MON STATE:
Mon State stands along the upper part of the
Tanintharyi coastal strip. The total area is 4,747
square miles. There are islands, hills, equatorial
forests, crop land and plantations. Mawlamyine, the
third largest city in Myanmar, is the capital of Mon
State. The famous Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda is located north of
Kyaikhto. Thaton is the capital of ancient Mon Kingdom,
much earlier than Bagan. There are many beautiful sea
resorts such as Kyaikkami and Setse. There is a War
Memorial in Thanbyuzayat, connected with the Bridge on
the River Kwai.
How to get there:
Mawlamyine is accessible by train or car from Yangon. As
regards road and railways, the railroad starts from
Yangon. It goes on from Mawlamyine to Yay while the
motor road goes on beyond the boundary of Mon State
right down to Myeik. Heading towards the eastern border
with Thailand, there are two routes. The first is the
Mawlamyine-Kawkareik-Myawady-Maesot route and the second
the Three Pagodas route starting from Thanbyuzayat. |
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KYAIKHTIYO:
The famous legendary Pagoda on the Golden Rock about 160
Km from Yangon and 11 km of hiking from the base camp at
Kyaikhto. This pagoda is situated on a rocky mountain
3615 ft above sea level. The Kyaikhtiyo pagoda is one of
the most ancient and celebrated of all pagodas in
Myanmar. It is situated in the vicinity of Kyaikhto
township, Thaton district. The pagoda is said to have
been built during the life-time of the Buddha over 2400
years ago.Before, it was a rare place which was very hard to
reach. Nowadays, there are many more convenient
transportations and Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda can be accessible
easily. There are also convenient accommodations for
visitors.
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Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda |
THATON:
In the early centuries of the Christian era the Mons
were settled in the region between the Sittaung and
Salween (Thanlwin) rivers which was known as the Mon
kingdom of Ramanyadesa. Thaton, the seat of this kingdom
was also known as Suvannabhumi or the Golden Land, which
also applies to the whole region of continental
south-east Asia around the Bay of Bengal. Doubtless
Thaton was flourishing port in ancient and there was
constant intercourse between Southern India and the
region around Thaton and Pegu (Bago). The old city of
Thaton appears to have built on a quadrangular plan like
the more modern cities of Amarapura and Mandalay. There
are two ramparts in a rectangular shape and the moat
lies between the two walls, which are faced with
laterite stones. As the present town is developed within
the old city the remains of the inner city are no more
visible. The chief pagodas are situated between the
palace site and the south wall.
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What to see:
Shwezayan Pagoda:
The Shwezayan pagoda is said to have been built in the
5th century B.C. It has been built over and has now
assumed a modern shape with a circular base and a
bell-shaped superstructure. Within the precincts of the
Shwezayan pagoda were found seven inscribed stones, five
in early Mon of 11th century, one medieval and the
seventh illegible. Among the stone sculptures collected
in the same building is a figure of standing Buddha
depicted in relief on a sandstone slab.
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Shwezayan Pagoda |
Kyaikhtee Saung Pagoda (An ancient Laterite Stone
Pagoda):
Is one of the earliest hair relic pagodas in Mon State.
Kyaikhtee Saung Pagoda is located on the Laterite Stone
hillock. The hillock itself is formed by laying the
laterite stones on top of one another forming a big
square gradually grind up keeping the form but reducing
the size of square intact until it reaches the top
platform. At 1971 the monk U Pyinnyadipa (Now, he is the
abbot of the monastery and famous as Kyaikhtee Saung
Sayadaw) has arrived back his native village Zoke Thoke.
He himself found the old pagoda under the huge bushes.
He organized his disciples and villagers to clear the
bushes. Then he rebuilt and renovated the old pagoda and
old laterite hillock. Now, the Kyaikhtee Saung Golden
Pagoda has appeared surrounded by the new buildings for
the religious purposes.
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Kyaikhtee Saung Pagoda |
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Mawlamyine (or Moulmein) is the capital of the Mon
State. It is also the third largest city in the country,
after Yangon and Mandalay. It has a population of about
240,000. Mawlamyine is an ancient Mon town. The name
according to the legend comes from Mot-Mua-Lum, meaning
"one eye destroyed". In this legend an ancient king had
three eyes, the third eye in the centre of the fore-head
having the power of seeing what was going on in
surrounding kingdoms. The King of a neighbouring country
gave his daughter in marriage to the three-eyed king,
and this queen was eventually able to destroy the
all-seeing third eye.
