Page 185 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Yangon to MandalaY Central MyanMar 183
side and the fanciful temple-style roofs of the Royal Kaytumadi hotel (see p.185) rising
across the water.
Shwesandaw Pagoda
• Daily 6am–9pm • Free
The most impressive of Taungoo’s various temples, the Shwesandaw Pagoda sits more
or less in the centre of the old walled city, its large gilded stupa rising high above the
surrounding streets. The stupa was built in 1597 on the site of a much older structure,
which is said to have contained hair relics of the Buddha (the temple’s name means
“Golden Sacred Hair Relic”).
The most interesting approach is from the east via a long covered walkway, which is
initially lined with shops selling assorted religious items, before passing through a
pretty jumble of stupas and monastic quarters. From here, a short flight of steps leads
up to a stupa, which is very similar in outline to the Shwedagon in Yangon, with
eighty-odd miniature stupas stacked up around its lower two terraces. Various statues
in glass cabinets stand around the terrace, showing scenes from the life of the Buddha
and processions of kings and monks, and murals depict the gory punishments awaiting
sinners in hell. A striking Mandalay-style Buddha sits in the shrine on the west side of
CHIN STATE Pakokku N the stupa, gifted to the temple in 1912 by a retired civil servant who donated his own
MANDALAY body weight in silver and bronze. On the opposite (eastern) side of the stupa, there’s a
Mount Victoria Nyaung U STATE large, recently constructed reclining Buddha.
(3053m) Bagan
Myasigon Pagoda
Pa-aing Meiktila 4
Chauk
Thazi Pindaya • Daily 7am–8pm • Free • The museum is usually locked, but you can ask someone to unlock it for a donation
Taunggyi of around K1000
Shwenyaung Close to the southern edge of the walled city centre, the glitzy Myasigon (or Mizagon)
Pyawbwe
Mrauk U Nyaungshwe Pagoda offers a complete contrast to the traditional Shwesandaw. The temple’s small
Yenangyaung Kalaw
Sidoktaya Yamethin stupa seems almost an afterthought to the adjacent shrine, with its huge gilded Buddha
Pyechin
RAKHINE Inle Lake ensconced in a shiny-bright pavilion covered in dazzling glass mosaics. Outside, the
Ayeyarwady River
STATE Minbu Magwe terrace surrounding the stupa is home to an unusually kitsch model of Kyaiktiyo
Hunters Dalet Beikthano (the Golden Rock; see p.148), complete with miniature steps and shrines rising out
Bay
Taungdwingyi of a sculpted forest, plus a couple of tiny, doe-eyed elephants.
MAGWE STATE In the northwest corner of the terrace, a cream-coloured building houses a small
Ann NAYPYITAW Pekon
Combermere Yenanma Pyinmana museum containing various Buddhas and other religious artefacts, a statue of the
Bay
Lewe three-headed elephant Erawan (the mount of Indra), plus a few old colonial-era notes
Kyaukpyu and coins and a very dusty old soda bottle. Though the museum’s usually kept locked,
Thayet Aunglan you can get a decent look through the window slats if you don’t manage to find
Mindon Shwebandaw someone with a key.
Ramree Baungdok KAYAH
Island
A R A K A N E Y O M A
0 50 STATE Kandawgyi Lake
kilometres B Taungoo
Pyay A
thayekhittaya G O The western side of the old town is dominated by the large and pretty Kandawgyi Lake,
HIGHlIGHtS (Sri Ksetra) which dates from the sixteenth century. It’s flanked on all sides by grand, old trees, and
Shwedaung Y O
Cycling the backroads M there’s a landscaped garden and children’s amusement park towards the northern end
Paungde A – this is one of the best places in town for an evening promenade. Also look out for the
Fountain Garden Pyu
Zigen cafés dotted around the eastern edge.
Shwesandaw Pagoda, Pyay Kyangin
Thayekhittaya (Sri Ksetra) Myanaung BAGO REGION Kaunghmudaw Pagoda
RAKHINE YOMO Ayeyarwady River
Akauk Taung ELEPHANT RANGE • 1.5km west of town (follow the road out of the west gate)
WILDLIFE RESERVE
Beikthano Nyaunglebim Set in beautiful countryside west of Taungoo centre, the pretty Kaunghmudaw Pagoda
makes a good target for a leisurely out-of-town bike ride. Flamboyantly roofed stairways
Yenangyaung lead from the north and east up to the terrace and the small but elaborately sculpted
Hinthada
Tharrawaddy Sittaung River gold stupa, with leering chinthe standing guard at each corner, surrounded by the usual
Central MyanMar Yegyi (70km) Bago (70km) impressive bo tree, bell, prayer pole and inevitable model of the Kyaiktiyo (see p.148).
178-197_Myanmar_B2_Ch4.indd 183 30/06/17 2:20 pm