Sunday 11/6/2016 - Chindwin River Cruise: Buddhist Cave Shrines and Monkeys at Phowin Taung Hill, Visiting Chai VillageWe slept very well during our first night on the boat. The air conditioning remained frosty all night, and the bed was quite comfortable. There was enough space and storage to stow our luggage, so it didn't feel cramped. We could tell that this would be quite the comfortable way to experience a remote area. We took pleasant showers and then headed to the upper deck for breakfast ar around 7:30 a.m.People in the group were starting to come down with colds, so we decided to take some Emergen-C supplements to try to keep our immune systems strong. Craig went to the tea and coffee station, poured the packets of brightly colored powder into two glasses, and filled them half way with hot water. Htet the bartender watched with interest, paying close attention to try to figure out what Craig was doing. Craig explained the purpose behind the ritual, and asked Htet for some cold water to add so that it would be a drinkable temperature. Htet soon brought the water and Craig finished preparing the concoction. Win was in the bar area, preparing bowls of noodles on demand. He put the noodles into a bowl and stirred in various spices and condiments. We enjoyed our delicious Mandalay noodles, along with yogurt, cereal, freshly baked bread, coffee, and orange juice. At 8:30, it was time for our first official shore excursion. We handed in our room keys, and were each issued a water bottle holder and a bottle of water. A small wooden ferry pulled alongside our boat, and we climbed aboard. Craig and I sat on benches under the roof of the a primitive wheelhouse where the motor was sputtering away and spewing exhaust. The ferry took us to the other side of the river. When we reached the opposite shore, a wooden gangway buoyed by two oil drums was positioned next to the boat, and we were helped ashore by Win, Sandro, and the crew. We walked up to the small dirt road overlooking the river. There were stacks of logs for the timber industry piled on the side of the road: rain trees up to several feet in diameter. The river is still used as a means of transport for the lumber industry. In the past, these logs would have been teak. Burmese teak is the best quality teak in the world, and this resource has been exploited in Myanmar. Teak forests are difficult to sustain because it takes between 35 and 75 years for the wood to be usable. In fact, the best quality wood is over 100 years old. Only since 2014 has teak been protected from extensive logging here. The export of teak lumber is now forbidden; only finished products made of teak can legally be exported. We got on to a small boxy orange bus and drove for around 30 minutes to our destination. Along the way, Sandro told us about the Monywa area. Not far from the river is the Letpadaung Copper Mine, operated by a Chinese corporation. We saw the red soil of the area, with mountainsides cut away by mining. It was an ugly scar on an otherwise beautiful rural landscape. There has been much backlash from the locals, who have been forced to resettle and claim that the mine is responsible for arsenic and other poisons in the river. High level jobs at the mine are reserved for the 3,000 Chinese nationals who live there, leaving only dangerous manual jobs for the Burmese. As we drove by, we saw a highly fortified compound with an incredible number of power lines. Yet the surrounding villagers have no access to this electricity. The relationship between China and Myanmar is complex. The years of sanctions from western countries has left Myanmar with a legacy of cooperation with the Chinese, often with China getting the better end of the deal. Myanmar produces hydroelectricity and natural gas, however 100% of the gas is exported to Yunnan Province in China. The Myitsone Dam project was negotiated between China and Myanmar's military junta government to construct a dam on the Irawaddy River which would mainly benefit China in terms of power generation. Amidst social and environmental backlash, the project was put on hold in 2011. Aung San Suu Kyi is currently renegotiating the agreement with China. After 25 minutes of driving down dirt roads past lush tropical vegetation, markets, small cafes, and homes, we arrived at Phowin Taung Hill, whose name translates to Mountain of Isolated Solitary Meditation. The site is known for over 400 niches carved into the sandstone cliff faces, creating little caves. It is believed that a mythical alchemist (zawgyi) named U-Po Win created these caves, so they are seen as sacred and supernatural. As such, the interiors are decorated with statuary and frescoes. It is thought that the caves date back to the 14th - 18th centuries. As the bus came to a stop in the parking lot, I saw a group of women sitting together on the ground. They had baskets woven from the heavy plastic strapping used in packaging and shipping. One woman had an infant seated in the basket. I smiled and waved through the bus window, and she held the baby up for me to see. When we got out of the bus, she brought the baby over to say hello and I photographed them. The baby was adorable with a cynical expression and big inquisitive