(3-1.2)、戀戀瓦城-曼德勒市衛星鄉鎮 @ My Very Own World

緬甸篇-菩薩捻花微笑的國度
之
(3-1.2)，戀戀瓦城-曼德勒市衛星鄉鎮

Love lingers in Innwa,The satellite towns of Mandalay.

實階、伊洛瓦底江、明宮、瓦城、烏本橋
Saguin,River Irrawaddy,Minh Gun, Inn Wa,Bridge U-Bend .

租摩特車真的就對了，雖然包車其實也不是真的很貴，只是比較不自由自在，我發現線上地圖很清楚也正確，所以情緒就很放鬆，出市區的馬路上，正值上班時間，路上很是熱鬧，

有小販挑著早餐走在路上叫賣，是很異國情調，後來停在鐵路前，火車過後，然後有一個婦女，後面還跟著一個小孩，跑上來把柵欄推開，哈哈，真是很人工，只是你要想一下，

也許再過幾年，這種場景再也看不到了...
It was absolutely right to rent a scooter,though it's not expensive to charter a cab,either.
I'd prefer to go by myself and enjoy a little bit of my freedom.
Besides,it was really clear and accurate in Google Map.
So,frankly I was trouble free and felt easy all the way.

This morning,I rode out at the time of rush hours.People on the street were busy judged from the looks of everyone's facial expression.It's a little havoc riding together with other rattling motorcycles.
Some street vendors carried their pots with food inside over their shoulders,selling and walking that's full of exotic atmosphere.(Exotic atmosphere is not only happened at the left bank of River Seine in Paris,drinking coffee.please...)

I reached to the railroad,and stopped my scooter same as others did,waiting for the train to go by.
The train had left,then a woman and a teenager followed from behind.
Both came to push the railings away.
They used manual way to clear the road
So primitive,but you would like to think it over,
for you might not be able to see this in just a few years.

路上騎了很久，邊騎邊看風景，來到了古都舊城Amarapura(曼德勒市發源地)，有馬車載客觀光，後來整路玩下來，才知道一直到其他古鎮像瓦城也有觀光馬車可以租，

算了，我有鐵馬，只吃油不拉屎，騎上新建的中緬友誼大橋橫跨上伊洛瓦底江，對岸就是實皆山丘，遠遠在橋上就看到眾多黃金尖塔散佈其間，

這個景點我覺得可能空氣不是很清新，我並不覺得很優，我也不敢停在橋上，

除非用走的，但是這座橋很長，來回超過2公里了吧。

It had been a while since I hit the road.I browsed the street view along the way.Then I had come to Amarapura,where is the birth place of the old empire town in Mandalay city.
There were some buggies for rents.This kind of tourist business was also going on in some other towns further down,that I didn't know until I had finished the tour in this area.
Forget it,I had had my steel horse with me(scooter I mean),and it didn't even fart.It just needed oil.

Now I was up on the large bridge,called as "The Bridge of Friendship.",built by the assistance from China.It travases River Irrawaddy.The little hill on the opposite is Mt.Saguin.

I had already spotted numerous golden spikes of pagodas' towers from the other side of the river bank,before I went down the bridge.These pagodas were built dispersing over the slopes of the hill.It should be grand,but it's not great today.Perhaps it's because the air kind of foggy,not clean.

Or maybe I should have walked on the bridge,but the bridge was long.I thought it's more than 2 kilometers to and fro.

過橋後，在不遠處就有路標，直接就上實階山去，路經一間新開的佛寺，由於前庭的石柱是印度的國徽-四面獅(說到這裡，我其實拜訪過印度鹿野苑，出土的四面獅真品，不給拍，

我說，這些博物館，不給拍我是會記得咩 !?)，

就稍作停留進入晃一下，出來繼續往山上去，山門的聖獸，擺了2隻大蟾蜍，就差沒有咬著銅錢，佛教傳到緬甸，製作來自神話的雕像超多的，市區還有一整條街都是這種藝品店呢。
Not far from the bridge after I rode pass it,there was a road sign indicating the direction to Mt.Saguin.
I followed the instruction and I went by a newly built Budhhist temple.

