Merchant travelers have traversed seas and continents with their finest wares in tow since the beginning of civilization. Sailing by ship, climbing mountains, hiking jungles or riding camel caravans through the desert, they carried the best of everything in the world from spices, silks, seeds, trinkets. Sometimes the precious cargo was a an idea, a religion. Or a new route, an addition to the cartography of the times. Most importantly, these travelers brought their tales of distant lands.
It is these storied tales which have always inspired our travel experiences.
How lucky we are to follow in such great footsteps. Hopefully treading a bit more lightly ; )
The splendor of the gilded skyline in the kingdom of Bagan (Burma, modern day Myanmar) was said to have dazzled Marco Polo with its 10,000 temples, monasteries, shrines and stupas. "One of the finest sights in the world" he is supposed to have exclaimed.
The two thousand still standing and seemingly sprinkled across the horizon were enough to bring wonder and joy to my trip this month. The red bricks rising warmly from the flat, dusty plain, gleaming at sunset like jewels, One or two or many peeking out between the trees and shrubs. Surely one of the finest sights in the world.
