Bagan, Yangon, Myanmmar

We pulled into port 15 miles down the Yangon river at 8:30 am today. Yangon, which is still called Rangoon by English speakers around here,  is in the Irrawaddy river delta. The Irrawaddy river is stain to have 1000 navigable km, and the cruise line AMA is building a river boat to take tourists on trips there.

We toured the great Pagoda (stupa) Shwedagan in Yangon. That site is actually a complex of gold leaf coated Stupas and temples to Buddha. The people here are very religious by the outward signs, and seem to do lots of praying. Our guide digressed at length on religion here, and their concepts mirror other religions like Christianity on outline, with origin stories, the need to redeem one self through deeds, and afterlife ideas, they call reincarnation.

We flew to Began around 2 pm, after a good lunch at the Hotel Trader in Rangon,  and a very large 2/3 liter beer, which we were told was complimentary (anyone still thirsty would have to pay for subsequent bottles, although even big beer drinkers from Australia were satisfied with the one.)

Bagan is an archaeological site, with literally thousands of Stupas, and we took a pony cart ride through the complex.

We are staying at the Aureum Palace Resort. Beautiful, well appointed large rooms; actually half a duplex, with separate living, sleeping and bath arras. Wonderful, cool infinity pool overlooking pond and landscape of Stupas. Buffet dinner of Thai/Myanmar food tonight, with entertainment provided by a very pretty and talented group of Myanmar dancing  ladies/girls. Music was very oriental and sounded strange to pour ears, but the dancing more than made up for it.

We awoke April 8 facing a full day of tours led by our very knowedgable and loquacious guide San San, whose name was chosen following a Buddhist Myanmar tradition to use words corresponding to the day of the (8 day) week she was born.

We attended a Buddhist noviciate ceremony for young men, who, made up and decorated, rode points in a procession that included ox carts, relatives with umbrellas, two men dressed as a dancing elephant, followed up by a sound truck playing music at a defining road. San San stressed that participation by young men was voluntary. It involved shaved heads and tests.