C & C globetrotting around the world…

The boat ride on the Irrawaddy river was nothing spectacular and in hind-sight, we should have taken the bus which is faster and cheaper. The boat kept on zig-zaging on the river, probably due to the water depth, which is why the ride took 9 hours. Arrived in Bagan, we had to pay the $10 tourist fee before we were driven to our hotel by 2 trishaws. After checking in, we hopped on 2 bikes and biked to town, where we met a Swiss couple we had met on the boat and had dinner together.

Bagan was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan (9^th to 13^th century), the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom’s height between the 11^th and 13^th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day. Although it is not yet a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is Myanmar’s biggest attraction and one of the most beautiful sites in Asia, often compared with Angkor Wat.

Our hotel complex was very nice with a stupa in the garden, where we were served a delicious buffet breakfast. We rented bikes and set out to discover some temples. The first one was Hathilominhlo temple built in 1218. With its 46m-height, it is very impressive from the outside and has some nice relief carvings. It is the exact place where King Nantaungmya was chosen as heir to the throne amongst 5 brothers. From there we stopped at Upali Thein, a small ordination hall from the middle of the 13^th century. It is named after a famous monk at the time and contains colourful wall paintings from 17^th and 18^th centuries. We then went to Tharabar Gate, the only gate to the old city of Bagan that is still standing and part of the city wall from 9^th century.

Our next stop was the beautiful Ananda Temple, a must to any visit to Bagan. It is said to be one of the nicest and biggest, as well as the most well preserved and highly venerated temples in Bagan. It was built between 1090 and 1105 by King Kyanzittha and has perfect proportions and a golden corn cob tower reaching 52m into the sky. For its 900^th anniversary in 1990, its spires were gilded, letting it sparkle over the vast plain. Inside are huge sculpted teck doors, as well as 4 teak Buddha statues. One of the Buddhas is more interesting as it appears sad from close up, but smiling from farther away. We then rushed to Buledi temple for the sunset, where we were meeting the Swiss couple. Cecilia poked her foot along the way, but we made it before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. It was nice because there weren’t many people and everyone kept quiet as the sun was setting, as if it we were in a theatre and didn’t want to disturb the performance. Only after the sun went down did people start to talk, but even then in a whisper.

One morning Cecilia was still coughing a lot, so Christoph set off alone and biked around to discover many small pagodas and was often the only one (except for some cows). He enjoyed having the temples to himself and the nice views. After lunch, when the heat receded a bit, we set out to see some more temples. Manuha Paya was named after the Mon king of Thaton who was imprisoned there by King Anawrahta. Inside are 3 sitting Buddhas in tight space on one side and 1 reclining Buddha smiling. This was to show the discomfort shown by the captive king and that only nirvana (death) could relieve him. Next to it was Nan Paya, an old Hindu sanctuary which served as prison for King Manuha. The nice windows showcase the most delicate carvings in Bagan.

Retracing our steps, we visited Gu Biauk Gyi (big painted cavern-temple). Its colourful rich paintings inside reminded us of Dunhuang in China. This temple was built in 1113 and the paintings date from same time, portraying an Indian style. The typically pyu windows are very nice and next to it stands “Myazedi” (the Emerald stupa). We saw many other nice temples while biking, sometimes stopping to take some pictures. For sunset we went to the Shwe San Daw Pagoda, the most popular spot in Bagan. This pyramidal pagoda, which reminded us of the Maya temples in Mexico, has 5 terraces, offering a breath-taking 360-degree view. It was truly stunning, making it the most beautiful view of our trip so far. It was unbelievable how many temples there are in the area. After conquering Thaton in 1057, King Anawrahta built this temple in the middle of his newly-acquired kingdom. It is said to contain a hair of Buddha. After Bagan we finished our Myanmar trip with 2 days in Yangon before flying to KL.

We had breakfast in our guesthouse and set off on a tour to the Ancient Capitals of Myanmar with a driver and a guide. Our first stop was Paya Mahamuni, also known as “Payagyi” (Big Paya). Built in 1784, it is one of the most famous Buddhist sites in Myanmar. The most important part of the temple is the 4-m large bronze statue of Buddha Mahamuni, believed to date from 100 BC (or earlier). Over the years, pilgrims have covered it in 15cm of gold-leaf, changing its appearance. Every morning monks wash the statue’s face and brush its teeth. We asked our guide why people apply the gold leaf to statues. He said they want to offer what’s best to Buddha and since 24k gold is very precious, they offer it. A small gold leaf costs the equivalent of $2, so it’s pretty expensive, especially considering that many people offer more than one. Our guide also pointed out that in his opinion a country that is as poor as Myanmar shouldn’t spend so much on religion and should maybe focus more on health care and education… From the road to the temple, the alley is lined with shops making various religious articles. Mandalay is famous for its marble, so there are lots of artisans sculpting marble Buddhas in the area. Our next stop was at a handicraft store where women were making pillow-cases, embroidery and puppets.

