Burma Part III : Mount Popa and Myingan

Day 4 : Post balloon ride we cycle approximately 50km to Mount Popa which is over fifteen hundred meters above sea level and is actually a volcano.

On the way we cycle through many palm trees and we stop at a palm tree oil “factory” and see a man climb a tree to collect the palm oil in pots that he put there earlier this morning.

We also see a man grinding peanuts for oil in a very traditional way:

There are lots of workers making sweets with the palm oil and adding different flavors. We get to try a lot of them and all are really good. In particular I like the coconut ones and Suzanne likes the tamarind. They also use the oil to distill liquor but we don’t get to try that.. no doubt it’s rocket fuel!

We continue to Mt Popa which is considered holy as it is believed to be home to Burma’s thirty-seven spirits or nats as the Burmese call them. We stop at a view point that has an impressive Buddha statue – I really can’t resist a good Buddha:

On arrival at the base, we get ready to climb a covered stairway with over 700 steps, some very steep at the top. We must climb the steps in bare feet and as the place is overrun by monkeys (macaques) there is monkey poo all over the place… it’s not pleasant. Not only is it hard to avoid walking in but it’s on the railing!! Not loving this!

We’ve been told by the guide to be careful of our belongings as the monkeys are quick to steal glasses from your head, cameras out of your hands etc.. [flashback to the monkeys in Gibraltar Angela O’Doherty!] so we are all on red alert. But low and behold while our Austrian friend sits for a moment to take off his shoes a monkey pounces and swipes his prescription glasses right off his face… Gannot (not the correct spelling but I think he’ll let me away with it!) swiped at the monkey to try to retrieve them and the monkey tumbled into a summersault and ran off. After quite a bit of investigating our guide found the monkey and the glasses were retrieved – cheeky monkey indeed!

It’s quite stressful on the ascent to the top as the monkeys are very threatening looking and they keep fighting with each other. At one point they’re completely blocking the stairwell and no one is sure if we can get through. A worker who cleans the steps for donations shoos them away and we make a run for it… it’s proper Planet of The Apes stuff…… well ok, not quite, but a bit scary all the same! I’m afraid to get my camera out in case I get pounced on so I don’t have hard evidence of the scale of these scary monkeys!

Finally we manage to reach the summit and honestly I’m not all that sure it was worth it. There’s a statue of a monk known as the Burmese Superman who was apparently a great man, although he looks like was never in a good mood:

The views are nice from up here but it’s hard to relax and look around in case a monkey strikes… this guy was definitely checking me out:

Around the temple there are lists of names of people who have made donations. Big and bold we see one Donald Trump who made a donation in 2015 of 25,000 ks which is not even twenty US dollars… the miserable swine!

Happy to get away from the monkeys, we make our way to Popa Mountain Resort, which is built into the side of a mountain and overlooking the temple and monastery. We watch the sun set over it with a little sundowner beverage! It’s way better looking at it from afar than being up there!

It’s hard to believe how cold it is after the heat of the day but it is really chilly and windy up here. After an amazing and well earned shower, we have another drink and spend a pleasant evening with our group before calling it a night.

Day 5 : After a fantastic buffet breakfast and one last look back at Mt Popa we start an 85km day of cycling.

We head downhill from the resort so there’s a lot of freewheeling and speed. Now anyone who has cycled with me before knows this is my least favorite thing to do on a bike. I break and scream (if not out loud then on the inside) my way down a bumpy and a little bit windy (not as bad as the downhill day in Sri Lanka) road. I’m so glad when we get down and actually prefer the undulating terrain ahead.

We have plenty of stops along the way and the Intrepid crew are brilliant. They are always waiting ahead with snacks for us and they guide us to our stopping point and make sure we’re safe.

We are a bit of an attraction for the locals and lots of people want to talk to us and find out what we’re up to. In particular we make friends with lots of kids

Hello in Burmese is “mingalarbar” and I just love saying it to people as I whizz by (yes I’m whizzing my way around here). Everyone is really smiley and friendly and shouts mingalarbar back and sometimes I even get a hello or a “what country you from?”. It’s great fun.

You’re never too far from a stupa or temple and I stop to take a photo of this new one getting built:

Towards the end of the 85km there is one kilometer of a very steep winding hill so the challenge is on… most of the group make it but it’s not easy and it’s gear one for most of the way which means it’s hard to stay on the bike. I’m sure I’d walk it faster but I won’t be defeated. We are all delighted to get to the top in one piece and it’s been a great day of cycling.

The shower at the hotel after that long hot day is glorious and feels like a treat for us. In this small town called Myingyan there’s not a whole lot but there is a famous monk who lived and died here and guess what… he is incorrupt.. gasp!!!!! Yes, an incorrupt Buddhist monk – I have to see him.

So his name is Sun Lun Sayadaw U Kavi and he lived til he was 75. The dates are different to our calendar so it gets a bit confusing but I think he died in the 50’s and he decided that he wanted his body to be put on display. He is on display in this gold carriage type thing:

And close up looks like this:

Strange!

There are nice grounds around the temple of the dead monk..

Happy to have seen it we retire to a small restaurant beside our hotel ready for an early night and another early start tomorrow.