Asia trip - July 2015

Yangon & Bago, Myanmar, July 20, 2015

Two-hour trip to Bago with my trusted taxidriver who did a great job. First stop on the way was a British war cematery. There were hundreds and hundreds of mostly soldiers in their 20s and early 30s buried here. They all lost their lives fighting the Japanese during the Second World War. Some died after May 1945 when the war in Europe was already finished. Apart from British soldiers there were also a large number of Indian and some Australian soldiers. It was a very sad place but very well-maintained luckily and I noticed quite a few people visiting which is a good thing.

Then we saw plenty of Pagodas in Bago; after all the city of a million people is famous for its many impressive pagodas. The first one we visited was the Kyaik Punk Pagoda with its famous four Buddha face images, then the Mya Tha Lyaung pagoda, and subsequently the Shwe Tha Lyaung, one of the world's largest reclining Buddha's, even larger than the one in Yangon I had already visited. Subsequently came the Maha Zedi pagoda where I climbed up the very steep numerous stairs to the bottom of the dome (one couldn't get any higher). It was a little breezy up there and one had to be careful not to slip or to be blown down but it was an interesting experience with a good view. Ladies were not allowed up; men, however, were entitled to kill themselves by climbing up there.

Then we stopped a Bago's huge daily street market: I have seldom seen so much hustling and bustling and lots of trading of partially very common and partially very exotic goods and food products. There were thousands of people who all seemed to be rather busy, hustling to and fro and not caring much when they pushed others away. They certainly weren't to give way in the pursuit of their daily bread to a somewhat confused looking visiting foreigner.

Then one of the most venerated pagodas in Myanmar was on the agenda: Shwe Maw Daw Pagoda. It goes back to 825AD when the foundation stone was first laid. Very impressive and of course all very golden; it was painted in golden colors and partially genuine gold layers were used. I got talking to a monk who looked a bit like the Dalai Lama of Tibet; he also featured a great welcoming smile. He used to be a sailor, he told me, but had been a monk for the last 17 years. And he enjoyed it. meditations made him happy; he was now living a happy life he explained. We sort of managed to overcome the language barrier though it wasn't easy.

Next it was to the rebuilt medieval Kambawzathadi Palace (where originnally the Lion Throne had been which I had seen in the National Museum in Yangong). Afterwards we drove to the adjacent Bumble Bee Throne Hall. It was reconstructed and opened to the public in 1995. Apparently the King had made use of the seldom used Throne Hall by turning it into his bed room.

Soon exhaustion and pagoda fatigue took over and we drove back to Yangon. My taxi driver recommended a bar and restaurant called "Spider" for the evening. I duelly went there and I was fascinating. 

The place was straight out of the 1970s: plenty of very polite waiters in bow ties who clearly outnumbered the customers. When I had to go to the bathroom, one waiter accompanied me all the way, opened the door, waited until I was ready and then passed the paper towels for drying my hands. Not sure if this was due to the service they normally render to their guests or whether it was due to sheer boredom as they had so little to do. Soon, however, it became much busier.

But the "best" of the place were the young singers who performed to the sound of an overloud hammond organ on a stage lit up by a 1970s lightshow. The girls performed Myanmar pop songs which resembled each other greatly. Frankly, the songs were altogether quite horrible. There seemed to be at least 10 different singers. They took turns in showing up on stage, sang one (terrible) song and then the next girl with an equally terrible but very similar song crooned into the microphone. It was quite bizar. No one much applauded but it seemed as if most restaurant guests enjoyed the show.

The restaurant menu was limited as most dishes seemed not be available and the menu had no prices at all. When I inquired the waiter went back to the kitchen a few times to give the prices for the dishes I had asked about (they were all very reasonable).  The chicken dish I picked was quite good as was the local beer. But the singing that constantly continued on stage limited the enjoyment of the food a little, but never mind. In a way it was quite fascinating.  

A stroll through the equally fascinating and once again very busy China town a few kilometers away ended the evening.