From there we headed to the Ancient Capitals of Myanmar surrounding Mandalay. Our first stop was Sagaing, a town with 6,000 monks and nuns and 500 stupas scattered over the hills. Sagaing gets its name from the trees lining the river and was the capital of the Shan empire from 1315 after the fall of Bagan. Its glory was short-lived (50 years) because the king moved the capital to Inwa. In the 18^th century it re-became the capital for 4 years, but it had minimal historic importance. Today it is more important as a Buddhist refuge and for its big monastic hospital. Close-by is also the seat of the head monk in Myanmar, as well as a Buddhist university. The view from the top of Sagaing Hill was very nice, stretching out over the hills and stupas.

We then headed towards Inwa and had lunch before crossing the river. After crossing the river we hopped on a horse-cart, a must to go around the island. Inwa was the capital of the kingdom for 400 years, the longest Burmese capital to date. The kings worked hard to re-establish the Burmese power after the fall of Bagan. There is not much left of Inwa since many buildings were made of wood, but the stupas survived and are sprinkled amongst the palm-tree-lined rice fields. The only construction reminding of the royal palace are the royal baths and the watch tower. The tower suffered from an earthquake and is now called the “Leaning Tower of Inwa”. The royal palaces in Myanmar were made of teak wood and every time the kingdom changed capitals, the royal palace was also moved. Teak wood is very precious, so it was considered more valuable to build it out of this wood as opposed to stone. This explains why there is nothing left over of the royal palaces in the former ancient capitals. It is also a bit disappointing to visit an “ancient capital” and all you see are a few stupas and rice paddies…

After Inwa, the capital was moved to Amarapura (“City of Immortality”), where it remained from 1783 to 1857, before it was moved to Mandalay. Amarapura is actually more known for the 200-yr-old U Bein Bridge, the longest teak bridge in the world. It measures 1.2km in length and has 1060 pillars. From here we watched the sunset, which was beautiful. Especially at sunrise and sunset, there are lots of locals and monks passing on the bridge. Christoph didn’t like being on the bridge so much because it squeaks and there is no railing, but he had fun taking tons of pictures from every angle and at various times.

Mandalay is more known for its surrounding capitals than for the city itself. After having been to the 3 capitals before Mandalay, we decided to discover the last ancient capital of Myanmar. We had also heard that the “only nice thing about Mandalay is its name” and now we can attest to the fact that the city isn’t very pretty indeed. We can understand why the British moved the capital from Mandalay to Yangon (Rangoon) when they took over in 1885. We set out for a walking tour in the morning. It went past the reconstruction of Mandalay’s Royal Palace, but we didn’t go in since we would have needed a $10 ticket enriching the government. Unfortunately, the palace in Mandalay burnt down during WWII and has been rebuilt in recent years, but we heard there’s nothing special about it. We passed the palace moat and continued to Paya Shwekyimyit, a very old temple pre-dating Mandalay. It has lots of shrines and it was nice to discover all the nooks and corners of this extensive temple. Afterwards we passed through the large and busy market with mountains of garlic, onion and chilies (it felt like being in the Hungarian heaven!) before reaching Paya Eindawya. This temple witnessed the beginning of the 1919 demonstrations. A group of foreigners refused to take off their shoes before entering the temple grounds (you always have to take your shoes off when entering temples in this part of the world) and this upset the monks. Four monks were sentenced to life imprisonment by the British court, which sparked protests by the population.

In the afternoon we went for a long walk through the neighbourhoods, half erring trying to find certain temples. The areas were dirty and poor, but people were nice and helped us find our way to the Kyaung Shwe In Bin (“Teak monastery”). This monastery on stilts was built in 1895 by 2 rich Chinese jade traders and has some beautiful carvings. The entire neighbourhood is filled with monks and temples. We also went inside Kyaung Ma Soe Yein Nu, a monastery housing 2,600 monks. One monk stopped to talk to us and showed us around a bit, taking us to a tower for a nice view over the city.

