lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

88AROUND YANGON NORTH OF YANGONENTRANCE FEES &OPENING HOURSThough foreigners can visit the townfor free, officially they must buy anentrance ticket ($10) valid for all thetown’s sights. During our visit, this couldbe purchased only at the ShwemawdawPaya, but should also be available at theShwethalyaung Buddha. Nearly all ofthe sights charge an additional K300for camera and K500 for videocameras.All the sights are open from just beforesunrise until well after dark.four Mon sisters were connected with theconstruction of the buddhas; it was said thatif any of them should marry, one of the buddhaswould collapse. One of the four buddhasdisintegrated in the 1930 earthquake,leaving only a brick outline (since restored)and a very old bride.Maha Kalyani Sima(Maha Kalyani Thein)BUDDHIST TEMPLEmhCklY;,Isim'et;'äkI"This ‘Sacred Hall of Ordination’ was originallyconstructed in 1476 by Dhammazedi,the famous alchemist king and son of QueenShinsawpu. Like almost everything in Bagoit has suffered a tumbledown history andhas been destroyed and rebuilt many a time.Next to the hall are 10 large tablets withinscriptions in Pali and Mon describing thehistory of Buddhism in Myanmar.If you can’t get enough of buddha statuesthen across the road from the Maha KalyaniSima is the Four Figures Paya, with fourbuddha figures standing back to back. Anadjacent open hallway has a small recliningbuddha image, thronged by followers, andsome macabre paintings of wrongdoers beingtortured in the afterlife.Relaxing in the sun next to these twomonuments is the Naung Daw Gyi MyaTha Lyaung, a reclining buddha sprawledout over 250ft, which is almost as long as itsname. It was built in 2002 with donationsfrom the people and, though locals adore it,you probably won’t find it all that interesting.Mahazedi PayaBUDDHIST STUPAmhCectI.urC"The design of the Mahazedi Paya (Great Stupa),with its whitewashed stairways leadingalmost to the stupa’s summit, is unusual forsouthern Myanmar and certainly one of themore attractive religious buildings in Bago.Originally constructed in 1560 by KingBayinnaung, it was destroyed during the 1757sacking of Bago. An attempt to rebuild it in1860 was unsuccessful and the great earthquakeof 1930 comprehensively levelled it,after which it remained a ruin. This currentreconstruction was only completed in 1982.The Mahazedi originally contained a Buddhatooth, at one time thought to be the mostsacred of all Buddha relics, the tooth of Kandy,Sri Lanka. After Bago was conquered in 1539,the tooth was moved to Taungoo and thento Sagaing near Mandalay. Together with abegging bowl supposed to have been used bythe Buddha, it remains in the KaunghmudawPaya (p 229 ), near Sagaing, to this day.Shwegugale PayaBUDDHIST STUPAerá8Ukel".urC"A little beyond the Mahazedi, this zedi has adark gu (tunnel) around the circumferenceof the cylindrical superstructure. The monumentdates to 1494 and the reign of King ByinnyaYan. Inside are 64 seated buddha figures.In the evening many locals venture out here.From the zedi, cross a rickety woodenfootbridge and you’ll arrive at a nat shrinewith life-sized statues of Ko Thein and KoThant, the nat of the temple compound.Kanbawzathadi PalacePALACEkemõCjsCdInn'"et;'The original site of Hanthawady, which surroundedKanbawzathadi Palace, a formerMon palace, was excavated just south of thehuge Shwemawdaw Paya. Walled in the Monstyle, the square city measured a mile alongeach side and had 20 gates.THE HAMSAIn deference to legend, the symbolfor Bago is a female hamsa (hinthaor hantha in Burmese; a mythologicalbird) standing on the back of a malehamsa. At a deeper level, the symbolhonours the compassion of the malehamsa in providing a place for thefemale to stand in the middle of a lakewith only one island. Hence, the menof Bago are said to be more chivalrousthan men from other Burmese areas. Inpopular Burmese culture, however, menjoke that they dare not marry a womanfrom Bago for fear of being henpecked!