Once the capital of the powerful Mon Kingdom Bago is situated some 50 miles NE of Yangon. Although it took some 3 hours to drive the journey offered an enthralling insight into the daily life of the Burmese and one, which I will illustrate with a few photos in this posting. Most taken form a bus so not of stunning quality but you will get the idea!
First, however, a little more about the Mon people. The Mons are thought to have first settled around Bago at the end of the 6th Century. At that time Bago was on the coast and was a prosperous port. In 1287 after the collapse of the First Burmese Empire (Sorry not enough time to go into the long and often violent history of Burma) a Mon Kingdom was established around Martaban (Now Mottama). The then second Mon King realized the strategic importance of Bago and transferred the capital there in 1365.
Bago, or Pegu as it was called then, prospered and it is known that many Western travellers and merchants visited the city. In 1541 the Burmese overthrew the Mons and formed the Second Burmese Empire and Bago became the capital of Myanmar. The city retained its capital status for the next 91 years but by then Bago’s harbour was silting up and so the capital was moved north. From this time on Bago declined into what is described in my Guide Book as a ‘backwater’ well I can only say a jolly interesting place it proved to be with plenty to see and astound.
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