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| burmese lifeline |
| The 1,800km Irrawaddy River, which passes through towns and cities including Mandalay, Bagan and Mingun, is as busy as Main Street, New York.
Once known as The Road to Mandalay, it was the most convenient route to travel from one part of Myanmar to another. |
 Today, many people still depend on the much-revered river for their livelihood. There are many small villages along both banks and many of the people living there are either fishermen or paddy farmers.
When the Irrawaddy floods - at least once a year - these villages are submerged underwater but despite this inconvenience, people continue to live there because the land is so fertile that no fertiliser is ever required for farming. One of the most visited ancient cities along the river is Mingun, which is accessible by boat from Amarapura - an ancient capital not far from the heart of Mandalay.
Mingun was founded because the then ruler - King Bodawphaya - wanted to build four great things in Amarapura but found it too crowded. He then proceeded to build a pagoda with two great lions guarding it, and a bell tower in Mingun. The bell is now believed to be the world’s largest ringing bell.
Four hundred thousand bricks were used to make each lion. The pagoda was to have been 152m high but only 49m, or three terraces, were completed before the king's demise. The work was discontinued after that.
History has it that the necks of the lions were covered with precious stones. What was completed of the pagoda was also filled with Buddhist relics and treasure. The stones on the lions have since been lost or looted. A massive earthquake in 1848 also destroyed parts of the lions and caused huge cracks in the unfinished pagoda, exposing some of its precious artefacts.
According to legend, looters of the pagoda's contents will die horrible deaths and misfortune will befall their families and future generations, and that is why locals believe the treasures are still intact today. Anything found is either reburied in the pagoda or given to monks to put into shrines.
Another must-see attraction in Mingun is Shin Phyu Mai Pagoda built by King Bodawphaya's grandson. The beauty of the pure-white pagoda lies in its unusual wave-like terraces, which gives it a dream-like quality, like a building built on clouds.
Interesting curios can be found at the souvenir stands in Mingun. What catches the most attention are the bundles of cheroots, which are smoked mostly by older local men and women.
With no idea about the kind of weed that goes into each cheroot, intrepid tourists should smoke them immediately and not try to take them through immigration back home.
One of the sights that can be seen everywhere in Myanmar is men, women and children with seemingly yellowish skin, especially on their faces. These people are not suffering from jaundice but have applied tanaka powder on themselves. The powder is made from the ground stem of a tanaka plant, it is mixed with water to form a paste that is smeared generously on exposed parts of the body such as the hands, feet, neck and face.
Tanaka powder is very affordable (cheap brands cost around US$0.50) and it is believed to be effective as a sunblock, moisturiser and deodorant in one. In fact, it is much more popular with the locals than the international brands (move aside Elizabeth Arden!). |
| Posted on 20 May, 2008, Resource from Wrisney Tan |
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Today, many people still depend on the much-revered river for their livelihood. There are many small villages along both banks and many of the people living there are either fishermen or paddy farmers.