Charting a golden age

Just another day ... a soya bean harvest near Ayeyarwady River. Photo: Getty Images

The monks and monarchs of Burma's competing kingdoms have left their mark along its grandest river. Ute Junker explores some of their glittering remnants.
IT'S makeover time at the Yaza Mani Sula Kaung Hmu Daw Pagoda, one of Burma's most sacred shrines. Although the country is littered with temples and pagodas, this one is remarkable. It's been revered for more than a thousand years, not least because it houses a collection of venerated Buddha relics - a tooth, 11 pieces of hair and an alms bowl.
What really sets the Yaza Mani Sula Kaung Hmu Daw apart, however, is its design. The smoothly curved pagoda resembles nothing so much as a milky-white breast pointing into the sky. This feminine touch is somewhat unexpected. Most of Burma's shrines and temples follow a more masculine model: a simple white base with a golden spire thrusting proudly into the sky.

Advertisement: Story continues below

A fisherman casts his net. Photo: Getty Images

Unfortunately, this deviation came to the attention of the country's then general-in-chief, Than Shwe. On a recent visit, he ordered that the pagoda be painted gold, upsetting local monks and scholars for whom the building's clean white lines represent purity.
In this country, however, the general's word is law. When we arrive at the pagoda, a troupe of workmen is suspended on ropes from its top, slapping on the gold paint. They look like insects crawling over the pagoda's massive surface.
The work has just begun but it seems that the general has miscalculated. If the gold paint is intended to distract the eye from the building's breast-like silhouette, it's not working. Quite the contrary. It still looks like a breast - only now, it looks like a breast belonging to an exotic dancer. Probably not what the general had in mind.

Pagodas peek through early-morning fog at Bagan. Photo: Getty Images

The tale of the general and the pagoda offers an insight into modern Burma. It's a very traditional country: deeply religious, dedicated to maintaining centuries-old traditions, where beautiful religious buildings form the backdrop to everyday life. However, it's also a country that suffers at the hands of the capricious generals who have ruled for decades.
Most of the world knows little about Burma beyond those generals, whose mismanagement has reduced it to one of the poorest countries in the world. As a result, any visit to Burma is a journey of exploration. From the temple-studded central plains to the gorgeous southern beaches, every day brings a new discovery.
Getting to Burma is not difficult: there are frequent flights from Thailand and the visa formalities are no more rigorous than those of many of its neighbours. However, the country's tourism infrastructure has a long way to go. Accommodation options are limited: Yangon has a number of international-standard hotels but once you leave the city they're few and far between. The roads are in poor shape and petrol is severely rationed. You can see a petrol station long before you reach it by the queue of cars stretching towards it. Fortunately, there is an alternative - take to the river. The Ayeyarwady River has served as the country's main highway for centuries, transporting goods and people between key towns and settlements. Although navigating the Ayeyarwady can be unpredictable - ever-shifting sandbanks are a hazard, as is the river's depth, which can vary as much as 12 metres from its wet season peak to the shallows of the dry - it offers a much quicker and more pleasant travel experience than the country's dusty, potholed roads.

