Shwezigon | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 4: FAREWELL BAGAN FAREWELL MYANMAR, 2017.12.26

On the last day of our Burmese trip, we got up early in the morning to take a stroll in the Nyaung-U neighbourhood before heading to the airport. With less than an hour to spare, we decided to find our own way to revisit the Shwezigon Paya, the largest temple in Nyaung-U. Assisted by Google Map, we headed into the peaceful residential neighborhood of Nyaung-U. It was 7 in the morning, the light was soft and the air peaceful in the residential streets. Without much trouble we reached Shwezigon Paya. Vendors were busily preparing their stalls at the temple entrances while local worshipers were already arriving in clusters. Foreign tourists had yet arrived but the temple was already quite lively. Without a guide this time, we had the freedom to wander around the temple to absorb the spiritual atmosphere and take photographs. Keeping our departure time in mind, we headed back to Oasis Hotel via the same route. We had a quick sip of coffee at Oasis before the taxi arrived. At the airport, we soon found out that there was an issue with the incoming aircraft and our 9am flight was delayed until 11:30am. We chose to stay at the airport to write postcards and waited for further news. Fortunately the aircraft did arrive and we had no trouble to catch our connecting flight at Yangon back to Hong Kong.

That concludes the posts on our 3-day trip to Myanmar in December 2017.

At 7am, we walked into a quiet residential neighborhood of Nyaung-U heading towards Shwezigon Paya, the largest temple in Nyaung-U.

Finding our way with Google Map on our phone, we passed by small shops and streets out of the tourist areas.

In the early hours, the town was extremely peaceful and there were hardly any people on the street.

As we approached the town largest temple, we could see much more activities on the street.

We arrived at Shwezigon Paya from a different entrance than where Win Thu , a guide, brought us to two days ago.

Devoid of foreign tourists, Shwezigon Paya appeared to be much more spiritual under the soft light of the morning sun.

At the temple entrance hallway, vendors were starting their busy day.

Stalls selling local snacks in bamboo skewers and bowls of colourful sauces were set up at prominent spots.

Without the tour groups we had a better chance to photograph the locals and entrance hallway at Shwezigon Paya.

Floral offerings were particular popular with worshipers at the temple entrance.

On our way back, we passed by an unused entrance hallway of Shwezigon Paya.

A cute little girl caught our attention on our way back to the hotel.

The short walk also led us to pass by less known stupa in the quiet neighborhood.

Some locals were burning trash at a street intersection.

Beautiful morning sun led our way back towards Oasis Hotel.

We passed through the sleepy Aye Nyein Thaya Park on our way back.

This short morning walk gave us a more domestic look at Nyaung-U, the commercial hub of the Bagan area.

At Nyaung-U Airport, we were told that our flight was delayed for two hours.

Before noontime, we were finally up in the air over the arid plains of Bagan towards Yangon. Two days of temple and pagoda hopping provided us a memorable introduction to the spectacular wonders of Bagan.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at Yangon International Airport and transited to our return flight back to Hong Kong. Although short, the trip to Yangon and Bagan gave us a remarkable getaway from the often commercialized and overwhelmingly busy Christmas scenes of the city.

* * *

Blog posts on Myanmar 2017:

Day 1: Yangon, Myanmar
DAY 1: INTRODUCTION OF A SHORT BURMESE CHRISTMAS VACATION
DAY 1: WALK TO 999 SHAN NOODLE HOUSE
DAY 1: SULE PAGODA
DAY 1: COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
DAY 1: BUSTLING STREET LIFE
DAY 1: GOLDEN WORLD OF SHWEDAGON PAGODA
DAY 1: A PLACE FOR PEOPLE, Shwedagon Pagoda
DAY 1: EVENING MAGIC OF THE GOLDEN SHWEDAGON PAGODA
DAY 1: A FESTIVE NIGHT

Day 2: Bagan
DAY 2: SHWEZIGON PAGODA, Nyaung-U
DAY 2: HTILOMINLO AND UPALI THEIN
DAY 2: ANANDA PAHTO
DAY 2: SUNSET AT OLD BAGAN
DAY 2: SILENT NIGHT IN NYAUNG-U

