Myanmar - Burma

Bagan	Bagan	Bagan	Bagan	Bagan
Bagan	Upali Thein	Thatbyinnyu	Sandamuni	Sandamuni
Sandamuni	Sandamuni	Gawdawpalin	Mandalay	Mandalay
Anisakan Falls	Anisakan Falls	Anisakan Falls	Cave	Cave
Cave	Cave	Cave	Cave	Pwe Kauk Falls

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bagan

Bagan, on the banks of the Ayerwaddy River , is home to the largest area of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world - many dating to the 11th and 12th centuries.
The shape and construction of each building is highly significant in Buddhism with each component part taking on spiritual meaning.
Bagan became a central powerbase of the mid 9th century King Anawratha who unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism. At one time, it's estimated that more than 13,000 temples and stupas once stood on this 42 sq km plain in central Myanmar . Today, approximately 2,200 remain today.
Once called Pagan, the city became a central powerbase under King Anawratha. Marco Polo once described Bagan as a "gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes".

Ananda, Bagan's holiest temple, was built by the third king, Kyan-zit-tha in 1091. Ananda comes from the Pali word 'anantapannya', which means 'boundless wisdom'. The temple houses four Buddhas facing the cardinal directions, which represent the four Buddhas who have attained Nirvana. The fifth, Maitreya, is yet to appear.

For an unparalleled view of the Bagan plain, you can take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise through a company called Balloons Over Bagan.

Half Price Hotels in Mandalay

Mandalay

Founded in 1857 by King Mindon, Mandalay was the last capital (1860-1885) of the independent Burmese Kingdom before it was annexed by the British in 1885. Unlike other Burmese towns, Mandalay did not grow from a smaller settlement to town proportions. Mandalay was set up in an empty area at the foot of Mandalay Hill because of a prophecy made by the Buddha that in that exact place a great city, metropolis of Buddhism, would come into existence on occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism.
King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on 13 January, A.D 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the Throne was celebrated in July, 1858 and the former royal city of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephant to the new location at Mandalay Hill. With the Ground-breaking ceremony, King Mindon laid the foundation of Mandalay on the 6th waning day of Kason, (A.D 1857). The King simultaneously laid the foundations of seven edifices: the royal city with the battlemented walls, the moat surrounding it, the Maha Lawka Marazein Stupa, the higher ordination hall named the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein, the Atumashi (the Incomparable) monastery, the Thudhama Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the library for the Buddhist scriptures. The whole royal city was called Lay Kyun Aung Mye (Victorious Land over the Four Islands) and the royal palace, the Mya Nan San Kyaw (The Royal Emerald Palace). The new kingdom was called the Kingdom of Yadanabon, along with other name Ratanapura, mean "The Bejeweled Site". It was finally renamed to Mandalay which is a derivative of the Pali word "Mandala", which means "a plains land" and also of the Pali word "Mandare", which means "an auspicious land."
Mandalay would be captured just 29 years later and the palace would become the British headquarters, known as Fort Dufferin, of Upper Burma.
During World War II, the Japanese, seeking to cut China's supply line, occupied Indochina. However, a new supply line via Burma had already been opened in January 1939. This Burma route went from Rangoon to Chungking via Mandalay, Lashio, Paoshan and Kungming. Tens of thousands of tons of war materiel reached the Chinese nationalists by this route, creating difficulties for the Japanese army, which became desperate to cut this supply line. Thus, Japan with the support of local nationalist groups such as the Burma Defense Army under their command invaded Burma and captured Mandalay on May 2, 1942. The fort which contained the palace was turned into a Japanese supply depot and was heavily bombed by the British prior to their liberation of the city in March 1945 as part of an overland operation to recapture the capital and port of Rangoon. In 1948, with the formation of the Union of Burma, the city became the capital of Mandalay Division

Hostels in Bagan and Mandalay (Myanmar)
New Park Hotel Thiripyitsaya Block 4 newparkhotel@myanmars.net Tel. 67-122 Bagan	Large Golden Pot   Ahnawrahta Rd Bagan
Royal Guest House 41,25th St. tel. 31-400 Mandalay	Ad-1 Hotel Eindawya Sintada St Tel. 34-505 Mandalay

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