made for moodier shots. After a couple of hours and no longer being able to dry the lens and being thoroughly soaked I headed back to the hotel where I had a warm bath to relax.

I spent the afternoon in my room reading, watching TV and typing. I had dinner with Young at the hotel restaurant. I don’t know why I bothered she spent the whole time doing something on her phone. When I finished my meal, I told her that is why I don’t have a phone and thanked her for the conversation.

I went to the lobby to pay for my dinner and the bike. The young lady at the counter asked how the riding was, and I said it was wet and made taking pictures difficult. Then she told me that she loved it. She said it was too hot last week and with the rain she loved to walk barefoot and with no umbrella and enjoy the coolness of the air temperature and water on her head. Of course, with her limited English, she didn’t say it as eloquently as me, but that is what she meant. I had booked the bike for the day, but only used it half the day, so that is what they charged me, $5. Then I hung out for the evening as it was still raining. Oh well.

Bagan

Pet squirrel.

Scenes from a local market.

The empty tourist section.

Happy bikers.

Making soybean paste in a sweat shop.

An enormous reclining Buddha.

Interior stone work.

The beautiful Ananda Paya temple.

A massive one in the 'outback'.

Monday, May 28^th.

First thing this morning we drove to the beautiful golden stupa Shwezigonzedi Pagoda. There Pu Pu was approached by a young girl who wanted to guide her around. What was interesting about her is that she had a small tame squirrel on her shoulder. I had seen them running around, but never up close. Different nose than our squirrels.

At this pagoda there was a shelter where Pu Pu explained that a king had tried to protect his son from the outside world and spoiled him in a palace. But eventually, the son got out and saw the four stages: old age, illness, and death. This son became a buddha and swore off the trappings of his life.

Then we went to a meditation building that had narrow dark corridors with frescos and paintings on the walls that have unfortunately faded over the years and have not been protected.

Next Pu Pu took us to the local market where we walked around watching what was going on. Markets like this are a major source of social interaction for the local people. The market was packed, except for the tourist souvenir section, which was empty. It was interesting to see the young nuns dressed in pink who go to the market for donations. At every stall the seller would give them something, a carrot, a bit of garlic, some rice, a banana, etc. Apparently, they do this twice a week in order to get food to feed themselves.

Then we visited a business where they make soy bean paste. The soy beans here are smaller and look more like lentils. They are boiled and the husks sold to farmers to feed their cattle, and the juice it syphoned off and then boiled, reduced and stirred until all the water is gone and there is just a thick black paste left, that they then package into small bags for the local women to cook with.

We visited Kubyaukgyi Hpaya Temple, which is modelled after a temple in India. It had fine mural paintings on its walls and ceilings depicting historically significant events in Myanmar. Unfortunately, the paintings have faded badly and have not been protected and some were actually removed and taken to Germany in 1899. There are also two footprints on the high ceiling that are reputed to be of Buddha.

We visited two more temples before eating lunch at a local restaurant. Then we returned to the hotel for a two-hour break. I went for a short walk across the street and down to the river, hoping to see some more river life, but there was nothing there, except another large temple covered with bamboo scaffolding that is being repaired. There were a couple of interesting houses on the road, one of which was a bamboo frame covered in bamboo matts with a man sitting outside reading a paper on his lounger.

Then I went back to the hotel and decided to get in the pool. I had it to myself. Shortly after it started to rain and I enjoyed the warm water on the body and the cool water on my head, very relaxing.

In the afternoon, we continued our exploration of this enormous archaeological site. The area is 40 square kilometres and contains 4200 temples and stupas. Some were built in the 9^th century, but most were built between the 11^th and 13^th century, before the Moghuls conquered this area in the 1300’s. There are a large variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. Some are enormous and others are quite small. A few are made from sandstone that had to be brought from miles away, and most of the others are made from brick. The area has been hit several times over the years by earthquakes and many of them have fallen or been damaged. The Military governments of Myanmar had restored many of them with no regard to the reconstruction rules of UNESCO. That plus, although the site is designated by Myanmar as an historically important archaeological site, they accepted bribes from a company who has built a five star hotel and a golf course in the middle of the complex. As a result, this whole complex is not listed as a World Heritage Site and it has not benefitted from the money that UNESCO designation would provide.

It was raining lightly most of the afternoon as we visited a temple with an enormous sitting Buddha in the front hall and a huge reclining Buddha in the rear hall. We visited an area where there were several smaller ones and we could walk around them. We saw a couple that had ornate carvings inside. Finally, we visited Ananda Paya which Pu Pu said was the most beautiful (which is why she saved it for last) and the archaeologists designated as the masterpiece. It was very different from the rest and looked more like a cathedral or palace. 

Our last stop was at a man-made hill which we walked up to get a better view of the area but, the rain put a damper on things and made it difficult to take photos.

Then we headed by the Floral Breeze Hotel where we said goodbye to our third driver and then had an hour break before dinner. We ate at the hotel restaurant because we didn’t want to walk anywhere in the rain. Then off to the room for the night.