eyes. Craig was wearing his longyi and a T-shirt with the Burmese alphabet on the front, and he was an immediate hit with the locals. A dozen schoolkids enveloped Craig and were snapping photos with their cell phones. A carved limestone pagoda with a gilded hti (umbrella) stood before us. We could see small brown macaques watching us from the base of the hti. To the left, several women with their babies in tow were selling souvenirs, offerings, and thanaka. Many of the souvenirs were monkey-themed. I took the opportunity to purchase two small monkey keychains to use as Christmas ornaments. I suspected that on the river portion of our journey, souvenirs would be hard to come by. We walked up a path to our left and found ourselves in amongst sandstone outcroppings into which had been carved narrow arched doorways. Some were plain and others had elaborate trim carved into the rock surface surrounding them. Most of the larger caves had multiple doorways to allow for air circulation and for natural light to permeate the interior. We took off our shoes and entered a cave. The walls had been whitewashed, and a larger than life reclining Buddha statue had been carved to fill the entire width of the cave. There were dozens of tiny niches carved into the back wall of the shallow cave. Perhaps these had once held small statues. Burmese script had been painted on one wall. After exiting, we put our shoes on and walked to the next cave entrance. This one was slightly elevated, and we had to walk up a series of steps which had been hewn into the rock. Some of the caves contained Buddha statues gilded with gold leaf. Certain areas were shinier than others, where pilgrims had attached small squares of gold leaf as a merit-making offering. Beautifully vibrant frescoes decorated some caves. It is believed that these date back to the 18th century. They depict jataka stories from the lives of the Buddha. They were breathtaking! Monkeys and local children surveyed us as we explored the site. In one of the caves, a woman was standing off to the side holding a stack of squares of gold leaf. I realized that she was selling these for pilgrims to affix to the statues as an offering. I asked her how much they were, and purchased one for 1000 kyat (around 75 cents). She seemed quite happy that I was interested, and taught me how to apply it. She peeled off one side of the backing paper and exposed the small shiny square of gold leaf and gestured toward a small Buddha statue. I pressed the gold leaf onto Buddha's right temple, which now looked more shiny than the rest of the statue. We imagined how brilliant the statues would look if every visitor to the caves donated just one square of gold leaf. We explored more of the site, with monkeys cavorting in the trees above us. Each cave was beautiful, containing statues and frescoes. The setting was so natural, with lots of vegetation and rock outcroppings. With Craig's multiple sclerosis, he found it difficult to keep taking off and putting on his sandals. So for a while, he just carried his sandals and walked along the paths barefoot. In one cave, there was a plate of cash offerings. We donated some kyat, and the woman who was tending the cave picked it up, touched it to her forehead, blessed it, returned it to the plate, and thanked us. Unlike most of the pagodas we had visited so far on this trip, the "inverted alms bowl" at the base of the gilded hti is not set on a raised platform here. Instead, it is placed directly on the top of the sandstone outcropping. I wanted to explore it further and scampered up the rock and around the corner to a more hidden area on the backside. I went into the caves which contained large sandstone Buddhas. A monkey watched us from above. We rejoined the group and walked down the hillside to a hidden grotto. As we approached the clearing, it opened up into an ornate palatial cave complex. It looked like Petra in Jordan, structures not constructed of building materials, but carved right into the stony hillside. The style reminded me of neoclassical, with columns and elaborately carved rosettes. The facade was painted baby blue. There was a large statue of Buddha which wasn't even visible until you approached the facade, since it was recessed in the corner. The vegetation from the top of the hill draped down over the complex, making it look like the forest was reclaiming it. It was an Indiana Jones type of moment, where you felt like you were discovering something hidden which you totally didn't expect. Like coming across Petra in the middle of the desert. The monkeys also added to this mystique. We took off our shoes and entered the caves. One cave contained Buddha statues but also had some water damage from water seeping through the hillside. Another cave had three Buddha statues with beautiful gilded floral fescoes behind them. One of the caves was completely empty, but you could see the thousands of small chisel marks from its creation. Several local women had been accompanying our party. The younger one took Craig's hand to help him down the stone steps to exit a cave, which was very sweet of her. The people here really are incredibly friendly and thoughtful. We saw various statues of the