Page 168 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

166 SoutheaStern MyanMar ThanbyuzayaT and around
Kyaikmaraw Paya
• Daily 6am–dusk • Free • Pick-ups for Kyaikmaraw leave from Maylamyine’s Zeigyo bus station (hourly; 30min;
K500)
The Kyaikmaraw Paya, in the small country town of Kyaikmaraw, around a twenty-
minute drive east of Mawlamyine, was built in the mid-fifteenth century on the request
of Queen Shinsawbu. The centrepiece of the complex is a large Buddha image,
unusually sitting as if in a chair. Surrounding this are a number of more classically
cross-legged Buddhas and, behind, there are two reclining ones. The temple complex is
also notable for its beautiful stained-glass windows.

Kyauktalon Taung
• Daily during daylight hours • Free •
One of the more arresting features of the landscape around Mawlamyine, the
Kyauktalon Taung is a thin, craggy needle of rock rising up out of the palm trees a
3 thirty-minute drive south of Mawlamyine. It’s topped with a couple of small payas,
and the hot, sticky climb up to the summit takes around fifteen minutes, but is worth
it for the stunning views over dense forests and a few scattered villages. On the opposite
side of the main road is a lower Hindu version. A visit is easily combined with Win
Sein Taw Ya, which is based just a few minutes to the southeast.

Win Sein Taw Ya
• Daily 7am–dusk • Free • Take a bus or pick-up (both K500) towards Thanbyuzayat from Mawlamyine‘s Zeigyo bus
station and get off at Win Sein Taw Ya (hourly; 40min) – the junction is marked by a golden gateway topped with two large cranes,
from where it’s a 2km walk to the Buddha; alternatively, a motorbike taxi from Mawlamyine costs K8000 with wait time and a stop at
Kyauktalon Taung, and a taxi is K20,000
Even if you’ve visited enough reclining Buddhas to last a lifetime, do make time to visit
Win Sein Taw Ya, which lounges across a series of hillsides 22km south of Mawlamyine
en route to Mudon. It’s said to be the largest reclining Buddha in the world, and shows
outlandish Myanmar at its very best. The eight floors inside are filled with dioramas
depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life, and images of the nasty kings of old having
their way with groups of young women. A moment later, you’ll come across depictions
of sinners being impaled on spikes and boiled in lakes of lava, as payback for a lifetime
of naughtiness.
The ninety-something-year-old monk who dreamed up this bizarre project recently
passed away, but not before he’d begun constructing an even larger statue on the
opposite side of the narrow valley – though there’s currently no saying if or when
it will ever be completed.
In late January every year a major festival takes place here to celebrate the birthday
of the monk who created these artistic “masterpieces”. It attracts throngs of itinerant
salesmen, monks and the odd hermit, and is also the setting for a kickboxing
tournament.

Thanbyuzayat and around

South of Mawlamyine, visitor numbers begin to thin out considerably. Even so, the
small town of Thanbyuzayat is well worth visiting for its fascinating (though
admittedly rather unsettling) history, and the nearby beach town of Kyaikkami is
popular with local Burmese hoping to dip their toes in the ocean and seek blessings
at the nearby Buddhist pilgrimage site. Further south lies laidback Ye, which is based
firmly off the beaten track, where you’ll find four very large Buddha statues and a
ovely lake setting – it’s an excellent place to relax.

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