There are indeed many places to go and visit in Myanmar, each of them has its own attraction to impress tourists. For a developing beautiful country like Myanmar, there will be various choices for you as places to go and visit. What about cheap Myanmar tours? Is there any special place for us to spend time and enjoy the trip? This article will also lead you to one of the cities that is attractive in its own way. You will know in detail the most important information about this location and by that, you will have another choice for your list of places to come and visit in Myanmar. The name of this city is Monywa.
Overview
For some foreign tourists, this name is quite strange because normally, when talking about tourism cities for Burma tours, they will think right away of Naypyidaw, Yangon or Bagan. However, if you spend your time to read this article, you will find out that this place is also worth visiting with a lot of interesting experiences and captivating landscapes.
Monywa is a hustle central city for agriculture trading and traditional service. It is located about 136 km far from Mandalay to the northwest, looking from the eastern bank of the Chindwin River. This pretty city is surrounded by the Chindwin Valley, which provides a favorable natural condition for the main production activities related to agriculture of the local citizens.
Because of the location, it will take you some time to reach this place, but when you have reached there, you will find out that it is really worth when enjoying your Myanmar holidays. For an excursion to Monywa, you may have to be through an overnight trip to drive 140 km along the Chindwin River.
Beautiful landscapes and outstanding activities
For tourists who love trekking and travel through forests, a recommended destination for them is the Alaundaw Kathapa National Park, which is 100 kilometers in the Northwest of Monywa. And just like everywhere else in Myanmar, in Monywa you can also feel the religious value clearly with cave temples architecture built from 14th to 16th century. To reach this destination, you need to cross the Chindwin River by boat for one hour. This is also a very good chance for you to slowly explore the natural beauty of the place in your holidays to Myanmar when flowing along the river. For sure, this travel will bring to you an unforgettable feeling which is really peaceful and gentle.
Visiting Monywa, a perfect stop between Mandalay and Bagan, you should not skip taking some photos with Bodhi Tataung – the giant Buddha statues. There are two statues here, one is reclining and one is standing, both of them are built in a very large size and in perfect color and delicate shape. The two statues are not old in terms of age. The reclining was made in 1991, while the standing in 2008. Actually, they are both pagodas in the shape of giant statues, so that tourists can come in and play while exploring the beautiful sight around. The two giant Buddha status is a very remarkable sight to see in Monywa.
Mentioning religious architecture in Monywa, we cannot skip the collection of temples here, which is said to maintain over 500,000 Buddha images. They are made in shape of small white statues and you can find such thing everywhere during your trip in Monywa. That is such an awkward but also very interesting and special experience. If you love to explore the cultural characteristics and spiritual life of the local people in your Myanmar travel tour, this experience is a really good chance. On the way traveling in Monywa, you can ask the guides or even the people here about the special things around them or whatever you want to know more. They will be very willing to answer you with all of their hospitality.
Of course, one attractive activity when coming to visit a new city everywhere in the world must be enjoying the meal there. In Monywa, you cannot expect delicacies or specialties because as forth mentioned, this is not a city for tourism, and there is also no outstandingly delicious foods here, but you will find that there is some very special and unique taste in the dishes served in such cheap Myanmar tours. You can go to some pretty restaurants eating stalls for a cheap price or even some big hotels for better service and quality of your meal.
Where to stay in Monywa?
It seems to be unpopular for tourists to hear the name of Monywa in terms of tourism in Myanmar. However, this does not mean that you cannot find out a suitable place for accommodation during your interesting trip there. With this Myanmar travel guide, you can find a hotel for yourself to spend a night with a large range of price from cheap to expensive price for luxurious service. Make sure that you will get the right price which is suitable for the service you receive. You can bargain with the hotel owners about the price for the nights you spend. Normally, with an average quality of rooms, the price for it must be around $25 for a night staying.
Another choice for backpackers, of course, is homestay service. This service has become really popular in everywhere in the world, not just cities or places for tourism. Therefore, in Monywa, you can also find somewhere that offers this service. This is a very interesting experience as you can enjoy your night with interesting daily life activities of local people, enjoy your meal with them and listen to the tales of the place. Furthermore, compared to luxurious hotels, this kind of accommodation will be much cheaper and enjoyable. A highly suitable choice for tourists who want to save money for further trips and explore the normal life of local people.
Transportation
There are many choices for you when you need to move around in the city of Monywa. When thinking of going somewhere to visit, you should always think about transport you can use there to get around. The first choice in the list of transport means must be buses, like everywhere else in Myanmar. However, one quite uncomfortable thing for tourists who are somewhat hard-to-please is that the bus stations in Monywa are very often in chaos. All kinds of people travel by bus around the city or even move to other cities of Myanmar by this transport mean. Sometimes, there will not have any space for you to sit so that you can hardly enjoy your trip comfortable. On the other hand, this choice is very suitable for backpackers or those who want to take cheap Myanmar tours. You will have a good chance to experience the normal life of Burmese people in this local city.
Currently, there is no bus with air conditioner equipped for a trip from Mandalay to Monywa. There are only normal buses for tourists to travel so it is quite hot and uncomfortable. A trip like this will take 3 hours to reach the destination in Monywa. This period of time does include a short break, which lasts from 20 to 30 minutes so that the travelers can stop to do some personal hygiene or have something to eat quickly. The price for a bus ticket is 2,000 kyat. This choice is the most favored by tourists because it is the safest way for your Myanmar day tour and if you are lucky to travel when there are not many people, it is very comfortable for relaxation. It is better to book your seat in advance so that you will have your own space and do not have to stand during the trip. In case you do not book your seat, it is still fine because you can still buy tickets when getting on the bus as the bus appears quite frequently.
As in schedule, a local bus with no air conditioner like that leaves daily at half past seven. During the journey, it includes about 3 to 4 stops to get passengers up and down. You can be picked up along the main road if you choose to travel in this way. For sure, although it is not very comfortable for a luxurious trip with best places to visit in Myanmar, this transport will also give you some special experiences.
The second option for tourists to move around or get to Monywa in Myanmar is to travel by scooter. If you do not know what a scooter is, it is a means to travel that is very similar to a motorbike. Another name for it is the motor scooter, indeed, it is a kind of motorcycle with a step-through frame and a platform to set your feet there when you drive. Because of the cheap price, space-saving size, and convenience to move around as a personal transport, the scooter is very popular in Burma in particular and other developing countries in Southeast Asia in general. If you choose this transport for your trip in Monywa, you should hire it and start your trip from 8 o’clock in the morning or earlier because it will get very hot outside.
Tuk-tuks are also recommended as it is also very convenient for moving around in Monywa by your own, as long as you have a Myanmar travel map. When getting down to the bus station after reaching Monywa from Mandalay, you can hire a tuk-tuk to get to the city center. This transport is provided almost everywhere in the city so you can easily have one with a very reasonable price. Normally, it costs you 1,000 to get to the city center by tuk-tuk.
There are also many other means of transport can be named in the list, but the above are the most popular so that you can easily travel around Monywa city with a very reasonable price, which is highly suitable for backpackers.
As mentioned before, you cannot expect stunning sceneries in Monywa. What you can explore in here is just the life and cultural experiences with local people. Therefore, if you come to Monywa for working or trekking, it is more suitable than for tourism. As the result, there are not many facilities equipped for tourists in here as in other cities like Bagan. However, if you really want to explore new things in cheap Myanmar tours, Monywa always has some special features for you to enjoy, and the inhabitants will also be ready to guide you if you ask them for help!
