Must visit temples in Bagan, Myanmar

I've covered Bagan, Myanmar a couple of years ago with a bunch of great friends and due to time limitation, we missed out horse cart riding and catching the magnificent sunrise in #Bagan (with hot air balloon flying over 2500 pagodas and temples). You can't imagine how ecstatic I was when I learnt that the activities we are about to do are this 2 items. The truth is, I can never be bored with Myanmar, despite that I have been here, I am still in awe and so many things and places that I have missed out. I am not surprise if I am still as impressed in my future trip here. Yeah, I foresee another trip here. Definitely.

For those curious few, the horse cart price for half day is K15,000 and K25,000 for full day, this is also highly depending on the season. The carts can be shared between 2-3 person. The question is whether is it worth it? My answer is : YES!


Ananda Pahto Temple

Revered as Bagan’s first of the great temples, Ananda Pahto Temple also boast as one of the most largest and most beautiful. Built between 1090-1105 by King Kyansittha, Ananda Pahto Temple; is a Mon and Indian architecture wonder in #Bagan. It is said to be the finest, largest, best preserved and most revered of all Bagan temples. Ananda Pahto Temple was damaged during the 2016 earthquake and has since gone through restoration.

This beautifully symmetrical temple was also a monastery hence there are few buildings within the enclosure wall. Source says that ‘Six terraces rise pyramid-like to the central tower. The lower terraces have a complete numbered set of 537 Jataka plaques (scenes from the lives of the Buddha) in Pali; the upper terraces have a set of 375 Mon language plaques depicting the last ten Jataka. Including those on the interior, this is the largest Bagan collection of terracotta tiles.’

Jātaka  : It is a literature native to India concerning the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jātakas are amongst the earliest Buddhist literature.

There are also four 30-foot-tall gilded teak standing Buddhas, each Buddha face the four cardinal directions. According to the local, it represents the enlightenment received in the present world cycle. Out of the four Buddhas, only the Bagan-style images facing north and south are original as the other two were destroyed in the 1600s by fire.


Shwezigon Pagoda

Circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines what makes Shwezigon Pagoda distinctive. Similar to other pagoda, the bell-shaped stupa was influenced by the culture of the Mon people. They were the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, they were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Indochina.

King Anawrahta builts Shwezigon Pagoda to be a massive reliquary to holds a collection of relics, including the Buddha's frontal and collar bones, a copy of the tooth relic at Kandy, Sri Lanka, and an emerald Buddha image from China. Its beautiful staircases, gates, and a richly ornamented spire fitted with a large golden umbrella type finial embedded with gems, Shwezigon Pagoda is noted as the prototype for many other stupas across Myanmar.


Dhammayangyi Temple

This Dhammayangyi Temple is infamous for its mysterious, bricked-up inner passageways and cruel history. It was built to atone King Narathu own sins: he smothered his father and brother to death and executed one of his wives, an Indian princess, for practising Hindu rituals.

Aside from being the largest and widest of all the temples in Bagan, tragically the king was assassinated by Sinhalese invaders hence the temple was not completed. It is a heart-rending story as cruelty upon cruelty in the process of erecting this magnificent temple, it is also said that King Narathu commanded that the temple to be mortar-less, hence bricks are fitted together so tightly that even a pin couldn’t pass between two bricks. Those who failed had their arms chopped off. This can be validated and seen as one enters from the west gate, there are stones with arm-sized grooves that are said where amputations allegedly happened.


Rich in culture,  a site to behold and very instagrammable huh!
So, what are you guys waiting for?
Head to Myanmar now!

1st ASEAN Media & Bloggers Fam Trip in collaboration with Myanmar Travel Bloggers Club and Tourism Myanmar

Empowerment | The Inle Heritage and Ms. Yin Myo Su

‘You can ask Miss Sue at Inle Heritage’ said Mr. Kyaw Swar of A Little Eco Lodge.

A one liner like this will tend to create the curiosity in me. Again.

Wondering who is this Miss Sue and what is thing called The Heritage (obviously I did not by-hearted the itinerary given by the organiser).

Everyone seems to have the highest regard of Miss Sue.

I guess I just need to meet this Miss Sue.

Yin Myo Su

A little girl whom was born and raised at Inle Lake, Myanmar is forever passionate on woman empowerment, economic development, heritage and environmental preservation, art, culture of the locals. With this rooted strongly since her childhood plus supports from family members, Miss Sue is now the Managing Director of the Inle Princess Group, and founder of the Inle Heritage Foundation.

This was not achieved easily, it was through perseverance and hard work, as well as her 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry lead to the birth of The Heritage House and Inle Heritage Foundation; advocating on the sustainable and responsible development practices around the Inle Lake, educating the local communities on the cultural heritage of Inle Lake and Shan State, aside from providing skillsets to the younger generation in the area she has mastered well – hospitality. Ensuring that with proper guidance, there’s hope in everyone.

So what does Inle Heritage actually do?

• Inle Heritage Hospitality Vocational Training Centre (IHHVTC)
• Grandma’s Inthar Cooking (restaurant)
• Learning Inle Cuisine (cooking class)
• Original Local Crafts (gift shop)
• Reintroducing Burmese Cats
• Inle's Aquatic Life
• Waste Management
• Waste Water Treatment
• Organic Farming
• Inle Heritage Stilt Houses (hotel)

Inle Heritage Hospitality Vocational Training Centre (IHHVTC)

As if this is not enough (even it is a plateful for me), she set to reintroducing (or perhaps repopulate) the Burmese Cat back to Myanmar. How serious is Miss Sue in her kitty mission? Well, there’s a small ONLY cat island at the The Inle Heritage House. Yup! Kid you not. They have proper meal time, air conditioned room (Oh yah! Its AC hokkay), human playmate, an island of their own, and not to forget, their own cat house. I bet some of you wish to be reincarnate as a Burmese cat in Inle after this heh?!?!?!

Organic Farming

Learning Inle Cuisine (cooking class)

Inle Heritage Stilt Houses (hotel)

We were thought on the Burmese cat breed (I did try to kidnap one of the cat but my so called great attempt failed by the staff – laughingly. Sumpah cute hokkay, geram giler! The cat I mean, not the staff). The story goes that they were temple and palace cats bred and kept by priests. And the coat colour is in amazing shade as well – sable, champagne, blue, lilac, Fawn, cream, chocolate and etc. And I set to hunt the one in lilac and blue on the island. Managed to find one – a blue Burmese cat.

Reintroducing Burmese Cats

As if Building an establishment as great as The Heritage House, reintroducing Burmese cat is not enough, Miss Sue has also embarked in educating the public on the fishery on Inle Lake itself such as endemic, native and non-native or uncertain status of fishes. It is said that over 9 species of fish are found nowhere else in the world but Inle Lake. Aside from fishes, turtle is one of the animal they are caring for.

Inle's Aquatic Life

The Heritage House serves many purposes and can be considered as a self-contained establishment in the area, travelers can also stay in their ‘floating hotels’ and enjoy drive in preserving Inle Lake’s heritage art and culture.

The Heritage, Inle Lake

http://inleheritage.org/en/about/

Inle Heritage, Innpawkhon Village,

Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar.

Tel : +95 (9) 4931 2970, +95 (9) 528 1035

Opening hours : 7am to 6pm

Accommodation : contact@inleheritage.org or call +95 (9) 452 793 530

1st ASEAN Media & Bloggers Fam Trip in collaboration with Myanmar Travel Bloggers Club and Tourism Myanmar