Excursion to Danuphyu

Riding in a trishaw to Danuphyu

Just getting off the boat was an experience. The gangplanks were narrow and a bit difficult to maneuver but we were kindly helped by our crew. We began our trishaw ride into Danuphyu.

The ride into town was an unusual and sometimes bumpy experience.  We each had our own trishaw and we rode in one long line.  My driver was kind and helpful. Sometimes he had to jump off and push the trishaw up a hill.  He also kept my shoes at the religious sites. It was raining off and on and the driver provided an umbrella.  It was too big so I used my own.

Shawn tried to take a picture of both of us and the trishaw but it was too rainy.  He did get a good photo of the driver.

Pali University and Memorial of General Maha

Our first stop was at the Pali University where we saw the statue of General Maha Bandula who led a Burmese defensive against the British troops during the Anglo-Burmese War.  Pali is the language spoken by the religious community of monks and nuns.  At this complex, there is the Pali Language University as well as a monastery and school.  Many of the students are orphans and the monastery sponsors them.  They wear the traditional robes but are called novices until they are older and make the decision to become a monk or nun.

The following photos are taken at the university complex which includes the memorial to General Maha:

Monastery School

From here we got back on the trishaws and headed to the monastery school.  Many orphans go to school here and also live at the monastery complex.  The ones in the red robes are novices and the children with white blouses are children from the town. We peeked in a few kindergarten classrooms just at the end of school.

Maha Bandula Monastery

We made our final stop at the Maha Bandula Monastery where we saw the stone slip monuments containing the teachings of Buddha which are inscribed in the Pali language. We also saw many of the novice monks walking back from school.

Some of my favorite photos of the students at the Bandula Monastery:

Sights along the way – back to the riverboat.

We arrived at the riverboat and I took these photos.  Wherever we docked we could see how important the river was to the people’s daily life.

We were glad to be back aboard. Air conditioning certainly felt good!  Our cool towels and refreshing drinks awaited us. Our shoes were always deposited at the entrance to be cleaned and they later showed up at our door.  The riverboat does not sail at night so we had an enjoyable dinner and quiet evening.  We sailed at 5:30 am the next morning to Zalun.