We then walked some more in the dirty and extremely dusty roads before stopping for a beer at a local terrace. The staff was really friendly and kept on bringing us peanuts with our beer. We were also served a soup, but sent it back, so it got poured back into the pot. We then saw that left-over soups from others were also poured back into the pot – yummy. Christoph decided to order a Mandalay Rum with his beer, the way the locals do it. It was good, but very strong, so after his rum and beer, he was a bit tipsy 😉 . In the evening we watched a show by the “Moustache Brothers”. This trio is known for its political satire and had also been to jail for it in the past. In recent years they have been allowed to perform at home, so we decided to go see their show and support their cause. We were really disappointed because more than political satire, there was a show of bad dancing and music. The only good joke was one with a dentist. “One of the Moustache Brothers goes to Thailand to the dentist. The dentist asks him why he came to Thailand, if there aren’t any dentists in Myanmar. He answers that there are, but in Myanmar you can’t open your mouth.”

The 12-hour train ride from ShweNyaung to Thazi was very entertaining. As foreign tourist we got “upper class”, a waggon with old bus seats. Across from us was Ciaran, a funny Irish guy with whom we laughed a lot. The train was very wobbly and extremely slow, so much that we could have run next to it. The landscape was nice and the 3 Burmese ladies next to us made all the difference. At every train stop they bought something, so it was like doing groceries for them. Every station specialized in something, from avocados to ginger to flowers. At most stations there were also lots of snacks to buy, so we tried many yummy things. We shared food with the ladies as well and they gave us some of their jackfruit schnapps, which was surprisingly good (unlike the smelly fruit).

At one station, one of the older ladies got off and told Christoph to follow her. He did, thinking that she wanted to show him something. Then the train started to move and they continued walking towards the village. The 2 ladies still on the train explained to Cecilia that the train does a loop, so Christoph and the lady would get back on after the loop. It was pretty funny walking through the village and then hopping back on the train 10 minutes later. On 2 occasions the train does a huge back-and-forth zig-zag instead of making a turn on the steep mountain side. The second time, the train conductor took Christoph and the Irish guy again through the village to a shortcut. We talked to the ladies and found out that the youngest one was 32-yrs old, that her husband works in a gold mine and that her 2 kids go to school in Tanggyi, where they live with their grandmother. We also found out that the train conductor earns 5,000 kyats a day (800 Kyat = 1 USD); a good salary since it’s a government job. Regular jobs, such as weaving, pay about 2,000 kyats a day. We laughed a lot on the train ride, especially because the Irish was hilarious. In the evening the mice came out, so that was one more reason to laugh, although none of us really thought it funny. The mice were running around on the floor, so we all put our feet up. Arrived in Thazi, we walked to the guesthouse and checked in. The room was way overpriced for what it was, but since it’s the only guesthouse in Thazi taking foreigners, we had no choice. The owner was very nice walking us to a nearby restaurant, helping with the order and waiting for us to walk us home. Until now our experience with Burmese was very positive. They were always very helpful and seemed to be happy to talk to foreigners.

The next day we continued from Thazi to Mandalay. We bought our tickets – in ordinary class this time – and had to wait for an hour and a half because the train was delayed. It seemed like everyone else knew it was delayed because people started arriving only in the last 30 minutes. Ordinary class has wooden benches and is a lot fuller, but it was only for 5 hours and it was more comfortable than we thought at first. Since it was breakfast time, there were lots of vendors on board. The ride was bumpy (but not as wobbly) and a lot faster. The landscape was flat but it was nice to see lots of agriculture. There was a guy who wanted to talk to us. He came from Mandalay and has been working in Dubai for 2 years and his English was pretty good. He was very proud of his culture and it was interesting talking to him. He was trying to show us lots of things and to share his culture and even pointed us in the right direction towards our guesthouse once we arrived in Mandalay. The people really make the difference in many countries!

After a 12-hour bus ride, we arrived in Inle Lake at 3:30am. We were so happy when we were able to get our room straight and sleep a bit. We had breakfast on the hotel terrace and walked to the market, which was especially busy. We spent some time wondering the various alleys and it is a rich market indeed. We spent the afternoon wondering the streets and sipping tea and in the evening we went to the Puppet Theatre, which was short but entertaining.

