Time to don our shoes and socks – remember the Burmese show respect by uncovering their feet - after a cleaning off the sticky rice (!) and moving on to the Shwemawdaw Pagoda. If you thought the Shwedagon in Yangon was tall then think again because this one is taller at 374 feet. According to my guidebook its history is shrouded in mystery but the story goes that two brothers returning from India brought two sacred hairs given to them by Gautama Buddha, which they enshrined in the Pagoda here at Bago.
The stupa of this Pagoda was thought to be 81 feet circa 825 but the height was increased to 277 feet in 1385 by the then King Dhammazedi to who also added a tooth of Buddha to the relics. A later King raised the stupa a further 2 feet to 279 feet in 1796 and provided a new ‘hti’ (Umbrella). The stupa was flattened by an earthquake in 1930 (See photo) and was not rebuilt until the 1950s when at the request of the Prime Minister U Nu it reached its present height of 374 feet.
Overall the design of the Pagoda is very similar to that of the Shwedagon in Yangon but there are more trees to provide shade and to help keep the marble cool. In bare feet I was still ‘like a cat on hot marble!’
The guide mentioned that you can enter this stupa but I don’t know about you but the bamboo steps (Ladder?) shown in the photo didn’t inspire me to do so and I’m certain my travel insurers would not have approved!!
At least these photos give you a better idea of the details of these structures.
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