Where are Paul and Julie today ? : BAGO 1st February 2015

Today we are going to a town called Bago from Rangoon by train. It's a very old train possibly dating from the end of the occupation by the British so it has no suspension.

First class, reclining seats , actually they don't do anything else any more !

Ju poking her head through the automatic air conditioning unit!

And , lots of things to do during the ride because all the time people are coming to sell, boiled eggs, beer, corn on the cob, crisps and different fruits, so time goes by very quickly with lots of laughter and good humour.

Everyone is so kind, they want to have their photo taken or just to say hello and chat ' Where you from ? ' 'It's the first time to Myanmar ? '

We went past brick manufacturing fields ( we cannot call them factories because they are made out in the open), lots of different types of agriculture from rice, to banana plants, what looked like rapesead, mangos, and also rubber trees.

The countryside is different from what we have seen up to present but there are always the ever present pagodas in the background and on very hill.

Men who got off the train with their baskets in bits are putting them back to gather at the side of the track , but what happened to the railway station?

The ever present pagodas once more ...

People jump off when they want because it's not a TGV , it takes 3 hours to travel 180 kms.

Paul using the other air conditioning unit in the carriage!
Video of our ride : http://youtu.be/fOWfoovsXgw

And then we arrived in Bago ...

Just one place clean in this dirty town 'San Francisco' guesthouse very near the railway station. The lady owner took us out on two motorbikes to show us the local pagodas., and one of the famous lying Buddha's (There are 2 , one run by the Military and one by the people, one tourists pay (10$) and the other they don't).

To understand all this sculpture you need to know the story of Buddha (it's just Bouddhisme for dummies !) when he came back for his last life( before being Buddha ) he chose to come back to his family , Gautama, the king of Kapilavastu, he came to his mother as a white elephant with 6 tusks. This is why white elephants are venerated.

He was reborn in Lumbini garden( Nepal), ten months later, -500 BC. He married at the age of 15 , after having completed his studies he had a baby at the age of 29 year. A short while after his sons birth he left his princely life and was awakened and meditated for 6 years. After a battle with Mara the God of sufferance , the world and the dead, he won, he is 35 years old.

While he was meditating a downpour of rain occurred , the snake God "Naga" gave him his coils for his base and his head over his in order to protect him.
So snakes are also venerated

Buddha Sâkyamuni taught for 40 years the way to feel free from suffering and the means to realize and develop all the qualities which are in us. Before reaching this state we have to learn about ourselves with meditation and concentration.
We have to stop bad actions which bring suffering against making only good actions , to have only love and compassion in order to have peace in our spirit and achieve the state of buddha.

This women dressed in red is a man who dances and sings in a temple and the people give him money during the ceremony , he uses the looney to rebuild the temple and he also gives some to the monastery.

Bouddhas beautiful feet often have his toe nails painted red or another colour and here they are filled with gold and jewels.

The story of Buddha is often depicted around the temple walls

All in mirrors

University course of Bouddhisme at the monastery, only the teacher has a chair.

In 1852 Burma is a British colony. In 1937 the Japanese took Burma from the British. In 1945 Aoung San (father of Aoung San Suu Kyi winner of the nobel prize for peace in 1991 photo on the right) won the independence of Burma. His daughter was born the 19/6/1945 and his father was killed the 19/07/47 in a terrorist attack with 13 other members of his ministry.

A democracy since 1962, the military regime with General Ne won, stayed on and is still in Myanmar even now, but with Aoung San Suu Kyi in parlement since 2012 with 41 others (a partiel election, there are 800 members of parlement), and now foreigners can obtain visas and internet has arrived , liberty has begun to say hello !