The next day was a chill day where it was more about who we talked to rather than what we saw. It started off with breakfast on the hotel terrace again, overlooking the canal. We met a French couple and a Dutch guy with whom we decided to do boat trip on Inle Lake the following day. Cecilia spent the day catching up the Blog and sorting pictures while relaxing on the terrace and enjoying the view of the activity down below. Christoph went on a bike tour around the area with the Dutch guy. It was a fun day with nice views of the surroundings and interesting encounters. One of the more memorable ones was with a monk at one of the monasteries. The guys walked in and were greeted by a monk who is living there by himself. They chatted with him for a while and were baffled at all the information the monk had. When Christoph told him he comes from Germany, the monk started talking about the former East and West Germany, Konrad Adenauer, Angela Merkel and a bunch of other political events. He also knew many German companies and spoke a few words of German. As for the Dutch guy, he started by telling him that most people don’t know “The Netherlands”, but they know “Holland” and how the country was below sea level. The guys called him “Wikipedia Monk” because of all his knowledge. They had a good time there and even got offered some bananas and tea.

The next day we had breakfast on the hotel terrace again and then left on our boat trip around Inle Lake along with the French couple and the Dutch guy. Inle Lake is a huge body of water and is one of the 4 major attractions in Myanmar. It is known for its floating gardens, villages on stilts and the unique one-leg-rowing technique of the Intha people. From the village on Nyaungshwe where the guesthouses are, the boat took canals until it reached the lake. Our first stop on the lake was a touristy market, but we crossed a canal to reach a temple complex. Afterwards we stopped at a silver- and goldsmith place, but we were more surprised by the fact that the silversmith’s child was watching Cartoon Network than by the silversmith himself. What was nice is that at each stop we were served free tea. Afterwards we went to a weaving house and got a tour. First, we were shown how to make thread from lotus stems and it’s really cool. There is plenty of lotus growing on the lake, so it’s also useful. It was also pretty impressive to see the ladies working at the looms and the various patterns they create. Our grandparents’ generation used to weave too, but it’s a lost art in the Western world. Cecilia ended up buying a longyi, the traditional long skirt worn by everyone here. She had wanted to buy a sarong in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand but never did, so now that we visited a weaving shop, she decided to go for it. After lunch at a restaurant on stilts, we visited a Buddha-temple, passing a dentist on the way. We were surprised to see that the dentist had a typical dentist chair as well as a disinfecting station in his hut. The temple was very interesting and the most important one of the lake. It contained some Buddha statues that had been covered with gold leaf. To show their devotion, people buy gold leaf and apply it to the statues. Over the years, the Buddha statues have changed shapes due to the thousands of gold leaves applied. Our next stop was a cigar-making shop where we could have tried the cigars. They make some regular ones, but also some flavoured ones, including anis (licorice) and pineapple. It was impressive the speed with which the girls were rolling away the cigars, often without even looking. On the way back, we also passed some floating gardens, but didn’t get to see them from up close, which was disappointing a bit. Overall it was a nice day and the company pleasant.

On Day 200 of our trip, we arrived in Yangon, Myanmar. The country had been closed to the outside world for a long time, but has been slowly opening up. We wanted to see it while it’s still unspoilt by mass tourism. It hadn’t been on our original plan, but we met lots of people who had recently been, so we decided to go instead of going to India.

Yangon, a 5 million inhabitant city was Myanmar’s capital until 2005, when the governing Generals were spooked by an astrologer and moved the capital North to Nay Pyi Taw. Apparently the new city is a ghost-town, only for government officials. Yangon is still the biggest city and the country’s economic hub, as well as the gateway for international visitors (all international flights arrive here). The British moved the capital here from Mandalay when they took over and renamed it Rangoon (and called the country Burma, a name still used today). The city is very vibrant and after a restful night and a good breakfast at our hotel, we set out to explore it. Our first mission was to exchange our dollars into kyat, the local currency. You need to bring crisp new dollars when coming to Myanmar, as other ones are either not accepted or exchanged at a horrendous rate. There are no ATMs where you can withdraw cash yet, nor can you buy kyat outside of Myanmar. After exchanging money we visited Sule Paya (pagoda) on a round-about in the heart of the city centre. The gilded pagoda was built about 2200 years ago and is still an important place of worship to locals.

