Sometimes I have wondered whether the Burmese are the butt of jokes in Asia. Like we have Irish jokes, in Canada they have Polack jokes, in The Netherlands they heap it on the Belgians. It seems to me like the place is so far behind the rest of Asia that they can't help being the poor cousins of everybody else. I mean, every other south east Asian country I can think of has street cred.
Today, I sat back in an air conditioned car and was driven from Mandalay to Bagan. It took all day. I got bounced from pillar to post, the road was a shocker. And the number of near death experiences was a lot more than I cared for. Out in the countryside, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Nineteenth century. Coolies in conical straw hats ploughing paddocks with oxen. (I can say oxen, can't I? Its not rascist?) Carts being dragged by a pair of brahmin cows. People carrying buckets of water with a yoke across their back. Houses built of bamboo frames with woven rattan panels for walls and palm leaves for a roof. I began to think, if they took all the gold that has been beaten flat and plastered all over the temples and statues of Buddah, melted it into ingots and stashed it in the vaults of the Central Bank, they would have more gold reserves that Fort Knox, and this would be a wealthy country.
The roads are dreadful. Blurry photos taken through the car windscreen, but you get the idea.
But they are good at temple building. This is Mt Popa, which is the birthplace of the Nats, which are ancient spirits in whom the populace still place a great deal of belief. I mean they still revere the Buddah and Buddhist philosophy, but the Nats get a lot of attention, and offerings. Sort of like a few bob each way, just in case. The monastery on top of the mountain is Buddhist, but the temples down where I took the photo are Nat central. People leave offerings of fruit, beverages and good old cash in front of a bunch of cheap looking statues. Every one to their own, I suppose. The monastery wouldn't look out of place in Transylvania.
Meanwhile, down in Nat-ville, I think its the monkeys stealing all the fruit offered to the Nats.
And here's another thing. There are gum trees all over the place around here. I thought so! Most of them are pretty skinny ones, but the unmistakeable leaves and the way they hang gave it away. I have seen Eucalypts in some of the most unexpected places, like India, Pakistan, the US, and Chile for starters. Can they do that?
Today, I sat back in an air conditioned car and was driven from Mandalay to Bagan. It took all day. I got bounced from pillar to post, the road was a shocker. And the number of near death experiences was a lot more than I cared for. Out in the countryside, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Nineteenth century. Coolies in conical straw hats ploughing paddocks with oxen. (I can say oxen, can't I? Its not rascist?) Carts being dragged by a pair of brahmin cows. People carrying buckets of water with a yoke across their back. Houses built of bamboo frames with woven rattan panels for walls and palm leaves for a roof. I began to think, if they took all the gold that has been beaten flat and plastered all over the temples and statues of Buddah, melted it into ingots and stashed it in the vaults of the Central Bank, they would have more gold reserves that Fort Knox, and this would be a wealthy country.
The roads are dreadful. Blurry photos taken through the car windscreen, but you get the idea.
But they are good at temple building. This is Mt Popa, which is the birthplace of the Nats, which are ancient spirits in whom the populace still place a great deal of belief. I mean they still revere the Buddah and Buddhist philosophy, but the Nats get a lot of attention, and offerings. Sort of like a few bob each way, just in case. The monastery on top of the mountain is Buddhist, but the temples down where I took the photo are Nat central. People leave offerings of fruit, beverages and good old cash in front of a bunch of cheap looking statues. Every one to their own, I suppose. The monastery wouldn't look out of place in Transylvania.
Meanwhile, down in Nat-ville, I think its the monkeys stealing all the fruit offered to the Nats.
And here's another thing. There are gum trees all over the place around here. I thought so! Most of them are pretty skinny ones, but the unmistakeable leaves and the way they hang gave it away. I have seen Eucalypts in some of the most unexpected places, like India, Pakistan, the US, and Chile for starters. Can they do that?
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