The Pon Nya Shin Pagoda, built in the 14th century. Photo: Getty Images

On the Ayeyarwady, every hour is peak hour. Small passenger boats dart from bank to bank, while flat-bottom barges carry heavy loads of wood and construction materials. However, there's plenty of room for everyone: at its widest, the river stretches 6.4 kilometres from bank to bank. Our vessel is clearly the queen of the river. The Road to Mandalay is a luxurious, low-slung river cruiser that takes just 82 passengers. The spacious cabins are equipped with satellite TV, and passengers can also take advantage of an alfresco bar and dining area, a fitness room and even a swimming pool, not to mention a program of lectures and cultural presentations, including dance and handicraft demonstrations. You can even book an in-room massage. It's a level of luxury that's rare in Burma: throw in itineraries that showcase the country's highlights and you have the perfect way to go exploring.
Our four-day itinerary takes us between two fascinating destinations: the central plains of Bagan and the country's last royal capital, the city of Mandalay. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, one of the colourful rulers that stud Burma's history. Mindon is remembered as a moderniser - he encouraged his country to adopt the exciting developments of Europe's Industrial Revolution - but also as a man with a great deal of charisma.
According to legend, Mindon managed to foil a planned putsch when he came face-to-face with the man commissioned to kill him. From force of habit, the would-be assassin followed protocol and dropped to his knees, dropping his sword at the same time. Overcome by the king's majestic aura, the assassin then underwent a spectacular change of heart and offered to help the king escape, giving him a piggyback ride back to the barracks where loyal royal guards were stationed.
Mindon also possessed something of a building fetish. Not content with building a sprawling royal palace, which these days has been partly requisitioned as an army barracks, Mindon created two of Mandalay's most magnificent monuments.
The beauty of the Sandamani Paya - hundreds of white, gold-tipped spires stretching to the sky - is only enhanced by its apparent pointlessness. In fact, it's a memorial to King Mindon's brother, Prince Kanaung, erected after he was felled by assassins. Apparently, he didn't share his brother's personal magnetism. Conveniently, Mindon's other spectacular construction is right next door. The Kuthodaw Pagoda is another act of devotion, this time religious rather than familial. The pagoda's 5.2 hectares are home to 700 shrines, each one protecting a weighty marble slab about 1.5 metres high and 1.1 metres wide. Each slab is inscribed with the sacred Buddhist text of the Tripitaka, an achievement that has led to Kuthodaw Pagoda being acknowledged (by Guinness World Records, among others) as the world's largest book.
Mandalay might have been the last royal capital but it had plenty of predecessors. Burma's turbulent history has been punctuated by a series of competing dynasties, each of which sought to establish its legitimacy by creating a new capital.
No fewer than three of these lie just a short distance from Mandalay - Innwa, Amarapura and Sagaing. Not that you would ever pick it. If you're picturing eerie ghost towns centred around abandoned royal buildings, think again. In Burma, a deeply Buddhist country, the use of brick has traditionally been reserved for religious buildings. All other buildings - even royal palaces - were made of wood. Whenever a king established a new capital, he raided the previous capital for building materials, dismantling his predecessor's buildings to create his own.
As a result, most royal buildings have disappeared. What used to be glorious capital cities are now sleepy villages, where the only activity comes from dust-coated stone carvers churning out one Buddha statue after another. Amarapura has managed to maintain just one relic from its royal past: a 200-year old teak bridge that stretches 1200 metres across Taungthaman Lake. The U Bein Bridge, distinguished by its gently curving form - designed to help it withstand the wind that can whip across the lake - still sees plenty of traffic, particularly at sunset. While fishermen busy themselves in the water, labourers make their way home across the bridge, and ordinary Burmese - from teenage girls to monks to entire families - relax and exchange news.
Nearby, the town of Sagaing has done a slightly better job of clinging onto its glory days. Although Sagaing held the title of capital for only four years, it remains an important religious centre. There are more than 500 monasteries, home to about 6000 monks and nuns, and plenty of temples to visit, including some old cave temples with murals that can be seen by candlelight.
From our mooring on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing presents a beautiful panorama: a glittering array of golden spires topping white pagodas scattered throughout the lush greenery that covers the hill. It's a magnificent sight, one that we happily drink in with our evening cocktails.
However, it's worth making the trip across the river to explore at least some of the buildings close up. Many pagodas are linked by a network of paths winding up and down the hill, which makes for a pleasant wander. One must-visit is the U Min Thonze, the 30 Caves Pagoda. The pagoda's crescent-shape colonnade is lined with 45 identical Buddha statues - one for each year of the Buddha's life.
The area around Mandalay is so rich in sights, it takes us a couple of days to explore them all. However, possibly the most spectacular sight in Burma lies at Bagan, a day's cruise up-river from Mandalay. Our visit to Bagan starts in a low-key manner. Mooring at Mandalay, the magnificence of Sagaing dominates your view; at Bagan, by contrast, the view seems to be an awful lot of nothing. But as we head out in our shuttle buses, we're about to discover one of Asia's most magnificent sites.
The Khmer empire that stretched across south-east Asia in the Middle Ages has left a number of impressive monuments, most famously the 11th-century complex of temples at Angkor. What few people realise is that the Khmers left another magnificent temple complex at Bagan. Stretched across an area the size of Manhattan is an extraordinary collection of temples and pagodas, ranging from sprawling complexes to small, postbox-size constructions. The temple spires jut from the plain like a field of cactuses. Predictably, the project was kick-started by another of Burma's quirky kings.
King Anawrahta, who came to the throne in 1044, seems to have been an impetuous sort. Formerly a Hindu, he was converted to Buddhism by a monk sent as an emissary by the Mon King. Anawrahta was so taken with his new faith, he asked the Mon King for a selection of sacred texts and relics in his possession. The Mon King refused the request; a bad idea, since Anawrahta was not the sort to take kindly to being turned down. He marched south, conquered the Mons, and packed up an enormous train of carts containing not just the texts and relics but everything else he thought worth having: including Buddhist monks and scholars, and the Mon King himself.
Anawrahta then launched into a building frenzy that his successors continued right through until the decline of the kingdom in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes swept in. Bagan was left a wasteland, reputedly haunted by ghosts, until the British moved into the area in the 19th century and rediscovered the amazing temples.
One could spend days exploring Bagan's temples but even sampling a few of them gives a taste of the area's splendours. At Mynkaba, Gubyaukgyi has some of the most spectacular wall paintings in Bagan. Every inch of wall space, as well as the ceilings, is covered with incredibly detailed, richly coloured scenes from Buddha's life.
Sulamani Temple - in the middle of a sprawling paddock, where goats graze in the grass - houses four massive Buddha statues, as well as Indian-influenced murals featuring almond-eyed dancing girls wrapped in diaphanous clothing, palanquined white elephants, and even fleets of boats crewed by massive numbers of oarsmen.
Eerily, at almost all of these temples, we're the only visitors. As yet, the only people to have discovered Bagan seem to be European backpackers: we occasionally drive past them, bicycling down the dusty roads on their way to the next temple. The one time you're likely to encounter other tourists is at sunset: it's a Bagan ritual to watch the sun go down from the top of one of the temples. Shwe San Daw Pagoda is the most popular choice, so we opt to avoid the crowds by heading instead to Pagoda Dhamma Yazika, a large pentagonal structure set amid lush gardens.
Dhamma Yazika has a spooky reputation: it is said to be haunted by the 12th-century general responsible for its construction - proving that power-hungry generals have long plagued the country. Nonetheless, its elevated terrace makes a perfect sunset perch. Behind you, the massive gold-painted stupa has a rich, golden glow; in front of you, countless spires form elegant silhouettes across the plain. It's magic.
Perhaps the most surprising thing we've learnt in Burma is that the country has as much or more to offer visitors than many of its better-known neighbours. If and when the country finally develops some decent infrastructure, it's bound to become a major destination. My advice: get in now and beat the rush.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/charting-a-golden-age-20110721-1hqen.html#ixzz1TBIlAmFW