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 16^th 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

Day Trip Outside Yangon - Chaungtha and Ngwe Saung Beaches

Beach bliss only a bus ride away

Local Fisherman

The beach resort towns of Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha represent two halves of the same coin: Similar in many key ways but vastly different in execution.

Both are roughly six hours by bus from Yangon (at least when the roads are in good condition); both are in the same part of the country and offer similar beach scenery and weather.

But the difference, as the saying goes, is in the details. Where Ngwe Saung was built with foreign tourists firmly in mind, Chaungtha has long been a resort popular with Yangonites looking for a beach getaway. As a result of their development the towns are very different – Chaungtha is blessed with a large town that includes a big market, plenty of shops and restaurants, while Ngwe Saung is more confined to the resorts and hotels, although things on that front are beginning to change.

If that makes Chaungtha sound like a much better destination, think again-its popularity with domestic tourists mean that people chew betel nut and set off firecrackers at night. There’s also a lot more hotels and guests around.

But there’s another upside to the large number of domestic tourists – people approach you on the beach offering to sell you plates of king prawns, fish or lobsters that they cook at home and bring you to your room. The hotels, of course, shun the practice but are more or less powerless to stop it, meaning you can enjoy a home-grilled lobster in the comfort of your room for far less than it would cost you in a restaurant or a hotel.

Chaungtha also boasts a small island off one end of the beach, Hpokkala Kyun, which is separated from the mainland by a distance of about 100 meters. But the warned – the waters that surge through the gap are deceptively strong and it’s a much safer option to hop about the small long-trail boats that ferry passengers across for about K1000 each. Beyond exploring the island’s coastline, there’s a hilltop pagoda to check out.

Another island option at Chaungtha is Whitesand Island, which is a K3000, one-hour boat ride from the beach. There isn’t that much to do on the island beyond a little swimming, snorkeling and inspecting the obligatory pagoda but you can always sit back and enjoy a cold drink or two.

fresh seafood

Local People enjoying the beach life

Horse ride in Chaungtha

Monks procession in the Chaungtha village

Oxcart ride in Chaungtha

Pagoda in Chaungtha

Coconut shop in Chaungtha

Native Business in Chaungtha

Souvenir stalls in Chaungtha

Native family in Chaungtha

Ngwe Saung counters the charm and options of Chaungtha with much cleaner water – there are fewer river outlets nearby – and sandy beaches devoid of cast-off firecrackers and the red betel nut stains.

It’s also a much longer beach than Chaungtha at nearly 15 kilometers, which means it’s much easier to find some space for yourself, although more resorts and hotels are opening up every year.

Both beaches offer some seriously high-end (for Myanmar anyway) resorts priced at or above $100 a night but there are also more affordable accommodation options as well in the $50-a-night range or less.

The only problem with either destination is a good one – book yourself in for a weekend trip and you will not want to come back after two days.

ref; Simon Whiting

 

View of Ngwe Saung

Ngwe Saung Beach

Ngwe Saung Town

Clearwater

Local fishermen

Sunset in Ngwe Saung

Romantic Sunset in Ngwe Saung

Bird Island in Ngwe Saung

Day Trip Outside Yangon - Thanlyin

Thanlyin Bridge

Thanlyin a short drive from Yangon across the river of the same name. Where Yangon is a bustling city of more than five million inhabitants, a pretty sleepy towns that can be reached by car and it's closer to Yangon than Twante and highlights that the development of the area surrounding the city remains limited, even as little as 45 minutes from downtown by car.

Portuguese adventurer and brigand Philipe De Brito used Thanlyin as his base during the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries, launching raids against Bago and Yangon. Of interest to tourists is the Kyaikkhauk Pagoda that is believed to contain two Buddha hairs. A famous meditation center where you can practice, a Nat Shin Hnaung Monument and a short 1,500 ks boat ride from Thanlyin in Kyauktan is Yele Paya, which sits on a small island in the river. On the way back to Yangon, you can also visit the National Villages where you can see the different styles of houses and culture from different state of Myanmar.
ref; Simon Whiting

Shan Village at the National Races Village

Nat Shin Haung Memoral Temple 

Kyauk Tann Yele Paya

Meditation Center

Portuguese Church

Portuguese Church Inside

 

Day Trip Outside Yangon - TWANTE

Busy road in Twante

The towns of  Twante is a short drive from Yangon across the river of the same name. Where Yangon is a bustling city of more than five million inhabitants, Twante show what Yangon might have been had the British not established their base in the city.

A pretty sleepy town that can be reached either by car or boat. The boat option is certainly a more attractive journey that begins with a ferry ride from Yangon, across to the town of Dala on the other side of the Yangon River for $2. From there you’ll need to wait for a pick-up truck bus heading to Twante, which can take up to 45 minutes. Or, there are taxi waiting around you could simply hire that.
Prior to Cyclone Nargis, the town of Twante was relatively famous within Myanmar for its pottery industry, which has only partially recovered from the devastating storm in 2008.

One attraction for tourists within the town, besides the fascinating pottery factories, are Snake Temple where snakes are come to live in the pagoda by themselves and Shwesandaw Pagoda, which is about a kilometer from the town, and whose 76 meter high stupa is about the same age as Shwedagon.  

ref: Simon Whiting

Ferry to Dala

Pottery is the main business in Twante

Pottery Oven

Making a pot

Drying Process

Snakes at the temple

Friendly snake and Nun

Giving bath the snakes at the temple