Kanbawzathadi Palace and Kyaikpun Pagoda.

The Great Audience Hall inside Kanbawzathadi Palace.

Before arriving back into Yangon, we stopped in the city of Bago to see two sights - the Kanbawzathadi Palace and Kyaikpun Pagoda. We went to visit the palace first.

Weird And a Bit Creepy. The Snake Pagoda.

While Kawgun Cave was the highlight of my trip to Myanmar, this place was one of the low lights.  I was not looking forward to the visit but off the beaten path sightseeing in Myanmar continued!
 

A Hidden Gem. Kawgun Cave.

Of all the places I've been to in Myanmar, on this trip, Kawgun Cave was my hands down favorite. This is truly a gem of a temple. It's not on the usual tourist path so we were the only non-locals here which made for a very enjoyable experience - we could easily walk around and take photos without a million people messing up the view and.....it was quiet which lets you get lost in your own head space.  Above all, the place is visually stunning. 

A Giant Reclining Buddha and Kyauk Kalat Pagoda.

 Kyauk Kalat Pagoda.

Today was our roadtrip back to Yangon and all along the way, Spring took us to see sights. It was a full day and we were exhausted by the time we arrived back into Yangon!

March of the Monks.

Leaving Mawlamyine this morning, we drove by a procession of monks.  We had the driver do a U-turn and stop the car well ahead of the first monk.  We quickly scrambled out of the car and waited for the line of monks to approach us.

Kyaik-than-lan Pagoda & Mahamuni Paya.

Kyaik-than-lan Pagoda.

Kyaik-than-lan Pagoda  was erected in 875 A.D. during the reign of King Mutpi Raja.  *Kyaik* means "stupa" in the Mon  language.  The pagoda stands on a ridge, giving a panoramic view of the city and the Thanlwin River and is surrounded by 34 smaller temples.  It is believed that among its sacred treasures is a hair relic of Buddha well as a tooth relic conveyed from Sri Lanka by a delegation of monks.  Tripitaka manuscripts and gold images of the Buddha are also enshrined here.

To Mawlamyine!

At Uzina Pagoda in Mawlamyine.

Today, we left Yangon for Mawlamyine ("Maw-lay-me-yang"). We checked out of the hotel and took our suitcases downstairs where our driver was already waiting for us. But, Spring was nowhere in sight. Apparently, he lives in a neighborhood very near the airport and we'll be driving past it to Mawlamyine so we'll be picking him up on the way.

Back to Shwedagon.

We ended our one and only day in Yangon the same way we started it - at Shwedagon Pagoda. I convinced the other two to take a taxi for the short ride from the hotel. Spring had told us that it was worth a return trip to see the place at night as more people come to visit after dark. Our entry ticket was good for the day.

A Day in Yangon. Part 2.

The giant reclining Buddha at Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda.

Sring was on a mission to show us as much of Yangon as he could in one day. It's exhausting rushing around in this heat but I really appreciate what he's doing. Today is our one and only day in the city so we have to make the most of it.

A Day in Yangon. Part 1.

Inside the golden stupa at Botataung Pagoda.

We spent a couple of hours this morning visiting Shwedagon Pagoda.  What an amazing place! After that, we spent the rest of today taking in the other sights of Yangon.  I hadn't done any pre-trip reading on Yangon so I had no idea what we would be seeing today.  In hindsight, there really isn't much to see in Yangon other than Shwedagon.  So for planning purposes, you really don't need more than one full day here.

The Incomparable Shwedagon Pagoda.

We arrived into Yangon yesterday afternoon. Our guide, who told us to just call him *Spring* because that's what his Burmese name translates to in English, was there to greet us.  Before taking us to our hotel, Spring took us to the office of One Stop Travels & Tours.  There was a change to our itinerary that needed to be discussed with us.

Last Views. Nyaung Shwe Five Day Market & Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery.

Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery.

Happy Leap Year day! We made our way from Nyaung Shwe to Yangon today. The nearest airport to Nyaung Shwe is the same one in Heho that we had arrived at from Bagan a few days ago. On the way to the airport, we made a quick stop at the 5 Day Market in Nyaung Shwe.  The market is called the 5 Day Market because the between 5 different locations over a 5 day period. Today, it just so happened that today was Nyaung Shwe's day to host the market. How lucky are we?

Pagodas of Inle Lake. Hpaung Daw U, Aung Mingalar, Shwe Inn Tain & Nyaung Ohak.

Original Publish Date: February 28, 2016.

In between visiting more village workshops, we also managed to squeeze in time to visit three pagodas - Hpaung Daw U, Aung Mingalar, & Shwe Inn Tain. We arrived to all three by boat. It's been a fun day cruising on the water!

The Art of Rolling Cigarettes.

We ended our morning today with lunch at a place called the Eyeful Lake Restaurant which serves traditional Burmese dishes to tourists.  We headed right there after a quick stop at a local foundry.

Weaving on Inle Lake.

From the Jumping Cat Monastery, we headed by boat to our next destination. The first part of our boat ride took us back past the floating gardens that we had seen earlier in the morning.   We then entered into an area that I would describe as a more *urban* area, if you will.  It was as if we had left the countryside and were arriving into a small village.  Lots of larger structures, all on stilts.  I think most were homes but there were stores and restaurants as well.  It made me wonder what the school looks like.

Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery. The Jumping Cat Monastery.

Nga Phe Kyaung is a wooden monastery built on stilts.  Built in the 1850's, it's both the oldest and  largest monastery in Inle Lake.  Locals nicknamed it the Jumping Cat Monastery because in the past, monks had trained a few cats to leap through small hoops primarily to entertain tourists.   The cat jumping through hoops practice ended some years back because either the new head monk did not approve of the practice or the monks stopped because of negative foreign press.  Whatever the real reason is, I only saw one cat today and that was on the way out of the monastery.

Life on Inle Lake. Fisherman and Floating Gardens.

Today was full of very interesting sights. It was our opportunity to see how the Intha people live and work and how Inle Lake sustains them.  We really enjoyed ourselves.

By Boat to Nyaung Shwe. First Views of Inle Lake.

Lunch was a very short affair. I think given our slow walking pace, we arrived into Tone Lé, much later than Aung had planned for. Good news was that we at least made it :-)

Day 2 of Our Trek to Inle Lake.

Still in great spirits after an hour long hike in the rain.  Our shoes were caked with red mud!

N othing is better than a restful night's sleep.   While we slept on the floor last night, the mattresses were just thick enough to give us comfort and there were enough blankets to keep us warm.  I was awake before the other two.  First thing I did was peek out the window.  It was a foggy morning and there was a bit of damp chill in the air.  We have another 20 kilometer walk ahead of us and as far as I was concerned, a cool, cloudy day makes for good walking weather.

Trek From Kalaw to Inle Lake. Day 1. Part 2.

After our village lunch, we, we continued our foot journey through the Kalaw countryside.  At one point, Bro asked Aung how we were doing.  Aung, being the honest Burmese, told us that we were the slowest, yes THE slowest group, that he had ever led on a trek. That gave all of us the biggest laugh!!  Too funny.