Mt Popa, Myanmar: Why it's worth braving the monkeys

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This was published 6 years ago

Mt Popa, Myanmar: Why it's worth braving the monkeys

By Brian Johnston
Mount Popa, Myanmar, beckons ... but the hike to the monastery is no easy stroll.

Mount Popa, Myanmar, beckons ... but the hike to the monastery is no easy stroll.Credit: Alamy

The moist squelch of monkey poo between my bare toes is the least of my challenges. The rank animal stink that assaults my nose is considerably worse, as if I'm being gassed: not good on lungs already heaving with the steep climb.

Worst of all, are the delinquent troupes of macaques with their finger-long fangs and bitter little eyes, just waiting to snatch hats off passing heads, food from bags and, if they could, probably the fillings from visitors' teeth. On a visit to a golden monastery of spirit shrines and splendid views, I'd imagined a rather more tranquil experience.

I'm halfway up Mount Popa, whose sheer cliffs rise from the tail end of the Pegu Mountains 50 kilometres south-east of Bagan, where my river-cruise ship Sanctuary Ananda is docked. A handful of my fellow passengers and I have opted for an excursion to this monastic mountain, accompanied by our excellent guide Khin.

There are few monkeys on the lower half of the basalt outcrop, where souvenir stalls crowd close and owners are vigilant. It's not a pleasant stroll, but rather a claustrophobic haul up through a tunnel of T-shirts and woven textiles. The tropical humidity is unstirred by a breeze and perspiration cascades down my neck. Khin is slender in her wraparound silk longyi and glides up the steps as if on an escalator. She dabs a tissue on an ivory forehead that has barely broken a sweat.

We're a good bit up Mount Popa before I realise that Myanmar's temple shoes-off policy starts long before the monastery shimmers into view. Still, I'm darned if I'm going to turn back now. I deliver my sneakers to an attendant almost as shrivelled as the monkeys that lurk. The macaques know they have visitors at a disadvantage the moment our shoes are off and our eyes cast down on the mango-enriched monkey droppings that mine the steps. They'll grab anything loose, whether cameras or shoulder bags or sunglasses. Attendants bang the metal railings with sticks but only rattle the monkeys momentarily. The sudden clanging makes me leap out of my sweating skin.

"Beware these cheeky buggers, they're mighty fast and cunning," says Khin, who seems to be losing her poise. "Never run away. Look at these slippery steps! Faster will see disaster."

Reaching Taung Kalat monastery atop Mount Popa is an anticlimax. The aerial, fairy-tale pagodas of glimmering gold, so fabulous from across the valley, are dirty and dilapidated, although gold and marble Buddhas smile serenely. The views are uplifting, however. I can see the silver glitter of the Irrawaddy River at Bagan, and the Yoma Mountains beyond. Down below the valley has purple-red soil and lush green fields where villagers grow lumpy custard apples, dragonfruit and roses.

Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site for locals. Buddhism in Myanmar is heavily influenced by animist beliefs in which nat spirits are thought to inhabit trees and water. Grand nats, though, are the spirits of aristocrats who came to violent ends, such as the executed 11th-century Shwe Phyin brothers, said to be the sons of a Mount Popa ogress. They're believed to have supernatural powers to intervene in your life and can hex you if not treated with respect.

This is why the Burmese brave Mount Popa's monkeys, even while tempting them to attack by carrying bags of food to the summit monastery. Hands of bananas, coconuts and whiskey are left as offerings in the nat hall. "Love the Buddha, fear the nats," warns Khin as she feeds banknotes into a box. On festival days worshippers here can go into trances when overcome by nat spirits, helped along by palm wine and wildly beating drums.

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On the way down we pass an equestrian statue of Bo Min Khaung, not a nat but a holy weizzar with the ability to fly, be in multiple places simultaneously, and read minds. He might be shocked at what I'm thinking as I pull socks over my sweaty, filthy feet and shove them unceremoniously into my shoes as monkeys scowl.

I'm thankful that I've thought ahead and booked a foot reflexology in Sanctuary Ananda's spa. It's 45 minutes of wince-inducing pressure on my battered soles that leaves a spring in my step, and monkey poo thoroughly banished.

TRIP NOTES

MORE

traveller.com.au/myanmar

myanmartourism.org

FLY

Malaysia Airlines flies from Sydney and Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur with onward connections to Yangon. Phone 13 26 27. See malaysiaairlines.com

CRUISE

Sanctuary Ananda's seven-night Mandalay-Bagan-Mandalay cruise on the Irrawaddy River includes a shore excursion to Mount Popa. Prices from $US1719 ($2240) per person twin share, including meals and guided excursions. Phone 03 9536 1831. See sanctuaryretreats.com

Brian Johnston travelled as a guest of Sanctuary Retreats and Malaysia Airlines.

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