søndag den 5. februar 2017

MC.BURMA / MYANMAR / MANDALAY / JOURNEY no.7




13 Jan. / Buddha pops up suddenly
Nyaung Shwe - Mandalay 290 km.

I get up early, it will be a long tiring day driving 247 km.

It's a chilly this morning 14 degrees, so I took warm clothes and my thin leather gloves when it gets cold when you run 60-80 km. on a motorbike. First, around noon. 11:00 sun has warmed up the air, so I can again put his core.


After approximately 60 km. driving, I drove the wrong which I first discovered after about 20km. Now I run 290 km. instead of 247 km. It's good I got there early. The weather is beautiful and the roads quite fine, although I again chose one of the smaller roads towards Mandalay, as it is more direct and also not so many drivers. So I get rid of having to overtake too many slow moving noisy trucks. I can better relax and enjoy nature.




The red triangles show my whole MC.Myanmar Journey. Mandalay / Bagan / Bago / Nyaung Shwe / Mandalay / Touch the photo, then it becomes large






























On an otherwise deserted nature, I see the trees, a whopping meditating Buddha. In its simple naive appearance, sitting heavily and solidly among the trees, it looks like a great innocent baby. - The area seems deserted. There is no town nearby - but there is certainly a pagoda perched on top of the hill behind the Buddha figure.
















Huge Gold Buddhas appears on the horizon

After more than 3 hours, Buddha is back in the distance, I see four giant gold Buddha figures about 16 m high, standing with there back against the hillside high above.

On the mountain ridge above the Buddha figures there has been placed stupas in various sizes which makes me think of honeyed white meringue peaks.













This last global figurehead, ruining the clean simple buddha history.I attach the photo of the cake and its symbolism even though I would have censored it away

Even though I'm busy, I stop when I have to experience this little 'camp' spiritual total Site Specific Installation Buddha. It is managed in an exciting way, making the spiritual and physical strenuous hiking very visual, by involving the entire ridge. It provides a huge visibility and insight into nature's beauty and power.

As artist I can not help but admire this  'spiritual, naive and banal Buddha tableau'.






























Loose soil and MC exceeds the bend

After a few hours drive, there is road work for the next 20 kilometers. They use giant excavators and trucks to make the mountain road wider. So many times we have to wait to grave cows again have cleared the way for large boulders and mounds of earth.

The road surface is dry soil thrown up by wafts of the car ahead. I am forced to keep a minimum distance of 30 m. Otherwise I can only see 1 m. Above.


At one point in a mountain swing, I am driving too far in some loose soil and publicity reflex, I slow my pace, but make it too strong, so the front wheel blocks, so I and MC. progresses. My leather jacket and leather pants take from the rollercoaster ride over the loose sand. Since I was not driving fast, there was fortunately no great harm with me or with MC. It and I got fortunately only some superficial cosmetic damage.






















Aesthetic beverage

I stop at a small outlet in a road curve. One can see that the man who is about to expand their small cafe, have a sense of the simple aesthetic design solutions. Note the few strong collection in this bench. I purchase some fruit and were treated to tea, what one does in most places, if you stop for a rest.


I will be when I Mandalay after a 9 hour journey

After a long and sometimes exhausting ride, I came to Mandalay. I find easily into the city center and on to Mandalay Palace, as the city is divided bit like in New York. Almost all streets have a figure number. The streets figure number that runs north-south is first, then East-West.

From Mandalay Palace I found my hotel Pecock Lodge, which was my starting hotel for this spiritual MC.Journey.


MC. and I'm gray from sand dust, need to be flushed clean. This is the only time on this journey you can see that I've been on a long haul.


The deLuxe Room

Because the hotel was totally covered, they could only offer me The deLuxe Room for $ 55th. The deLuxe Room compared to Standard room was $ 15 dollars, the cost was worth it.

I had got the bottom Room so instead of a small balcony, I had an extra large terrace, which was undisturbed, since some trees shaded balconies.


The only thing there was to complain about was the noise from some working with an angle grinder. They were in the process of building a new house, probably a hotel on the other side of the muddy river. It was the 4 hotel I've stayed in where they were doing construction right next door. I have become quite good at eliminating that kind of noise.


But now the young construction worker, turned up at the highest gear for their transistor, as they have stopped working with angle grinders. It is somewhat more difficult to maintain the concentration with these kinds of noise.
















