ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY …

… we stopped off to see some historically important spots in Ava. Now known as Inwa, Ava served as the Burmese capital for some four centuries beginning in the mid-fourteenth century.

Today little but ruins, neglected monasteries and small villages remain. Nor is visiting these historic remnants a particularly easy task: our bus drove us from the airport to a fairly primitive riverbank ferry crossing where we clamored aboard a small long-tail boat, crossing to the other side, there to be met by a fleet of small horse-drawn carriages which took us around to the various sites we visited over the course of the morning. 

Our first stop was at a local craftsman's home and workshop where the family produced the polished black lacquer begging bowls used by Buddhist monks to collect their daily food offerings. We also wandered around the surrounding village, seeing how woven mats were used in the construction of house walls and visiting the local nat spirit shrine protecting the local inhabitants from harm.

 
We then jostled our way on over to a wonderfully romantic old ruined Buddhist temple set in the midst of newly-planted rice fields and sheltered by towering palms and huge, old shade trees.

Another bone-shattering trot brought us to Bagaya Kyaung, a Buddhist monastery built entirely of teak by one of the nineteenth century Ava monarchs. Though the structure has suffered neglect over the years, it still retains a majestic serenity that somehow reflects the sobering underlying Buddhist notion that “life is naught but suffering and vanity”. As we wandered through the shadowed interior, we even ran across the current abbot instructing a small group of monks, studiously bent over their copy books while lying on their elbows at their master's feet.

Our carriages next bounced us over to an ancient watchtower which (since an earthquake damaged the foundation in 1975) has come to be known as “the leaning tower of Ava”. Lunch alfresco in a wonderfully shaded garden setting followed. Then it was back by ferry across the river to our air-conditioned and (relatively) smooth-riding bus and on to Mandalay.

Later in the afternoon we ventured into the city center to marvel at a reconstructed version of the Ava Palace complex. Though an impressive reconstruction, the buildings have been neglected since being built in the 1990s and represent an extravagant expenditure of funds to no apparent benefit even to the burgeoning tourist industry; a missed opportunity, indeed.

Before returning to our exquisite small luxury boutique Hotel by the Red Canal for cocktails and a delicious Indian dinner, we walked around central Mandalay as vendors were busily setting up for the daily outdoor evening market.

Not surprisingly, we were in bed, fast asleep, by nine o'clock with visions of golden-spired stupas dancing in our heads!