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Monywa 004
Changin River at MonywaA few days in Monywa gave us the opportunity to see the daily life of Myanmar citizens as well as check out some interesting religious/tourist sights. The first night in Monywa we went for a nice stroll down Strand Rd alongside the Chindwin River. Despite the dusty walk it was still a really nice sunset. We finished off the night having a creamy bowl of real ice-cream at the "Cold Drinks Shop" near the glowing gold Shweaigon Paya in front of us. The next day we spent the morning walking around the market and hired a tuk-tuk for the afternoon to the Standing Buddha and to different Payas along the way and to simply relax and enjoy the scenery.
Only one word is needed to describe the 423ft Standing Buddha, MASSIVE! It is a brand new giant statue set near the top of a hill that overlooks the surrounding plateau. It was odd to see it there as we passed by it on the highway, so we thought we would have a look. When we arrived we were determined to hike to the top but at the 21st floor it was gated. Each floor consists of Buddha images, statues and
wall paintings in different colours and styles. It's still under construction and workers were working on the sculptures and murals inside as well as finishing up the construction around the base. Many of the finished wall paintings we did see, interestingly enough were gruesome depictions of hell.
On our way to the 9000 Buddha trees, we passed even more massive Buddhas under construction. Just a short drive away were several acres of trees lined with Buddha statues. We spotted a tower to look down at the landscape and in behind the massive standing Buddha towered over everything.
Next we stopped at a Paya that was supposed to contain over 400,000 buddha images. We were too late to go inside but we could see lots of small statues placed around the building. The roof was decorated by beautiful gold spires. The view was amazing from a nearby tower but it was a male only tower which was a bummer. Just across the road was the grounds of a decaying old monastery or paya with a different style pagoda covered with mirrors. The grounds were bare but had big shady trees. In one corner a group of guys had set
up a field to play football between the tree trunks. It was really picturesque but more importantly a shady spot to play.
We finished off the afternoon with a nice drive back to town watching people cycling home from the city or lounging with their families in front of their houses. For dinner we enjoyed a bowl of delicious noodles at a shop we visited a few times over the course of our stay. Later, Geoff was craving a cup of milk tea and a plate of plata and bai (deepfried sweet bread and beans). So we sat to discuss our plan for the next day. When we were looking for seats a young man, his name Si-tu, invited us to sit with him. He explained he was recently a graduate from the Monya University, an English student but now he worked as a tutor. It was really nice to talk to Si Tu, he told us about his life in Myanmar and he also shared with us his dreams. He said he was happy to practise his English with us. It was pretty funny when he started using old cliches and sayings that he said he had been
learning from a book of English idioms he got recently. When Si Tu was not teaching he said he loves reading and learning about different countries by guiding tourists. We accepted him as our guide to take us by trishaw to the the Hpo Win Caves the next day.
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soe myint
non-member comment
Thank you for your blog on Monywa
Hello there I thank you very much for your photos of Boditataung and its neighbourhood.I was born there many years ago and these photos remind me of my days as a small boy in the village.The small hills in the background are where I worked as a sheppard boy looking after the goats my parents raised for their livelihood. My father was a school teacher and my mother was selling foods and other paraphenalia which she carried on her head.The monk who build all these buddha statutes was my uncle on my father's side and the reverend monk passed away 2 years ago. I hope I will see you in your next visit to Monywa.