The atmosphere of post colonial decay is still palpable
here. It’s also an attractive and tropical town with a
ride of stupa-capped hills on one side and the sea on
the other side. Mawlamyine was the capital of British
Burmese from 1827 to 1852, during which time it was a
major teak port.
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Mawlamyine |
What to see:
Mon Cultural Museum:
Is a two storey building dedicated to the Mon
history of the region. Exhibits are displayed downstairs
while reading rooms are upstairs. The modest collection
of the museum includes scales with Mon inscriptions,
hundred year old sculptures of wood, ceramics, thanaka
grinding stones, silver betel boxes, an English language
letter dated 22 December 1945 from Bogyoke Aung San to
Mo Chit Hlaing, a famous Mon leader laquerware and
folding manuscripts. In front of the museum you can see
a British cannon dated 1826 and a huge Myanmar gong.
Most labels are in Myanmar on although some are in
English.
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Kyaik-Than-lan Pagoda:
Three famous pagodas adorn the Mawlamyine Ridge. The
Kyaik-thanlan pagoda was erected in 875 A.D. during the
reign of King Mutpi Raja. A hair relic of the Buddha,
Tripitaka manuscripts and gold images of the Buddha were
enshrined in the pagoda. Successive kings raised the
pagoda higher, from 56 feet to the present 150 feet. The
present base of the pagoda is 450 feet in circumference.
There are 34 small pagodas called Zediyan surrounding
the pagoda. A lift has now been installed for easy
access. Kyaik in Mon language means a Cedi or Stupa The
pagoda was repaired by King Anawrahta, founder of the
Bagan Dynasty, and later enlarged by Mon kings,
especially King Wagaru of Mottama in 1538 A.D. On the
Platform can be seen a big bell with a medieval Mon
inscription and also another bell with a quaint
inscription in English, dated 30th March 1885: " This
bell made by Koonalenga, the priest, and weight 500 viss.
No one body design to destroy this bell." There is also
a memorial to the famous Thingaza Sayadaw who passed
away in Mawlamyine in 1900.
Kyaik-than-lan was the pagoda that the famous English
poet Rudyard kipling wrote about in his poem "Mandalay"
which opens with the line: By the old Moulmein Pagoda,
lookin lazy at the sea".
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Kyaik-Than-lan Pagoda
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U Zina Pagoda:
This pagoda is named after a person called U Zina, but
no one really knows who he was. Some say that U Zina was
a sage who lived at the time of king Asoka, and that U
Zina was just a villager who while collecting shoots on
the hill where the pagoda now stands, found a pot of
gold buried in a bamboo grove. The villager and his wife
became rich and built this pagoda on the hill which gave
up its treasure to them. The old Mon name for this
pagoda is Kyaikpatan, named after the white hill on
which it stands. Legend says it was first built in the
3rd century B.C.
There is a record that u lugalay and his wife Daw Mi
rebuilt the pagoda in 1832. They were buried near a
water tank to the north of this pagoda. Soon after the
annexation 1886 the pagoda was rebuilt by U Moe and his
wife Daw Nyein to the present height of 112 feet. Their
stone inscription can still be seen on the platform.
There is a reclining Buddha Image. Visitors should also
see the four life-like figures, a decrepit old man
leaning on a staff, a man suffering from a loathsome
disease, a putrid corpse and finally a monk in yellow
robes free from all worldly cares. These four figures
represent the four signs that made Lord Buddha leave the
palace for the life of a religious recluse.
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Mahamuni Pagoda:
This is a replica of the Maha Muni Image at Mandalay.
