My Home Town

My Home Town, Pathein(Bassein)

Situated in the Ayeyawaddy Delta about 190 km west of Yangon,
Pathein is the capital of the deltaic region. This port of call is reached by road, or by double deckers through the complex Ayeyarwady river deltaic region. The landscapes are all full of rice producers with crops such as sesames, groundnuts, jute, maize, pulses, tobacco, chilies, etc. Parasol production is synonymous with Pathein.Pathein is still an important port of call for ferryboats carrying passengers or cargo plying between Yangon and the northern and eastern parts of the Myanmar. So it has a rather busy harbor area, which is fronted by a crescent of shop houses and go-downs. Rice from the delta region continues to be exported through the port of Pathein.Around 300,000 people live in Pathein, which was established in 1852 as a garrison town by the British.

Although the majority are ethnic Bamars (formerly Burmans) and mainly Buddhist, there is a significant number of Kayin (formerly Karen) who are either Catholics or members of the Karen Baptist Church. These are mainly lowland farming Karens who were encouraged by the British to move form Karen state in eastern Myanmar to help settle the delta region, which was in need of rice farmers.

Pathein has a few outstanding features such as its handsome colonial buildings, some of which are over 100 years old. There are a number of churches of note, apart from the usual pagodas. The red-and-white-brick St Peter's Cathedral, for instance, was built in 1872. Even older is the former St Joseph's Convent, now a public high school and an elegant wooden house for the local clergy. The most important pagoda is the Shemokhtaw Pagoda, all aglitter with inlaid mirrors. The other two are the Tazaung and Thayaunggyaung Pagodas.

Pathein is also noted for its umbrella-making cottage industry. You will find row upon row of burgundy-colored umbrellas laid out in front of houses. Practically every household in the village seems to be engaged in producing these umbrellas used only by monks. In the bigger households, "summer" umbrellas painted in a variety of bright colors adorned with flowers or village scenes are produced for ordinary use.

Attractions

Mawtinson Pagoda

It is the most famous pagoda in Pathein. If you follow the Pathein River till it empties into the Adman Sea you’ll reach Cape Mawtin (Mawtinson), site of a well-known festival during the lunar month of Tabodwe (February, March). On the seaside of the Cape are a sandy beach and the revered Pagoda Maw Tin Son. It is very surprising to note that the pagoda is water-logged all the year round except in the days of the annual festival. The seawater is out well beyond the pagoda during the festival and lots of stalls dealing with all sorts of local products, seafood, ornaments, made of seashells, and lodging houses, built of bamboo for the revelers mushroom on the beach. Once the festival is over, the water is up and covered the beach. It seems that the pagoda is located on the sea.