Luxury Hippie

Here the old luxury hippie is sitting in blue jeans outfit on the terrace of deLux room and writes about social solidarity, in one of the future status symbols Apple Computer, and sends thoughts moving around in time and space through Google, under their control.

All the way back to the '70s as a hippie, vegetarian and yoga practice, I every day worn blue jeans. When I in 1985 divorced and 100% focused on, to be an artist, I changed my more relaxed blue jean style with an entirely black outfit. I now belonged to the group of little thoughtful, serious, artistic introverted people. There seems black contained all colors. Black was also handy, you did not have to think so much on the composition, because black suit other black.


In the airplane to New York in December 2014 I saw an American film with Jeff Bridge starring in wornout blue jeans + shirt.


I was probably hit by age lucidity - I asked myself - you: "Bjarne now it is time with some change, you will soon be 70 years. You do not need to be so dramatic and purposeful '.


What about finding back and to blue jeans. Find back to the more relaxed, cheerful and positive Bjarne as I was at times.


In New York I bought a washed-set blue jeans and shirt. The hippie spirit again took place in my heart. I was going to Detroit to celebrate my old close close political hippie friend and ballet choreographer's 90th birthday. She is a vibrant, fun-loving strong woman. I have known her since 1970, where I ½ years traveled around the United States with Lucas Hoving Dance Company as stage manager and lighting designer.


After 30 years in black clothes - I'm back in the extrovert blue outfit.


Peace and Love.

 











Mandalay Palace was built in 1857

It was the last royal palace under the Burmese monarchy.. All buildings in the palace has only one floor and the number of spiers of the building, indicating the building's importance.

The palace was destroyed completely during World War II by Allied bombing. Only guard tower survived. The palace is rebuilt in the 1990s with modern materials.





The purpose of the 9 MC.Journey

I have all MC.Journey strived to get close to the culture I have visited. Therefore I have chosen the bike as means of transport, since it has given me the freedom to choose alternative routes and visit small villages.

On a motorbike. I experience the surroundings more intense, as it requires your physical presence all the time. Therefore, it is physically demanding to drive long distances, as it locked the legs and arms, especially when run on a small motorbike. with bad suspension, which I this time have done.


The first 30 km. drive, is a delight, but then it begins to hurt a little in the ass, shoulders and arms. The tensions comes and goes.


In my travels I have with the camera and the computer described with words and pictures, nature, people and culture I have met. My reports and photos I have posted on a Google website / www.BvHHS.BlogSpot.com so others can read and visually follow my meetings with other cultures and be inspired for future reference. Making similar MC.Journey.


In addition to you, I have had more than 40,000 visits to my BvHHS.BlogSpot.com from all parts of the world such as Japan, Australia and Ukraine, during the 8 years I've had my blog.


I have on these trips sharpened my observation visual eye for photographic documentation. With the camera I have come a step closer to the culture I have met.





Mandalay Palace


MC.Burma Journey route

I've been looking forward to this MC.Burma Journey after seeing all the beautiful photos of thousands of golden pagodas in the guidebook 'Myanmar / Burma' Publishing Eyewitness Travel.

This trip has been planned, where the most interesting pagodas and stupas located in Burma by the guidebook as well as friends' voices heard.


Since it is impossible to reach all extremities in Burma, I was forced to create a route that also realistically be implemented. Burma is a big country and when I wanted to be inclusive, it was a route that follows the major roads and major tourist destinations.


I have traveled on a very good time with few tourists. Only two places on my route, Bagan and Nyaung Shwe at the Inle Lake, there were quite a few tourists.


From the beginning of my journey, I thought it was difficult, if not impossible to find alternative Guest House, which was just more or less visually interesting. Therefore, I chose the most of the trip, book hotel over internet.


Mandalay Palace





Since all buildings in their pagoda design is very open, the pigeons found places to stay with their bird droppings, they put their visual touch and wear the royal facade





’Burma’ = ’Myanmar’

'Burma' and 'Myanmar' looks pretty different, but it's really the same Burmese words, paraphrased into English by different linguistic guidelines.
The former capital city is also still as it was known before: Yangon spelled one way Ragoon on the other. The city and the country has therefore not changed its name.

I understand – pure magic ’ Lost in translation ’


Names and policy

Burma's junta is no legitimate government, it is not selected, and its right to decide Names spellings in English disputed, of course. There is a tendency for one to deduce people's sympathies of whether they use one or the other word.

