Massages and Mount Popa

A day off!.....
 

Today we have no commitments until later tonight, so we can do what we please.

The view from the local tower with Mount Popa in the background.

A group of stalwart colleagues have headed off in the bus to Mt Popa.

Here's Thelma's report on the excursion:

A chance to wave at our friendly people at yesterdays lunch place as the Princess Shalimar carried us out into more rural areas. Hearing Ohmnah's usual great commentary was good – about the French re-afforestation project that showed in the plantations that we drove thru, the Chinese gas project pipeline and the road that we travelled on being only 10 years old. Now the road is memorable; like all MM roads, just one vehicle width, with much tooting to work out who stops and who goes first when you meet another vehicle. More village and farm vehicles (or modes of transportation).

At a main intersection and small village, another of those tight turns where it took the 2 drivers (or driver and our busboy/ navigator to accomplish the right hand turn – and a stop for a toll, obviously to take the mountain road.

This hot group of ladies (and Gary - Sue's husband) had no problem agreeing to having the air-conditioning turned off to help the bus manage the steep drive – guess what, it was actually cool outside. Bliss to drive with open windows. The magnificent scenery overcame the sense of OMG re height, sheer drops and sandstone being quarried from the cliffs.

One stop for photos where we managed to get our shoes into an absolutely obscene state in the mud (or whatever else), then finally into the little village where the steps to the temple start.

Here there was an interesting toilet experience for the desperate in the group – just another life's experience! Also saw the first of the monkeys – on roofs, on the ground, etc doing busy monkey things. Omahr's warning was to keep all plastic bags out of sight and anything else the monkeys may snatch.
 

The steps – first stage was gentle with all tiled steps and shops / stalls to the sides – not the amount of hassling as at markets so far. At the end of the shops and first flights of steps, the shoe removal ceremony took place – this time with lockers for our shoes (some enterprising person has seen the business possibility here).
 

We started on the next steps – steeper and to the accompaniment of the banging of sticks and firing of slingshots to scare away the monkeys. One quick fellow snatched a water bottle from a woman, ran off through barbed wire and across the roof, then sat and removed the top and drank the water – at least it didn't go to waste. Frequent stops to catch the breath and sit on the seats built into the sides. By now, the shirt isn't just damp, but dripping, even though the air is cooler. Just keep climbing – slow and steady – then the steep metal stairs, but not too bad as there rails both sides and a sense of everyone giving way to others – very polite (remember Angkor Wat?). More slow and steady tiled steps with locals washing the steps and asking for donations. Enterprising Ursula fanned some local ladies that we gave way to and asked for 'donation for fanning' – the local sense of humour appreciated the joke.

Passed the steps to where the twins were born – who in the world would have climbed to the top of a mountain to give birth???

Ohnmah kept us going with a few 'white lies' about the number of steps left; then the last steep metal stairs, a few more sets of tiled steps and we were there. 'There' was a stunning view across the plains to Bagan, the dam on another side, and Mt Popa on the other. Mt Popa peak was in cloud and a great sight.

At this stage the sun came out and there was a quick photo shoot of the group before an urgent move into the shade.

More to follow......

Hi all and thanks Di for posting the first part of this story. I hope that more of the intrepid mountain adventure crew may add comments and correct where I may have missed something.

Before I continue the downward and homeward journey, I must add in the visit to the spirit ‘house’ at the village before we started the stair climb. This was a really good (not that I am an expert) set of the 37 spirit statues. Very colourful and a close-up encounter with Mr Handsome and Miss Golden Face and their extended family (7 members in all), plus the black clad figures that included the woman with the tiger who continues to search in the forest for her son who listened to music when he shouldn’t and was lost to her. He (the son) is further down the line-up, where she can’t see him.

As usual, the flower sellers were there and some of the group took the opportunity to purchase and present to their chosen statues / spirits. Also as usual with our group, this was not without incident – with Omahr having to sort out why the flower women were over-excited as we were leaving – another of those 1 costs $x but 2 costs 3 times $x situations; then add on ‘my friend has paid for me’ and confusion reigns. But all sorted, more kyat handed over and everyone leaves happily. Are we a soft touch?

Okay – back to the descent via a different set of steps for a start that soon joined the previous steps. Slow and steady does it again and we make our way down; now not daring to stop as the legs are starting to shake and we know that tomorrow there will be pain.

First stop is to retrieve our shoes and try to get them back on. Not easy with legs now in a state of shaking and definitely not feeling as though they belong to the rest of our bodies.

The pain is soon forgotten with a bit of retail therapy at the little shops on the way down the remainder of the steps. Happy that we have achieved some bargains, we step past the on-the-ground monkeys and take our seats in the Princess, ready to return to Bagan.

As we start the journey, it starts to rain – drops at first then a downpour. Along the line, Gary has convinced Omahr that we need Devonshire tea, so there is a stop at a tea house with dragon fruit trees. Now here is a surprise – we had no idea of the dragon tree plants. They have the appearance of the cactus that we saw while on the horse-ride in Bagan.

Many umbrella trips through the heavy rain later, we reach the teahouse and while the rain stops take photos of the dragon fruit. Coffee and tea and banana pancakes (the closest we can get to scones) are ordered. Sue tries to abscond with the baby of one of the workers and we again create havoc in getting the money correct to pay the bill (for a smart group of people, we can really make a mess of paying a few kyat.)

The downpour has continued as we descend - the villages are quite flooded, people are drenched and the road extremely treacherous. Watching the water stream out of the hillside is something else.

Meanwhile......

Those left behind decided to spend the day being totally decadent: late breakfast, plenty of swims and most important of all Thanaka massages.


Kerryn, Kate Kim and Jenny hanging over the edge of the infinity pool
at the Aureum Palace Resort -
complete bliss in the heat!

For those of us brave enough to experience that form of massage we emerged from The Spa an hour and a half after entering, covered from top to toe in thanaka, the cream paste worn by women and children as a sunscreen and beauty product. We'd been exfoliated, massaged - the masseurs even crawled along our backs and used their knees and forearms for some deep massage! - and then painted with this amazing silky paste. Everyone wandered around for the rest of the day looking slightly sickly as the cream/yellow colour looks rather weird on pale skin.

Anyway we were hopeful that we would all look ten years younger at least but to no avail!! 

Sunset at the lake at the Resort

For dinner we all reassembled and went to an open air restaurant right on the banks of the mighty Ayerwaddy River.  We had been warned that this was a cultural event and although we are very interested in the local culture, often these 'events' are less about the local culture and more about the tourists expectations.

However we were pleasantly surprised as it was a marionettes show using authentic puppets and characters from stories from Buddha, accompanied by three very enthusiastic musicians playing a xylophone made from small gongs, a strange trumpet and some drums.

It was really fascinating and they were very pleased when some of our group asked them about the instruments and Alison displayed her vast musical knowledge playing the gongs.

 The food was great: Deb and I have decided that the tiny roasted peanuts are one of the best delicacies here.

The infinity pool at night

Off to Mandalay tomorrow