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Burma or is
a prime travel destination if the target is to
experience culture, friendly people,
beautiful beaches,
a grandiose landscape, lush tropical jungle, river
cruise on one of Asia's most famous river, the
mighty Irrawaddy or Irrawaddy river. Burma
travel could mean trekking in the untouched
Burma Himalayas, exploring forgotten tribes like
the Burma Naga and Chin near the border to India
and many other.
Burma travel
could also turn to visiting the pristine Burma
island world of the Mergui or Myeik archipelago were
Salone or Moken sea gypsies still live in the old
times of the English colonial area.
Burma was shut away
for a long time in a corner of the earth
between the Himalayas, the ocean, and the mountain
jungle on the border to Thailand, now Burma is
open for travel.
The
kindred nations settled within the same natural confines,
one after another came under the sway of Burma or . They fought
among themselves and they traded among themselves ; the wars
and the commerce of the greater world beyond affected them
little.
The
result today is Burma travel has plenty of excitement to
offer, views, news and insights you have never dreamed
about, Burma travel is different to travel in other
countries, mainly in the positive meaning. Travel agents in
Burma are plenty.
There are many small travel agent in Burma / tour
operators dedicated to a certain market segment. Some of the biggest problems on travel in Burma is to travel outside the big cities
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Rangoon,
Mandalay
etc. by road since many roads are in a very
bad condition and not wide enough to let 2 vehicles passing each
other without problems. Using the airplane travel option
you can completely bypass this problem, but only one beach
is served via aircraft travel this is
Ngapali Beach in Tantwe, Rakhine State.Some exiting new
beach hotels in
Burma came up in recent years,
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Travel Burma Ngapali Beach Burma from the
Hotel Restaurant view

Travel Burma Ngapali Beach Burma and
Oxcart |
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Travel Burma Ngapali Beach Beauty
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Travel Burma Pristine Ngapali Beach
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Some
Burma pictures of the most famous beach in
Burma, Ngapali Beach on Burma's west coast,
northern part.
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but all travel to this beaches goes via road and this is
extremely time consuming
because of
the above mentioned problems. As usual this has a
other component, if you do Burma travel by road it will
give you a incredible experience about the countryside which
you wont get in any other way, in particular going towards
the west coast through Pathein - Bassein, to Ngwe Saung
Beach and Chaung Tha Beach, if you are out for the beach the
beach holiday segment is still growing strong.
The Great
Shwethalyaung Buddha and The Kyaikpun Buddha Burma Travel the Irrawaddy or Irrawaddy River
On the other side it's worth to
consider to rent a car with a driver - good cars with aircon
and driver - are available for about US$ 50,- per day and go
according to your plan. The driver will bring you anywhere
you like, don't try to do your Burma travel on your own by
renting a car and drive yourself. This way it very likely
will end into a unpleasant surprise since all traffic signs
outside the big cities are in Burma language only and you
will hardly find someone in the countryside you can talk in
English with. There is also almost no infrastructure if you have
any Burma travel problems either technical or health.
Since the driver is usually also the guide you will see all
the interested subject on your Burma travel you surely
would miss on your own etc. All
hotels have special
accommodation for the driver so you must not think about
this, he will handle his stuff and will be ready when you
need him. Have a look here on some basic information on
Burma or .
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Experience Burma Culture Travel by
exploring the marvelous ancient
pagoda and temple city of Bagan in
central Burma. Bagan is on a level
with the pyramids of Egypt and
culture of the Mayas and Aztecs in
central and south America.
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Burma Travel Bagan
Beside of being Burma's top
travel destination
Bagan is also highly reputed for Burma art and
architecture, sculpture and painting,
archaeological
findings and artifacts and is world-famous for
thousand and one
pagodas, stupas, cetis, religious
edifices and buildings. Suffice it to say that,
these cultural values can only be appreciated by a
personal visit there.
The Road to Mandalay or the river cruise is in fact,
a window to the beauty and wealth of Burma
Naingngan.