I had noticed the high pole in its front yard was a four-faced(directional) lions,which can be seen for it is Indian national emblem (Speaking of this,I actually had visited the Museum of Sarnath in India,where is the location that the original four-faced lion was kept.But it didn't allow for cameras or photos. These museums,really,I have been complaining all the time,how could I remember the details,after all these years had passed? If they don't let us take photos.)

Anyway,I stayed for a while,then I kept on going up.I passed by a pair of big statues of holy toads,put at the hill gate.
It would be funier,if the toads biting a plate of brass coin (from the old Chinese folklore,means to evoke good fortune.)

I saw that Buddhism passed down to Myanmar carring some mysterious fables with it.Many statues made based on fairy or superstitious stories.I had even seen a whole street full of this type of carving workshops downtown in Mandalay.

實皆山有兩個主要登高望遠點，我來到其中一處的大金塔觀望另一塔，白色的石階，蜿蜒而上山丘背脊，實皆山又臨伊洛瓦底江畔，遠望這景色比在橋上看更好。
There are two panoramic points in Mt.Saguin.I came to one of them,the other is on the other top of the hill,connected with winding trails on the spine of the hill.Since Mt.Saguin locates by River Irrawaddy,which makes the view look even better from the Bridge of Friendships.

為了節省時間，山頭另一邊的主塔，我就不去了，眼看就要中午了，拚著午餐不吃，我得趕緊往下個地點去，下山觀賞沿江景色，由於江水調節了氣溫，感覺非常好，雖然比想像的遠一些，

中途還加了一罐路旁賣的95汽油，他們一瓶大約1公升，也有92汽油，都要先問一下，終於來到明宮。
In order to save some time,I spared myself from going to the other hilltop pagoda.It's almost noontime,and I didn't think I'd got enough time for my lunch.

I had to hurry to get to my next spot.

I rode along the River,and the temperature gave me a little relief dued to the adjustment by the River water.I felt nice,though it's a long road that I even had to stop to re-fuel tank.

I couldn't find any gas station nearby here,so I bought a bottle of 95 non-leaded oil from the roadside shop.
They usually sell petrol in remote areas this way.People fill up the plastic bottles,usually a bottle is about 1 litre.

But it's better to ask before pouring it into your oil tank,if it were 92 or 95 non-leaded petroleum.

Here I came,Min Gun.

...

接近明宮時，路上被攔了下來買票，沒注意到那個售票亭，還以為路上跳出了個強盜。
明宮的景區不是只有一處，已經開發成一長條狀的區域，騎進去，同一個出入口，再騎出來，沿路各處景點都已標示清楚，就縱心恣意玩耍。
As I was approaching to Min Gun district.A man jumped out of the roadside from nowhere to stop me,at first,I thought he was trying to rob me.

He turned out to be the clerk of the ticket booth at the curb.I was jolted a little,haha.

There are many tourist points in the Min Gun district,and has been developed into a long belt.
I had to ride in through the checkpoint,after finishing my tour,I needed to get back from where I entered.Both entrance and exit are the same place.

The road signs were very clear,so I had no apprehension left.

區內比較有名的，都彼此很近，所以進去不用著急，裡面的建物都是十八世紀末的作品，國王Bodawpaya好大喜功，硬是要建超龐大無敵的寺廟，區內第一個景點就是它

(PaHto Daw Gyi Pagoda,1790)，一看到整個就莫名其妙地興奮，我還以為是埃及金字塔顯靈惹～，

車子停好，走向前把鞋子脫了，我的媽呀~ 燙死了，拚死拚活往上衝啊~，踏上了地毯就好很多，差點成了現烤豬腳。
The tourist points are close to each other in the district.Thus,there's no rush for me.Basically,all buildings were built in the end of 18th century.

The first humongous building came to my eyes is PaHto Daw Gyi Pagoda,1790.
King Bodawpaya was a man of vanity,he was the one who insisted in building such a huge ,cosmic,and extravagant pagodo.