The use of 'Burma' marks a resistance to the military, the use of 'Myanmar' marks, if not support, then at least an acceptance of the dictatorship, as the international community's policy until now. Therefore it is natural that the United Nations uses the word Myanmar. The junta represented in the UN, not the Burmese peoples. In the military junta optics.


In this report, I have therefore decided to follow the people and use the former spelling 'Burma' instead of Myanmar.
Kyauktawgyi Temple













Pagodas lit up like a tivoli

Many pagodas are starting to take advantage of small colored diodes, in the daylight you can handle it because they can not in the same way takes over the overall visual impression, so you only see the colored fairy lights. In this pagoda in Mandalay has the diodes got the visual advantage.




MC. Honda Wuyang has run perfect 

My Honda Wuyng needed two be well flushed through before I handed it back to MC. Rental. It was importan det was shiny and again as brand new out när det had some Bruising da jeg slithered in the loose soil few days ago.
















I found a place where there were 3-5 young men on the job. I admired their thoroughness and took some photos. The owner during the whole process had directed the young people. He would not have I paid him something for this entire cleaning circus. I pressed him to receive $ 1.

I drove the newly polished and shiny MC. to Mandalay Motor Bike Rental & amp; Tours. The owner Zach was not present. I told and showed his wife all the little injuries MC. had received. She took the photo and emailed via iPhone to Zach. We agreed that I paid $ 45, which he figured the small claims would cost to repair. I received back my $ 500 I had paid as a deposit instead of my passport.

It was a divine relief to get rid MC. Now I was ready to go home. No more tedious MC. driving days. I just has to check MC. odometer. When I started it stood at 5.842 km. and now at 8.239 km. - I have  total run 2.397 km. I've had 11 driving days. So on average I have run 218 km.

Honda has been running perfectly. The chain has to be tightened 2 times. I have changed the oil one time after 1.300 km. The air pressure in the wheels held all the way. The license plate lost a few screws. More painless, a trip can it not be.


Buddhism ritual core is meditation

I wanted before I leave Burma to get a little closer, spiritually on Buddhism, in a country where there is ½ mil. Buddhist monks and nuns 75,000. I found a monastery, where the supervisor in meditation and Buddhism. They gave me some written material and brief introduction in meditation position and showed me where I later can participate along with some of the resident monks in meditation.

The meditation gave me a fine feeling, of the common and yet individual concentration, although I only did half an hour of meditation. I was too tired in my back after the tough long last MC.driving.


Buddhism ritual core is meditation, which is about the individual's inner experiences. The goal of meditation is to achieve deep concentration, which is a precursor to the liberation.


In Hinduism is the key, everyday and more practical outer ritual puja, which means worship of the gods. It performed at home and in temples in community or alone.


Meditation and sacrifices found in both religions, but there are big differences in how central they are.


Yoga, which I exercise, is an Indian philosophy that seeks to create harmony between body and mind through meditation, body postures and breathing techniques. Yoga originated from Hinduism.


Buddha /Prince Siddharta Gautama

The legend of the religion's founder, Buddha, says that he was born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama. He lived a life of great luxury, but he realized that all earthly goods was relative. After this realization, he chose a life as a wandering ascetic to find the true meaning of life. According to Buddhism, the Buddha achieved the highest recognition, and he taught then others to achieve the same recognition and thus was Buddhism emerged.



Buddha sitting in meditation on the three white elephants and two horses / The elephant and the horse's previous Buddha incarnations / I saw the light in this meditating Buddha in gilded wood, that sort of drifted into his own universe and bought it. It is corroded by time, making it beautiful. It is perhaps 180 years old and is said to be from Snake Pagooda Paliek in Mandalay area.


Highlights of my trip around Burma

Burma is a spiritual visual wonderland with its millions of gold-plated beautiful pagodas and stupas scattered across the country. Some are located visible in the landscape on mountain slopes, so the sun's rays glinted in the gold pagodespir.

When I deliberately traveling to see and experience the biggest visual attractions in Burma, one can not avoid being force-fed with gold-plated pagodas, stupas and Buddhas One larger or more gold-plated than the other.


Hindus in India worshiping millions of gods. Burmaneserne worships million variations of Buddha, sitting, standing and lying.


The experience of Pindaya Caves with 9,000 Buddha figures, was about to be too much for me since I had already experienced one big Buddha after another.


