The View from the Hills of Sagaing (Myanmar)

I crossed Ayeyarwaddy River to get to Sagaing. Like Bagan, I could see several Buddhist structures rising from the hill and down below. Unlike Bagan, these structures were white pagodas, were newer, and were mostly white with golden peaks. An old kingdom, Sagaing has had 7 kings during the reign of the Sagaing Kingdom: from Sawyun of 1315 to Minbyauk Thihapate of 1364. And then there was King Naungdawgyi who reigned in 1760.

While riding my "tuktuk", I was in awe of the gorgeous queue of pagodas from the hill. It was something you don't see everyday in your short life span - and it was beautiful. Like a very fast slideshow that displayed magic. I was on my way to a couple of pagodas - the U Min Thonze Pagoda and U Pon Nya Shin Pagoda accessible through a covered staircase that ran up the 240 meter (787 feet) hill. It would be a harrowing climb if you think about it, but the ascent is gradual, and you can take your sweet time to get there. From the top, I could see Ava Bridge crossing Ayeyarwaddy.

Sagaing is located 20 kilometers southwest of Mandalay. It is 566 kilometers north of Yangon, roughly a 7-hour bus ride from Mandalay.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The Curious Novice Monk of Innwa (Myanmar)

There are 3 ancient imperial cities that can be visited as day trips from Mandalay in Myanmar. Innwa (aka Ava) was my favorite. I crossed Ayeyarwaddy River to get there, hired a horse-drawn carriage to take me around, and checked out relics of old temples. Catastrophe got the better of this ancient Burmese kingdom, which reigned between 14th to 19th century. The Big Earthquakes of March 1839 leveled the grandeur that was Innwa which literally means "mouth of the lake". The location couldn't be more strategic because it sits at the confluence of Ayeyarwaddy and Myitnge Rivers. But natural forces seem to have cast Innwa's fate.

From Ava Palace, now just a watchtower, I visited Bagaya Monastery. At a relic nearby, I found my youthful welcoming committee - two novice monks who were curious of my presence. I caught my shy but curious little host in one of my photos (above).

Red robes characterize the garbs of Burmese monks. You can't miss them.

This is the Eye in the Sky!
  

In a few week's time...

I will be in another hectic trip. I have recently renewed my passport (which turned out to be a harrowing experience) and I have so far visited the DFA 3x just for a renewal (can you believe that?). Since i was a child, I have never set foot at the DFA. It was always through a travel agent. Now I gag at the thought of ever visiting the DFA again ... and those darn scourge of our lives - the "fixers"- may they rot in hell! Oops sorry. Got carried away. ;-) (P.S. The next photos are courtesy of some sites on Myanmar.)

On a more personal note, I have noticed that this blogsite has had a good number of hits in just less than a month. I started this blogsite last week of October, just a few weeks after my arrival from the mind-blowing Siem Reap and Phnom Penh of Cambodia; and Hanoi and Saigon in Vietnam. I had the intentions of documenting my solo travel in Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as sharing my travels to help other Filipino travelers with the little details that would help the anxious wanderlust. I didn't really care much if i had readership, although I did invite all my friends to visit this site to share my adventures with them as early as November. This will somehow serve as a journal. Besides, the pics look better when posted here than on an album, I dunno why?!!




Last December - during the holiday respite nearing the recent New Year - I decided to employ a "counter" to somehow document the number of hits. I was awed by the number of hits!!! I honestly didn't think anyone would "visit" besides my friends (I don't think I have THAT MUCH friends who would keep visiting too.) To my surprise, in a span of less than a month, this site actually got almost 500 hits! Deduct my visits (which is once every 3 days or so), it still is a good number for just a span of a month. In fact, just from yesterday, I have had a spectacular 34 hits/"visits" within 24 hours.

In relation to this, if any of you gets to visit this site, please do say hello, and tell me what's on your mind. Would be nice to have a friendly living being making their presence felt. If you have been to an amazing place that needs to be shared, I'd gladly feature it here so we can share them with others. I would appreciate details and tips that would be "useful" to other travellers. As you have noticed, this blog-site is also picture-heavy so I would encourage you to share those photos. I can't promise to post all of them, but I'll pick my favorites.

Lastly, I will be visiting several places in Thailand again (I've been there several times) but the more notable visit would be that of Myanmar (Burma). I just saw Stallone's "John Rambo" (the 4th incarnation) set in Myanmar, which "demonized" the country's situation. Of course I understand that dictatorship runs this country, but it can't be that bad. Either way, I will find out! (As a footnote, go watch "John Rambo", the action is amazing! And Stallone is back!!! Soooo back!)

The itinerary in Myanmar will be pretty exciting: Yangon (the former capital - I recently read that it's Naypyidaw now, some 300 kms from Yangon), Bagan (my most anticipated), Mandalay and Mount Popa. If Cambodia's Angkor boasts of some 50 temples or so, Bagan has an astounding 4,400 temples!!! And I am fraught with excitement!

If any of you has been to Myanmar, I would appreciate any tips! I am posting herewith some photos I saw from my surfing.

And yeah, do say hi!

These last 3 photos were taken from a well documented backpacking all over Asia, especially of Myanmar. Please visit the site if you enjoy GREAT PHOTOS and a prolific retelling of a travelogue: http://willthedutch.blogspot.com/