Page 163 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

MawlaMyine SoutheaStern MyanMar 161
central shrine, flanked by curved elephant tusks. Built in 1905 with donations from a
wealthy local lady, its original tiles – hand-painted with peacocks – can still be seen on
the walls of the corridor that circles the main chapel.
A few minutes’ walk downhill from here, just west of Mahamuni Paya, is a forlorn,
crumbling white stupa that marks the last resting place of Fourth Princess, the
strong-willed and intelligent youngest daughter of King Thibaw and Queen Supalayat
(see p.367), who was born in exile in India and came to her homeland for the first time
as an adult.

Seindon Mibaya Kyaung
• Viewpoint Rd • Daily during daylight hours • Free
The sky-blue and candyfloss-pink Seindon Mibaya Kyaung (also known as Yadanarbon
Myint Kyaung) is centuries old and looks terribly dilapidated from the outside – even
by Mawlamyine’s standards. However, the main hall contains a wealth of lively red and
gold teak reliefs, carved elephants’ tusks and a cobweb-festooned period replica of a 3
throne – the legacy of the monastery’s royal connections. One of King Mindon’s many
widows, Queen Seindon, took refuge here after her husband’s death in 1878 and paid
for the building’s construction. Today, the monastery is home to just nine monks, who
have set up their living quarters among the faded finery – they’ll turn on the lights for
you in return for a small donation and a signature in their visitors’ book.

U Zina Pagoda
• Viewpoint Rd • Daily during daylight hours • Free
At the southern end of Mawlamyine’s hills, a long, sweaty walk from Kyaikthanlan
Pagoda, is the nineteenth-century U Zina Pagoda. The eponymous monk U Zina
founded the monastery after discovering a cache of gemstones on this spot, having
been shown the location in a dream.

The markets
Daily 6am–5pm
Local people somehow differentiate between the various markets that sprawl between
Strand Road and Upper Main Road – for visitors, they seem to blur into one. The
whole area is known as Zeigyi (not to be confused with Zeigyo, a separate part of the
city, 6km to the south) and is divided into the Upper and Lower markets. The Lower
Market is made up of a characterless modern complex on Lower Main Road (built after
a two-day fire raged through its predecessor in 2008) and the dark, atmospheric and
much more interesting covered New Market, just to the north. In the latter, porters
stroll barefoot down the aisles and entire sections are devoted to betel leaves and ngapi;
there’s also the odd market bar, with stallholders nursing glasses of whisky and
watching television. A small alleyway lined with gold and longyi shops links the Lower
Market with the Upper Market, which is largely devoted to stalls selling gold, cosmetics
and Chinese-made toys.

Mon State Cultural Museum
• Corner of Baho St and Dawei Tadar St • Tues–Sun 10am–4.30pm, closed on public holidays • K5000
The modest collection on display at the two-floor Mon State Cultural Museum may
be confusingly organized and poorly lit, but it’s still well worth a visit. The highlights
include a Mon crocodile-shaped harp, an eighteenth-century teak palanquin, and
a beautiful palm-leaf fan set with gold and glass patterns, along with an informative
series of displays about local industries.

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