Page 187 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Yangon to MandalaY Central MyanMar 185
($30) are more attractively furnished and have hot water, T054 24761, Wkmahotels.com. Taungoo’s fanciest
a/c and little balconies; while those in IV ($49) are full of hotel (owned by a company with strong ex-military
interesting knick-knacks and have beautiful views over rice government links) occupies a string of quaint pagoda-style
paddies, far-off mountains and a large pond (and there are bungalows dotted around extensive gardens in a beautiful
no TVs to spoil the peace). All rates include a spectacular location right next to the lake. Rooms (try to get one facing
breakfast featuring a huge spread of local fruits, samosas the water) are nicely decorated with wooden floors and
and all sorts of wonderful sticky-rice concoctions. They also chintzy furniture, and facilities include a big pool, plus a
have creaky old bikes for rent (K3000/day). $25 gym and spa. Cheaper rooms face the road and can be
Royal Kaytumadi Hotel Taw Win Kaytumadi Rd noisy. $85
eatInG
Aung Moe Hein Off Bo Hmu Po Kun Rd. This cheap, point-and-guess ordering experience. Expect plenty of
open-fronted beer station-style place is a solidly Burmese chicken and pork curries, as well as the usual Chinese
affair rather than a tourist-orientated restaurant. The menu basics. The sign is in Burmese only, so you’ll likely need to
is in Burmese only and staff speak little English, which ask someone to point it out. Mains mostly K2000–2500.
means that for most people it’s going to be a Daily 8.30am–10pm.
DIreCtOry
Banks There are ATMs at the AGD Bank and Ayeyarwady another on the same road just south of the market. There’s
Bank on the main Yangon–Mandalay road just east of also a KBZ ATM in the middle of the old town.
town, and at the AGD Bank and CB Bank close to one

Naypyitaw 4

Quite possibly the world’s weirdest capital, the newly created city of NAYPYITAW (aka
Nay Pyi Taw, Nay Pyi Daw or Naypyidaw – meaning “Abode of the Kings”) occupies
a strategic location between Yangon and Mandalay, and was built largely in secret and
unveiled in 2005 as the brainchild of Myanmar’s military government (see box, p.187).
The official reason given for the sudden relocation was a lack of space in Yangon,
although rumours suggest the decision to move the capital was taken by Senior General
Than Shwe, after his personal astrologer warned him of the possibility of an invasion
from the sea. The location of the new capital – complete with a substantial military
presence – close to the historically turbulent Shan, Kayah and Kayin states may also
have been a factor in the decision.
For the average visitor, Naypyitaw is interesting mainly as a study in contemporary
urban planning at its most OTT – and for the gaping disconnect between the city and
the rest of Myanmar. Spread over an area that’s estimated to be over six times the size
of New York, the new capital is simultaneously outlandish, brazen and faintly lunatic
– a vast wilderness of eight-lane highways (largely deserted, except when the motorcade
of a passing general or visiting dignitary shatters the silence), supersized roundabouts,
grandiloquent government buildings and overblown hotels more reminiscent of the
modern cities of the Arabian Gulf than anything remotely Burmese.
The city is divided into specific, dedicated zones. The ministerial zone contains all the
government ministry buildings and is generally out of bounds to foreigners without a
specific invite. The diplomatic zone is, as the name suggests, where the foreign diplomatic
community is supposed to be based, except that, aside from the embassy of Bangladesh, all
the embassies and diplomats have chosen to remain in Yangon. The hotel zone contains a
ridiculous number of massive hotel complexes, few of which are ever full. This is the area
where you will stay. The shopping zone contains not much at all, but is basically the centre
of the city. Finally, there’s the heavily fortified military zone, which is where the generals
luxuriate in their palatial houses. This area is absolutely out of bounds to civilians. City life,
such as it is, is confined to a few stringently demarcated market zones plus a couple of
modern malls, while specific sights, barring the vast Uppatasanti Pagoda, are few.

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