16 Feb 2018 – Day 2: Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Sittway and sailing on the Kaladan River.
I woke up earlier than planned, at about 3:45 AM, and decided to make use of the extra time. The excitement of visiting the majestic, 2,605-year old Shwe Dagon Pagoda for a second time, that too at sunrise, could not keep me in bed. A cup of coffee and after a seven-minute walk through a couple of back alleys I arrived at the Eastern gate of Shwe Dagon Pagoda where I was greeted with enthusiastic “Mingalabar” from the locals and the usual question if I am from India (Indu). The security folks and the temple officials at the visitor’s ticket counter were friendly as usual, and by 4:45 AM I had set foot on the sacred platform around the Pagoda.
Without any tourists and only the serious devotees, the place was quiet, calm and serene. Walking past the Southern and Western gates, I settled down at one of my favourite spots – at the North-West corner, near the Wishing Well where there were a number of devotees praying and meditating.
After absorbing the atmosphere and having taken a few photographs, I walked over to the North-East corner to wait for the Sun to rise and light up the Pagoda with the first ray of the day. There were a number of Bikhu and Bikhuni on the temples surrounding the pagoda chanting their mantras in Pali. A special treat indeed.
http://www.shwedagonpagoda.com
By the time the Sun came up over the distant horizon, the platform had turned into a beehive of activity with more devotees having flocked in for morning prayers. For a while I kept shuttling between the North-West corner and the North-East corner trying to capture the Pagoda in its magnificient glory at sunrise.
After eating breakfast at the hotel, I left for the airport to take a domestic flight to Sittway, the capital of Rakhine state. The domestic terminal was quite awe inspiring with a really fast internet connectivity. One of the eateries had some really bing, mouth-watering puffs that were fried to just the right golden colour. Salivating just by looking at them, I settled for their signature coffee instead while I waited for my flight to be announced. The flight, an ATR operated by Air KBZ, was delayed by 20 minutes, and had a short stop-over at Thandwe, a sea-side town.
On landing at Sittway, I was met by Mr Tun Nay Win, my local guide. Mr Tun turned out to be quite an interesting person as I got to know him during the next two days.
From Sittway, we sailed north on the Kaladan river up to the town of Ponnagyun. The bright and hot afternoon Sun did not help, and with nothing much on either side of the river except barren lands, temporary fishing villages and fishing boats, I took a short nap. The first bottle of Myanmar beer was taking its toll. Just as we neared Ponnagyun we got to see the Sun set behind a small Pagoda near Uritetaung Pagoda, both of which are located on a hill near the town. At Ponnagyun, we crossed the Kaladan river as we turned North-East to sail up one of the tributaries to Mrauk-U. We sailed in darkness, navigating the twists, turns and exits, between fishing nets and boats, without any light except those from the distant stars. I cannot fail but to admire the navigation skills of these Rakhine boatmen. The sky was black, with a gorgeous view of the stars and to some extent, the Milky Way, our home galaxy. The Three Wise Men shone in full glory all throughout.
The hotel, a resort located on the outskirts of the town of Mrauk-U, had a jetty of its own and we berthed there after sailing a distance of almost 67 kms that took 5 hours and 17 minutes.
The story of Day 3 will be continued in my next blog.
Abhijit Dutta's Wanderlust. 