Optically real fascinating places .
From Mandalay just take a boat to cross the Irrawaddy River to Sagaing and Mingun and you are in pagoda and temple county. It is only about an hour ride and interesting cruise. There are several more sacred structures around which makes it a good day trip and it is definitely worth it.
The most famous building there is the "Mingun Pagoda" of King Bodawpaya he wanted to build the biggest pagoda on earth. This attempt was started in 1790 and never ended, supposed to get up to 150 m height but only reached about half of it and seven years later the King run out of money because of a continuous war with Arakan. Although some attempts were made to get the building process going again the final stop came with the big earthquake in 1838.
The Hsinbyume Pagoda (Myatheindan Temple) is one of the real beautiful structures, it was built in 1816 in memory of "Princess Hsinbyume". It means “White Elephant”, and the design symbolizes Mount Meru which is the sacred mountain in the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmology, it is considered to be the center of the physical and spiritual universe, read more.
It's a must see destination when on a trip to Mandalay, a truly impressive place showing a few things which makes the country real famous as a tourist destination. A good idea could be to hire a boat and cruise along the Irrawaddy River because almost all this shrines are along the river and have their own jetty which makes a great cruise. A even better idea is get a guide, there are many, and them do the whole stuff.
The Mingun Bell and Pagoda.
The ruler died in 1813 and left 122 children and 208 grand children he was a real hard working guy.
The area on the Sagaing Irrawaddy bank acts as a Buddhist open air museum, some people think this is something like a "Disneyland" and actually it looks like that considering all the pagodas, temples, shrines, etc. They have been built are in such a variety of shapes and sizes with an incredible wealth of colors available that it's really amazing.
Near the broken stupa is a larger monastery and the tour operators bring everyday tourist groups to watch the monks and novices as they come up for food. This space also acts as an orphanage and retirement home; it has a primary social function.
Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan is the biggest covered with gold from top to bottom. A important structure and one of the most venerated in the country. This is not just another pagoda that is a whole platform with more shrines and smaller temples, similar to the Shwedagon in Yangon, read more.
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is the most famous in the country. Every day pilgrim come from everywhere in the country and other countries to pay respect or are just curious what's up here and get a real surprise since this is huge, read more.
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