Through My Lens

Bagan, Part II

So, here I am writing about this magical place again. I was so fascinated by this place that I had to capture everything I saw. There is so much history and it is not easy to document everything in one sitting.
Our second day we head out of town to visit a local palm candy/palm liquor facility. The country side is beautiful with rice fields on both sides of the road and life in these parts moves at a very slow pace.




Yes! this is where they make the palm candy and palm liquor. It took us 45 mins from our hotel to get to this place and it was a really warm day. They make their own peanut oil and we had a chance to see how it was made.



Fresh peanuts grown on the property and they use the peanuts to make peanut oil.



Curious as to how they make the peanut oil??? Talk about organic everything...

The method is pretty simple. As you can see these people don't

have fancy machines.



They use an ox driven mill to make the peanut oil. This is located in central Bagan. We stopped here on our way to Mt.Popa. Truly an amazing experience. Here's a video:




After watching how the peanut oil was made we went to see how they made palm candy and liquor. First off, The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically the sap is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree and a container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. The white liquid that initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented.



Palm sap begins fermenting immediately after collection, due to natural yeasts in the air. Within two hours, fermentation yields an aromatic wine of up to 4% alcohol content (woohoo!!!), mildly intoxicating and sweet.

The wine may be allowed to ferment longer, up to a day, to yield a stronger, more sour and acidic taste, which some people prefer. Palm wine may be distilled to create a stronger drink.







Palm Juice in the clay pots (non-alcoholic of course).



Palm juice, palm candy & tea leaf salad....yum!!!!















The 1st step of making palm liquor










2nd step...


Now this is the real stuff.

Through My Lens

"Mingalaba" or "Nay Kaung Lar" means how are you in the burmese language.

Bagan, Myanmar Bagan formerly known as Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay division of Burma. Bagan was the capital of Burma between the 11th century and the end of the 13th. Hundreds of Buddhist temples and pagodas were built in the area around the city until Pagan was overrun by the Mongols in 1287. Today, seven centuries later, approximately 2,200 temples remain standing. The river Irrawaddy has washed away nearly one-third of the original city area, thieves have torn apart many temples in search of treasures, while earthquakes and the ravages of time have reduced hundreds of others to great piles of crumbled stones.

Bagan was the highlight of my trip. With over 2000 pagodas one can only see a fraction of these beautiful monuments. I am sure every person who has been to Bagan has a different story to tell because not everyone gets to see the same temples/pagodas. Here is my documentation of this beautiful city.

There are 3 top pagodas in Bagan: Thatbyinnyu, Ananda & Shwezigon.

Thatbyinnyu
Is the tallest Bagan pagoda (high as a 17-story modern building). It is the white building in the distance.

Ananda
Temple is one of the four main temples remaining in Bagan. The temple is considered to be one of the most surviving masterpiece of the Mon architecture. Also known as the finest, largest, best preserved and most revered of the Bagan temples. During the 1975 earthquake, the temple suffered considerable damage but has been totally restored.


The Shwezigon Paya: This is the holiest of the Bagan pagodas. Its impressive gilded bell-shaped stupa houses relics of Buddha. Anawrahta was Theravada Buddhism's first major advocate in Myanmar and the first of the great builders of Bagan.


Shwezigon has a collection of relics, including the Buddha's frontal and collar bones, and an emerald Buddha image from China. Legend has it that the site of Shwezigon was chosen by a white elephant.

Young monks taking a break from their daily rituals.




I was fortunate enough to travel with my good friend Sa Sa and her family who took care of all the arrangements for us (hotels, guides, transportation etc...)

We checked into our hotel and had some burmese breakfast which consists of fried vegetable fritters, corn cakes, rice with peas, fish soup (Yes! fish soup) seasonal fruit, coffee & tea etc...

The food is tasty and everything is made fresh with fresh ingredients everyday. You can always find an outdoor/farmer's market where you can buy fresh produce.


