Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Myanmar:
Yangon
Sule Paya: is a 2000-year-old golden temple surrounded by colonial buildings and commercial shops. It is located in the middle of a busy traffic rotunda. We viewed it from various locations around the city.
Shwedagon Paya: We visited this 2500-year-old stupa in the evening. The top of the spire is encrusted with over 5000 diamonds and 2000 other stones. The paya itself is a beauty, but the environment and people make it magical.
Train into the City Center: mostly a commuter train with a limited schedule and some of the older trains we’ve seen in Southeast Asia, but the experience of riding in one is one-of-a-kind. From female vendors carrying items on their head to friendly passengers waiting to start a conversation, the ride makes a loop around the city, but we only rode it for about eight stops.
Bogyoke Market
Sri Kali Hindu Temple
Mandalay
Shwe In Bin Kyaung Monastery: meaning ‘teak monastery’, this elegant building dates from 1895.
Mahamuni Paya Temple: this temple is home to a 4m-tall Buddha covered in around 15cm of gold leaf. The Buddha has grown “fatter” over the years because they continue to cover the statue in gold leaves.
Sandamuni Paya: this temple contains ancient concrete slabs with scriptures, it is known as the ‘world’s biggest book.’ A number of pagodas draw visitors and worshippers to the south and southeast of Mandalay Hill.
Mandalay Hill: we made this 45-minute, barefoot (it is required to take of your shoes at all temples) climb to the top of the hill to view the sunset. During our ascent, we were fortunate to meet three locals, one a monk, that asked us if they could walk with us to practice their English.
Cycling in Mandalay: riding a bike in Mandalay was an adrenaline-rush experience. Competing for lane space with cars and motorcycles was not an easy task and you could only imaging how crossing an intersection was without any traffic signals: difficult and sometimes scary. The best way to do it was to try not to stop or cross beside a car for the added protection.
U Bein’s Bridge: claimed to be the world’s longest teak bridge at 1.2 km, we were able to experience it at sunset. The 200-year-old bridge has 1,060 teak posts and takes you from Amarapura to small Taungthaman village.
Bagan
We took two days (Gisela was sick on the second day) on bike to explore these ancient temples. We visited the areas of Old Bagan, North Plain, Central Plain, Myinkaba, and South Plain. The temples that stood out the most to us were Ananda Pahto, Dhammayangyi Temple, North and South Guni for sunset views, and Shwe San Daw Pagoda.
Shwezigon Pagoda: this pagoda is considered by many to be the prototype for many Burmese pagodas.
