In search of an Empire.Siam,Burma and Singapore.

[drron]

The ship looked great at night-

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So now it is Thursday and the New Year.The ship was still our hotel but another days tour of Bagan.A nice touch at the top of the stairs-

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The first thing today was a horse cart ride again.First you pass the Belmond free clinic-

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Then some old stupas-

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And rubbish before seeing the walls of Old Bagan-

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[drron]

Although the ride is rough we saw mainly smaller temples and stupas without other tourists.When on the road though it paid to watch what was coming-

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This was Thursday and already people were arriving from the country and camping beside the roads for Sunday's festival.On Sunday it was bedlam.

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[drron]

This was only an hour tour at a slow pace so you can get a little idea of just how many temples there are around Bagan-

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[drron]

Finishing off our cart ride-

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After the cart ride we were first taken to a jewellers-this had been requested by several of the women.Mrsdrron obtained a new ruby ring and went back later to buy an unset sapphire.

Then it was off to Bagan's market.Busy,dirty and an experience-

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[drron]

The last of the market and then went to the Ananda temple.One of the most magnificent.

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[drron]

More of the Ananda temple-

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Each cavity in the walls has a golden Buddha.Putting gold leaf on a Buddha happened here but not as popular as in Mandalay-

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Out side the locals are playing K-ball-

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The last 2 photos are of the symbols of the days of the week.Very important in Burmese culture.The day of the week you are born on is important for your name-each day has a different letter your first name should start with-and for your symbol.We are both Sunday children so the Garuda bird is our symbol.I hope that doesn't mean we have to fly it!

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[drron]

The last of the Ananda temple-

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One part is still being renovated-

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The influx from the country continued and now temples are becoming campsites-

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Back to the ship for lunch.This time I asked what the vessel was moored a little distance away.Turns out it is one of the pre-WW2 paddle steamers-

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[drron]

After lunch it was going to be a trip to Mt.Popa.However our guide asked his 10 if they would like an alternative-a trip to a village where he knew some of the families and to a couple of less visited temples.Having seen Rooflyers accounts of monkey do do and our guides personal stories including one when he was first a guide in which the monkeys removed his longhi when he was going Commando style we opted for the personal tour along with 2 other women.Glad we did.
The village is very close to Bagan .He took us to afamily compound explaining that this family was rich by Burmese standards.One of the matriachs who is 63 makes cotton items.They grow the cotton and prepare it then have other families make the items.Their payment is a percentage of those products that they then sell-

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Another business they have is extracting an edible portion of plum seeds.Most of the work being done by villagers that they hire-

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So that is a pile of dried plums,fed into a machine where the seed gets split then sieved by the workers.The orange/red bits are the finished product.
Nothing is wasted.The rubble from crops is used as fuel and the output of the oxen for fertiliser-

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And here is their drinking water supply-

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[drron]

As this is a well off family they have recently built a concrete water tank and own a Chinese truck-

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Probably not a comfortable ride for the passenger.

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And this is the older sister,nearly 80,who puts down her long life to rolling her own.Though the mixture is not what we would call tobacco-

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The sleeping areas-

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[drron]

The storeroom and kitchen-

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A fine woman very proud of her happy granddaughter-

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That is her old loom which is not used now due to the time spent with her grandchildren.A daughter also produces lacquerware-

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But chopping the feed for the oxen is more important.The outhouse-

 

[drron]

So the oxen get their food as another couple from the family return from the fields-

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And the schoolkids got home-

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Now I had a game with that last little urchin which consisted of throwing a small bottle full of dishwater.I must have won as he suddenly picked up the bottle and emptied it.Honestly I wasn't trying!
The latest addition to the oxen-3 months old-

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Then we say goodbye to the village-

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[drron]

So now we were taken to the site of a 13th century monastery.Some buildings are no more but lots of smaller pagodas in various states of repair plus one magnificent temple still used by some-

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Unfortunately the view also includes the Aureum Palace hotel's viewing platform.The greatest thing about viewing Bagan from that tower is that you cant see the tower.As said previously it is owned by the son-in-law of the chief general so a lot of locals really don't like it.

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We walked from the monastery to the last temple built by a king of Bagan.It was unfinished when the Mongols took over so known as the Run away temple.However things are going to get busier here as the road is obviously going to get sealed.Trucks were dropping off gravel.And guess who does the hard work-

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[drron]

So off on our walk-

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Then we reach the unfinished temple-

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[RooFlyer]

So now we were taken to the site of a 13th century monastery.Some buildings are no more but lots of smaller pagodas in various states of repair plus one magnificent temple still used by some-
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Unfortunately the view also includes the Aureum Palace hotel's viewing platform.The greatest thing about viewing Bagan from that tower is that you cant see the tower.As said previously it is owned by the son-in-law of the chief general so a lot of locals really don't like it.

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<snip>
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I stayed at the Aureum Palace and I tell you, not many of the guests like it either! No-one I spoke to used it, even though you get free passes as a guest.

 

[drron]

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Returning to the Orcaella we met these happy kids-

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Back on board we saw a lot of local boats heading out-

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They were heading out for the sunset.Unfortunately again complete cloud cover-

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[drron]

So it was our last full day on the ship.We went on the Balloons over Bagan the next morning early.Came back for brekkie and then disembarked.So unusually for me you have seen very few food pics.Well that is going to change!Starting with the brekkie spread-

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You could order eggs every way.Towards the end of the cruise mrsdrron discovered truffled boiled eggs and those became her favourite.So now some of the dinner dishes,lunch was also a buffet.The first pic though does come from a lunch-river prawns in garlic sauce,yum-

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[drron]

So some lunches.On this day the chef was cooking up pasta dishes in the dining room-

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Also there was this passionfruit meringue tart.Their passionfruit is very tart(pun not intended) so this was absolutely beautiful so we got the chef to put this on every couple of days.

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So back to dinner dishes-

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[drron]

The fort BBQ,only 1 pic was OK.Then back to lunch buffets-

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[drron]

Back to dinners-

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A sample menu-

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[drron]

So the final word about food.Another of the lunch time specials was pizza-

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I felt that the food we got on this cruise was the best we have ever had on a ship.Absolutely first class.Chef Bansani is to be congratulated.There was a great mix of western and Asian dishes.Although the Burmese dishes looked totally different than those on the street the lack of excess oil and uninvited guests meant you could enjoy them without fear to your health.

Next to the ship itself.The suites are very comfortable.Everything you need onboard including a small gym.The staff are fantastic.Always a smile and very efficient.One of the staff in the dining room is an example.I asked one night for some extra chilli for a curry.So everynight after that I would get a little dish of chilli.Was hard to fit it in when eating say a rack of lamb or veal cheeks but I always managed to eat a little.

The problems we had are basically with the Belmond head office and Australian office.Basically incompetent.Fortunately their GM of Myanmar cruises was excellent and understood customer feelings.Very definitely he is trying very hard to make things right.Much appreciated.

So in conclusion I can recommend the Orcaella.The ship gives you a great experience.Any problems and I can give you the GMs email address.However it is high end so more expensive than other cruises so will not suit everyone.It also gets you out into more remote areas and then it is up to you how much you get to know the Burmese people.I genuinely feel I had many moments of connection.
Just remember mingalaba and chezuba.If they are still seeming a little shy then having a sweet for the kids usually ended up breaking the ice.I found some local sweets particularly the Myin Mo Oo tamarind flakes were universally accepted.
But beware the country is changing fast so it should be on your list in the next couple of years.

But this is not the end of the TR.Balloons over Bagan comes next.