At Sea fromYangon, Myanmar, to Cochin, India
Not only is today a restful day at sea but we get an extra hour of sleep tonight as we turn the clocks back one hour again.
I enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the Grand Dining Room again. The Eggs Benedict have wonderful Hollandaise sauce and perfectly-formed eggs; unfortunately the English muffins are so hard that you need a hacksaw to cut through them. I eat the eggs, Canadian bacon and sauce, but leave the muffins as a sad message to the cook.
This afternoon Professor Ruiz continues his series of lectures on the developing religions of Southeast Asia, today focusing on the spread of Buddhism from India (where today it is a small minority religion) to other countries, particularly Myanmar. Later, while i am enjoying a quiet dinner in the Terrace Café (grilled lobster tail, gingered shrimp over rice, etc), Professor Ruiz stops by my table to thank me for attending all the lectures (I don’t know why he focused on me since he gets a pretty good-sized audience every day). It turns out we both graduated from The City College of New York; although I was two years ahead of him. He currently teaches at UCLA and specializes in the history of ideas (which often borders on the history of religion). He is traveling with his wife and another couple, who also have connections to UCLA, as well as to New York. Small world. They are continuing to Athens on the cruise and I have promised to email my impressions of India, especially Varanasi, which they have never visited.
I have been skipping the evening entertainment, which starts at 9:30 every night. Other passengers seem pleased with some of the group productions, but the individual talents--a variety of musicians and comedians--has not been appealing. I opt for a few extra hours of sleep.
But it is time to return to the imporant elements of the cruise, including my overnight trip to the temples of Bagan in Myanmar.
Monday 4 April 2016
Bagan, Myanmar
As I noted in an earlier blog, our group of 21 tourists and two guides leave the ms Nautica shortly before 4am for the one hour drive to the Yangon Airport, north of the city center. After all the evidence of infrastructure failure in Yangon during yesterday's tour, it is a relief to find the airport quite new and efficient. There are a number of small domestic airlines in this nation and we are flying on Yangon Airways for the one hour and 20 minute trip northwest to Bagan. The airline uses recent-model turbo-prop planes with two seats on each side of the center aisle. The windows of the plan are festooned with garlic flowers (for good luck) and the motto of the airline is "you're safe with us." The logo of the airline is a flying elephant (no comment about that!). Several young women wearing colorful locally-inspired uniforms present us with complimentary morning beverages and a snack box with a small sandwich and cake--certainly more than you get for payment on domestic US airlines.
The plane does not reach very high altitudes--about 17,000 feet--but there is a thick haze and cloud cover so there is not much to see on the short and smooth flight. I am in an aisle seat next to Rene, a charming young man from Chile, who is part of the "Destinations" team on board the Nautica. We compare notes about our lives--mine in the deserts of Arizona; his in the mountains of southern Chile---and the nature of our relationships in such very different cultural and political environments.
We arrive in Bagan--at another small but well-tended airport--at 7:30am and hit the sightseeing ground without stopping for breath. The city of Bagan has been divided into two main districts--Old and New. The Old part of the city is still partially enclosed by brick walls and is a designated national heritage site. The local residents of this part of the city, including our guide and his family, were forced out of their homes and given two weeks to relocate in the newer part of the city. The intention to preserve what is left of the historic structures is certainly laudable, but not much thought or help was given to the folks whose lives were so disrupted.
Our first scheduled stop is the local market. But even before arriving we are lucky to stop and witness an initiation procession, in which three young Buddhist men (adolescents, really), will enter the monastic life for one year. In imitation of the life of the first Buddha, the young men are dressed as princes and ride horses adorned with jewels and finery. A parade of young women dressed in colorful local fashion, precedes the princes on foot--they do not enter the monastary but have their ears pierced as a note of sympathy with the young men. The young people are followed by members of their families, friends, and community members who provide musical accompaniament and refreshments. Although we do not see the actual iniation ceremony, which includes the shaving of the heads of the young men and the changing of their royal garments for monks robes, we are quite privileged to witness the procession.
After witnessing the importance of self-negation in the life of the soul, we drive to the local market to see the abundance and sensual pleasure of food for the body.
After visiting the noise and hubbub of the market, it is a pleasant change to the quiet of three temples in the newer part of Bagan that are still in use: the Schwezigon Paigoda, The Wetkyi Inn Gubyukgyi Temple and the grand Ananad Temple with its four standing Buddhas.
The Schwezigon Pagoda is one of the more revered Buddhist shrines in Myanmar. It is also one of the most beautifully preservered, with its central stupa of gold leaf surrounded by terraced landings. It was completed in 1089 and is one of the few temples that houses effigies of the nats, models of the older gods who were still worshipped while Buddhism was getting a toehold throughout the country.
The Wetkyi Inn Gubyukgyi Temple is one of the few in which the wall and ceiling paintings have been farily well preservered. I was reminded very much of visiting the temples of Upper Egypt to see similar kinds of wall paintings preserved in the dark interiors. The wall murals here date back to 1113, much more recent than their Egyptian counterparts. Photography was not allowed inside the temples, but the exterior can be seen in the two pictures below.
The last temple we visit this morning is the largest and considered the masterpiece of the Bagan civilization: Ananda Temple. Completed in 1091, the central core of the building houses four giant wooden Buddhas, facing in each direction of the compass, Two are originals, carved in teak and gilded with gold leaf, the other two are replicas. Because most of the decoration in Bagan was made of wood, it was very susceptible to fires over the years. Additionally, many of them temples were badly damaged by a major earthquake ten years ago, The four Buddhas are surrounded by corridors (much like the hypostyles in Egyptian temples), in which pilgrims can make their offerings. These corridors are lit from small windows in the walls and roof above.
It's only time for lunvh in Bagan, but I must attend a cocktail party for Oceania Club Members (now that I have two cruises under my belt) and another dinner in the Polo Grill back on the ship. So I will post more of Bagan--including the horse-cart ride through the Old City--tomorrow.
The Schwezigon Pagoda is one of the more revered Buddhist shrines in Myanmar. It is also one of the most beautifully preservered, with its central stupa of gold leaf surrounded by terraced landings. It was completed in 1089 and is one of the few temples that houses effigies of the nats, models of the older gods who were still worshipped while Buddhism was getting a toehold throughout the country.
The Wetkyi Inn Gubyukgyi Temple is one of the few in which the wall and ceiling paintings have been farily well preservered. I was reminded very much of visiting the temples of Upper Egypt to see similar kinds of wall paintings preserved in the dark interiors. The wall murals here date back to 1113, much more recent than their Egyptian counterparts. Photography was not allowed inside the temples, but the exterior can be seen in the two pictures below.
The last temple we visit this morning is the largest and considered the masterpiece of the Bagan civilization: Ananda Temple. Completed in 1091, the central core of the building houses four giant wooden Buddhas, facing in each direction of the compass, Two are originals, carved in teak and gilded with gold leaf, the other two are replicas. Because most of the decoration in Bagan was made of wood, it was very susceptible to fires over the years. Additionally, many of them temples were badly damaged by a major earthquake ten years ago, The four Buddhas are surrounded by corridors (much like the hypostyles in Egyptian temples), in which pilgrims can make their offerings. These corridors are lit from small windows in the walls and roof above.
It's only time for lunvh in Bagan, but I must attend a cocktail party for Oceania Club Members (now that I have two cruises under my belt) and another dinner in the Polo Grill back on the ship. So I will post more of Bagan--including the horse-cart ride through the Old City--tomorrow.
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