Bagan: market mayhem, palm wine, cart rides and more.....

After a much needed sleep we assembled for a trip to the local market in old Bagan.

Omahr's first words as we drove off in the bus were: “No pagodas today!” at which we all cheered!

After the pep talk from Omahr about how to avoid being pestered by aggressive peddlers and a few practices of “Topi! Topi!” (which means "That's enough"!) we emerged from the bus to frighten the locals. Not the intended effect but accurate I think.

It never ceases to amaze me that you can go to any market in Asia and still find fruit and vegetables you've never seen before. We split up so we would be less of a target for the peddlers and worked our way through the narrow aisles being overwhelmed by the heat, and the amazing cacophony of smells and sights.

To our amazement cauliflowers are in season (in this heat!) and lots of tomatoes and eggplants of every size, betel leaves, chillies of every variety, noodles and of course fly-covered fish, meat and chicken totally unrefrigerated.
 



The rest of the market was the usual mixture of fascinating stalls: clothing, hardware, plastic products and of course hundreds of longyis - the long skirts worn by both men and women. There was also stalls selling thanaka, the cream powder you often see on photos of children and women. You buy a piece of wood from the lemonade tree and grind it on a stone with some water and make a paste. You then smear the paste on to your face, either in a nice design on your cheeks to enhance your beauty or all over for sun protection. Very common everywhere you go, particularly for children and women.

 

There were some very interesting forms of transport one of which looked remarkably like a giant Meccano construction to me: sort of a cross between a tractor and a ute. Will have to include a photo as my mechanical knowledge is nonexistent.

After managing to get everyone back on the bus eventually, we headed off to a traditional tea-house full of men sitting and chatting and filling in time. After managing to get our backsides on to the world's tiniest plastic chairs, we had our first taste of Myanmar tea: ie tea with condensed milk in it. Many of us enjoyed it more than we thought we would, as the tea was quite strong and became more caramel with the sweetened milk.

 

There was a sudden commotion caused by a small palm snake which had made its way into the open air tea-house. Fortunately it wasn't poisonous, but of course this is a Buddhist country so it couldn't be killed (as it might have been someone's ancestor reincarnated). A brave man eventually managed to catch it and throw it out on to the dirt road, much to our relief, and everyone settled into the exhausting business of doing nothing and chatting again.

Ursula helping out with the making of the red bean paste:
stirring the huge cauldrons of redbeans which boil for most of the day

Then back on the bus for a short trip to a soy bean paste cottage industry in a small village: apparently Bagan is famous for this red paste which is used in salads and stir-fries.

Every morning they start the process of boiling huge amounts of the soy beans in huge cauldrons over open fires until eventually it turns into a red paste. The husks of the beans are not wasted as they are fed to the livestock. In this country nothing goes wasted – ever. Very wise.







 

The climber has two pots on a rope over his shoulder as he climbs the bamboo ladder. When he reaches the top he replaces the two pots that have been attached to the fruit collecting the sugar sap and climbs carefully down without spilling a drop!

The fermenting palm wine: only for the strong!

 

Then it was off to cool down in the bus until we reached a Palm farm where they harvest palm sugar and produce lots of very sweet delicacies which we were happy to sample: tamarind lollies, palm sugar mixed with coconut, palm sugar dipped in sesame seeds and so on. The palm sugar is very caramel and a nicer texture than at home. The sugar syrup straight from the tree had an interesting nutty taste but I didn't venture into the palm wine tasting section as, judging by the look on most people's faces, it was like cheap saki!

The farm was owned by a couple (of about our age) who had 5 children, four of whom had been to University. The farm had been successful enough to support them and education is seen as an important way for families to progress from the humble beginnings of agricultural village life.

We saw the whole process of production including a young man climbing a rickety bamboo ladder up a tree with two pots and a knife strapped to his back (OH&S???). He then exchanged the pots with pots full of palm sap and, using the knife, made some more cuts and attached the pots. We were relieved to see him get to the ground safely.

We watched as a weary bullock walked in never ending circles to move a grinding stone which ground the local peanuts into paste. The peanuts here are very tiny but have lots of flavour.
 

We also watched as the wife made huge cigars out of tobacco and herbs wrapped in corn husks: I could feel my lungs closing up at the thought!

Then I spotted a young girl grinding some thanaka on a stone plant and mixing it with water. She sat me down and smeared it onto my cheeks and nose and made a leaf design. Now I understand why it's so popular! It takes a few minutes to dry and feels like a cool astringent. Everyone followed suit: those with the reddest faces looked best as you could see the designs clearly.

Then another Burmese lunch sitting on chairs and tables made from palm trees: fantastic food again.

All of this took place under shelters made from palm leaves and no walls so that we could appreciate any breezes in an effort to keep cool.

Back on the bus - now named the Princess Shalimar due to its bright colours, gold curtains and coloured lights! - and back to the Hotel for a quick swim before heading to a lacquer ware factory called House of Bagan.

Omahr explained the process and we admired the workers skills, trying not to be too distracting as the woman in charge looked a bit fearsome.

The man who makes the bamboo bases was incredibly skilful. He gave me a bracelet he had made out bamboo strips, but it wouldn't fit on my wrist so he measured me up and made me one on the spot form 3 strips of bamboo: his hands moving so fast it was difficult to keep track. It has a shiny sheen to it and is really lovely – the highlight of my day. (Whether the Customs guys in Australia think it's really lovely is yet to be seen!).

After a chaotic 20 minutes of shopping in their huge shop we all emerged triumphant with large bags of treasures. I think Chris, Kim and Anne were the winners there!

Then, for a completely different transport experience, we climbed aboard small carts pulled by a horse, and wandered along dirt tracks amidst hundreds of the pagodas and temples dotting the countryside. We had two people and a driver in each wooden cart. Fortunately there were cushions as the roads were rough and the carts basic. Kerryn and I maintain that the reason we were at the back of the field was the age of the horse: nothing to do with our combined size of course!

It was a lovely way to appreciate the number of temples and the huge variety: some are barely as tall as the trees, whereas others are significant structures. Some had been damaged by a serious earthquake and are unable to be repaired. Most of them seemed to have a sponsor whose name appeared on a stone tablet at the entrance, so they will be preserved. The stupas are shaped in every imaginable way from blobs to tall tapering spires. They are placed in totally random groups or completely alone, and the farmers simply work around them. It's difficult to estimate their age but any time from the 9th Century onwards is possible.
 

After 45 minutes of meandering we arrived at a huge temple with a large platform at the base of the stupa, so we clambered up some stone steps and waited for the sunset to arrive. Looking out over the fields you can really appreciate the uniqueness and the sacred nature of this landscape. Very nice to sit and contemplate life, the universe and everything.
 

Spot the temples in this beautiful landscape

After we struggled back down the steps it was back for yet another swim in the dark and a hamburger on the pool deck with a couple of drinks. A perfect end to a busy day.
 

Your relaxed and waterlogged correspondent

Dianne