Mon State (မြန္ျပည္နယ္) has a mix of everything that's wonderful and unique about Myanmar: golden temples, a palpable colonial past, charming villages, a mix of different ethnic groups and even some scenic coastline. Travelling in this region is generally easy and the people are friendly, while the distances between key destinations are short. Yet, despite the historic cities and the presence of some of Myanmar's most holy religious sites, relatively few visitors make it down here. That, though, is their loss and travellers who do come have all the more space to enjoy it all.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Mon State.
Buddhist Temple
The excursion to this incredible balancing-golden-boulder stupa is a must-do, especially during the peak pilgrimage season (November to March) and when the sun is shining. The small stupa, just 24ft high, sits atop the Golden Rock, a massive, gold-leafed boulder delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff at Mt Kyaiktiyo's summit. When the boulder is bathed in the purple, sometimes misty, light of dawn and dusk, it looks stunning.
Buddhist Temple
Directly north of Kyaikthanlan Paya and linked by a covered walkway, this is the largest temple complex in Mawlamyine and easily the most beautiful. It’s built in the typical Mon style with covered brick walkways linking various shrines. The highlight is the Bahaman Paya itself, a gorgeous chamber shimmering with mirrors, rubies and diamonds, and containing a century-old replica of its namesake in Mandalay.
Buddhist Temple
Rudyard Kipling’s visit to Myanmar spanned just three days, but it resulted in a poem, 'Mandalay', that turned Burma into an oriental fantasy. It began with the lines ‘By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea…’. The pagoda Kipling cited was most likely Kyaikthanlan Paya, the city’s tallest stupa. It's a great sunset-viewing spot, with fine vistas over the city. To reach it, approach via the long covered walkway that extends from Kyaik Than Lan Phayar St.
Island
Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island) isn’t a hideaway for nasty monsters. Rather, it’s a beautiful island directly west of Mawlamyine. Roughly the size of Singapore, Bilu Kyun comprises 78 villages that are home to more than 200,000 people. It's a green, fecund place, with palm-studded rice fields and fruit plantations, and it has the vibe of a tropical island, only without the beaches. A bridge now links Bilu Kyun to the mainland, allowing travellers to drive there themselves.
Buddhist Temple
A local pilgrimage site, Nwa-la-bo is still relatively unknown outside Mon State and few foreigners make it out here. This is surprising because the pagoda is a smaller but, geologically at least, far more astonishing version of Kyaiktiyo. Unlike at that shrine, where just one huge boulder perches on the cliff ledge, Nwa-la-bo consists of three sausage-shaped gold boulders piled precariously atop one another and surmounted by a stupa.
Buddhist Temple
If you thought you’d seen some big old buddhas, just wait till you get a load of this one. Draped across a couple of green hillsides at Yadana Taung, around 15 miles southwest of Mawlamyine, and surrounded by a forest of other pagodas and shrines, is this 560ft-long reclining buddha. It’s easily one of the largest such images in the world.
Buddhist Temple
The small town of Kyaikmaraw (က်ိဳက္မေရာ), 15 miles southeast of Mawlamyine, is the site of Kyaikmaraw Paya, a temple of serene, white-faced buddhas built by Queen Shin Saw Pu in 1455. Among the temple’s many outstanding features are multicoloured glass windows set in the outside walls, an inner colonnade decorated in mirrored tiles, and beautiful ceramic tile floors.
Village
You approach this mixed Mon and Kayin village of wooden stilt houses perched over the Ye River along a road that winds through betel nut, rubber and pineapple plantations, interspersed with golden pagodas half-hidden by trees. The journey is scenic enough, but the real reason to come here is to hire a longtail boat (return K10,000) and head upriver. You can also join the locals who hire rubber rings (K500) and float around the river on weekends.
Buddhist Site
Known to the locals as 'Banana Mountain', there's no hill to climb here. Instead, it's an ever-expanding Buddhist complex of shrines and an attractive monastery, all dominated by four vast sitting buddhas grouped around a tower. You can climb the nine-storey tower for great views. The monastery offers a free and tasty vegetarian lunch (a donation to the monastery is appreciated). Ko Yin Lay is around 5 miles north of Ye.
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