Travel Burma Bagan Pagoda Sunset Panorama |
Bagan, more or less on the east bank
of the mighty
Irrawaddy
- Irrawaddy River, was
the splendid capital
of the First
Burma Empire.Bagan is a must
see destination on any Burma travel journey.
Many pagodas and
temples are gone with the rain, earthquake,
driven away as dust in the wind of central Burma,
but there are still enough around to be a real
highlight of any south east Asia Burma travel
tour.
Bagan is now a 42 square
kilometer area dotted
with thousands of ancient pagodas, temples, shrines, ordination halls and
sacral monuments.
Bagan is one of the richest archaeological sites in
southeast
Asia with about 2230 monuments still standing and some 1000 in ruins and as
many s many as 600 disappeared into the
Irrawaddy
- Irrawaddy
during the summer flooding.
Originally about 4500
sacral monuments gave a unbelievable impression.
Today its easy to travel Burma, Bagan is accessible by air from Rangoon,
Mandalay or
Heho
(Taungyi) in an hour or less.
Bagan can also be
reached by road from Rangoon, Madalay and elsewhere,
from Rangoon it's a distance of around 683
kilometers.
Buses make the trip in about 16 hours or an adventurous traveler
can reduce the time by 2 hours by taking a car
provided
the traveller can take the stress and strain of travel on Burma roads.
About that time
the first historical conquest of the lower
Irrawaddy was effected.
From the fact that the country was
not permanently subdued it may be inferred that the power of
the Mon or Peguan people (later called Talaing).
The Mons, from the
affinities of their language, are conjectured to be of Annamitic origin. There is mention of the Pagan kingdom
independently of
the n chronicles, and there is above all the evidence
of the ruins of Pagan, probably the mightiest of
their kind. They testify to the power of the kingdom
and the influence of
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Travel Burma Bagan Pagoda Golden Dome
Travel Burma Bagan Pagodas late afternoon sun |
 
Travel Burma Bagan Pagodas and Oxcart
Travel Burma Bagan Oxcart
 
Travel Burma Pagoda Buddha
Travel Burma Bagan Gubyaukgyi Pagoda Window
 
Travel Burma Bagan River Boat Pagoda
Travel Burma Bagan get water from the river |
 
Travel Burma Portuguese Church at Syriam 17 th
Century Travel Burma Portuguese
Grave at
Syriam 17 th Century |
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the religion which actuated the kings to build temples on
such a scale.
In 300 A.D. the power of
the
Pagan - Bagan kingdom had spent itself,
in a great
degree owing, as the Burma's believe, to the drain of the
temple-building. But the force of the religion was unabated.
fell a prey to Shan invaders, who
snatched the
dominion for nearly two hundred years but failed to
consolidate it, splitting up into principalities like those
of their native hills. The
weakness
of allowed the Mon power to develop. The sixteenth
century saw the rise of Pegu - Bago and the establishment of
a shifting empire over . Exhausted.. by wars, Pegu -
Bago in turn declined and lay at the mercy of Siam ( Yodaya)
when Paung (Taung - ngu) came to the rescue. In the
seventeenth century the Peguan dynasty brought the Mutt
umpire to its zenith, from which it waned in the eighteenth.
Towards the middle of the latter century the Emmaus under
Alaiung Paya rose against the Mum garrisons, overthrew Pegu
and finally established the empire of
.
Arakan - Rakhine was incorporated, Siam was subjugated and made
tributary for a time. The empire directed its ambition to
the west. Manipur was overrun and the Arakanese pretensions
inn 1571 the country was in a state of chaos. High officials
plotted against King Mong Phaloung. Astrologers advised the
king to build the Htukkant Thein Temple with
the help of the plotters as well as
governors,
land-lords and common people. They acted according to a
saying common at that time, “when the city is worn, support
its ceiling.” The temple was built on a 70 metre by 80 metre
platform. The structure is built of stone
blocks with brick
pagodas on top of the hall and on the four corners.Inside
the temple there are two pavements with many images and
carvings picturing the various donors. It is a very
interesting collection of different costumes and ornaments.
Sixty four varieties of coiffure, forty different
head-dresses, twenty different bracelets, eighty-one rings,
sixteen types of pendant and various other body decorations
are a creative showcase.
The Shitethaung Temple
a great Burma travel destination
at Mraug-U or Myohaung at Arakan or Rakhine is a premier
Burma travel destination, also called the
Temple of Eighty Thousand Images, was erected in 1536. The
building was funded by a donation from King
Mong Ba Gree to
commemorate the victory over the twelve provinces of Bengal
and the Portuguese marauders who came to assault the
capital. The basic structure is a hall topped by a main
stupa surrounded by 26 smaller stupas. The temple is 53
metres long, 41 metres wide and 29 metres high. There are
several passage ways with galleries throughout the inner
temple. The temple is richly decorated with statues of
Buddha as well as images of the animals or persons which
Gautama Buddha occupied in his 550 previous lives. People in
native costumes with faded colours are shown wrestling,
boxing and dancing.
This beautiful
Burma travel landscape with
the Sakyamanaung pagoda in the centre is typical of the Mraunk U area.
The hills
and valleys are dotted with dozens of pagodas, temples and
lakes.
Burma travel could be extended all the way up to Chittagong
in Bangladesh as it was during the British power over India.
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A magnificent Burma travel
spot is the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, the pictures
here show the entrance to the pagoda platform during British
colonial times.

