Bago, Myanmar - Ancient Capitol of the Mon People

That was the name of the tour we signed up for. We originally had no plans but figured we should take full advantage of the time we had in Myanmar. Good thing too, because there was nothing anywhere near the port for us to go out on our own. We asked our travel agent hosts from Cruise Specialists if they had space available. They did. We met at 10 to 8 and exactly at 8 we were headed off the ship. They had 2 large buses, each one only half full. I like that they don't cram as many people as possible into the bus. It is more comfortable for everyone and easier with a smaller group. 

Our first stop was to be a WWII memorial but on the way we were told that if we did that first we would not arrive at the monastery in time to see the monks have lunch. Then we were told we were running late so we would miss lunch at the monastery. Not sure why there was such a mix up as on the way traffic wasn't awful. The guide should have known how long it would take to get there. As it was we arrived at the monastery at about noon. We were given time to walk around. If I remember correctly it was the largest monastery in Myanmar. Every male in the country has to be a monk twice in his life, once before the age of 18, once after. They usually do it over summer break, some for as little as 9 days, others for up to 3 months. I had always wondered why we kept seeing a lot of little monks, now I know. It is not a life long calling or anything like that. Girls are supposed to do the same, becoming nuns for a short time. Many of them get out of it because they don't want to shave their heads. The boys are dressed in a deep burgundy, girls in pink. Another person on our tour was talking to one of the monks. He asked how many monks lived there. The reply was "150 years". Hmmm, is that like 80%??? Very funny. 

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The monastery had a number of outdoor corridors leading to various temples or prayer rooms. We also found the lunch room where a few were still eating. What I found interesting were all the dogs! There must have been 20 of them just wandering around, sleeping or in the case of the pups, playing. A mother had one tiny baby who she was fiercely protecting from the male dogs. It wasn't much of a stop. 

After the monastery we stopped for lunch. The upstairs of this open air restaurant was set up with a lot of very long tables. In little time they were full with bus loads of tourists. Drinks were included with the meal so there were a lot of Myanmar beer bottles on the tables. We were allowed 2 each so I had a diet coke and a beer to go. Apparently it is very good beer so hopefully Brigitte and Randy will enjoy it when we get home. The food was not very good. I ate very little. There was a small gift shop downstairs. They were doing a very brisk business. I picked up a couple of things. 

From the restaurant we went to a Mon village. The Mon are one of the 8 main tribes in the country. They are known for weaving. The homes were built on stilts with looms set up underneath. In the middle of the village you could hear the clackity clack of the looms from all directions. The house on the main road had a store and was also doing a brisk business. The shawls and skirts were beautiful and only $5 to $15. They were mostly cotton but a few pieces of silk also.Nice to buy woven goods right from the weavers. We walked around the village for a short time. At the entrance were some vendors with the same fans and hats. They followed us back to the bus and stood outside the windows showing with their hands how much they wanted for each item. I did buy some "sunscreen". The people of Myanmar wear it on their faces, some in interesting designs. It looks like a face mask, beige colored. 

The bus took us not too far away to a reclining Buddha. The same women appeared outside our bus! One had a set of "Old Burmese Coins". I was semi interested as I like taking coins home from each country and we had yet to even see any local currancy. She had started at $10. At this stop she was down to $5, then $4. We went to look at the Buddha and market which was in the same building. They had a lot of beautiful carved items as well as more of the fabric. On the other side of the building were food vendors. One had a large bowl of big, fat grasshoppers, cooked! Yuck. Wish I could get pics to load, that was a sight to see. And there was the same woman now asking $3 for her coins. I decided to buy them but by then had only $2 left, and old money at that. Not sure why but in a lot of these countries they will accept US$ but it has to be new! Very strange. She did not look very happy with the old money. I asked one of our tablemates if I could borrow a dollar. She saw his new bills and asked to change. He was nice enough to do so. I felt badly giving her only $3 then old bills to boot. 

Just down the road was yet another reclining Buddha. This one was outdoors. We had a quick photo stop. Most of the Buddah's are protected at the entrance by huge foo dogs, really beautiful. I enjoyed them more than the Buddhas. 

Now we were headed home. We made one stop at a resort to use the restrooms. The place was pretty, set on a lake. The chairs in the restaurant were carved birds, very nice. Then we headed out. We did stop at the WWII memorial. It was beautifully maintained with a plant between each headstone. Each headstone had a different phrase on it. There were also walls of names whose remains were never found, so sad. There were thousands. By this time it was starting to get dark and traffic was starting to get heavier. At several places we just didn't move for minutes at a time, it was pretty bad. We finally arrived back at the ship at 8. Fortunately the Lido stayed open for dinner until 9 that night. I guess they anticipated long days with a lot of driving and heavy traffic. It had been a very interesting day.