When I have been in Rome, I have also gone from one amazing over decorated Catholic church to the other. With Jesus figure and the cross in the center of the hundreds of variations, where it has become too much.


In India, I also thought that they have an incredible number of temples.


Year 2014, I drove around in Denmark on my motorcycle and saw that there here in Denmark was a church in most small villages. It is not so many years ago, we Dane also was very active religious.

Shwedagon Pagoda


Shwedagon Pagoda HTI eller Paraply


Fund used on Burma's thousands of pagodas


HTI or umbrella, which is located at the top of pagodas considered the most important part and is a hallmark of Burmese pagodas. They have a ton of bells and the main HTI, is made entirely of gold or silver. The bells are used to attract the attention and good humor.

These photos that I do not have taken shows THI / umbrella top of Shwedagon Pagoda in the city of Yangon which I chose not to visit. The umbrella the top consists of a half tons of gold, 5.500 diamonds, 2.300 rubies, sapphires and other precious stones and 4.000 golden bells. Over the years they have, spent a fortune building and maintaining a thousand end of pagodas in Myanmar.


Mahjamuni Temple 

Mahjamuni Temple is one of the most visited in Mandalay




Adventurous MC.Burma Journey

This MC.Journey pivotal point has been primarily to experience Burma's adventurous Pagodas, Stupas and Buddha sculptures.

It has of course affect my route around the country. So I've followed all the paved main roads and only a few times driving around in the local environment.


This MC. Burma journey has been incredible hassle. The roads between my various targets was absolutely fine, with very few exceptions. Very little traffic and the weather has been sublime, just 3 days it was cloudy otherwise 30 c. Perfect MC. weather.


Honda ran flawlessly without engine problems. My physically fine did the long run days.


I've missed resistance, challenges on the trip. It has therefore not been as exciting and dramatic as some of my other MC.Journey. Therefore, not many dramatic exciting episodes to write home about.

It's Sunday, so there's a crowd to meditate in front Mahjamuni Temple Buddha


There is cramped up by Mahjamuni Temple Buddha in honor of Buddha with a thin layer of gold leaf more. Buddha is now covered with a 15 cm. thick layer of gold leaf This cermoni is only allowed men



It's not the kind MC.Journey I deep down, want to make. I feel best when I am on these MC.Journey live quite simple as a monk. As I did in my youth Hippie year.

I have in all the years lived with this spirit, simple and yogic, without too many material goods. Strived for a simple lifestyle, in solidarity with the world and to be able to afford to express myself artistically with my non profit Installations.


The other side of my personality 'The Lonely Cowboy' seek challenges and are constantly looking for new experiences and challenges. Restless soul.


I need to go after the unexpected and not just the safe. When it succeeded, finding the special, it's a huge victory.


It was I who deliberately chose the easy secure solutions this time. Ordered half expensive hotels via the Internet. Selected major tourist destinations. Selected not to do so many alternative routes . This is probably my age there has started to affect my lifestyle.


This journey did not have many built-in challenges. My aesthetic bourgeois mind, won against the investigating me. The relaxed instead of the more active strenuous.


That's why I on this journey, have felt like a luxury Hippie who can afford to live better than  the locals. Average cost a room here in Burma $ 36th Last year in Vietnam only $ 15.

I have been able to afford it this trip, but it obviously affects whether future I can make similar long MC.Journey.


Last year I heard on the radio, a connoisseur of Asian countries figuratively describe and compare a Vietnamese farmer with a farmer from Burma.- If it goes well for a Vietnamese farmer, so he spends his entire economic surplus to improve its agriculture. A Burmese farmer leaves a large portion of the profits to sacred purposes, as ensures Buddha that it also goes well next year. Therefore, its economic development much faster in Vietnam than in Burma. 


- Buddha probably do not need as much gold leaf which is being granted him -


It has been great again, to be able to share my experiences and photos with you.- Thanks for your positive response.


This MC.Journey has given me many fantastic beautiful and spiritual impression. I have met incredibly lovely cordial open people. And one does not notice that they are under a military regime. They are poor but seems still to have a healthy positive attitude to everyday life. Poverty brands not directly, but you see it clearly on their incredibly simple wood and bamboo huts.



Bjarne v.H.H.Solberg 

Artist & Scenographer
BvHHS@email.DK
www.BvHHS.com
+45 30230036



AUM     AUM    AUM




Sunset/ Mandalay Palace