Travel Burma Rangoon Entrance Shwedagon Pagoda 18 th Century |

Travel Burma Rangoon Entrance
Shwedagon
Pagoda 18 th Century |
Burma
Travel, the
Irrawaddy (Irrawaddy)
River
is the lifeline
of the Burmese people. It springs forth from
the
Himalayas coming down to two rivulets,
Mae Kha and Mali Kha (Myitsone) in the
Kachin State, in the far north. It runs from
north to south and eventually emptying out
into the
Andaman Sea.
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Irrawaddy’s name has been curved in stone
inscriptions in the days of yore just as the
name
Burma is
mentioned in the same.
Irrawaddy has fed
Burma's
with food and sustenance and has
witnessed the water -

Travel Burma The Irrawaddy River 17th Century |

Travel Burma Irrawaddy River Freight
Sail Ship 17th Century |
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Travel Burma Irrawaddy River |
sheds
and landmarks of
Burma history all along
its colorful course.
The road from
Rangoon to
Mandalay is 693 km
long and is shorter than 935 km long river
way; and is longer than 617 km long
railway. The passage passes through
cultivated plains, green groves of trees and
glistening array of
pagodas and stupas.
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Burma Travel,
Bago
Rangoon to
Bago, formerly
called Pegu and
Hanthawaddy, which produces basic
crops. In Indakaw, there are rubber
plantations. The Kingdom of Hanthawaddy - Bago
was founded by two brothers, Thamala and
Wimala in the 9th century. In the 15th
century, only Burma Queen, Shin Saw Pu
reigned there.
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Travel Burma Bago Great
Shwethalyaung Buddha

Travel Burma Bago Lake Monastery |
She was noted for her renovation of
the
Shwedagon pagoda of Rangoon.
In the following
century, King Bayinnaung, founder of the
Second Burma Empire and Conqueror of Ten
Directions held his court and unified the
whole Burma nation.
Famous pagodas here
are Shwemawdaw, Shwethalyaung (Reclining
Buddha) Mahazedi, Kyaikpun and Kalyani Sima.
The most imposing palace built by the great
King Bayinnaung was Kanbawzathadi Palace,
which is now rebuilt as before.
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Burma
Travel,
Taungoo
This is another old
city on the Burma travel route , 200 km from
Bago. It bestirred nostalgic
memories of Natshinnaung, warrior poet whose love
for lovely Princess Yazadatukalyar knew no bounds. A
notable spot nearby is Thandaung, a hill resort.
Nearby is the Mawchi Mines which produces tin and
wolfram. Famous products here are bananas, tea and
coffee.
Burma Travel,
Pyinmana
near the new capital of
Naypyidaw
Beyond is the Yezin dam and a complex of
teaching institutes on agriculture, animal husbandry
and forestry.
Burma Travel,
Meikhtila
The rain is scarce here less than 125 cm a year.
There are no more paddy and rice fields but crops as
groundnuts, sesamum, beans and pulses are thriving
products. Meikhtila Lake is well-known and
prominent. There are songs eulogizing peace and
beauty of the lake.
There is a nursey rhyme which runs:
“ Please pick up a small frog from
Lake Meikhtila,
If you have caught one,
Kindly offer me a small creature
with pouting small eyes and thin body.”
Meikhtila’s location is strategic. It is the point
of access to the Shan State in the east, with
Taungyi, its capital, 170 km away. To the west lies
Kyaukpadaung, where there are oilfields and the
Ayeyawady valley.
Burma Travel,
Mandalay
From
Meikhtila to
Mandalay it stretches 152 km. Before
reach in Mandalay, one will come across Kyaukse, the
ancient home and granary of Burma agriculture, the
rice bowl of successive Burma Kingdoms. Here,
famous
Bagan King Anawrahta started to build his
First Burma Empire that lasted more than two
centuries.
It is too well known to dwell at length about
Mandalay, the royal capital of the last two Burma
Kings of Konbaung dynasty. It is the hub and
heartland of Burma culture, arts and crafts and
the seat of Theravada Buddhism. These culture
heritage still lingers.
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