Built in the 3rd century, the Bupaya Pagoda was originally the oldest pagoda in Bagan. The pagoda we see now was rebuilt after the 1975 earthquake.
The Bupaya Pagoda is shaped like a gourd. Legend has it that when Thamuddarit, the first king of the Bagan Plain, ruled the country, he encountered five monsters, including tigers, flying rats, boars, big birds and a big gourd, which were eating people. It was not until Prince Pyusawhti took the magic bowl to subdue the five monsters and built a pagoda where the monsters were conquered. The Bupaya Pagoda was built on the bank of the Irrawaddy River. We stayed here for more than 10 minutes. The sun was really scorching. During lunch, KOKO suggested that we go to the river to avoid the midday sun. He said that he had a friend who was driving a boat and could take us to the river to blow the wind and take a rest. However, we had to pay. We were exhausted and followed KOKO to the pergola by the river without thinking much.