Myanmar (Burma), Pindaya Cave
13/12/04 Filed in: Travel
Hiring a car and driver we set out from Inle Lake and
travel through the mountains on the road toward
Mandalay. But not long out I see a woman along the
side of the road drying fresh red (very hot) chilies.
Knowing Lay Wah’s love for these dangerous
little morsels I ask the driver to stop so we can
have a look. The woman who does not speak any English
tells Lay Wah she has been drying this batch of
chilies for the last 10 days and that we were just in
time, as she was about to remove them to carry to
market. It’s not long before Lay Way has
happily struck a bargain and the woman is stuffing
large handfuls of the little red devils into a very
large bag. Once she gets them home she will roast
them in oil and chop them into fine fiery
bits.
From here we have take a little 20 kilometer detour to see Pindaya cave. As we approach the mountain a sea of little white pagodas greets us from the valley below. Pindaya is a natural cave going back into the mountain hundreds of feet. Over time people have placed more than 8,000 Buddha statues in the cave and this is now a place of reverence and pilgrimage. Walking through the cave it’s like walking through a silent maze of golden Buddha’s of all shapes and sizes going back deep into the heart of the mountain. The cave has a natural silence and the many rock fingers seem to reach down from heaven, it almost like Buddha could be reaching down to touch the heart of this place.
Please check out all the photos on my SE Asia Portfolio page available at NavaSwan.com
From here we have take a little 20 kilometer detour to see Pindaya cave. As we approach the mountain a sea of little white pagodas greets us from the valley below. Pindaya is a natural cave going back into the mountain hundreds of feet. Over time people have placed more than 8,000 Buddha statues in the cave and this is now a place of reverence and pilgrimage. Walking through the cave it’s like walking through a silent maze of golden Buddha’s of all shapes and sizes going back deep into the heart of the mountain. The cave has a natural silence and the many rock fingers seem to reach down from heaven, it almost like Buddha could be reaching down to touch the heart of this place.
Please check out all the photos on my SE Asia Portfolio page available at NavaSwan.com