Nats, folk saints who are never far from Buddhism in Myanmar. In another cave, there were mandalas painted on the ceiling and a huge reclining Buddha in gilded robes. The geometric and floral motifs reminded me of Islamic art, but there were Buddha motifs as well. Every wall and ceiling surface was covered with frescoes in a red and green color pallette. I entered one final cave. It had a huge statue in the center which had four images of Buddha, back to back, facing in the cardinal directions. There was only a single narrow doorway, so the light was dim. Still, I could see the statue and the frescoes which covered the ceiling. There was so much to explore here; we could have easily stayed all day. But we had a schedule to keep! As we were getting ready to go, the two women accompanying us made a loud call, and monkeys came running. Sandro had bought paper cones of monkey food from the women, and they gave us each one to hand to the monkeys. Although we love monkeys and greatly respect their intelligence, we also know that they can be unpredictable and sometimes dangerous. So Craig and I were quite cautious, holding the food at arms' length. A monkey approached each of us, taking the sealed paper cone from us. The monkeys tried to unwrap the cones with their hands, but soon grew impatient and ripped them apart with their teeth. A monkey approached Esther and she held the paper cone in her hand, close to her body. A monkey came over to her, grabbed the cone, and then gave her a shove on the front of her thigh. You really need to keep an eye on them.  We boarded our ferry, opting to sit outside in the fresh air rather than in the noisy exhaust-filled wheelhouse area, despite the midday heat. Locals with scooters and motorbikes wanting to cross the river drove over the small wooden gangway onto the ferry, but soon exited and got onto another ferry instead. I assume that they had been told that we were going to a boat rather than to a place where they could easily disembark on the other side of the river. We got back to the Zawgi Pandaw at 12:30 p.m. It was not quite where we had left it, as the crew had gassed it up and moved it slightly upriver. Kids were using the metal roofing of a neighboring boat as a slide, and they smiled and waved to us. This was our first time returning to the boat from an excursion, a routine that would repeat itself many times over the coming days. We took our shoes off, and the crew took them to clean off any dirt. They tagged them with a clothespin bearing our cabin number. They gave us a cool wet facecloth, a cold glass of juice, and our room key. We would return to our cabin to freshen up, thankful for the powerful air conditioning. Our clean shoes would appear outside of our cabin door. From the boat, we got a good view of the Letpadaung Copper Mine across the river, eating away the countryside. After cleaning up, it was time for lunch. Sara and Bob joined us at our table and we enjoyed all of the delicious courses:
At 4 o'clock, we went up on deck and sat with Sandro. There were many books about Myanmar on a shelf in the bar area. I looked through one called "The Splendours of Myanmar" by Ma Thenegi as we sat on the deck. At 4:30 p.m., we moored at Chai village, which specializes in thanaka, for our afternoon excursion. There were some kids on the riverside watching and waving to us. They greeted us as we disembarked via an aluminum gangway onto the sandy riverbank. We walked up the small hill from the river to the village. The kids were quite curious, and they followed us around. We passed a group of men playing chinlone (caneball), a sport where a rattan ball is passed over a badminton net without using hands or arms. It's sort of like a combination of hacky sack and volleyball. It also brought to mind the Mayan ball game once popular in the Americas. We watched the game for a few minutes, and were then invited into a home. This village consists of homes of various styles. Some homes were built on wooden platforms slightly elevated off the ground. These had woven walls and thatched roofs. Other homes were made in a more modern style, using bricks or lumber with corrugated metal roofs. The house that we entered seemed to be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. The house had two stories, a wooden frame, woven walls, dirt floors, and a corrugated metal roof. The family who resides there makes corn husk cigars known as cheroots. A woman demonstrated the process of making them out of corn husks, tobacco, and fragrant wood chips. There was a little girl in the house, and we noticed her school notebook poised open on the table. There was a pigpen on the other side of the dirt road, overlooking the river. As we followed a circular path through the village, we said mingalaba to everyone we passed. The kids we met liked getting their photos taken. Once again, people liked Craig's longyi. Two little boys followed us around, showing off and trying to get our attention. They hopped into a baby cradle suspended from the ceiling of a patio and swung on it like it was part of a swingset. We heard singing and came upon a couple of buildings where students were studying for their important high school exams. School lets out at 