I was so excited when I first spotted it.I thought,in the beginning,that Egyptian pyramids came alive here.Haha.
I quickly parked my scooter aside,then went on to its foot,took off my shoes,and rushed up the stairs.
Then,ah~,it was boiling hot on the ground tiles.
I jumped aside on to the carpet.My feet were almost cooked,like a plate of well-done pig feet.

之後緩緩地走向入口，這麼雄偉的建築物，一定是要細細地品嘗的啦，眼前出現了一座神壇，許多當地人直接坐在地上，進去後，向前走了不到五步，被神壇擋住了，往左有牆壁，

那往右...也是牆壁，頓時滿腦子問號，我的眼光轉向坐在地上的當地人，也不知他說了什麼，我聳了聳肩，脫口而出:"就這樣?!!",他就給我大力點頭，又大笑起來。

挖咧~我說這個Bodawpaya國王，你是吃飽太閒?就建一座山? 裡面也不弄好?

Got my mood contained,I then slowly approached to the entrance of this imposing red-bricked pagoda.

I must take my precious time in savoring it slowly I told to myself.

There was an altar in the front,yes,then a bunch of locals sitting on the floor,all right,

I kept walking deeper after I crossed the threshold.I halted after 5 gaits for the altar stopped me there.I turned to my left,a wall was there.

I turned to my right,and ...another wall was there.I was so confused,so I turned my head to the locals,and my eyes were full of skeptism.

Some of the locals started to say something to me.I had had no idea what they were saying,

so I shrugged my shoulders and bursted out,"That's it?"

A series of laughters exploded and some of them nodded to me strongly,signaling " yes."
"What the heck ! "
I,then, rolled my eyes back to my skull right away.

The King,Bodawpaya must have been so idly in his life,so to build a mountain for NOTHING.

There was nothing inside but a small chamber !!! God~

怎麼有種上當的感覺?還好寺前對面路上，1799年建的一對巨獅(Giant Lions,1799)，就真的不同凡響，居高臨江，氣場超強，金光瑞氣千條，

一開始還以為是胖胖的大象說，哈哈，喔，其中右邊一隻已經崩裂得差不多了。

How come did I get a feeling of being set up from looking at PaHto Daw Gyi Pagoda?
Luckily,there are a pair of giant stony lions(opposite to the pagoda),built in 1799,set on the high ground by the river bank.
Boy! the Giant Lions are really imposing and magnificent,shining in the sun,like having halo above,haha.
They are chubby,so at first I thought they were elephants.
But the right one was seriously fractured and dilapidated beyong repairs.

再往前看明宮大鐘(The Min Gun Bell)，之後再過去，就是知名的Mya Thein Dan Pagoda，也是全世界網美最喜歡拍照的場所，純白的建物，在大太陽下，應該可以曬出不用錢的古銅色肌膚，

好熱，待了一會，還是閃吧，繼續趕下一攤。

The Min Gun Bell was in the front,and not far from famous Mya Thein Dan Pagoda further in,where is for the camera spot by most internet celebrities nowadays.
Totally painted white,if you exposed in the sun and you'd soon be getting copper-colored skin.
My goodness,it's so hot.I'd better leave for my next destination.

從明宮往回走，過橋後，上了新建的高速公路去印瓦(瓦城)，對坑坑巴巴的道路早就受不了，很高興有嘗新機會，摩特車可以上高速公路，我騎得很心虛，

一會兒有小巴開過我，再一會兒有三輪車、大巴士，

然後前面竟然有馬車 !挖咧!
Got out of Min Gun,I went passed the bridge,then rode on the highway to Innwa(City Wa).
It'd been some time riding on the rugged roads.

Now I was glad to have the chance to taste something new,a newly built highway for motorcycles too.
My mind wasn't so solid for riding with my scooter on highway,until a mini-van passed by ,a tri-cycle,then a buggy.

What the heck! It seemed that every one could get on.

