A interesting day trip in the Mandalay region.
The road is ok, the bus works and there is even the railway link to Sagaing - Mandalay. The attraction almost every traveler come to have a look for is the Thambuddhe Temple in particular during the annual pagoda festival at Thadingyut (October) the place is overcrowded by tourists.
The town is reachable from Yangon either by car, a difficult and very long adventure with about
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| Monywa City |
There are almost no tourists coming to this part of the country although it is one of the most interesting in terms of culture and nature.
Also the proximity to the Indian border bring interesting impressions what's going on in this remote area which is rather not so remote by distance, its not far from Mandalay.
In the area is a mining project which about 20.000 tons of cathode copper output per year. The only more or less reasonable hotel is the budget level Monywa Hotel. This is a great exotic travel destination, it's not only the city itself with the marvelous pagoda and Buddha statues.
Here is the Thanboddhay Pagoda complex built in the 1940ties with two white elephants in front by the initiative of the abbot Mohnyin. The monk had a large group of follower and was quite famous at the time, read more.
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| Thanboddhay Pagoda Entrance |
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| Thanboddhay Pagoda and towers |
.jpg "Buddha statues at Monywa (1)")
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| Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park |
The main reason why many people come to the place usually from Mandalay are the two renowned temples and cave pagodas highly revered by Buddhist devotees and pilgrims not far away and the famous Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park and great wildlife reserves. The ideal place for a adventure trip with trekking, elephant ride, tiger and plenty of other wild animals watching, read more.
Other attractions are the Powintaung Cave Pagodas
.jpg "Powintaung Cave Pagodas") |
| Powintaung Cave Pagodas |
on the oposite side of the Chindwin river. The place reminds somehow to the antique town of Petra in Jordan, the main difference is here it is a Buddhist environment and there it rather looks like made by the old romans, read more.
The city is the gateway to the Chindwin river
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| Chindwin River |
a tributary of the Irrawaddy, 65 miles (105 km) west of Sagaing and Mandalay. It is a hub for up country trade and all agricultural products pass through the city. It is also the main route of commerce through India-Myanmar Border trade, read more.
Thanks to the Chindwin River which becomes a tributary to Irrawaddy further south east that is a fertile region producing, among other. cotton, sesame, peanuts and other. The blankets made from the cotton are well known in the country.
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| Naga people in Chin State |
Further to the north west is Chin state with two of the most interesting ethnic groups, the Chin and the Naga. Rakhine or Arakan follows to the west and to the north west is Bangladesh and India. This is one of the most attractive parts of the country because there is a incredible blend of things to see, read more.
The mountains where this two groups with several dozen subgroups live are real adventure travel and the people are like coming from a fairy tale, in a positive meaning.
Great Buddhist pagodas look a bit like Jordan's Petra actually the whole place here is bigger.
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