January 2, 2014

I gave up my window seat on the early morning bus ride from Bagan to Monywa to a young bald nun in a pink robe.  She and her sister were assigned seats in different rows.  She looked terrified.  As a consequence of the trade, I shared a bench with a young man who spit betel juice the entire five hour jam-packed ride.  Lucky me!

I understand the fear shown by the young woman, given the January 2014 riot where a Buddhist mob killed dozens of Muslims in western Myanmar, close to where the bus was taking us.   Muslim and Buddhist conflicts have left 140,000 people homeless since 2012. There’s good reason to be cautious ‘in the wild west of Myanmar.’

I was en route to the Chindwin River, where my 350 mile plus boat trip would start the next morning in Monywa and end several days later in Homalin.  Everyone thought I was crazy traveling upstream with unpredictable boat conditions, no airline reservations to get back to the main tourist route, and limited time.   I was to meet my guide, Mr. Saw, later that evening in Monywa.  So I hired a motor cycle to visit the Buddhist caves in the afternoon.

It took one hour to get to the caves with reclining Buddhas and was well worth the bumpy trip.

Un-excavated ruins bring out the “why” in me.  Why reclining?

Why in caves?

Try to imagine this site in the 11th century. I don’t think much would change other than the erosion.

Are these dogs guarding the entrance? If not, then what are they?

A troop of monkeys call these ruins home.

They’re deteriorating rapidly with the wet climate. What is being lost and should anything be done to save them?

These active religious sites are still visited by locals, daily. So what will restoration do to their culture?

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