Bago as seen from the bridge over the railroad. The magnificent stupa of the
114 m high Shwemandaw Paya dominates the town.
We rented a moped, a wonderful means of transport in this dusty town.
The daily parade of the monks to collect their breakfast / lunch (must be eaten before 11:00 am).
The symbol of Bago is the femal "hamsa", a mythological bird standing on the back of a male hamsa.
The fine architecture of the Shwemandaw Paya in Bago, and its surrounding square.
The white marble is nice for your bare feet.
The hti that toppled at the earthquake of 1917 is still in place, and has become a separate object for devotion.
Trees at these Buddhist payas are cut in a characteristic fashion. A piece of watermelon tastes wonderful in such a setting!
Female monks are dressed in pink, with orange shoulder straps.
The covered walkway towards the Kanbawzathadi Palace.
Another view of the covered walkway.
The crew in the kitchen of the Kha Khat Wain Kyaung monastery. Feeding the hundreds of monks needs loads of onions, chicken and rice.
Have you ever chopped garlic by the kilos?
Taking the bones out of the chicken meat.
Like anywhere, the cooking is done on wood fire.
Tea pots waiting for the daily afternoon tea in the common dining room.
A flock of monks leaving the Maha Kalyani Sima monastery for the daily gathering of food and offerings.
The start of the steep mountain road to the Golden Rock at Kyaikto. We arrived from Bago by taxi (3 hours drive), the tour to the beginning of the Pilgrim's Road to the top is by truck.
Waiting while the money is collected from all passengers.
A steep and winding road ...
Hetty took this luxury, as you encounter this only once in your lifetime ..., Bart did it later for the second half of the track ...
The real Golden Rock is in the background.
The Golden Rock is one of the most important and heavily visited pilgrimage areas in Myanmar.
Covered with gold leaf, delicately balancing for over centuries now.
The usual type of offering is a banknote in one of the glass containers in the hall on the main square.
View from the main square to the complex surrounding the Golden Rock.
Sunset on the way back. At any time in Myanmar there is a stupa at the horizon.
The entrance to the Maha Kalyani Sima Paya.
The biggest lying Buddha of all: the Shwethalyaung Buddha in Bago. Still under construction.
Note the size of the worker on his left hand.
The 108 symbols of Buddhism on his foot soles.
More lying Buddhas, a specialty of Bago. This is the Kyinigan Kyaung lying Buddha.
Bookshops are a shame, old worn-out photocopies of teenager level literature and a complete lack of modern information influx.
Hetty has just been plastered with powder of the Thanakha tree, and caught immediately much attention.
A Myanmar make-up store with Thanakha wood, grinder plates and pestles.
To Inle Lake (by bus, 17.5 hours).