Pagodas at dawn
And so we arrive at Bagan, the centre of tourism in Myanmar, for this is Pagoda Central. From the 11 – 13th centuries, Bagan was a huge city dedicated by its various rulers to Theravada Buddhism, which was celebrated by the building of over 13,000 pagodas, monasteries and stupas. Amazingly, 2200 survive today, despite the sacking of the city by Kublai Khan – he of the stately pleasure dome – and innumerable earthquakes, natural erosion and decay. Continue reading
The Gokteik railway viaduct, built 1899. Spectacular
BY THE old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea,
There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
“Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay! “
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay ?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!
Meanwhile here are a few photos to keep you going until I get down to writing…we had a simply wonderful time!
Balloons over Bagan
Scenery on the trek up to the Palaung village of Pamkam, in North Shan
Palaung woman in Pamkam village
Lotus flower seller outside temple in Mandalay
The most sumptuous of all Bagan pagodas
Fishermen at Inle Lake
Pao woman and baby at Inthein weekly market, Inle Lake
vickygoestravelling 