20~29)

【マンダレー/Mandalay (2/21～2/22)】

We arrived in Mandalay from Lashio after about 5 hours. We were to leave early the next day, and decided to make the most of some quick sightseeing by hiring a couple of hotel guys to take us around on the back of their motorcycles. Total cost was 15 USD plus gas for 5 hours, so not a bad deal, considering that they knew where to go and all. The guys spoke no English but were really nice, and the first stop was “Stampe Paya”, a kind of temple on the top of a hill overlooking Mandalay. After viewing the terrific sunset there (warning: to enter this temple government stooges require a steep 10 USD entrance fee, and they don’t accept any wrinkled or dirty bills-it’s a government racket that exists all over Myanmar) we visited Mandalay’s largest pagoda, Mahamuni Paya which is chock-full of stunning sights and devoted followers. As an aside, the people of Myanmar are both extremely nice and devoutly religious, which probably one reason why they are still saddled with such a ghastly regime. Lastly, the guys took us to a good and cheap restaurant featuring Myanmar cuisine (basically, many different kinds of curries). The night was topped off with washing our feet at the hotel because no shoes or socks can be worn in any temple or pagoda in Myanmar.

The next morning, 22 February, we boarded a ferry that plies the Eyadee River to Bagan (Shewe Kinery Vessels). The ferry is for foreigners only (with foreigner-only prices, to boot). The ferry took about nine hours, and the trip was spent reading and watching the passing scenery. There is a galley below that is nice enough, but we were dumb enough to bring only 100 USD bills, which they could not change-oh well, live and learn, right?

ラショーから約5時間でマンダレーに到着。翌日は早朝出発なので、夜までてっとり早く観光してしまおうと、ホテルの人に頼んでバイクを2台チャーター。午後5時から10時まで15USドル＋ガソリン代。笑顔の素敵なミャンマー人青年2人が運転するバイクの後ろに乗って、マンダレーヒルの頂上にあるスタンピー・パヤーへ。そこで美しい夕焼けを見た後、マンダレー最大の仏塔、マハムニ・パヤーで幻想的な光景や熱心にお参りする人々に圧倒され、最後にミャンマー料理のレストランへ連れて行ってもらい食事をした。仏塔や寺院には裸足で入らなければならないので、ホテルに戻ると足の裏は真っ黒。

翌日(2/22)はエーヤワディー川を航行するバガン（ニャウンウー）行きフェリー、シュエ・キナリー(Shewe Kinery Vessels)で早朝にマンダレーを出発。外国人専用フェリーなので、ミャンマー人はガイドか船員しかいない。早朝から夕暮れまで約9時間の旅で、1日中本を読んだり川沿いの景色を眺めたりしながらのんびり過ごした。1階がレストランになっているのでそこで休みたいところだったが、私たちは100ドル札しか持っていなかったので、おつりがないと言われてずっと食事ができないままで、空腹に耐えた。

マンダレーヒルの上にあるスタンピー・パヤ（パゴダ）/Stampe Paya on Mandalay Hill
★写真はお借りしました

マハムニ・パヤー/Mahamuni Paya
★こちらの写真もお借りしました

Ferry/ひもじい思いをしたフェリー

【バガン（ニャウンウー） /Bagan (02/22~02/24)】

This is an ancient holy land in Myanmar throughout which there are over 1,000 temples and pagodas, many dating back to the 11~13th century. If you come to Myanmar, this is the “must” place to visit. We arrived in Shyawanwee (the town next to Bagan), and were taken to our guesthouse by one of the ubiquitous horse-draws carriages (again, here the government collects an “entrance fee” to the town-hard currency only please). We set out the next morning, 23 February, at 09:00 for an all-day trip about over 10 of the oldest and most famous temples and pagodas. Many of them look alike and while we weren’t always sure what we were looking at, everyone was breathtaking. Cheap, too: we hired the same horse-carriage for a total of only 10 USD. We asked the driver to take us to a cheap restaurant for lunch, and it cost us 3,000 Kyat (about 3.50 USD) each, plus lunch for the driver at our invitation (1,000 Kyat for him). Actually, it was really only foreigners and their drivers at this restaurant, with the drivers eating separately from the foreigners. And so it became pretty clear that the drivers and the restaurant have some sort of arrangement-everything is set: the menu, the prices, everything. In fact, it is evident that there is some network throughout Myanmar involving anyone and everyone connected with serving foreigners (hotels, restaurants, guides, taxi drives). Everyone knows everybody else and the name of the game is to get all that can be got from the foreigners. But don’t’ get us wrong-they are all quite nice and fair, and bargaining is always available. Hey, it’s a very poor country and it seems ridiculous to get upset about paying what amounts to a dollar or two more than your guide book says or what some other traveler says.

The next morning, 24 February, we boarded a bus at our hotel (at any hotel you can buy bus tickets or arrange taxis) heading for the former capital, Yangon (Rangoon). As the crow flies, Yangon is maybe 250 Km or so, but the bus takes over 18 hours (see above re the roads). The bus, like many of the others, was an old Japanese tour bus, but apparently top of the line in Myanmar-it had air conditioning. Make sure when you book your seat that you are not in an aisle seat, because on all the buses all the seats are used (that means even those flip-over seats that plug the aisle). The price is good, but be prepared for a very rough ride.

この地域はミャンマー屈指の仏教の聖地で、11～13世紀、パガン王国時代に建てられた何千もの仏塔や寺院が残っている地域だ。ミャンマーに来たら必見の場所である。

バガンの隣にあるニャウンウーの船着き場からホテルまで使った馬車で、次の日はバガンの遺跡巡りをすることにした。23日、朝9時から日没まで、とにかく10以上の仏塔や寺院を見て回った。似たような仏塔ばかり見ていると、どれがどれだかわからなくなってくるが、とにかくどれも美しくて素晴らしい。ちなみに馬車のチャーターは1日で10USドル。お昼時、安いレストランに連れて行ってほしいと馬車使いの青年に頼むと、あるレストランへ連れて行ってくれた。値段は一人3000kyat(約330円)だという。彼もお昼に誘うと、自分たちは同じ場所で食べるが1000kyat(約110円)でOKだから払ってほしいという。よく見れば、他の馬車もこのレストランにとまっており、外国人旅行者がみな同じ内容のものを食べている。そして馬車使い達はレストランの端っこで固まって食べていた。なるほど、彼はこのレストランと何らかの契約があって、お客をここに連れてくることは決まっていて、乗客と自分たちのメニューと値段も設定済みということらしい。ミャンマーでは、外国人観光客に知り合いのタクシーや馬車やレストラン等等を紹介してくることが多いが、そういうネットワークでお互い助け合っているようだ。

2月24日、ニャウンウーのホテル前からヤンゴン行きのバスに乗る。約18時間以上もかかる長距離だが、バスは日本の古い観光バスで、ミャンマーでは最高のクラスらしい。ただ補助席まで座席として使っている。値段はたぶん安いと思うが、首も腕も休める場所がなくて、補助席の人達はつらそうだった。

horse carridge/1日チャーターした馬車

Lunch menu/ランチ

バガンの遺跡たち。とても美しく幻想的でした
Magnificent view of the ruins