Monywa
Monywa is a city in central Myanmar and situated
on the eastern bank of the Chindwin Rive, Mandalay
Division. It lies 136 km north-west of Mandalay
along the Mandalay-Budalin branch railway line.
Monywa serves as a major trade center for India and
Burma through Kalay Myo road and Chindwin river.
The name Monywa comes from "Mon" meaning "cake or
snack food" and "Ywa" which is the Myanmar word for
village. There is a legend which says that in the
old days a Myanmar king fell in love with a seller
of cakes from this town and made her his queen. The
original name some say, is Mon - thema- ywa or "
Village of the woman cake seller". There has been a
big village at Monywa from the Bagan Period. The
classical name for Monywa is Thalawadi. The
chronicles mention that Monywa was one of the places
where King Alaungphayar encamped for the night on
his campaign to Manipur in 1758. During the Myanmar
kings' time Monywa remained just a big village as
the administrative centre for the region was at
Ahlon. It was only a year after the Annexation of
1886 that Monywa became the Headquarters of the
Lower Chindwin District. In the last few years with
the legalizing of the border trade with India,
Monywa has grown into a bustling trading.
Monywa Town
In Monywa town, there are busy markets, popular
restuarants, a Degree College affiliated to Mandalay
University, a Technical High School, and soon there
will be an Institute of Economics, the second after
the one in Yangon.
Monywa Hotel, now privatised, has comfortable
four-room bungalows with attached amenities, all
air-conditioned. centre, second only to Mandalay in
the Upper Myanmar region.
If you are travelling to Monwya by car you should
stop about 20 kilometres before you reach the town
to visit this most unusual Buddhist temple complex
on 37 acres of land which is part of the Mohnyin
Forest Monastery retreat. The pagoda was started on
20th June 1939 and completed on 2nd March 1952.It
was the brain-child of the famous Mohnyin Sayadaw
whose life-like effigy can be seen nearby.
If you can go at the beginning of the Myanmar
month of Tazaungmone ( usually around November), you
can see the annual pagoda festival, which goes on
for several days when the villagers from all around
come to enjoy the music and dancing, and buy from
the various stalls set up by sellers from all over
the country.
Travel Tips
Entrance fee is US$3.
Interesting Places
Thanboddhay Pagoda
If you are travelling to Monwya by car you should
stop about 20 kilometres before you reach the town
to visit this most unusual Buddhist temple complex
on 37 acres of land which is part of the Mohnyin
Forest Monastery retreat. The pagoda was started on
20th June 1939 and completed on 2nd March 1952.It
was the brain-child of the famous Mohnyin Sayadaw
whose life-like effigy can be seen nearby.
 Some
visitors say that this Pagoda reminds them of
Borobodur, as it is similar in architectural design.
Unlike Borobodur this is a modern place of worship,
well maintained, and with interesting samples of
modern Buddhist art. There are many different Buddha
images, row upon row in ascending tiers in niches
along the walls: the total number is 582, 257, an
amazing figure! Unlike most of the pagodas in
Myanmar, the entrance is not guarded by Chinthes,
the mythical lions, but by statues of a pair of
magnificant white elephants which are sacred and
auspicious in Buddhist symbolism.
Thanboddhay is the only pagoda with this unique
shape in the whole country. The square temple base
(each side about 166 feet) which worshippers can
enter is topped by receding terraces, with myriads
of small stupas (864 in number) surrounding the
central golden chedi, 132 feet in height.
Tourists can study and take photos of the twenty
tagunda ing,
huge decorated pillars, and also big masonary fruits
in the shape of bunches of bananas and coconuts,
water melon, mangos, jackfruits, papaya and so on .
These fruits are also objects of veneration for the
local farmers.
If you can go at the beginning of the Myanmar
month of Tazaungmone ( usually around November), you
can see the annual pagoda festival, which goes on
for several days when the villagers from all around
come to enjoy the music and dancing, and buy from
the various stalls set up by sellers from all over
the country.
Travel Tips
Entrance Fees : US$3
Bodhi Tahtaung and Po Khaung Taung
From Thanboddhay Pagoda you can go by car about
five m iles
along a good branch road to Po Khaung Taung, a small
range of hills in the Monywa area. There you will
see more unusual sights not found in other parts of
Myanmar.