Day 3: Bagan
DAY 3: MAGICAL SUNRISE, Old Bagan
DAY 3: NYAUNG-U MARKET, Nyaung-U
DAY 3: SULAMANI TEMPLE
DAY 3: DHAMMAYANGYI TEMPLE
DAY 3: THATBYINNYU TEMPLE
DAY 3: NAPAYA, MANUHA AND GUBYAUKGYI, Myinkaba
DAY 3: SUNSET No. 2, Old Bagan
DAY 3: FINAL NIGHT IN NYAUNG-U

Day 4: Farewell Myanmar
DAY 4: FAREWELL BAGAN FAREWELL MYANMAR

June 17, 2018 | Categories: Bagan, Myanmar, Myanmar 2017 | Tags: airport, Aye Nyein Thaya Park, Bagan, Burma, Myanmar, Nyaung-U, Shwezigon, Temple, Yangon | Leave a comment

DAY 2 (1/5): SHWEZIGON PAGODA, Nyaung-U, Bagan, Myanmar, 2017.12.24

After a full day in Yangon, the second part of our trip would take us north to Bagan. In the 9th to 13th centuries, Bagan was the ancient capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that united Myanmar. Near the former royal capital Mandalay, Bagan is over 600km north of Yangon. We chose flying to save time. There are several local airlines that offer the service. We picked Air KBZ, one of the guidebook recommended private airlines, and bought our tickets online two months prior to the trip. To maximize the time in Bagan, we chose the 7:15 flight and left Yangon’s Loft Hotel before dawn. We arrived at Yangon Airport in no time. After checking in, we had a noodle breakfast at a cafe in the boarding area.

Among several eateries we ended up sitting down at Gloria Jean’s Coffee in the boarding area for breakfast.

Black coffee and Shan noodles represented a set breakfast with a local twist.

Approaching Bagan, we could occasionally see Buddhist stupas in the landscape down below. We were pretty excited as we approached the ancient capital of the Bagan Kingdom, where thousands of pagodas and stupas once stood on the dry plains near the Irrawaddy River.

After a little over an hour, our plane touched down at Nyaung U, the main town in the Bagan area. Nyaung U was also where we would base ourselves in the next two days.

The Nyaung-U Airport is a small airport that served only domestic flights. Upon arrival, all passengers gathered at a room to wait for their luggage to be carried in by airport staff. After picking up our luggage, we walked out to the arrival hall and was greeted by our local guide Win Thu.

Win Thu took us back to our hotel Oasis Hotel to drop off our bags, and immediately began our Bagan tour by visiting Shwezigon Pagoda, the largest Buddhist temple in Nyaung-U. All visitors of the pagoda are greeted by the chinthes, the traditional leogryph guardians of temples in Southeast Asia.

We took off our shoes and entered one of the two remaining entrance halls. The entrance hall was crowded with pilgrims, tourists and vendors selling all kinds of religious offerings.

The entrance hall is a stone-paved covered walkway leading to the central pagoda compound and the gold gilded central pagoda.

Before approaching the golden stupa, we stopped by a pavilion with statues depicting the Buddhist story of the Four Sights: when the 29-year-old Siddhārtha left his royal palace for the first time and first met an elderly man, sick man, dead man and an ascetic. The four sights led Siddhartha to realize the real sufferings in life, and inspired his decision to embark on an ascetic journey towards enlightenment.

In Shwezigon, there are shrines dedicated to local deities such as the Nat God. Like many local deities, Nat predated the arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar and still remained popular today.

Completed in 1102 AD, the golden pagoda of Shwezigon Pagoda is believed to house a bone and tooth of Gautama Buddha. The bell-shaped stupa represents the architectural tradition of the Mon people of ancient Myanmar.

Many visitors gathered around a tiny pool of water to check out the reflection of the golden pagoda. According to our guide Win Thu, the king also used the pool of water to inspect the construction of the stupa.

The pagoda has a central solid core, with steps at the four cardinal directions rising from the base up the terraces for pilgrim’s worship.

Shwezigon Pagoda is the largest and most popular Buddhist temple in the Bagan area today.

Win Thu led us to the back of the pagoda to check out the famous Chayar Tree. The tree is famed for its year-round blossom, unlike other trees of its kind which would only flower at a certain period of a year.