Magway District

Ostello Bello made it very easy for its guests to see the sights around Bagan. One of the regular activities they organize are excursions to Mount Popa, a religious site about 1 hour 20 minutes outside of Bagan. On the day I arrived, I signed up for the afternoon trip. When departure time came, we were transported there in one car and one minivan. We had been pre-warned that there was a religious festival at Mt Popa that day and that it would be crowded. That didn’t faze me. In fact, I was excited at the prospect of seeing the festival in motion.

On the road to Mt Popa, we witnessed some disturbing sights: hundreds of people lined up along the road begging for handouts. We could not figure out if this was related to the festival or if it was an everyday occurrence. I suspect and hope it is the former. Anyway, we saw vehicles ahead of us toss cash and goods out of their cars and motorcycles without even slowing down, and there was a mad scramble to retrieve those items, with some people running into oncoming traffic to get the goods. As far as we could tell, those vehicles were occupied by locals and not tourists. It is a miracle we didn't see anyone get hit. Our minivan driver did not know enough English to tell us what was happening. From my western-biased perspective, if this was about making merit, it is a seriously screwed up way of doing it.

As we approached Mt Popa, it was clear that the place was going to be one big cluster. There were vehicles all over, and people and motorcycles were trying to squeeze past the cars in the jam. The driver of the car stopped and told everyone to make their way on foot. He told us to stay together and come back together, and gave no further instructions on where and when to meet. Gee, what could possibly go wrong? Fortunately, he did give one guy his phone number.

Alighting from the vehicles, we walked to the base of Mt Popa on foot through the rain. We walked between the cars and roadside stalls, and squeezed past people and motorcycles. I wish I were eloquent enough to describe the atmosphere. It was a big mess. I was bewildered most of the time, but in the best possible way.

Before long, we reached the first of many staircases that make up the 700+ steps to the top of Mt Popa. We had to remove our shoes and socks and cover our knees. The floor was wet and muddy, and there were monkeys all over. I dread to think about what I was stepping on with my bare feet. There were, of course, throngs of people climbing up and climbing down, so it was slow going. Along the way up, there were various shrines. At the top, there were more shrines and lots of golden stupas. I loved that we got to see Mt Popa as a living place of worship.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that our group didn't stay intact during this trek. It was impossible to stay together. At the base of the steps, we gathered and waited for everyone to come down. We waited and waited, and finally all but two of us were down. We called the driver then and he came to get us. He was of course unhappy that two were missing (I actually heard him cuss "Oh My Buddha", which I found hilarious). After he and the minivan driver got us back safely to the two vehicles, he sent the minivan driver back to find the last two. Finally, after about an hour of waiting, we set off back to Ostello Bello.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sacred-mt-popa

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