The Mighty Irrawaddy River

The environs of Mandalay offer endless sights, beautiful scenery and enchanting temples. The Irrawaddy, however, flows on its path to Bagan, with its two thousand temples of the 11th and 12th century, left from the original four thousand. The pains of Bagan are dotted with the temples, and in the far distance looms the crest of Mount Popa, abode of the Nat, or Spirits. Since King Anawrahta (1044-1077) of Bagan first gave full support to Buddhism and helped it prosper over the land, there was Spirit worship, which he could not entirely stamp out. Buddhism is a hard philosophy to live by with one entirely responsible for one's actions, good or bad, without any help from any other being. Anawrahta knew that at least for the uneducated or the unwise, he had to let them believe in favours they can get from Spirits. The Nat mediums also take care not to be antagonistic of Buddhism; on the contrary they insist that the Spirits, as all good Buddhists aspire, wish to end their cycle of rebirths, or in their case the state of limbo, and enter Nirvana. Meanwhile, remain in limbo they must, to be 'made happy' with festivals celebrated in their honour with loud music, dance, food and drink.

Down river from Bagan, there are other places of interest such as Salé, a small town with exquisite old monasteries. The all-teak Yoke Sone Monastery is famous for the traditional architecture and carvings. The craftsmen of a hundred years ago had shown their skill to perfection with mythological creatures, celestials and scenes of everyday life carved on walls and balustrades of the monastery. The town also boasts of lovely colonial-style residences.

Next port-of-call is Magwé which is famous for the Mya Thalun Pagoda overlooking the river, its spire of gold shining like a beacon. Magwé is a typically conservative town, with many temples, monasteries and hermitages.

Minhla has a brick fort built by two Italians during the 19th century, in an effort to block the British invasion to Upper Myanmar. However, the heavy artillery of the British was too strong for the weapons of the Myanmar Royal armies. The hill in Gwechaung offers a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.

Thayet Myo was once a colonial outpost, and has the first golf course ever to be built in Myanmar. The locals of a hundred years ago must have been amazed to see men with long sticks chasing after a little white ball. The town is small and charming, and seems lost in time.

The roots of Myanmar civilisation is to be found very near Pyay or Prome as it was called by the British. The ancient city site Srikhetera was once the seat of the Pyu kingdom, ancestors of the Bama (Burmese) race. The Pyu civilisation flourished from the 2nd century to the 9th, and ended when invaders from Nan Cha'o, (present-day Yunnan) destroyed the city and conscripted thousands into their armies. Those who fled settled up-river and later on merged with another race that came from Kyaukse, just south of present-day Mandalay, and they were the first people of the great Bagan kingdom.

Now, the archaeological site in Hmawza continues to give up remnants of the lost kingdom in the form of religious artefacts, pottery shards, exquisitely crafted precious metal and intricate beads, all to be seen in a small on-site museum. The pagodas and temples there are the oldest in the country.

The Irrawaddy River flows placidly past all these wonders. It has seen it all. It has witnessed the wars of mighty kings striving to build their empires or to build up civil societies. It has seen heartbreak, happiness, life and death. With a grandeur and dignity befitting a river that moves to its own will, the Irrawaddy rushes past the towns of central Myanmar and through the delta in nine rivulets, pouring its endless streams of waters into the Andaman Sea.

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