Central Yangon is like a time capsule of grand colonial architecture, so we walked straight down Pansodan Road, looking out for colonial-era buildings pointed out in the Lonely Planet walking tour. The imposing government buildings are newly renovated, but the other ones are in a very poor condition. You can see that they were once beautiful and the large boulevards make you imagine the grandness of days long gone. We also visited the elegant “Strand Hotel”, rated as a “top hotel in the world”. In Montreal, the “St-James Hotel” in Old Montreal is the only one that falls in the same category. It is pretty unbelievable to see, especially compared to the dirt on the road outside. Inside the fancy hotel we visited an art gallery with beautiful artifacts and paintings. We also walked to St-Mary’s Cathedral, a very imposing building. It celebrated its centennial last year and was beautifully renovated for the occasion. We walked around some more and Christoph got invited to join some guys kicking around a “cane ball”, a game often played by locals. We then stopped for a coffee break on a pedestrian street, had a coffee and watched people walking by. It is really amazing to see lots of modern shops selling flat-screen TVs, computers, iPhones and other electronics. We had been told that Myanmar is stuck in the stone age, that they don’t have electricity, only brown water, that we should talk to the locals to let them know we are aware of their plight. What we see is a totally different reality. The political regime might oppress freedom of speech locally, but the people are very much connected to the outside world and they talk openly to foreigners about the government. We were even told that now that the government is becoming more liberal, they are thinking of shutting down the “Censure Department” since they will be jobless. To our biggest surprise, we discovered that the TV in our room had “Deutsche Welle”, “TV5 Monde” and “CNN”. Wow! We had read that one should bring books to give them to people so they know what is going on in the outside world. Well, we guess we don’t need to do that anymore! They also have internet cafes with access to Facebook, Gmail and international news but the connection is painfully slow.

There are also modern supermarkets with all kinds of Western products and the prices aren’t exorbitant. We really wonder how this “embargo” really works… Actually, the embargo is only from many Western countries; the ASEAN countries trade freely with Myanmar, especially China, India and Thailand. Maybe the US and Europe decided to re-open the dialogue with the government because they are seeing an unexploited 60-million people market?

During our stay in Yangon, we also spent Day 202 of our trip. From now on, we’ll have been longer in South-East Asia than in China, which makes us realize how long we were in China! On that morning, we woke up very early due to chanting outside. We went to look and saw young nuns dressed in pink and orange walking and chanting on the street to collect alms. It’s funny because we had planned in Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai to go see the monks collect the alms in the morning, but we never managed to get up so early (5-6am). Now the nuns came to us. Also during our 3-day stay, we did the Circle Line, a 3-hour slow-moving train ride around Yangon and the neighbouring countryside. It was a very interesting ride with the locals, who use it to get to places and to transport all kinds of goods. At almost every station there were vendors who hop on and offer fruits and water for sale. It was nice to see the surrounding area as well, although there is a lot of poverty here. We also saw lots of small farms and a very busy market right on the platform. The locals were all friendly, smiling and helpful with directions. After having almost completed the circle, we hopped off to visit a temple. Mailamu Pagoda was nice to visit since we were the only foreigners there and we saw many different Buddha images, many which we hadn’t seen before. We then went to Shwedagon Pagoda, THE pagoda to see in South-East Asia. Its glorious gilded spire is the defining image of Yangon and has been a symbol of Burmese identity for 2500 years. Every good Buddhist in Myanmar tries to make at least one pilgrimage here in their lifetime, making this the Mecca for the Burmese. The main zedi and its 82 surrounding buildings form an impressive compound. The pagoda is said to be built upon a hill where Buddha relics have been enshrined, including 8 hairs of the Buddha. The original height of the pagoda was 66 feet, but since the 14^th century many successive monarchs re-gilded it until it reached its current height of 326 feet (98m). The top 3 sections of the pagoda are decorated with 3154 gold bells, precious stones and thousands of diamonds.

After our short trip to Melacca and the experience of Thaipusam, we came back to KL to pick up our visa for Myanmar and do more sightseeing. One day we followed the “walking tour” from the Lonely Planet through Chinatown, which was interesting. It didn’t really feel like being in Chinatown, but when there are so many Chinese throughout the city, it’s hard to have a definite Chinatown. We passed the Old China Cafe which is an old guild hall before reaching the Chan See Shu Yuen Temple, an ornate and ancestral Chinese temple. We re-traced our steps and passed through Jalan Sang Guna, a small and stinky covered alley with fresh market produce. We then arrived at the 22-m high and very colourful gate tower of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. This South-Indian Hindu shrine houses a famous chariot used for Thaipusam and was the origin of the pilgrimage to the Batu Caves a day earlier. The chariot was to be brought back that day, so all the streets where it will pass were lined with banana trees. Close-by was the Guan Di Temple, a Taoist temple for the God of War Guan Di. We then wondered the streets passing many Art-Deco buildings from the 1930’s before reaching the “Central Market”, previously the city’s fresh produce market. It is now a centre for handicrafts, antiques, art sales and cafes, where we stopped here for a coffee and cake break, which was very much needed. With renewed energy we admired the many shophouses in the area built at the turn of the century. Despite the modern city, many of the shophouses need a coat of paint, but the architecture is nice. We also passed Medan Pasar (“Market Square”), the city’s original market with a clock tower built in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George IV.