過收費站時走最旁邊的摩特車道，哈，不用錢，以後會不會收費和加強車輛管制，我就不知道了，在快到達前的三叉路口旁有好幾家大型加油站，

其中還有設休息站，餐廳、廁所、購物場一應俱全，餐廳真的是不錯，但是價錢也比較高些。
I was closing to the toll booth.I went for the lane in the rightest.Ha,it's free of charge.
Well,I don't know for sure though,if they would start charging every bike or cars from now on.
Before reaching to the intersection that splited the road to three different directions,I took a break at the rest stop.

There were few large gas stations,and some restaurants,toilets,and shopping markets at the rest stop.I could get anything I needed here.

Of course,the prices were a little higher than these same goods you'd found back in Mandalay city.

.....
下午三點多了，我的天!趕忙著趕路，終於印瓦村。
It's almost 3 PM,oh my gosh!
I restored my journey after I had had my late lunch at the rest stop of the highway.
Here I was,Village Innwa, at last.

長長地道路兩旁都有設石墩，我不確定是新的，還是古蹟翻新的，可是真的好長，在這裡，我覺得印瓦這一區，非常、非常有可能是另一個新的世界遺產，

我沿途看著散落各處的古廟、原始人家，內心非常的扼腕婉惜，如果有更多時間停留就好了，

這個世代，要看到尚過著上個世紀的活化石生活，應該很少，很少吧!

There was an extremely long asphalt road leading into the deep of the village,soon after I rode away from the main road.

There were stony stumps between every span of the stony railing along the road.

They were all painted white,so I wasn't sure if they were relics left from the past,or newly built.

No kidding,I felt strongly that Innwa had the potential for being enlisted as a new UNSCO asset in near future.
There were numerous ancient pagodas dispersed everywhere.Some of them were dilapidated and seriously damaged.
More over,I got to see the locals who were living in the style from last century.It seemed a living fossil to me.
I didn't think we could have the view found easily somewhere.

I felt so remorseful if I had had more time left.
...
最終，不得不帶著些許遺憾，些許依戀，惆悵地離開...
At last,I couldn't help but leave ,with reluctant mind...

.....

再度走上高速道路，我今天最後的一個景點-烏本橋，日陽漸落，時間上開始有點緊急，

因為烏本橋號稱"觀看夕陽時，世界上最美的橋"。
一會兒才發現騎過頭了，趕忙著轉過頭，眼看天邊晚霞散發出又藍、又紅、又橙、又有點紫的繽紛，

心裡頭可是著急得很，等到趕到時正是美好時刻，落日正當時，心理一時歡呼，把摩特車往旁邊收費店家寄著，人就上橋了。

Heading to my last tourist spot today,I rode on the highway once more.Sun was sinking down.

The best timing to enjoy Bridge U-Bend was going to pass by.

I was kind of fidgeting,for the view at the sunset over Bridge U-Bend gained a fame of "The most beautiful bridge at dusk in the world."

Sunlight glowed with different holas,like painting with blue,red,orange,and a little bit of purple colors over the canvas of sky.

It was pretty,but I didn't have the mood to appreciate.I missed one turn on the way.

So I had got even impatient,when I found I had gone to a wrong direction.Hurriedly I turned my scooter around.
When I reached to the bridge just in time,I cheered and felt so happy.
I paid the parking fee to the nearby shop,then I got on it right away.

.....
這是我第一次上緬甸的傳統橋樑，東看看、西瞧瞧，說不出的高興，竟然全是木柱、木板造的，走在上面風大還會搖晃，這座橋非常的長，橫跨童大曼湖(Taung Tha Man Lake)，

此湖是由聯通伊洛瓦底江的支流而成的，橋建於1850，據說是目前全世界上最長，全都以柚木為材料建的，真的是很美，

尤其湖面有水上人家營生，捕魚蝦、運輸貨物、採集水生植物等，一片祥和優美景象，

我去過捷克布拉格的查理曼大橋，我自問著，到底哪一個比較美?
This is my first time treaded on a Myanmar bridge with traditional style.
I couldn't feel more joyful,seeing here,there,and everywhere.
It was made totally of woods,wooden planks,and wooden pilars.It swung a little in the strong wind.It was extremely long,traversing Lake Taung Tha Man ,

which was formed by a tributary connecting to River Irrawaddy.

