lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

‚86AROUND YANGON NORTH OF YANGONBago (Pegu)pExU"%052 / POP C200,000Bago, a former capital, is a Disney-flavouredtheme park of gaudy religious sites. It wouldbe fair to say that this small and scrappy townprobably contains a greater density of blissedoutbuddhas and treasure-filled temples thanany other similar-sized town in southernMyanmar. All this makes Bago a superb andsimple day trip from Yangon, or the ideal firststop when you leave the city behind.HistoryBago was reputedly founded in AD 573 by twoMon princes from Thaton, who saw a femalehamsa (mythological bird) standing on theback of a male hamsa on an island in a hugelake. Taking this to be an auspicious omen,they founded a royal capital called Hanthawady(from the Pali-Sanskrit ‘Hamsavati’,meaning the ‘kingdom of the hamsa’) at theedge of the lake. During the later Mon dynasticperiods (1287–1539), Hanthawady becamethe centre of the Mon kingdom of Ramanadesa,which consisted of all southern Myanmar.The Bamar took over in 1539 when KingTabinshwehti annexed Bago to his Taungookingdom. The city was frequently mentionedby early European visitors – whoknew it as Pegu – as an important seaport.In 1740 the Mon, after a period of submissionto Taungoo, re-established Bago as theircapital, but in 1757 King Alaungpaya sackedand utterly destroyed the city. King Bodawpaya,who ruled from 1782 to 1819, rebuilt itto some extent, but when the river changedits course the city was cut off from the seaand lost its importance as a seaport. It neveragain reached its previous grandeur.1Sights & ActivitiesMany of Bago’s monuments are actually centuriesold, but don’t look it, due to extensiverestorations. This is an excellent place toexplore by bicycle, as most attractions arenear each other. Bikes are available for rentat Bago Star Hotel.Shwethalyaung BuddhaMONUMENTerás;elY;='".urC"Once upon a time a nasty king, who wentby the name of Mgadeikpa, ruled the landsaround what is today Bago. His reign wasmarked by corruption and violence, but oneday his son was out hunting in the forestswhen he came upon the village of Suvannabhumi,where his eye fell upon a Mon girlwho caused his heart to flutter. Even thoughshe was a Buddhist and he, like everyonein his father’s kingdom, worshipped paganidols, the two became lovers and married afterhe promised her that she could continueto practise Buddhism.Back at the court the king was furiouswhen he discovered this and ordered theexecution of both the girl and his son. Yetwhen the new bride prayed in front of thepagan idol it cracked and broke. The kingwas seized with fear and, realising the errorof his ways, he ordered the building of astatue of the Buddha and the conversion ofthe population to Buddhism.The gorgeous reclining buddha that yousee here today is said to be the result of thisdoomed love. Measuring 180ft long and 53fthigh, the Shwethalyaung is certainly theBago12# Ú 5# Ú 7#£ABYangon-Bago RdC# Ú3# ÚShwethalyaungBuddha6# Ú# Ú 1#£4# ÚHindu#ÞTemple #›See EnlargementMarket17#æ159# ú # ÿ# ÿ# ÿ # ú 11ToKyaik Pun Paya (500m);1213Bago Star Hotel (600m);Yangon (50mi)ABCFootbridgeBagoRiverYangon-Mandalay Rd‚666Bago River#e 0 1 km0 0.5 milesD14116 # ú#›#ð#ÿ 10 To# á ShwemawdawClock LeikpyaTower Reservoir Paya (300m);Hintha Gon(600m)Yangon-Mandalay Rd# Ú8D2#â2