The Seindon Mibaya-gyi, a prominent Queen of King Mindon
from Mandalay, went to live in Mawlamyine after the
Annexation. She and other members of the Myanmar Royal
Family who were in Mawlamyine, felt a great longing to
pay homage to the Maha Muni Image, and they arranged for
a replica to be made in 1904. The building of this
Pagoda was led by Sayadaw Waziya-yama, a prominent
Buddhist monk, and Daw Shwe Bwin of Mawlamyine. The
great image made in Mandalay was brought to Naga-with a
Hill on the Mawlamyine Ridge,where a large building, a
Gandakudi Taik, was erected to house it. The nearby
monastery named after its donor, the Seindon Mibaya
kyaung has some excellent wood-carvings which are over a
hundred years old. |
Mahamuni Pagoda |
Gaungsay Kyun:
Gaungse Kyun meaning Head Wash Island in Myanmar. This
beautiful little islet off Mawlamyine’s north-western
end is a good picnic spot. The islet was named Head Wash
Island because the yearly royal hair washing ceremony
during the Inwa (Ava) period, used the water taken from
a spring on the island. It was believed to be named
during the 19th century. You can take a stroll around
and visit the Sandawshin pagoda, a whitewash and silver
pagoda enshrining hair relics of the Buddha, and a
Buddhist meditation centre by the pagoda. It is famous
for the hair washing ceremonies. |
Gaungsay Kyun |
MUDON:
Mudon 29 km south of Mawlamyine is well known for
cotton weaving. The mountains to the east are a source
of jungle food-deer, snake and other wild forest species
for restaurants in Mudon itself. Just north of Mudon is
Ayin Dam, a water storage and flood control facility
that's also used to irrigate local rubber plantations.
Kangdawgyi Lake is a tip-top picnic spot for locals. At
the northern end of the lake stands, Kangdawgyi Pagoda
named after the lake.
The world's largest reclining Buddha Image is under
construction at Win Sein Taw Ya Forest, situated 29 km
south of Mawlamyine. The Buddha Image is named as
Zinathuka Yan Aung Chantha, which has a length of 400
feet (= 180 m) and a height of 110 feet (nearly 34 m).
Inside the image are 182 rooms on 8 stories. Near to the
Buddha Image are 200 standing monks collecting alms.
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Zinathuka Yan Aung Chantha |
KYAIKKAMI YELE PAGODA:
Located 9 kms northeast of Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikkami was a
small coastal resort and missionary center known as
Amherst during the British era. The main focus of
Kyaikkami is Yele Paya, a metal-roofed Buddhist shrine
complex perched over the sea and reached via a long
two-level causeway; the tower level is submerged during
high tide. Along with 11 Buddha hair relics, the shrine
chamber beneath Yele Paya reportedly contains a Buddha
image that supposedly floated here on a raft from Sri
Lanka in ancient times. Other attractions here are the
colonial administrative buildings that are nearly 100
years old.
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Kyaikkami Yele Pagoda |
KYAIKMARAW PAGODA:
Located 24 km south east of Mawlamyine. The main Buddha
image sits in the position of the legs hanging down as
if sitting on a chair. It is accessible via a sealed
road. Many Muslim and Hindu communities live along the
picturesque road. Kyaikmaraw Pagoda was the temple built
by Queen Shin Saw Pu in 1455 in the late Mon regional
style. The temple is famous for the Buddha which is
sitting in the "western manner." The temple is also well
known for its hundreds of beautiful glazed tiles. |
Kyaikmaraw Pagoda
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THANBYUZAYAT:
Thanbyuzayat - or “tin shelter” is 30 km south of
Mawlamyine. It was the western terminus of the infamous
Burma-Siam Railway, dubbed the ”death railway” by the
thousands of Allied prisoners of war (and Asians who
were forced by the Japanese military to build it. A
kilometer west of the clock tower in the direction of
Kyaikkami lies the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, which
contains 3,771 graves of Allied prisoners of war who
died building the railway.
Most of those buried were British, but there are also
markers for American, Dutch, and Australian soldiers.
Other places that record the historic events at this
town are Japanese-built temples and a small museum with
a locomotive, which marks the beginning of the "death
railway." Two miles outside the town is the ancient city
of Waguru (13th century). The walls are still plainly
visible and the view from the hilltop is wonderful.
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Thanbyuzayat
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SETSE BEACH:
Lies 24 km south of Kyaikkami and 16 km south-west
of Thanbyuzayut. It is a very wide, brown-sand beach
that tends toward tidal flats when the shallow surf-line
recedes at low tide. The beach is lined by waving
casuarinas trees. Vendors sell fresh young coconuts full
of juice, and restaurants serve seafood. It is one of
the noted beaches in Myanmar. |
Setse Beach |
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