January 18 - On the Boat to Bagan

Well the nine hour trip turned into eleven but it was a peaceful and generally restful day and the delay turned out to be fortuitous because we arrived right at sunset and were able to get some great shots from the deck.  At first they herded us all into a large area with ten or eleven seats across.  Small seats and I hot, stuffy room.  I lasted about five minutes in there and then went topside where there was fresh air and a view.  It wasn't long until almost the whole group moved up.  Some of us stayed up there the entire day while others came and went.  It was a little cool and windy first thing this morning but warmed up pleasantly throughout the day.  For much of the way there wasn't much to see other than the river banks which weren't overly interesting but every once in a while we would come upon a small fishing village.  The tour propaganda describes the life of the people who live there as idyllic but they most certainly have a different definition of the word than I do.  Surviving in a thatched hut with no power and no water is anything but my idea of idyllic!  I find the contrast of these huts or shacks sitting below the ornate pagodas/temples/stupas more than a little disconcerting.

The trip provided plenty of opportunity for conversation and just generally taking it easy for a change.  A 76 year old backpacker from England spent a long time telling me his story of locating the crash site of a downed Canadian aircraft from one of the wars (probably WW2).  Although he went on at great length it was interesting.

Before leaving the hotel this morning I had two bowls of a good soup - some sort of vegetable concoction that reminded me of some of my own.  I got hungry around 9:30 so went down to the restaurant on the boat and had coffee, lentil soup and fried rice with chicken.  All very good and only cost $5.00.  By mid early afternoon I was hungry again so returned and had a beer, more lentil soup and fried noodles with pork.  Good again.

The trek to the bus here nearly did me in.  It was up a steep hill and I found it very difficult to walk retaining my balance because my backpack was so heavy it kept pulling me backwards and then my legs began to stiffen up.  All was ok once one of the porters took my pack.

What a surprise when I walked into my room at the Bagan Hotel.  The tour company warned us that the hotels would be of lesser quality because they wanted us to experience them   The first hotels weren't five star but they were certainly adequate and generally quite nice.  The shock here is that this room is pure luxury except for the fact that there aren't enough lights.  It is huge with beautiful rattan furnishings, an entry way, large bathroom complete with bidet, two desks, a table, extra chairs, a fridge, etc., etc.  Oh yes, speaking of the bathroom reminds me that the tour company also advised us to bring a roll of toilet paper along on the trip.  Trouble is they didn't say when or where it might be needed.  On board the boat the toilets were of the squat variety and there was no toilet paper in there.  Fortunately for me I didn't have need of any....

Tomorrow will, I think, be another day of pagodas and temples.  At one time, centuries ago, there were as many as 4,400 here.  While some have disappeared there are also new ones being constructed because rich people from Yangon retire here and try to get a head start on the road to Nirvana by constructing their own private temples.  I can't say that I am looking forward to the day all that much but perhaps some of the ruins will afford some good photo opportunities.  Time will tell.