3 p.m., and the serious students go to an after school study group. We went into one classroom while they were studying 10th grade physics. Girls were seated on one side of the room and boys were seated on the other, on wooden bench stools at wooden tables. A large group of girls was standing in front of another classroom. They were giggling and just being cute teenaged girls. They beckoned Craig over, but when he walked over, they scattered back inside shyly and sat at their desks. It was really cute. It was nice to see the students in this rural community taking their studies seriously. And it was great to see girls studying physics! In recent years, education has outpaced job availability in Myanmar. For instance, our guide Zaw has a physics degree. Due to Myanmar's isolationism during the military regime, science and engineering jobs are not plentiful, which explains why Zaw is now a tour guide instead. Hopefully this turns around now that the west has lifted sanctions, and foreign investment is being sought. We continued on our walk. One woman sitting with friends in a house called out to Craig and myself: "Photograph? Photograph!" We entered the house and she fixed her longyi to make herself presentable for the photo. I took the photo of her and her friends, and then showed it to her. "Ok, Ok, Ok," she said happily. We met some of the elder women of the village. One fiesty 86-year-old was very interested in all of us. She was a hot ticket with a wide toothless grin. She had invited the group in for tea, but Win said that unfortunately we didn't have time. As we were saying goodbye, she came over to me and squeezed my forearm in a very friendly gesture. As we walked through the peaceful village, and it seemed like the entire population came out to see us. It was like we had an entourage. We passed livestock, including Brahma bulls and chickens, as the light began to fade. Next we went to see a family who grows thanaka trees. Thanaka is used to produce a cosmetic cream which acts as a natural sunscreen. The thanaka that had been applied to my face at Kuthadow Pagoda and outside of Shwenandaw Kyuang had been commercially produced and packaged. But thanaka paste can also be easily be produced with nothing more than a 6 inch long piece of thanaka wood and a circular slab of slate called kyauk pyin. Bark is preferred when it is made fresh, but wood and roots are often used to produce the commercial creams and powders. This family grows and utilizes Limonia acidissima (wood apple) for their thanaka. These trees take around 20 years to get to the point where they can be used for thanaka. The family demonstrated the process of making thanaka cream: they take a small piece of thanaka wood, around 6 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. They then lay it on its side and grind off the bark by rubbing it in a circular motion on the round slate tablet. The woman added a few drops of water to the bark paste and then applied it in circles on my cheeks and in a line down the bridge of my nose. It was nice to get to try the fresh version of this cosmetic. The family invited us to their front garden. Next to a grove of wood apple trees, we saw a deep water well which was lined with a large metal pipe. I peeked inside and saw the water level far below. It really echoed. And there was a block and tackle with a bucket attached by what appeared to be a fan belt. used to retrieve the water. Then it was time to come back to the boat. Several kids followed us to get one last glimpse of the foreigners, even though it was starting to get dark, so they were good-naturedly scolded by their mother. The kids are so cute, with thanka circles on their round cheeks as they smiled widely at us. At around 5:45 p.m., we returned to the riverbanks. The soft glow of the illuminated boat looked inviting in the twilight. We would once again be spending the night in comfort. As we boarded the boat, we realized that the crew had already memorized all of our room numbers and who owned which shoes. We were served a cold glass of juice and went back to our cabin. We freshened up and then came up to the upper deck for happy hour. We sat in lounge chairs drinking tea while I typed up some notes. At 7 o'clock, Win and Sandro gave us the program for tomorrow. Then it was dinner time. We sat with Toni and Sara. The food was absolutely delicious.
Letpadaung Copper Mine Phowin Taung Hill Chai Village |
 Craig's fan club, Phowin Taung Hill  Souvenir/offering stand, Phowin Taung Hill  Baby macaque at Phowin Taung Hill  Toni enters a cave barefoot, Phowin Taung Hill  Buddhas and vivid 18th century frescoes in a cave at Phowin Taung  Steph affixes a shiny aquare of gold leaf to a Buddha statue in a cave at Phowin Taung  Standing Buddha, Phowin Taung  Toni stretches for the perfect angle to photograph the frescoes on the cave ceiling at Phowin Taung  Craig feeds a macaque  Children welcome us to Chai Village  Chai Villagers play caneball  Chai villagers making cheroot cigars out of corn husks  10th grade physics study group, Chai Village  Cheerful elders in Chai Village  Thanaka and slate grinding stone  Kids who followed us toward the boat  Returning to the cozy Zawgi Pandaw 
|
|
 |
|
 |
