Monte Clinton's Travel Journals

Burma: page 7

The parade wound its way to the main tent where a lunch was being prepared.

As with any big meal for the public, someone has to do the “dishes”. Washing the dishes consists of a quick swish in the milky water in the log.

Bagan is an interesting city with a long history.  Founded in the 11^th century by one of the early Burmese kings, its splendor is considered second only to the huge complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.   The primary attraction of Bagan is the complex of over 4,000 temples all gathered together in an area of 16 square miles.

The first, and still the largest, temple was built by a Burmese king in the year 900.  After its construction a building “boom” when on as wealthy people built temples near the king’s temple.  When the last temple was built in 1200, the 4,000 temple complex was surly one of the wonders of the world.  Some of the temples contain wall paintings depicting the Mongolian invasion lead by Kublia Khan in 1287.    

Our guide warned us that only a few of the temples were open to tourists, many of the others were inhabited by pit vipers and cobra snakes.  That warning was enough to keep visitors away. 

The following photos of the Bagan temple complex speak for themselves.

Our guide was a very knowledgeable authority on Bagan’s history.  He was also the ideal person to help bargain for a good price at the market.  But with prices so low, bargaining seemed to take advantage of the sellers who were barely making a living.   He had been an archeologist with the United Nations working to document the Bagan temples.  When the generals took control away from the democratically elected government in 1989, the UN left Burma in protest and he along with thousands of others lost  their jobs.

Many of the temples at Bagan were filled with golden Buddhas.  While the temples are solid masonry, corridors along the inside edge of the temples hold Buddhas, wall paintings and writings.