Final Mandaly Days and Inlae Lake

    For the first time on our trip the internet has really gone South.  Thus the space between posts.  My last entry had us in Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city.  We enjoyed our stay there and at the same time were ready to leave.  A couple of highlights.  About a half hour from Mandalay is the ancient city of Inwa.  One takes a very short boat ride across a canal and from there it is by horse and buggy.  The sights are mainly ancient temples and structures ruined by time.  This, of course, gives them a majestic look that is hard to duplicate in the newer temples.  We felt we were truly out of the city, the countryside was beautiful and quite serene.  That is except for all the  other horse and buggy carts plying the same few dirt roads.  We actually got caught in a horse and buggy traffic jam!!  Now that's a first.
     In one of our few night time adventures we went to see the Moustache Brothers.  Though now there is only one main brother in the act, they were Myanmar's version of the Marx Brothers.  That is until they parodied the Myanmar military generals in a performance before Aung San Suu Kyi where they refused to temper their humor, even though they knew they were in the spotlight.  Two of the brothers did 7 years hard labor as a result.  Despite the recent death of one of the founding brothers, Lu Maw still delivers an energetic show of slapstick, of which we could understand about 60%.  His wife and sister perform traditional dance and are quite good.  All Western audience for sure, but it is a family affair and one has to respect the fact that they go at it with gusto.
     In the nearby town of Amarapura one finds the longest teak footbridge in the world (1300 yards).  But people don't go to see the bridge, they go to see the sunset.  It was such the scene.  A mix of people that was hard to fathom.  From Buddhist priests to tribal women, tons of locals, and a scattering of Westerners.  Watching the crowd watch the sunset over the river was just plain fascinating.  It was one of the things in Mandalay I would definitely repeat.
     On Wednesday morning we caught a very short flight from Mandalay to Inle Lake, actually the culmination of the Myanmar part of the trip.  One stays in a town, Nyaungshwe, which is not on the lake but connected by canal.  It's kind of a funky town, but I like it.  Not too big, a good selection of restaurants, yet a real example of Myanmar life.  Most of the livelihood comes from fishing, farming and tourists.  We have taken two boat trips and well may do another one tomorrow, our last day here at the lake.  There have been interesting sights, mainly in the small village of Inthein.  The canals that lead into the village are fascinating.  People living in stilt borne houses, some bird and animal life; the guy in the book compares it to the river ride in Apocolyse Now.  I wouldn't go that far, but it did get our attention in a very positive way.  One climbs up a hill outside the village that is the location of 1054 ancient stupas from the 17th and 18th century.  A grouping like this is always fascinating, from the individual stupa to taking in the scene as a whole.  Some of them have been restored, some not.  There is no question that we found the ones that were nearing shambles as the most interesting.  Loved this spot and the little village, and would return for sure.
     Allow me to talk about one other place that we have visited which is located about 1 1/2 hours out of Nyaungshwe.  When one goes to places you hear about you really don't know what to expect.  We had read about this cave that held many Buddhas.  Well lord knows we have seen a ton of Buddhas and pagodas, so we were torn as to whether to go or not.  So glad we did.  The Shwe Oo Min Natural Cave and Pagoda was mind blowing.  One enters this cave (not low key, a giant spider sculpture greets the visitor, apparently to appease the spiders that got displaced when the Pagoda was built) and is astounded by Buddhas of every size, shape and material imaginable.  One starts out in an area called the maze, and they mean that literally.  You wind from one path to another just to find yourself at a dead end.  Once you pass through the maze you go deep into the cave with Buddhas located in every nook and cranny.  This is juxtaposed with the natural stalagmites and stalactites that are eye catching in themselves.  Quite the sight for the eye.  To add interest the Buddhas are "sponsored" by groups or individuals from all over the world.  They are adding new ones continuously.  Actually most of the ones we saw had been added since 2000.  I think that is due to the fact that Myanmar  has been so much more "open" since then.  I know if I was connected to a Buddhist sect in the U.S., that is one thing I would strive for.  Have a Bhudda with a plaque of recognition in the Shwe Oo Min Cave.  It would make a statement to someone, somewhere!
     So two more days in Myanmar.  On Tuesday (your Monday) we fly back to Yangon for the day, then the next morning head to Cambodia.  I have some general observations that I would like to make about the country, but they will wait until the next entry.  There is one thing on my mind that I would like to share.  My good friend since 8th grade, Dave Kuhn, who married my cousin, just got out of the hospital but is still in rough shape.  I want to send him the best of wishes and let him know he is in my thoughts.
     The three of us are healthy, happy, mostly inspired, and having a fabulous trip.     JB