Travel Report 22: Mandalay

Volker and I arrive in Mandalay very early in the morning. We are not really sure when, as we are sleeping. The ship actually braves the ghosts and sand banks of the river to dock at the freight harbor (a couple of planks over which 10s of Kulis sprint with bales from inside the ship on their heads).

Our trusted transport, at a different location though,
I didn't get a photo of the local stevedores

We descend from the ship to rather curios stares for the rather curios strangers disambarking into the general hubhub of a ship being unloaded as it would have been 100 years ago. Up the dirt bank of the Irrawaddy, hire a couple of trycicles, and in we go to Mandalay and the pre-booked hotel. Later Mr. M picks us up. A professional guide whose knowledge of Mandalay and surrounding areas is only surpassed by his willingness to teach silly foreigners how to properly eat with their hands, burmese style. I am sure nobody actually does this in Burma anymore.

Mandalay is the current center of buddhism, which is of the theravada kind in Burma. If you have been to Rome and strolled around the areas that the catholic church frequents. Think of that, only 300 hundred years ago, except that they had really dirty internal combustion engines. And the monks don't wear dark Kuten but burgundy robes. And... Ok, this is getting too hard to transcribe from dirty pre-hi-tech vatican to modern center of theravadan Buddhism. So here goes:

Mr. M and Volker at 1st monastery we visited in Mandalay

There are many monasteries in Mandalay. There are as many different schools of buddhism as there are different ways of interpreting other religions.

The monasteries are quite ingeniously built.
During the scorching summers of Central Burma
the monks and accolades would shelter
under the monastery at noon

I was often surprised by how well used the monastery seemed. There was always someone praying, offering, meditating or doing something or other pious. To my jaded european eye it seemed strange to actually witness people at their services. Our churches are merily tourist attractions.

The craft used in the building of these is equally impressive to catholicism's need to impress

The many different schools of buddhism are literally that. Every male will enter a Monastery at least twice in his life. Once as a youth, an indeterminate age and once as an adult. But frequently in between when the mood is right, the woman mean or the season slow.

Ohm, peace and quiet. You see the paintings
on the walls. Modern events are explained via
buddhist wisdom, and vice versa.
Yes, that's burmese.

There are other monasteries who frown upon their members doing such things as handling money, spending idle hours not meditating, eating not-strictly-donated food or gambling. These can be interpreted as conservative. The different interpretations of day-to-day operations of a theravadan monastery are wide ranging. The conservatism of a monastery is entirely dependent on its Abbot.

Yet, as the churches in Europe do, these
abodes of peace provide serenity.

And calm oases in these hectic towns. My Uncle is not normally a none-energetic person.

teak

These are all from the 1st monastery we visited with Mr M in Mandalay. There are many more to come.

I will probably show you all of them. I know, its a threat. But I promise not too many words and more pictures instead. Like comics, Rupert Murdoch papers and magazines at the checkout.