First you should stop for a while in the fast
growing forest of one thousand Bodhi trees (Ficus
religiosa); this Bo or pipal tree is sacred to all
Buddhists because Gaudama Buddha attained
Enlightenment while meditating under this tree.
A much venerated Sayadaw now popularly known as
the Bodhi Tahtaung Sayadaw who can make your wishes
come true, first started planting this forest grove
about two decades ago. Each tree has a large Buddha
image underneath, and many Buddhist come to pay
obseisance there. It is a pleasant, peaceful place,
filled with the song of birds, in a protected
environment where nature and men are in perfect
harmony.
Just beyond Bodhi Tahtaung, a short stroll
towards the east will bring you to the Po Khaung
Taung, a range of hills where you can see one of the
largest reclining Buddha images in the world.
Measuring 300 ft in length it is even bigger than
the colossal Shwethalyaung reclining Buddha image in
Bago (Pegu) which has a length of 180 ft. only. The
head is 60 ft. in height. It was only built in 1991
and up to now there is still no roof or shelter to
protect it from the elements.
This huge image has a hollow cave-like structure
inside and you can walk from the head to the feet.
You will then see inside 9,000 one foot high metal
images of the Buddha and his disciples in various
postures. There are also representations of some of
the important events in the life of the Buddha.
If you are interested in Buddha footprints you
can study the 108 auspicious symbols which are
depicted on the soles of this huge image.
Aung Sakkya Pagoda
Near the reclining Buddha image, also on Po
Khaung Taung range is the Aung Sakkya Pagoda ,
441.75 ft in height (including the base of 216.75
ft).
This pagoda is a landmark for the area around
Monywa as it can be seen from afar. It is surrounded
by 1,060 smaller satellite pagodas which shelter
over a thousand sacred images of the Buddha.
Pho Win Hill
The hills have probably been occupied since the
dawn of human habitation in Myanmar; to the south -
west lies the Pon Daung Pon Ny a
mountain range, where the fossilised remains of
Pontaung Mon's may have lived 30 million years ago -
were found.
The caves themselves contain Buddhist statues and
murals dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. Most
exhibit the Inwa style, though some may date as for
back as the 14th to16th centuries. A covered
stairway climbs a hill to the main cave shrine, but
there are dozens of large and small caves in the
area filled with old Buddha images. There are over
400,000 images in these and other nearby caves.
Shwe Ba Hill
Shwe Ba Hill, just beyond Pho Win Hill, features
unique pavilions cut from the surrounding sandstone
and filled with plain Buddha images.
Shweba Taung is on the West Bank of Chindwin
river.
There, temples and caves are curved out of
volcanic rocks and inside walls of some caves are
decorated with 13 century / 18 century mural
paintings.
Travel Tips
Entrance Fees : US$5
Shwe Gu Ni Pagoda
The Shwe Gu Ni Pagoda is about 20 miles east of
Monywa. The Buddha image in the pagoda is offered
(stick) by gold foils and the face of the Buddha
image could not be make out very easily. Typical
black and gold lacquer ware from nearby Kyaukka is
the festival's speciality. Held from the 5th to the
8th waning day of Kason. Shweguni Pagoda is famous
for its magnificent architecture.
Nearby Attractions
Monywa can also be the base for visiting
Kyaukka. Kyaukka , a town about ten miles to the
east, second only to Bagan as a center for the
Myanmar lacquer-ware cottage industry. A few hours
drive will also bring you to Twintaung hill, an
extinct volcano whose crater now forms a beautiful
lake. The surrounding area has lush vegetation, and
views of the area from the rim of this crater lake
is breathtaking.
The Ledi Kyaung Monastery is also well
worth visiting. Built by the famous Ledi Sayadaw, a
renowned Pali scholar, there are now 806 stone slab
inscriptions which preserve some of the Sayadaw's
writings.
A few hours drive will also bring you to Twin
Taung Hill, an extinct volcano whose crater now
forms a beautiful lake. The surrounding area has
lush vegetation, and there are lovely views of the
area from the rim of this crater lake.
Visitors are welcome to travel to Monywa and
environs; see the interesting places and scenic
views, and take back memorable experiences of
typical Myanmar warmth and hospitality.
|
