Bagan, Myanmar

Ugh….we had to be up and out by 6am today. Whew, it is humid today. From here on the trip will be in tropical climates. My hair looks like a Pom Pom. After breakfast, we had a 90 minute bus ride back to Heho airport to catch our 40-minute charter flight to Bagan, Myanmar. Once again this was a much more spacious plane than Delta and on a 40 minute flight, they served a light lunch! We are flying to Bagan instead of taking the buses, which would have been a 7 hour drive! (Pronounced Bahghan) (Myanmar is pronounced without the “r” on the end of it) We are on the bus with Koye on the way to the airport. He teaches us a few more words. Angdah is the word for bathroom…means “pleasant house”. Along the road we get behind a small local open bed truck laden with bags of garlic and several workers sitting atop the bags. We have arrived to 84 degree weather in Bagan. A few days ago it was 110! So happy that it’s cooled down for us. Our welcome committee at the airport greets us with single stem red roses. Bagan was founded in 1044 and is the origin of Myanmar temples. Some facts about Buddha’s: Long ears on a Buddha means he is older and wiser. Newer Buddhas have the longer slender four fingers. Monks and Buddhas do not eat any main meals after noon. 108 Buddhist prayer beads and 108 Buddha positions. Upon arrival to the ancient capital of Bagan we explored Htilominlo Temple. The local vendors with stalls set up around the perimeter of the temple are so aggressive and in our faces, we can barely get to our bus. Ananda Temple, an ornate masterpiece of Buddhist architecture. Four entrances. Each entrance has a standing Buddha. Over 1400 Buddhas inside with many limestone Buddhas in niches. We had a buffet lunch at the hotel and enjoyed a marionette show as entertainment. Marionettes are quite popular entertainment in this area. After lunch we took a dip in the pool with Paula, Frank, Cathy & Bob. Then we toured the Lacquerware Factory. Watching them make the lacquerware is amazing. It is such a delicate and multilayered step process. They make everything from bracelets to dining room sets. We bought a few pieces including a bracelet. Next we visited the Minnanthu Village. This is still a very primitive village to the east of Bagan. It is an agricultural village which specializes in the production of sesame and peanut oil. The village has cow-driven seed grinders and still uses oxen pulled carts. We visited with a tiny little 90 year old woman who hand rolls cigars there. She demonstrated her technique for making cigars. They were made of flower petals and chopped up corn husks. The Esther’s both smoked a cigar with her. Jim got some funny photo’s of that! This is the most limber 90 year old I’ve ever seen. She’s sitting in an interlaced Indian style pose on the ground! We then visited the children’s school and passed out school supplies to the children for them to use when school starts next week. The supplies were donated by National Geographic. The children were so cute and very excited about getting new school supplies. We had a lovely dinner poolside tonight and enjoyed a local musician. The resort is lovely except for the fact that we’ve had power outages a big part of the day. Unfortunately, when the power goes out, so does the Internet, AC and water! I’ve found it funny that the Burmese people are big Facebook addicts! There are ads everywhere too. Aureum Palace & Hotel, Bagan