Myanmar

Myanmar
2017

Yangon
Kyauk tan
Bagan
Mount Popa
Irrawaddy
Mandalay
Pyin Oo Lwin
Nyaung Shwe
Lake Inle

Yangon

Rob Harris introduced me to Martin who
kindly invited me to stay with him for a few
days in Yangon. Martin and Te Su took me to
visit Sule Pagoda.
The temple is in the centre of Yangon and
the site is thought to be over 2600 years old
predating the much bigger Shwezigon.
after the British occupation in the late 19 th
Century, the Yangon street plan was built
around Sule.
Recently , it became the assembly point for
the Democracy movement.

Yangon City Hall

Kyauk Tan Pagoda

Shwedagon Pagoda

Shwedagon Pagoda, in the centre of Yangon, is one
of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Myanmar,
which enshrines strands of Buddha's hair.
Built 2,500 years ago the pagoda today stands
almost 110 meters high.
It's covered with hundreds of gold plates and the
top of the stupa is encrusted with 4531 diamonds,
the largest of which is a 72 carat diamond.
The central stupa is surrounded by a ring of
smaller stupas and temples.

Bagan

Bagan is north of Yangon and south of Mandalay
along the Irrawaddy River.scattered across the
plain are 2,200 temples,the product of a long wave
of pagoda-building between the 11th and 13th
centuries. Bagan was once a vast kingdom and the
larger temples were built by the Bagan Kings to
show their devotion to Buddhism. Families also
built smaller stupas scattered across the area..
Many have disappeared but It is thought that over
10,000 temples were built.

BAGAN AREA
The sites we visited are:
Shwe Zigon
Htilominlo
Shwe Gugyi
Thatbyinnyu
Ananda
Dhammayangyu
After visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia, so
many historical sites in Asia seemed much
less impressive. Bagan is similar to Angkor
Wat in that it is spread over a large area
and matches it for spectacle and epic

Shwezigon Pagoda is
a prototype of Burmese
stupas formed by five
square terraces with a
central solid core
covered in gold leaf
and was completed in
1102 AD.

East
North

West
South

Dhammayan

Dhammayan Temple is the
largest of all the temples in
Bagan. built by King Narathu 7
(1167-1170) who killed his father
and elder brother,and
presumably built this the
largest temple in Bagan to
atone for his sins.

Mount Popa
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Mount Popa is a volcanic plug almost 5000 feet
above sea level, 30 miles south east of Bagan.
It can be seen from the Irrawaddy River and as far
away as 60 km (37 mi) n A clear day. [3]
Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site, with numerous
Nat (Spirit) temples and relics on the mountain.
Mount Popa is considered the abode of Burma's
most powerful Nat’s and as such is the most
important Nat worship centre. It has even been
called Burma’s Mount Olympus’.

Salay
Salay was an old satellite town of
Bagan which grew in the 13 th century
on the Irrawaddy River. The
crumbling colonial buildings are the
remnants of the Burma Oil Company,
which housed rig workers in the area
from 1886.
One day, this place may lie on the
tourist map but today there are few
visitors.

Irrawaddy River

On Monday morning we take the
boat up the Irrawaddy, about
180km from Bagan to Mandalay.
The boat leaves at 6 am and the
trip will take about 10 hours. The
river boat will be cooler and
more comfortable and the early
start means we get to see the
fabulous sunrise over the river.

Mandalay
မ+,eလ%
Mandalay is the second-largest city 445 miles north
of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy

Pyi Oo Lwin

Pyin Oo lwin was a British hill station
45 miles south east of Mandalay.
The large colonial houses seem to have
been transported from Surrey. Most
are now hotels like the most famous,
Candacraig.
The lovely landscaped gardens at
Kandawgwy were opened as late as
1924 and the Purcell clock tower was
built in 1936.

Nyang Shwe

Lake Inle

Lake Inle is home to 70, 000 people who
live in four towns bordering the lake
and in numerous small villages along
the shores and on the lake itself.
They make a living from fishing,
maintaining the lake and increasingly
from Tourism.

The lake is covered with floating reeds,
which requires the men to stand up to
navigate. This has developed into a style
where they wrap one leg around the oar.
We pass a bunch of men posing for the
cameras to earn a few tips from the
waterborne tourists. Others collect the
reeds to keep the lake clear.

Myanmar
2017