Let's continue, if you will, this journey through Burma. After Yangon ( formerly Rangoon ), the next logical stop was Bago , known in French as Pégou. It was the former capital of the Mon kingdom , which dominated southern Burma more than 1500 years ago.
Known for housing a few temples including the Kyaik Pun pagoda or that of Shwe Maw Daw, larger than the Shwedagon of Yangon and whose remains of the original structure, destroyed by an earthquake in 1930, rest in front of the new one.
How to get to Bago
It is possible to get there by train from Yangon or Mawlamyine, many do the day trip from Yangon, either by taxi or bus.
In our case, we thought we would go by train. But because we were poorly informed about the schedule, we missed it… As it was a bit of a hassle at the ticket office, we luckily had someone who kindly came to enlighten us. The problem is that the next train is too long away, while we plan to visit Bago during the day, so we decide to take the bus instead.
So we headed to the terminal by taxi, 10 kyats from Yangon station then bus to Bago. We had then planned a night there, since we were continuing our journey further east and south for the rest.
The journey from Yangon takes approximately 2 hours and costs only 2,000 kyats per person.
The worst of the bad luck on this day was that we missed the scheduled bus stop, also because they had not told us about it... Fortunately, while the transfer to the hotel was included (which I didn't know), the guy who was supposed to take us on this journey, not seeing us get off, followed the bus when he saw us go by! So, he was waiting for us when we finally got off shortly after!
Since we were further than expected, he called a motorbike taxi to take us back (with 2 people plus luggage it would have been difficult with just one motorbike), resulting in a small charge of 1 kyats to arrive safely, a lesser evil.
A day in Bago, instructions for use
To put it simply, we accepted the help offered by the guy at our hotel and opted to rent a tuk-tuk for the day . The rental cost 20,000 kyats plus another 20,000 kyats (2 x 10,000) for the pass to access the historic center, which includes several sites.
Regarding the latter, I have doubts about its real usefulness given that at no time did we check our tickets...
After a meal in a local restaurant where the young boys who acted as waiters looked at us with their big round eyes (another nice long sentence like I know so well how to make them!), we stopped towards our first destination, the temple of Kya Kha Wain Kyaung (like, super easy to remember…).
Kya Kha Wain Kyaung Temple
This temple is home to over 1 monks. We arrive in a room where they are in chanting/meditation mode. We stay there for a while, time for me to take pictures and for Jitima to make some sketches, we will come across a few tourists on the way out but it will be one of the only times of the day when we will come across other foreigners. This is all the more understandable since it is one of the most famous temples in Bago. As superficial and almost disturbing as the experience may be (can you imagine tourists arriving in the middle of a school, and a religious one at that, anywhere else?), it is still interesting to share the daily life of these young monks for a few minutes.
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
Next stop, the great Shwemawdaw Pagoda , which I mentioned in the introduction. The Shwemawdaw Pagoda is an imposing stupa, located in one of the main temples of the ancient city, often called the Temple of the Golden God . At 114 meters tall, the Shwemawdaw Pagoda holds the record for the tallest pagoda in the country , although the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon , officially 105 meters high, is considered the tallest pagoda in Myanmar (likely due to a lack of self- respect regarding its sacredness).
The fact is that the current pagoda is a more recent version, rebuilt after the destructive earthquake of 1917. You can also see a piece of the original pagoda collapsed, left as it was at the foot of the new one. Another earthquake damaged the structure in 1930, but the building was able to be repaired.
The original pagoda was not as prestigious, built around the 10th century CE, the original version of the pagoda was only 21 meters high. It was then to house a new relic, two hairs of the Buddha. Apparently, the hairs were personally given to two Mon merchants named Mahasala and Kullasala by the Buddha during a trip to India. Tooth relics were also added to the pagoda in 982 and 1385. Hence the proven importance today of this site, believed to contain relics particularly sacred to Buddhists.
Snake Pagoda
Next up was the curious snake temple . Presented as the reincarnation, depending on your perspective, of an old monk or a "nat" (a spirit venerated in Burma), this Burmese python, which sleeps all day, is said to be 125 years old (yeah, well in my opinion, it's mostly the little, little, little godson given how lucrative it seems to be with the locals).
Buddhas galore!
To end the day, we will visit two large reclining Buddhas. First, the one at Naung Daw Gyi Mya Tha Lyaung , a name that's quite a mouthful, as it stands in the open air. Over 76 meters long, it is of recent construction , begun in 2002 thanks to a fundraising campaign.
Not far from there stands the "more famous" Buddha of Shwethalyaung , slightly smaller at around 55 meters. This one has been protected for over a century by a metal roof, while the large Buddha statue itself is believed to be over 250 years old. It also survived the destruction of Bago in 1757 and was rediscovered by chance during the construction of a railway line in 1881 by the British.
Finally, we ended our day at the simply named "Temple of the Four Figures." Also known as the Kyaik Pun Pagoda , this temple is not far from our hotel and, as its name suggests, has four Buddha statues seated back to back, a rather unusual arrangement.
We didn't have time to see Kanbawzathadi Palace , a royal palace dating from the 16th century (but rebuilt in the early 90s). Not too disappointed, we feel like we saw the essentials.
Easy night in Bago
We will have dinner in a small local restaurant 200m from the hotel, a good fatty meal as the Burmese know so well how to make.
Where to sleep in Bago
We stayed at the Amara Gold Hotel , it has a not great rating on Agoda but personally it did the job well for us, admittedly the breakfast is basic, it's just a little lacking in maintenance but it is recent (at the time of our stay), the staff is generally welcoming, price a little expensive though (even if that's typical of Burma), $30 a night.
Does a stop in Bago seem interesting to you?
