Car Trip and Monkey Time

      This evening finds us well after a day exploring the ancient temples of Bagan.  But to digress. We made the decison to come north via car, and then fly back south to Yangon at the end of our stay.  So we had a two day road trip from Yangon to Bagan.  The trip was through mostly flat, and very rural, farm land.  We saw the critical rice paddies, teak forests, watermelon fields, rubber trees, and sugar cane.  Myanmar does feed itself, and not a tractor in sight.  Most of the  fields are being worked by human labor and brahma bulls.  Soe, our driver, called them working cows.  Actually they are beautiful animals, distinguished by the large hump that defines their neck.
     The small villages we passed through were very basic with much of the population living in very austere conditions.  This is not surprising as the same housing is found in most rural third world locations. The roadside restaurants we stopped at had limited menus and were surprised to have western clients.  Usually there were no menus and often it was "would you like fried chicken or chicken curry".  Not Thai curry but a bit blander mix of chicken and rice.  Now that said, they always bring at least six small side dishes that embellish the chicken dish.  We, of course, had no idea what they were so it was trial and error.  Also at these restaurants Soe, our driver, felt comfortable eating the way he is used to, with his hands.  Chop sticks and traditonal, for us, silverware were also available.
     The trip went smoothly for the most part.  We did sit along side of the road for an hour while Soe fixed the horn.  The horn was an absolute critical part of his driving.  He beeped it every time he passed anything, and any time we were passed.  So when it went out he was bummed.  Much fiddling and help from passers by got the job done.  Whew!!!!  Another thing that stood out was passing a Hindu festival where they do incredible body piercing.  I had experienced one in Malaysia years ago and have never forgotten it.  The men go into trance like states and get their bodies pierced with hooks of all different sizes.  When removed by the priest, no blood.  Though we only saw the happenings through the car window it definitely got our attention.  The whole scene was wild and bizarre.  We barely made it through the throngs of people.  We finally arrived in Bagan late, after dark,  which I hate.  Arriving in a strange place at night just sucks.  No feel for the place and hard to get one's bearings.  We did have a hotel reservation so our destination was clear, but after a long day little else was.
     Our first day in Bagan was our last day with Soe.  We had made the decison before to hire him for an extra day in order to visit Mt Popa, about two hours out of Bagan.  It is the premier place for Nat worship (I'm afraid you are going to have to look it up).  Mt Popa is actually a village, but it is home to Popa Taung Kalat, a volcanic plug that juts up out of the ground 2,400 feet.  Of course on top of that is a temple, accessed by 777 steps.  The entire place was quite the scene.  Throngs of people, mostly Burmese, with a smattering of tourists from all over the place.  We climbed the 777 steps, accompanied the entire way by the large population of monkeys who make the temple their residence.  Ones first impression is "oh aren't they cute", but by the end one is in agreement with the locals who fight them off with sling shots.  Talking aggressive!!  We saw a monk with a bunch of bananas feeding them and they were literally jumping on his back!  (Never forget the time in India when they stole Callie's underwear off the clothes line.)  Anyway, we got up the steps like 50 year olds and really found the entire scene fascinating.
     So the next blog will actually be about Bagan.  On Saturday, Friday to you, we'll be on a riverboat to Mandalay.  More soon.  Again, the three of us are healthy, happy and having a great time.                          JB