Magwe

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Day 16-January 26-Tuesday-This morning we set sail for Magwe. The Magwe Region is Myanmar’s 2nd largest of its seven regions located in the central part of the country. It is bordered by the Sagaing Region to the north, the Mandalay Region to the east, the Bago Region to the south, and the Rakhine and Chin States to the west. The capital is the city of Magwe. The majority of the population is Bamar, with very small numbers of other ethnicities. This region produces most of Myanmar’s natural gas and petroleum. Agriculture is also important, with the principal crops being rice, millet, maize, sunflowers, beans, tobacco, onions and potatoes.

At 3:15 this afternoon we took a bus tour that included a brief stop at General Aung San “Bogyoke” Statue for photos. He was very instrumental in Burma’s history, the forerunner for Burma’s democracy and the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the real-life hero of Myanmar’s democratic movement. He was assassinated in 1947.

Next we drove to the Mud Volcano in Minbu, the mythical home of fire breathing dragons living deep beneath the earth. There is a larger female and smaller male as seen in the photos. They rise up above the ground level and are filled with a cool thick gray lava-like substance and every few seconds there is a bubble or belching on the surface. Local legend calls for the offering of a glass of milk poured into the caldron to help tame and ward off the dragons. It appears that the belches may be caused by methane gas below the surface. Also got the chance to see a purple python on the way out and asked if we wanted to hold it.

Then we were off to the Myathalun Pagoda on the banks of the river for the views and sunset. King Saw Lu (1077-1084) of Bagan encapsulated the original pagoda and raised it to a height of 87 feet (26.5 m). In 1847, it was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt by the mayor of the town Min Din Min Hla Kyaw Gaung. The pagoda was rebuilt to the present height of approximately 104 feet It is very large complex. We had a fabulous sunset and got some great photos.

We had to scurry back to the ship and get changed as we had a 6:15 massage with Nan & Su Su…which was wonderful. After dinner, we went the lounge to see Part 1 of “The Lady”, a movie about Aung San Suu Kyi and her rise to prominence in the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar…Part 2 will be tomorrow night.

We moored overnight in Magwe.

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Photos

Field of sunflowers
On the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy as we approach Magwe.

Magwe
The small village as we approach.

Mud volcano
Covered path to the larger female volcano.

Dragon image
This is located on the way up to the female volcano.

Female volcano
It's a light gray lava looking substance that belches-up.

Male volcano
The covered path that leads to the smaller male.

Male volcano
The bubble/belch is visible. They periodically run over the edges creating this lava-like flow.

Milk
Said to be an offering to the dragon gods. They sell glasses of milk that one pours into the crater.

Smaller ones
They seem to be created by a build up of underground gases that releases as it comes to the surface.

Covered path
A couple from our group making their way back.

Beggars
There were little children and beggars along the path.

General Aung San
The father of their movement toward democracy. He is the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of todays' NLD, National League for Democracy. General Aung San was killed in 1948 by one of his enemies.

Lottery cart
This cart sells lottery tickets.

Myathalun Pagoda
Pagoda in Magwe.

Rules
Chart showing the rules when one enters a pagoda.

Myathalun Pagoda
This is a relatively large pagoda.

River view from pagoda
As many pagodas were built on high ground, this one nice views of the Ayeyarwaddy.

Birthday Buddha image
This serpent was Doug's image based on a Saturday day of birth.

Large platform area
Nice view of this pagoda.

Another view
This pagoda was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt to its present stature in 1847.

Worshippers
Several people worshipping at this beautiful pagoda.