Monday, August 8, 2016

Day Trip Outside Yangon - Bago



Huge reclining Buddha in Bago


The town of Bago is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Yangon, or a little more than an hour’s drive depending on the driver, and really constitutes more of a daytrip rather than a weekend affair, unless you really like seeing religious sites.
Downtown
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
To get there tourists have a number of options including private car, local bus or the train, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Some intrepid expatriates have even ridden their bicycles to Bago in a day. Once there, visitors can choose to hire a three-wheel motorcycle taxi for about US$ 20 a day to see the town’s sights. Similarly, you could hire a motorcycle for about half that fee and either drive yourself fi you feel game, or have a driver take you around. There are so many different religious sites to explore that it’s best to have a plan before setting out. Reaching more than 100 meters up into the sky in Bago is Shwemawdaw Pagoda, where you’ll likely be asked to pay a $10 for Bago Region and architectural zone fee. The stupa’s design is fairly typical of those seen around the country but with one key difference: on the northeastern corner there is a section of an earlier stupa, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1917, jutting out. 
Hinthagon Pagoda

Hintha Bird or Brahmin duck statue

No journey to Bago would be complete without a visit to the Hinthagon Pagoda, which is located behind Shwemawdaw atop a hill. The emblem for Bago Region (formerly state) is the Hintha Bird, or Brahmin duck, and according to legend the hill that houses the pagoda was the only point of land still dry as a flood swept the plain. A pair of hintha birds was stranded on the hill and as the waters rose ever higher, the male duck told his mate to climb above onto his back to escape the water. Most of the hintha statues in Bago show a smaller bird perched atop the larger bird to represent the legend, with popular sayings suggesting that a man who marries a woman from Bago will forever be subservient to his wife.
Huge Four Sitting Buddha Image

Snake Temple
Places to visit in Bago
Other “must see” sites include the 55 meter long Shwethalyaung reclining Buddha image, the four seated Buddha images at Kyaik Pun Paya that face each direction of the compass; the Four Figures Paya, which also has four images – this time standing back to back, Maha Kalyani Sima, or “Sacred Hall of Ordination” that was apparently built back in 1476, the reconstructed “Kanbawzathadi Golden Palace” from 16th century and the Snake Monastery, which is apparently home to a monster python. 
ref; Simon Whiting
Kanbawzathadi Golden Palace

Teak post museum , inside the palace