Monte Clinton's Travel Journals

Burma: page 10

A side trip to what would have been the world’s largest pagoda – It was a pagoda (stupa) that never was.  Over 1,000 years ago the king decreed that the largest stupa was to be built on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River.  Construction began on the pedestal that would hold the stupa but a massive earthquake stopped construction when a huge crack split the base.  The base now stands as a testament to this massive construction effort and the earthquake that stopped it. 

The base when viewed from a distance. The cracked base is shown below.

Burma is filled with Buddhist monasteries where young boys learn the texts of the Buddha.  The chanting of the verses was like a song floating across the village.

The monastery houses scores of students in a dilapidated building.

Mandalay is a wonderful city struggling to survive under the rule of the generals.  The electricity is on about eight hours a day – not knowing which eight hours presents a problem for hotels – most have their own generators.  

Following Mandalay it was a short flight to Helo near the Inle Lake.   Our first stop was a series of caves holding hundreds of Buddhas. 

The caves outside Helo proved to be one of the most visually interesting stops on our trip.  These are caves that have been a pilgrimage site for hundreds of years.  Here worship consists of having a Buddha (a Buddha with your name on it showing that you donated the statue) to join the other hundreds of Buddhas in the cave.

Our hotel on the Inle Lake was quite spectacular – each room was a separate building on stilts holding it above a bay just off the lake.  Our room had mosquito nets over each bed – perhaps a warning that we were in mosquito territory.