vaga #3/8 Bagan b

Part VIII

Between 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the political, economic and cultural capital of the Bagan Empire for 250 years, until the Mongols arrived and conquered it. During Bagan’s rule and with its wealth more than 10,000 religious monuments were built, amongst them Stupas, Pagodas and Monasteries within a couple of 100 square metres. The city attracted monks, students from India, Sri Lanka and the Khmer Empire. (WP)

the belief is that if one built religious constructions it would ensure a good future in the next life, so the kings with money ordered the huge and majestic pagodas to be built and then the ministers and others according to their means did the same ......

in the book "Burmese Days" by George Orwell,  part of the story is about a Burmese who was a mobster and he bribed everyone, he won a lot of money and when he said it was time to make a pagoda to pay for his sins, he died before finishing it.... .. lol what  happened ? where did it go....... hahaha

I have seen more than a hundred Buddha statues with all their expressions, materials, sizes..... each pagoda can have up to 10 different Buddha statues inside, imagine the scene, with more than 2 thousand pagodas.... just add it up ...... I put these in because it would be overwhelming to put in more than this ...

This photo is credited to Wikipedia, it is a picture taken during the wet season as I was only there during the dry season

I didn’t manage to get into the real palace, it was huge and the architecture was completely different to the Bagan style. My eyes were tired and I couldn’t retain anything. I couldn’t always see everything, not through lack of time but because I was overwhelmed by everything I had seen

The day before my horseback riding, I had been on foot and I don’t recommend it. for some reason, I had decided to walk and I battled to get back eventually, to my Super Hotel with the swimming pool and a cold beer. 

I changed the subject because there are hundreds of photos of Bagan and it can easily become monotonous, although they are not the same. In the Bagan museum, I saw this exhibition hahaha HAIR hahaha great theme, I knew that each person according to their lineage or rank, and for different occasions, they changed their hairstyles. They have strict codes, in the display of the hairstyles, there were about 90 types of hairstyles.

in the book "Exile of the Last kingdom" there is much talk about the "shampooner" who is in charge of washing their hair. There is an island called shampoo and it is a religious and monarchial event to go there once a year to wash your hair. The royal family in exile demanded to keep the shampooner on as the servants ..... today there is nothing of that left, but I did see women always with their hair up in various styles, daily, not just a ponytail but all very produced and beautiful.

I finish with this statue in marble that I found very interesting and it almost represents me, so many facets in one !! hahaha!!