Myanmar 2013 : Horsecart tour (Part 2)

Itinerary summary :

Day 1

Arrival at Yangon - Botataung - Shwe Dagon Temple

Day 2

Departure for Bagan - Explore nearby temples - Lacquerware Workshop tour - Sunset at Loka Nanda - Dinner at Si Thu Restaurant

Day 3

Horsecart tour around Bagan temples - Soe Min Gyi - Myin Kaba Village - Ananda Temple - Star Beam Bistro - That Bin Nyu Temple - Htilominlo Temple - Shwe Zigon Paya - Kyan Sit Thar Umin (Temple Cave) - Sulamani Temple - Dhamma Yangyi Temple - LakaouShaung

Day 4

Departure for Heho - Visit local villages

Day 5

Boat tour at Lake Inle

Day 6

Departure back to Yangon

OK to continue my travel documentation...

Now, to all you city folks like me who has never been on a dirt road or on a horse cart, this following picture is what you can expect to see.

Some of the road condition is so bad that the horses have to make a detour to get to the destination. In Malay word, we would call it becak (muddy).

Along the way, you'll see a lot of corn and sesame plantations. The corns are apparently for cattle and not for human beings. I can't tell the difference though but I suppose they have different texture? Sesame plant, on the other hand, is something that I've never seen before. I know what sesame seed is but I've never seen the origin of this seed. Now, the left photo is a picture of the sesame plant surrounding the temples.

Our kind horse cart driver pulled off one of the many stems there to show us what it is like and the last picture is a photo of the pod which consists of those sesame seed that we see in our food!

So, our next destination is the Htilominlo Temple. This is another touristy temple. Right at the door are two rows of souvenir vendors but lucky us, it wasn't crowded. One good thing about horse cart tour is that the itinerary is flexible. You can cater it to your own likings! That can avoid everyone from visiting the same temple at the same time.

This, is the beautiful walkway into Shwe Zigon Temple. You'll have to leave your footwear as the start of this path. Along the way, at the end of this path, you'll see a whole row of souvenir vendors who seem to be staying there. You can even see a makeshift bedroom and kitchen area though there is no sanitary system. The horse cart guide said that these vendors are not allowed to stay there though.

As you walk down the path, you'll be called by the vendors who will want to pin this hand-made butterfly on your shirt. It is free but they'll then try to talk you into buying other stuffs.

This is the Shwe Zigon temple. Myanmar is not called the Golden Land for nothing. Most of the pagodas are donned by gold colour. The trees also have gold colour.

There were loads of birds when we were there. The devotees brought some grains to feed these birds so it is no surprise to see so many around.

This little boy was walking about, looking fierce, after ringing the bells. I'm not sure if he's only ringing the bell for fun or he is done with his prayers.

Not too far away is Kyan Sit Thar Umin. It is said to be a cave temple but it is really not a cave. We cannot use camera in the temple so I took the pictures outside. The little owl is so cute, for the devotees to put joss sticks. I also love the moss - the greenery really captivated my attention!

Finally, this is the temple that I find most pretty - the Sulamani temple. Somehow I find the structure much nicer than the biggest, the tallest or the finest.

The interior of the temple is already degraded. There are also termite nests all over the walls. You would also see visible cracks on the cemented floors, yet despite it all, it brings out the old-age flavour of this beautiful structure.

Outside the complex, I saw this carving which resembles what I saw in Bali.

We also went to Dharma Yangyi temple which is the biggest temple. I didn't actually explore the interior of the temple because I was taking photos of the fortified walls outside. This looks more like a fort than a temple, somehow.

The sun was about to set, as you can see, and this almost sums up the beautiful day.

Until we got trap in horse-bus-car traffic congestion just outside the temple. It took us a while to get out of the area and by the then, the sun was fast setting. We were supposed to catch sunset at Shwe San Daw but the temple was buzzing with people on every tier. And we saw it from afar. There were so many people, it looks like ants on the icing of a cupcake.

So our kind tour guides brought us to another secret hideout called LaKaouShaung to catch this beautiful panaromic sunset view.

Goodbye, Bagan and thanks for the memories.