It is time to leave the beautiful hotel in Bagan. We stopped outside of town at a small community stand where they sell all sorts of local products - most made from peanut oil or palm tree. We had a chance to sample some candy, alcohol, and even "muscle oil" - massage oil. We saw them fermenting the hooch and even saw the pots of foaming beer - almost ready for drinking. The candy was sensational. The one with coconut shards in it....yum! They have these amazingly comfortable wood chairs here. You seep into them, then recline back and rest your head on the board provided just for that. They are easy to get into, hard to get out of.
A word here about tacky tourists. It is downright embarrassing to see a white person riding the peanut grinder, pretending to steer the ox, while getting her picture taken. Ugh. Is there anything worse than a rich person (and yes, any traveler to Myanmar is rich compared to what they have here) getting their jollies mimicking the little boy whose job it is is to actually do that? Then, when the woman hops off and tells her husband, "Giles, give the boy something...." It makes my skin crawl. People here don't ask for money for their pictures (yet), but by acting this way, tourists create a monster appetite for these staged opportunities that we then throw money at. Degrading everyone in the process. Tread lightly, there is no need to stomp our way through the world.
Lecture over. For now. Until I see more bad tourist behavior.
I also got to see my first Aung San Suu Kyi poster. She is pictured with her father, Aung San, who is considered a hero in Myanmar, due to his fight against the Japanese occupation and his work towards independence from the British. He was assassinated in 1947. His daughter lived abroad, went to Oxford, married, and had two children. She returned to Burma and became the charismatic spokeswoman for the NLD (the National League for Democracy) during the 1988 uprising.
On 8/8/88 at eight minutes past eight in the morning, a huge demonstration was held. People walked off their jobs, marching toward the center of the city in Yangon. It was crushed by the military, leaving thousands of demonstrators shot dead on the streets of Yangon. There were calls for a general elections and an interim government, but it didn't work. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in 1989.
She was in and out of house arrest, but working behind the scenes for change in Myanmar. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her resistance to the military junta running the country, and was finally released in 2010. She was elected to parliament, but is still unable to run for President. The existing government would need to amend the constitution as it currently prohibits her from being elected. It will be interesting to see if they actually do it. The people obviously want her, there are books and posters around, and our guide talked lovingly of her.
We stopped at a little village and did a walk through to see the school and see their new schoolhouse being built. The children were very excited to get their pictures taken, and then see them on the camera screen. Many of the ladies asked for their pictures, too, and were obviously delighted to see the result. It was so much fun. The people here are all so beautiful. Very striking and at first they seem stern, just watching. But a smile and a hello - or better yet, a "min-gala-ba" goes a long way.
Today, we are going to Mount Popa, one of the most sacred places in Myanmar. Home to many "Nats," or spirits of ancient ancestors who dwell in various parts of the mountain. Nats were originally humans, all who died violently, and then became symbols.
Nat worship predates Buddhism. Nats are spirits that may hold dominion over a place, person, etc. There are guardian Nats or Nats that need appeasement if they are displaced (say by building a house or plowing a field). Before the 11th century, people built outdoor shrines or spirit houses to appease their land Nat, and made daily offerings to it so that the Nat would be happy and not cause bad luck to fall on the family. Nats could possess you if they were not appeased, resulting in crazy behavior that would reflect badly on you or the family.
When King Anawrahta came to power, he converted to Buddhism and decided that everyone else should do the same, so he outlawed Nat worship. The people just brought the Nat shrines into their homes and hid them from the King. Eventually, he assimilated Buddhism, so that it included some Nat worship, thus making Buddhism an easier pill to swallow. Buddhism spread rapidly after that - maybe the Nats were appeased? - but people still have home Nats and actively worship them. They even appear in some Buddist temples here, if you know what you are looking for.
The town below the main shrine contains the Mahagri Shrine, where all 37 Nats are on display. They are giant mannequins, dressed to the hilt, in all their finery. People leave offerings of flowers, liquor, food, and money that they tuck into the hands of the Nat they wish to appease. Everything is colorful and festive looking, and in their original human form. The little round, red and black heads we've been seeing everywhere (even at the entrances to some temples and stupas) are home Nats. It is considered bad form to wear red or black on the mountain, as those are colors reserved just for them. And you don't want an angry Nat on your hands - or in your body.
There are 777 steps to the top of the craggy rock, where there is a collection of shrines, stupas and monasteries. 777. Steps. You can wear shoes up the first two hundred, then it is bare feet from there on up. And down, by the way. There are also tons of monkeys roaming about - leaving little treasures just ready for your bare feet. If you are coming to Myanmar, put Handi-Wipes on your list of things to bring. Monkey poop. On your feet. You've been warned.
It was incredibly hot, but the staircase leading up the mountain is covered by a tin roof. You can hear the monkey scrabbling above you, jumping from rock to roof and back. They serve as entertainment while you climb. Just don't make direct eye contact, and for the love of god, do not bring any food with you. There are women selling corn wrapped in tiny newspaper that pele then throw to the monkeys. But this means that if you are carrying something, you might be mistaken for a food holder. The stair cleaners carry slingshots to keep the monkeys (and their deposits) off the freshly hand-washed stairs.
Climbing 777 steps causes one to reflect on exactly what they are doing in Myanmar, climbing to a shrine. As the sweat poured down my back, and monkeys scrambled around me, I thought that this was a pilgrimage of sorts for me, even though I'm not a Buddhist. I think I've been on a pilgrimage for some time. The last year has been one that I'm ready to be rid of. So much heartbreak, so much sadness - mixed with many good things, of course, but it was hard going to get to the good stuff.
When I travel, I always compare the experience to Iran. Nothing will match that. It was too special, too magical, too important. Never to be repeated. My trips now can be bitter sweet. Each trip a magnificent adventure...but nothing like that one. I remain nostalgic for it. Today was the day that that happened in Myanmar.
So I ask my Nats for good luck, buy myself a blue and white evil eye charm (which I buy myself on every trip if I can find one) and try to remember that this is where I am, and there isn't any option but to be here.
Our place of retreat is a stunning resort, perched on the side of a hill, with a breathtaking view of the rock we climbed earlier. I sit typing this, with a cold Myanmar beer, a warm breeze blowing, by myself on the restaurant terrace. The sky goes from deep blue, to purple, to white, to a fluorescent pink. A high mist obscures the valley behind the rock, which juts up from the landscape. Nothing could be on top of that rock except a place of worship. It is lit up, hovering in the mist. A beacon to pilgrims and those of us who have trouble believing. It says, believe in something, believe that there is something bigger than yourself. Don't be afraid. Even if it takes 777 steps, it can be done.
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