Myanmar: The Golden Land?

Myanmar’s (military dictatorship) government continually brands its country as “The Golden Land” in brochures, billboards, and other advertisements around the country.

At first I thought this was mere puffery from a government anxious for an increase in tourism.  But after traveling across the country, we’ve learned that it’s actually an apt tag line: Myanmar is FILLED with gold-painted stupas. They are everywhere – on mountains and plains; in cities and farmland.

Pagoda in the middle of a town (with an additional one visible in the background)…

Pagoda in the middle of a floating village…

And even a gold pagoda in the middle of a lake!

Often at viewpoints a dozen or more such stupas can be seen at once. Some are beautiful and well maintained (such as Yangon’s Schwedagon Pagoda), others look abandoned.

Golden pagodas dot the landscape. I count 14 separate pagodas, just from this viewpoint.

I was shocked to see in the countryside surrounding Bagan the construction of a NEW stupa. With a person-to-stupa ratio approaching 1, was another one really necessary? But as the “Golden Land” name suggests, there are apparently never enough gold stupas in Myanmar.

New golden stupa under construction

The stupas are not necessarily the prettiest, many are more dark yellow than gold, and the more remote stupas often had peeling paint, but gold is most certainly a color that a visitor to Myanmar will see over and over again.

Golden stupas on the hilltops