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In
the morning a return trek and drive to Kinpun. From here begins the
2-hour journey to Thaton, a drive through coconut palm forests and
cashew-nut plantations. Long before Bagan advanced to the
territorial power, long before the civilization of the Burmese
peaked, was Thaton already an important centre of Buddhist religion
and erudition. This town was centre of an empire, which stretched
from the delta of the Ayeyarwaddy to Thailand and further to
Cambodia. Thaton, this was the "heart of the golden land",
centre of Suvannabhumi. From here Buddhism spread to Bagan, when in
1057 the first great Bagan-ruler Anawratha conquered the Thaton
empire and brought the whole Mon-oligarchy with king and queen to
Bagan.
Today
in Thaton you will visit the art-historical important Shwe Zayan
golden pagoda, built in the early period of the Mon; a, in this
pagoda found, standing Buddha shows many similarities with the
incomparably famous Dvaravati-buddha in central-Thailand.
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Afterwards
you will drive through a charming tropical landscape to Mottam (Martaban),
where the mighty Salween joins the gulf of Martaban.
On
board a public ferry, you will cross the river. Chinese junks,
Sampans and old steamships will cross your path. Finally you will
see Moulmein (today Mawlamyine) appear on the riverbank, the former
pearl of colonialism, from which already the famous novelist
Somerset Maugham sang the praises of. Moumein was the capital of
British Burma from 1827 to 1852. Many preserved colonial buildings
create an atmosphere of the colonial yesterday - Buddhist pagodas
crown the jungle-covered mountains around the town. Overnight-stay
(the hotel only offers simple standard). |
