This little village was a highlight for me because of its contrast with the bustling, glittering Yangon that we had just left.
Simon, our guide in Mandalay picked us up after our flight from Yangon, and immediately proposed an off-the-beaten-track (and not on our program) visit. I was a bit weary, because the last unexpected proposal we had brought us to the saddest display of animal captivity I have ever seen - 3 white elephants chained to a cement slab - for eternity.
He promised that it was a nice site, so on the way into town we stopped in Paleik, "The Little Bagan." Like Bagan, Myanmar's premier tourist site with hundreds of stupas dotting the plains, Paleik had a few hundred stupas to its name. However, unlike Bagan, the village was not forced to relocate to make way for the tourists. Paleik was a historically wealthy town because of trade with China coming from the river running through it. The stupas were built by wealthy individuals who wanted to gain Buddhist merit and show off a little of their wealth at the same time. Some of the stupas have been renovated recently with golden spires, by some of today's wealthy villagers, but most were in a natural, beautiful state of erosion.
Simon, our guide in Mandalay picked us up after our flight from Yangon, and immediately proposed an off-the-beaten-track (and not on our program) visit. I was a bit weary, because the last unexpected proposal we had brought us to the saddest display of animal captivity I have ever seen - 3 white elephants chained to a cement slab - for eternity.
He promised that it was a nice site, so on the way into town we stopped in Paleik, "The Little Bagan." Like Bagan, Myanmar's premier tourist site with hundreds of stupas dotting the plains, Paleik had a few hundred stupas to its name. However, unlike Bagan, the village was not forced to relocate to make way for the tourists. Paleik was a historically wealthy town because of trade with China coming from the river running through it. The stupas were built by wealthy individuals who wanted to gain Buddhist merit and show off a little of their wealth at the same time. Some of the stupas have been renovated recently with golden spires, by some of today's wealthy villagers, but most were in a natural, beautiful state of erosion.
The village was also home to a monestary. This is a teak temple that is used by the monks of the village. In the foreground are monks robes drying on the line.
The trees among the ruins were gorgeous and the path took us from the main road, through a forest of stupas, past the monestary and on to the village where we meandered and solicited the curiosity of the villagers.
Some of the monks lived inside the stupas. They took care of them and slept inside. Monks live off of donations by the people for food and clothing. Mandalay was a big Monk hub. I can't remember the exact numbers, but basically that's where a good part of them live.
Here is one sitting on his front porch taking in the rays. Behind him, notice the Italian archways on a building in the middle of Burmese stupas. Another nice contrast!
The village was a buzz with preparations for the upcoming pagoda celebrations in addition to the daily activity centered around its specialty, weaving. Every house had a loom and they all seemed to be clattering away. We were invited to visit one, with no pressure whatsoever to buy anything (there was no shop anyway) or even give money. They just seemed proud to show off their workshop and have some foreigners come in.
We were surprised to see children working at the looms. Everywhere we went, we saw children working at various jobs. Some were in school, others were at work. Hopefully, more and more will be in school in time.
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