The next day we spent down-town around Surya KLCC and the Petronas Towers. On the way we passed the Convention Centre that was then hosting the World Press Photo 2011 Exhibition, so we dropped by to take a look. The photos are really amazing. Some are disturbing too, but very interesting. With the mid-day heat and humidity outside, we decided to stay indoors and went to the cinema to watch “Man on a Ledge”. It was a very good movie (and popcorn) and it’s fun to do things “like at home”, once in a while. While in KL, we also watched a few other movies at Vern’s place, amongst other “Lost in Translation”. Now that we’ve been to countries where the language barrier is enormous, it was really funny to watch. We also watched “The Beach”, since we haven’t been to Thailand’s beaches. Vern, our CS host was really interesting to talk to, so we spent the evening chatting about economics, politics and cultures. Very insightful!

We returned to Kuala Lumpur just in time for Thaipusam, an important and fascinating Hindu festival celebrated by the Tamil communities. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati (a Hindu Goddess) gave Murugan (the Tamil God of War) a vel “spear” so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadam. Every year Tamil Hindus from all over Asia flock to the Batu Caves (Rock Caves) near KL on a pilgrimage. This year over 1.5 million people attended and we were among them.

Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan to emphasize debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan. Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to idol for the purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting approx-48 days before Thaipusam. Kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan.

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. The simplest kavadi is a semicircular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a small spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or with milk pots hanging from them. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit.

The families of the kavadi-bearers were accompanying them for support and there were many ordinary pilgrims on this special day. Being in the heat and with the masses of people, it is unimaginable for us how these devotees have the dedication and strength to carry the kavadi for so long and up the stairs to the caves. Many of them were in a trance to help them cope. Despite the overwhelming crowd and heat, it was a very interesting and unique experience.

The Chinese Festival of WangKang is an exceptional affair. The last three Wangkang festivals took place in 1919, 1933 and 2001, and there are no records on when the first was held in the country. No one knows when is the next procession because the procession is decided by the Divine in the heaven.

The event is aimed at ridding evil spirits in the state and country. Wangkang customs were brought to Malacca by Hokkien migrants (from Fujian province) who were fleeing persecution during the Qing or Manchu Dynasty (1644 to 1911) in China. The story of the Festival, as told by one of the temple officials in the newspaper:

A deity ‘instructs’ a Chinese temple’s devotees to build a boat and load evil spirits on it. Why? IF predictions for the year of the Black Water Dragon are to be believed, we may have to brace ourselves for calamaties such as earthquakes and tsunamis. In light of this, the grand Wangkang (Royal Barge) festival which will take place in Malacca could not be more timely. The name Wangkang itself is a unique Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya mix of Chinese and Malay words – wang (emperor or royal) and kang (short for tongkang or barge). This time-honoured Chinese festival will see a majestic wooden barge sweep on board all the bad luck and evil spirits from the city’s historic streets before the boat is dragged to the seafront and burnt off … into the great beyond.

“We were told by our temple’s deity, Tee Ong Yah, that we should hold it this year. Ong Yah told us not just the date for the festival but everything else too, like when to start work, how big the boat should be, and where to set up the shipyard.” The Royal Barge itself is 6m long with a 7.6m high mast. Made of merbau timber and five-layered plywood, it took three months to build at a cost of RM80,000.

The plans for the procession seem more like a majestic flotilla, as the Royal Barge will be accompanied by five smaller boats, as well as cultural troupes such as dragon and lion dancers, stilt walkers and over 100 musicians from various temples.

“The procession will start at 7.30am from Yong Chuan Tian temple in Bandar Hilir and go around town the whole day, stopping at 15 key junctions,” explains Lai. Teams of devotees will put their hands on a special 108-foot (32.9m) long rope and pull the boat (on a wheeled platform) all over the city. “We will perform ceremonies where all evil spirits and influences will be ordered to get on the boat, upon the command of the san junn hau lin or the spiritual warriors of heaven, earth and sea.”

