Mrauk U Pagodas and Sightseeing
One of the warnings given to us from Diethelm before visiting Mrauk U was...a trip to Mrauk U must be regarded as an adventure tour because of...simple accommodation with infrequent electricity supply, bad roads, vehicles with NO air conditioning and of mediocre or poor quality, erratic supply of public and private boats, etc....None of this really applied to Mrauk U. The Nawarat Hotel was comfortable, their food was good and one evening we had dinner at the Vesali Resort Hotel, a very small but pretty guesthouse with good food (e-mail: vesali@myanmar.com.mm). Take a look at the Myanmar Travel Information site for extremely detailed information on Mrauk U and other destinations within Myanmar.
Mrauk-U has over 30 monasteries, 1,000 monks and novices and probably upwards of 3,000 Buddha statues. This is the only place you will see stupas with labyrinths (or mazes) in them.
The best preserved Pagoda in Mrauk U and home to 80,000 holy Buddha images is Shittaung. ...View image...There are 33 smaller ones, that rise from platform to platform around the large central stupa, similar in style to Indonesia's Borobudur. (We haven't seen Borobudur and will take their word for it.) The inside was a maze of interior passages with different reliefs and Buddha images in niches.
Some of the many other important Pagodas were Andaw Pagoda, an eight-sided monument, of pure sandstone with two internal concentric passages. Inside the labryinths, were wall after wall with intricately decorated figures, many with the original colors still on them. ...View image...Another tourist inside with us must have taken hundreds of photos of each and every figure. (I settled for just taking a few of them.)
Laungbankpyauk Pagoda is known as the "plate pagoda" because a wall in front was embedded with plate like tiles in bright colors.
Still another Pagoda, Koe Thaung Pagoda...View image...was my favorite and one of the most interesting and beautiful Pagodas we'd ever seen...
In between Pagoda viewing, we found one little shop opposite Stupa selling a limited amount of items, the one and only "souvenir"shop we found, both in Sittwe and Mrauk U. After a little browsing, I brought a coin and little circle belt from the Chin Tribe. The coins are dated 1963 (there are no more coins in Myanmar) separated by little aluminum circles with a bronze coating. The design - tiny rings, separators and coins in one belt for $20....View image...was a bargain for a unique souvenir.
Back to our hotel for lunch and out again...past the local bus stop...bicycle taxis and more people carrying huge baskets of cabbages on their heads...View image...
and just one more Buddha image....amazing...