It was built in 1850,and said to be "the longest bridge in the world ,made totally by teakwoods."

It was really beautiful and nice.
Time flowed slowly while I was taking in the images of locals on their boats making a living on the surface of the lake water.

They were collecting watery plants,retracting fishing net for shrimps and fish,

some were transporting goods with their motored boats,which formed a peaceful and elegant vision.

I've been to Prague,so I asked myself then,which one is prettier?

Charles Bridge over River Vltava in Czech Republic,or this one?

我還真的會選烏本橋呢!我自己也滿驚訝我的選擇，是這樣的，查理曼大橋每次去，每次上面都擠滿觀光客，可以擠出油那種擠，伏爾塔瓦河不是不漂亮，

只是不親民，比較好的觀賞點，反而是橋下餐廳，邊用餐邊欣賞，

然後我就聽到擁擠的橋面傳來一群美國學生拿著旗子，唱著歌喧譁地跑過去(天喔~我的記憶力還真是好!)，

然後晚上我就跑去河上的爵士餐廳邊喝酒、邊看河景，回程路過河邊公園，然後有一個好像流浪漢，躺在河邊公園的草皮上，就把屁股光給我看到，

啊~，也是美，哈哈。

To my own surprise,I would choose Bridge U-bend to be the most beautiful bridge in the world at the time of sunset.

Here is the thing,every time I got on Charles Bridge,it always was crowded.It seemed to squeeze the grease out of my body.
It's so crowded that might trigger my agoraphobia.Haha.

Honestly,River Vltava was pretty,not so amiable for sure.

I recalled the best appreciating point was when I found myself a seat under the river restaurant,sipping my wine,then...
A bunch of American students were holding a flag,and stormed through the bridge boisteously(God~ my memory is so good.)

After seeing the sight,I went to a Jazz bar on the Vltava river for my dinner.
I went back along the park by the river bank afterwards,then...

a homeless hunk was lying on the meadow at the river park,showing me...his asses,bare,

Ah~

Fine,also pretty,haha.

烏本橋由於是柚木做的，不是土石鐵條，天地在時間的輪轉下，我真的不知道它還可以維持多久，

不過這類橋樑在緬甸不是只有這一座，比如娘水鎮的茵萊湖也有，只是烏本橋是規模最大的一座。

The bridge was totally made of teakwoods,not a bit of stones,rocks,or steel bars involved.
I had no idea how long it could stand in the flowing of time.
Though there are more bridges of this kind in Myanmar,like the one in Town Naung Shwe,Lake Inle,

however Bridge U-Bend is the largest.

天色暗下來了，湖邊市場的燈光在遠處亮起，但是湖面一片漆黑，再也看不到景物，如同謝幕一般，烏本橋展示了人生起落的禪意，回到店家領回車子，

挖咧! 車燈竟然是壞的，緬甸的城鎮天黑後路就很暗哪! 這裡可不是在台灣城市裡，回去還很遠呢，我只好慢慢騎，有對向來車的燈光就先停下，就這樣停停走走，也平安地回到市區，

明天，又是新的旅程的開始，

不過要先跟曼德勒市說再見了，晚安...

The curtain of the night fell.I could see the light of the market in the far end of the lake shine.but there was nothing else I could make out from the lake itself.

It was totally dark.
It seemed that Bridge U-Bend demonstrated a fable of life circle to me.If there were ups,then there were downs sooner or later.

I got back to the shop where I parked my scooter at,and then...
No way,the head light was out,not working.God,the towns' roads were very dark in Myanmar,unlike the ones in my own hometown back in Taiwan,

and it was still very far from Mandalay city.

I couldn't help but slow down my riding speed,and make stops when other cars coming from the opposite way.

So I went and stopped intermittenly,like this I went all the way back to Mandalay safely.

Tomorrow would be a new page of my journey,but,before that,

I had to say good-bye to Mandalay.
...

Hence,good night...