The climax will see the boat – and its load of evils – being hauled to the sea at Pulau Melaka where it will be set alight and perish in a huge bonfire. Lai advises: “When the boat is burning, people are advised to go away and not look back. Whatever our beliefs may be, turning our backs on bad luck and evil must surely be the right thing to do in 2012.”

The whole festival ended with beautiful fireworks at the beach.

From KL we went to Melacca for a few days. This historic town is conveniently nestled against the Strait of Malacca, one of the most important shipping routes in the world. Historically it linked traders from Europe and India to those in China and was used as a trading post for the merchants from these countries. They would come with the monsoon, trade and wait until the wind turned to go back home. Today, the strait is still the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Over 50,000 vessels pass through the strait per year, carrying about one-quarter of the world’s traded goods including oil, Chinese manufactures, and Indonesian coffee. The town of Melacca portrays well the multiculturalism of Malaysia and is also the cradle of the country. It was founded in the 14^th century by a Hindu prince from Sumatra, he became protected by the Chinese in 1405 before being dominated by the Portuguese in 1511 for 130 years. In 1641 the Dutch conquered it before finally ceding it to the British 1795, who kept it until Malaysia’s independence. This tumultuous history is very present in the city’s architecture and its people of mixed heritage.

We stayed at the “Apa Kaba Guesthouse”, which was recommended to us by Marg and Andy from Perth and where we got a very nice welcome. In the evening we went to the Night Market on Jonker Street in Chinatown. At the beginning of the street, there was a dragon to symbolize the start of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar. The night market was bigger than usual because the Chinese New Year week is still underway. At the end of the street there was a stage and we watched Chinese ladies do line dancing. It was like in China, except that the music was better. We walked around Chinatown for a while, admiring the beautiful red lanterns lining the streets. There was also a dragon dance and many colourful trishaws with music to take you around town.

On our second day, we set out on a walking tour with the owner of the guesthouse on his daily morning walk. He was very happy to show us the neighbourhood and let us discover its history. Our first stop was Hang Li Po’s Well, built in the 15^th century by the Sultan for his Chinese wife. It was also an important source of water for Melacca and the prime target for opposition forces wanting to take the city. We then climbed Bukit China (China Hill), the residence of Hang Li Po and her 500 maidens. Later it became the largest Chinese cemetery outside China. Chinese graveyards are often built on hills to maximize positive feng shui. From here we got a nice view of the city and came back down on the other side to St-Peter’s Church, an old Portuguese church.

We then walked to Kampong Morten, the Malay village in Melacca. We stopped at Villa Sentosa (“peaceful villa”), a live-in museum. We got a tour from the owner who was very dramatic and made us take pictures in every room of where the king and queen had sat. At the end, he asked for a donation. Christoph gave 10 ringgit ($3), but the old man said it was “10 ringit per person”. Talk about a donation!

In the afternoon we set out to the Portuguese settlement on our bikes. We knew we had arrived when we saw statues of Mary and Jesus in each house. These people are called “Kristang” (probably derived from “Christians”) and are descendants of the Portuguese that had settled here and mixed with the local women. It is believed that there are about 10,000 of them in Malaysia, 2,500 of whom live in Melacca. In the evening we watched the kids’ dancing show and Cecilia was even invited by one of the boys to join.

We also biked to Selat Melacca Mosque on Pulau Melacca (Melacca island, an artificial island). The Mosque is built on water and is very nice. To visit it, we had to dress up with clothes provided. That day was the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (Maulidor Rasul), but there were no special celebrations here.

On our third day, we did a “walking tour” from the Lonely Planet and again saw the different chapters in Melacca’s history influenced by the various conquerors. We started at the “Proclamation of Independence Memorial”, which is housed in a British villa and tells the history of Malaysia’s progression to independence. Right next to it is the Sultante Palace, wooden replica rebuilt from descriptions of the “Malay Annals” of the original 15^th-century palace. It was built entirely without nails and houses a very interesting cultural museum about the Sultanate and also displays the various groups of traders that marked Melacca’s history. Our next stop was Porta de Santiago, once the main gate and all that remains of the Portuguese fortress A’Famosa. It was originally built by Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1512, then was part of the fort used by the Dutch after their takeover in 1670. On the hill behind Porta de Santiago, is St-John’s Fort, used by the British to store gunpowder. The ruin of St-Paul’s church built in 1521 by the Portuguese is on the hill overlooking the famous Straits of Melaka.

