My Native Town

boldMawlamyine from Jen at Two Can Travel

If you like nature, getting off the beaten path on a motorbike, and giant Buddhas, Mawalamyine needs to be on your radar when traveling in Myanmar. Located 300km Southeast from Yangon, this gorgeous coastal city has a fascinating history with so much to explore. One of the highlights of our time there was riding a motorbike to the Win Sein Reclining Buddha. At 180 meters long and 30 meters high, it is the largest reclining Buddha in the world. Inside the Buddha is a museum featuring life-sized models depicting the life of the Buddha as well as graphic scenes of hell, death and destruction. It’s a bit freaky at times, so bring a flashlight and a friend! Besides exploring the Buddha, you can ride your motorbike along the surrounding roads leading to many other impressively large statues. The higher up the hills you climb, the more vast the views become of green trees, mountains, and the ocean in the distance. Up on the hills there are killer views for sunset! We were fortunate to meet and be blessed by U Myint Oo, the then 94 year old monk who spearheaded the building of the Buddha back in the 1990s. We also met a large group of pilgrims who were making their annual visit to work on construction and maintenance of the Buddha. They invited us to join them for dinner in the temple where they were all sleeping for the night. That’s what we love about Myanmar; wherever you go there are incredible sights and kind strangers waiting to become friends.