Fresh produce. Green eggplants, bitter gourd, bottle gourd leafy greens....yum!!!! Doesn't get much better than this.

On one of our trips to a pagoda we met local burmese kids who paint their faces with tanaka. Tanaka is a paste made of a tree root that protects the skin from the sun and also has mosturizing properties. Either in the cities or in the rural areas most of the woman, children and some men wear Tanaka on their faces.




We visited atleast 50 or more pagodas and every pagoda is unique to the region.

All buddhist's bow 3 times when they visit a pagoda (not sure why?). You can see my friends, especially my friend Matt trying really hard to master how to bow. :) The guy in the beige shorts with his A$$ in the air.



The statue below was built in such a way the when you get closer, the buddha has no smile on his face and get closer he has a smile on his face!

As we were exploring the 100's of pagodas and buddha statues I happened to see local burmese (young) men playing street soccer in their loincloth.



Smile

Try playing street soccer with a gochi (gochi is an indian word for loincloth).









Bagan is truly a magical place. Every where you look you will find 100's of pagodas on either side of the road.









Sunsets were amazing in Bagan.

Thai monks! (Visitors)

Sleeping Buddha!

































There's more to Bagan than just buddhist statues and pagodas so stand by for more photos of Bagan and the people of Bagan and their lifestyle.

THROUGH MY LENS

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."




Burma, (or The Union of Myanmar) as it is called by the Military Junta, is a country where magnificent and ancient Buddhist Temples gaze out serenely over a nation restless for change. Burma has plenty of pagodas, life-giving rivers, lush mountain forests, and intricately-drawn cities. For the last 30 years, its people have been ruled by a notoriously repressive military government, the Tatmadaw. Travel to Burma poses a moral question because the bulk of the tourist revenue falls into the government's coffers. However, the notion that interaction with Burmese people and culture helps to encourage change. Does it? I don't know...I guess we'll have to wait and see. Burma's main cities: Rangoon and Mandalay are situated along the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady), and the 1,000 mi. The Irrawaddy valley is surrounded by a great horseshoe of mountain ranges, which rise the east to the highlands of the Shan Plateau.

The vast majority of Burmese people live in the lowland regions of this river valley. This fertile expanse, that sits within the tropical monsoon belt, is one of the world's great rice-growing regions. Burma's population includes dozens of different racial and ethnic groups, including the Mon, Burmans, Kachins, Chins, Shans, Rakhine, and Karens, each of which have historically dominated a particular area of the country. Although Burmese is the major and official language, more than a hundred local and regional dialects are spoken throughout Burma.

YANGON, MYANMAR

My first stop was in Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon). Stayed in Yangon for about 4 days. My friend Matt and I went to see the Shwedagon Pagoda that sits high atop the sacred shrine of Singuttara Hill, and houses relics of The Buddha encased in gold and in jewels, the Shwedagon pagoda is a wonder to see.The beauty of the architecture and design will take your breath away, as will the sparkling, light catching jewels. This beautiful holy place is, filled with history and legend.

The people of Myanmar are predominantly Buddhist. All in all, there are 135 ethnic groups in Myanmar, each with their own culture and language.

And you will find the glittering and vast Shwedagon Pagoda, full of history, spirituality and lore.














In the streets of Yangon you will find sugar cane stands everywhere. On a hot day if you want to quench your thirst try some sugar cane juice. I didn't! Why? Because.....











You will find food that has been described as some of the best in the world.

You will see a lot of these street side restaurants that locals go to and the food is pretty inexpensive. You can get a tasty meal for as little as $1.50. Yes! $1.50...


























Fresh vegetables and fruits are abundant in Myanmar. You can go to the local farmer's market's and buy everything fresh almost everyday.




This is a documentation of my experience of what I saw and captured in Myanmar. It is a sad place and I think most of us are blessed and should be thankful for what we have. The Burmese people survive on very little and yet they always have a smile on their faces and are always accommodating and willing to help when you need it. This is only the 1st phase of what I documented. More to come.