Calm Before a Storm

Suddenly the rain was upon us, hammering the mountain and streaming through the sky like an angry swirl of rocs. We scrambled down into the flood and sped back across the disappearing bridge, lights and hot metal making liquid fractals in our memory.

Coming back at night, pulled by yaks and under blankets, we stared up into the night sky and watched it disappear into the black hole, man-made mountains of Myauk Guni, Dhammayangyi and Shwesandaw. >> >>Sometimes it seemed like every star over Myanmar had its own stupa pointing up at it. Earthly stalagmites reminding the faithful that the universe exists. Each star a burning enlightenment in a far corner of the Mekong’s milky way. >> >>Besides its shores, dreamy, celestial Bagan spiralled in an eternity of temple spires, and we span on our backs under the inky blue, latticework canopy.