Todays’s photo – when weather gods smiled over the pagodas of Bagan…
For those who haven’t heard of it, Bagan in Central Myanmar was the original capital of Myanmar Kings. In the days of glory, which started nearly a millennium ago, a slew of pagods were built along the plains of Bagan overlooking the Ayeyar River. About 2000 pagodas have survived the march of time, forming what looks like a miniature mountain-range raising from the otherwise prostrate landscape.
Ever since Myanmar opened up for visitors, Bagan has been one of the prime attractions, something like a crown jewel. It’s possible to climb over a few of these Pagodas, and Shwesandaw is the among taller and popular ones.
This photograph was made on a glorious October evening as the sun splattered his orange blaze over the pagodas, even as the eastern sky danced to a tune of the clouds. As you can guess, Shwesandaw’s shadow is right in front, giving a hint of its elevation against its smaller counterparts.
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I was visiting Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last week and stayed in the city for four days. Everyday, I was surprised how much this city resembled Bangalore–the city of my residence–in many ways. Back home, I decided it is worth making a list of things that I found very similar in both the cities. They are not necessarily nice things, but similar, nevertheless. Here they are.
1. Tree lined avenues. Both cities have many tree lined avenues, and there has been an attempt to continue the tradition. Bangalore was once famous for its trees which are slowly getting the axe, thanks to growing traffic and subsequent widening of roads. Nevertheless, you can still see saplings on both sides of the road in new localities and new roads. Thankfully, the trees in Phnom Penh continue to stand tall. But they are seen more in numbers in older areas near the Royal Palace and closer to the river. I have seen saplings planted along the road in some newer parts as well. In both cities, trees also frequently dominate the footpaths and force the pedestrians into the road.
2. A traffic dominated by two-wheelers, and chaos. Two wheelers make up for a significant part of the traffic on the roads in Phnom Penh as well as Bangalore. As in Bangalore, drivers and riders of Phnom Penh strongly believe that road rules are meant for other people. The best way to cross a road is to continuously watch out in all directions. Never make the mistake of believing that traffic in certain direction sticks to certain side of the road (left in Bangalore, right in Phnom Penh). Bangalore’s traffic these days is increasingly seeing more four wheelers, but not so much in Phnom Penh. Another dominating feature of Bangalore is the auto-rickshaws, whereas remorks (tuk-tuk) takes that position in Phnom Penh. Whatever constitutes the traffic on either cities, you are assured of chaos.