We went down on the other side and reached the “Stadthuys”, the old city hall and governor’s residence built by the Dutch. We visited the museum inside, telling the history of Melaka from its beginning up to date. This massive red building is believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East. We read that initially the building was painted white, but that with time the red laterite stones’ colour was coming through the whitewashed plastering and that red earth was being splashed up during the rainy season. The British decided to paint the building red and solve these maintenance problems. Right next to the Stadthuys is Christ Church, giving the town square a very red colour.

We then crossed the river and headed to the Baba Nonya Heritage Museum set in traditional Pernakan house, a typical 19th-century residence. “Pernakan” or “Baba Nonya” is the term used for the ethnic group of people who are descendants of the mix of Chinese and Malays back in the 16^th century. We also passed Hotel Puri and the Chee Mansion (a Chinese family shrine) facing it. The Eng Choon Association building, a guild hall with a small Taoist shrine, also had nice ornate doors. We walked by Hang Kasturi’s tomb, a hero in Melaka’s history, before reaching the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. This is Chinatown’s most famous temple, dedicated to Goddess of Mercy Guanyin. It dates back to 1646 and is Malaysia’s oldest Chinese temple. It is a sacred site and all the building materials as well as the artisans were imported from China. Around it the streets are lined with shops selling red Chinese lanterns and paper money. We then arrived at Kampung Kling Mosque with its multi-tiered roof inspired from Hindu temples. Then we visited Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple, a Hindu temple from 1781 dedicated to Hindu god Vinayagar. To finish off the day, we went to the Chinese Festival of WangKang, a very special occasion.

We left Chiang Mai on our first AirAsia flight. We were happy when we checked in our big backpacks and they only weighed 10kg and 13kg respectively. Destination: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society of Malay, Chinese and Indians. This mosaic is mirrored in the religious sphere, with Malays being Muslim, Chinese being Buddhist-Taoist-Confucianist while the Indians are Hindu. It is very interesting to see how these three very different cultures coexist here. Most of the people speak their own language plus English and Malay. It’s nice to be in a country again where you can actually have conversations with a taxi driver. We haven’t had this since Cambodia and it adds so much more to the experience when you can discuss things and aren’t getting just a smile with a “yeees”.

Kuala Lumpur is a very young city. In 1857, Chinese prospectors looking for tin landed at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak rivers. They called the place “muddy confluence”, Kuala Lumpur. The local sultan appointed a proxy (Kapitan China) to control the rowdy Chinese and he is regarded today as the founder of KL. The town of wooden houses burnt down in 1881, so the British made plans to rebuild it and demanded the houses be built of brick. Today that neighbourhood is known as “Brickfields”. Since then, the city has grown to a world city of 1.5 million people. KL, as it is commonly known, is not only the capital of Malaysia, but also the cultural and economic centre of the country.

The city has a modern look and the metro system is new and nice, but it’s also a bit strange. It’s the first time since China that a city has a metro system. Here in KL they have several systems that coexist, some run even parallel but are not connected to each other nor can you use your ticket from one metro company with the other. At least there is public transportation.

Our CS host, Vern, is a Malaysian Chinese who grew up in KL. He is very educated and smart, so talking to him was extremely interesting, as we gained lots of valuable insight into Malaysian society. He also introduced us to local food. One of the special dishes is “Banana leaf rice” served in Indian restaurants. You get a banana leaf on the table in front of you and a huge pile of rice. Then you get served various vegetables and salad and a curry sauce on your rice. With this you can choose some meat, be it chicken, mutton or fish. You eat with your right hand, which was a totally new experience for us. The food was delicious, and with practice it will be easier to eat.

Down-town, we went to the Petronas Towers and took some pictures at night, as they are nicely illuminated. The towers were the highest in the world until 2004, when Taipei 101 overtook them. Opened up in 1998, the towers rise 452 meters above ground and are the headquarters of the national oil and gas company Petronas. They are 88 stories high (a lucky Chinese number) and are built in the shape of a octagon, which is a Muslim symbol. The bridge connecting the 2 towers is on the 41^st floor and can be accessed by visitors. Apparently when the plans were designed, construction was supposed to take 5 years. However, the politicians wanted the structure to be ready in 4 years and outsourced the project. One tower was given to a Japanese company, the other to a South Korean one. The competition between the 2 countries and the 2 companies led to the towers being built within the 4-yr time frame.

Kuala Lumpur is our hub in the area, so we will return here 2 more times. We will then explore this metropolis in greater detail.