BAGO - 26th Dec. 2014 to 31st Dec. 2014

After the initial shock in Yangon, we must say that the country has been better as our trip progressed.

Located 80 km from Yangon and after two hours travelling by train, we arrived in Bago (pronounced Bago). Here we had the feeling that it is a little town located on either side of the main road, but in fact, it is the capital of Bago region, which covers an area slightly larger than Switzerland. The city has a population of almost 300,000 inhabitants, but... where is hidden all these people and their homes? It looks like a mystery.

Walking through the market we continued having the feeling of being in a small village.

There are not many tourists in Bago and there are just a few small hotels. However, Bago region is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists and has therefore a lot of temples and sacred places.
 

The Bago River divides the city into two halves. We began to explore the west side. One of the first places visited was the Mya Tha Lyaung Reclining Buddha, which was built in 2002 and is located outdoors, at least for now, because it looks like they are preparing the ground to build a deck.

One of the interesting things in reclining Buddhas are the soles of the feet, leaving their footprints features.

The Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha, is considered one of the most beautiful in the country. It has a length of 55m and a height of 16m. It was built in the late tenth century and rebuilt in 1881.

As in Yangon Reclining Buddha, the temple that hosts this huge Buddha reminds a hangar.

After we visited the Mahazedi Pagoda, where only men can climb to the top. Nobody said anything to us until we reached the top, where Gemma had to turn around immediately, unable to enjoy the rewards of their views.

These are the views to the west, where the center of Bago is. Remember that this is a city of about 300,000 inhabitants.

The big red building that stands out among the trees in the background is the "hangar" of the Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha, just some pagodas and the other Reclining Buddha, Mya Tha Lyaung (betwen the vegetation on the far right of the image), is the only you can see about this city.

Mahargyi Pagoda, was the farthest of the temples we visited on the west side, and we really liked it.

In our trip in Myanmar caught our attention the big amount of monk children who are everywhere.

As we were going away from the center, it gave us, even more, the feeling of being in a small village... the sandy streets, wooden houses and the simple life of its inhabitants. There, we saw the children coming back from school. All with their uniforms and the typical lunch boxes.

On the east side of the river, on a small hill, is the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, with a height of 114 meters, it is the highest in the country.

On the west side of the stupa today is the Hti (ornament located on the top of Myanmar stupas) of ancient stupa, destroyed due to an earthquake in 1917.

From the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, there is a covered walkway from around 500 meter length, connecting to the temple of Hintha Ghone. Beyond the curiosity of the long corridor, there is nothing special. The temple is supposed to have some great views, but they are nothing special.

More or less in the middle of the hallway there is a Buddha footprint. Remember Buddha soles are represented in all sorts of details.