Bago

Bago, situated on the road to Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda (Golden Rock) and Mawlamyine, it remains a quiet and easy-going town with a lot more bicycles and motorbikes than cars. It is once the powerful capital of the second Myanmar Empire, Bago now still has plenty to see with temples and pagodas. The town is famed for its 55-metre-long reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, its four seated Buddhas at Kyaikpun and the towering Shwemawdaw Pagoda, which is actually taller than the Shwedagon in Yangon. For something a little different a visit to the Snake Monastry to watch pilgrims make an offering to a 9metre long Burmese Python, a reincarnation of a Buddhist abbot, is certainly a strange experience. There’s a bustling market and for anyone looking to get out of the town, it’s not far until you’re surrounded by authentic scenes of rural Myanmar life. Only 80kilometre (50 miles) outside of Yangon, and linked by decent roads, Bago can be a perfect day trip out of the city.