Salay Myanmar
Myanmar
Frequently Asked Questions
Against a sandy bank on the eastern shore of the Irrawaddy south of Bagan. The town appears behind its curtain of tamarind trees, a few minutes' walk from the landing.
The finest carved teak monastery in Burma. Set on massive stilts, its outer walls carry panels teeming with dancers, animals and scenes from the Buddha's former lives, carved some 130 years ago.
Yes, now a museum, it holds old statues, lacquerware and manuscripts gathered over decades by the region's monks. Take time to walk right around the outside too: each facade tells different stories.
Because the town was a station of the Burmah Oil Company, which housed its employees here from the late nineteenth century. What remains are trading houses with closed shutters and faded pediments.
A former trading warehouse of 1906, tastefully restored, opening its rooms onto the water. You can take a coffee or a Burmese meal there while watching the canoes go by.
A greatly venerated image shaped in lacquer centuries ago and, by tradition, carried here on the waters of a historic flood. Gilded head to foot by generations of the faithful, it draws families from the surrounding villages.
Two or three hours on foot covers the monastery, the main street, the morning market and Mann Paya.
Mostly on foot, since distances are short. Some crews also offer an ox cart or a buggy, a thoroughly local way to link the sites.
Yes, more than a hundred monasteries and shrines, some dating from the Bagan era. Modest stupas, cousins of those on the great plain nearby, dot the surroundings.
Morning: the low light brings out the relief of the carved panels, and the heat is still bearable for a walk around the outside.
