Page 280 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

278 MANDALAY AND AROUND MANDALAY

Mandalay and around

History lies thick on the ground in and around Mandalay. Occupying a
strategic location on the Ayeyarwady River almost at the exact centre of
the country, the area emerged as the leading centre of political, military
and religious power in Upper Burma following the collapse of Bagan in the
late thirteenth century, and retained its pre-eminent position (with
occasional interruptions) right up until the final overthrow of the Burmese
monarchy by the British in 1885. Mandalay is still considered the de facto
cultural capital of Myanmar, while the great palaces, pagodas and other
monuments of Mandalay and the former royal cities of nearby Inwa (Ava),
7 Amarapura and Sagaing provide a touchstone of national identity in
a rapidly changing world, giving the area a cultural and historical lustre
compared to which Yangon is a mere colonial upstart, and Naypyitaw
a deranged military fantasy.

Mandalay city itself is a relatively recent arrival on the historical scene but boasts
numerous attractions both religious and secular, despite unpromising first impressions.
In many ways, however, it’s the area around Mandalay which is the real highlight, with
its myriad mementoes of former imperial glory. The slight but impressive remains of
the old royal city of Ava can be seen during a horse-and-carriage tour around the
enjoyably rustic village of Inwa, while another former capital, Amarapura, boasts
a lovely lakeside setting, pagodas galore and the spectacular U Bein teak bridge.
The stupa-studded hills of Sagaing are another major draw, although perhaps most
enjoyable of all is the breezy boat trip down the Ayeyarwady to the little village of
Mingun, home to the gargantuan remnants of what was intended to be the world’s
largest stupa, accompanied by one of its largest bells.

Mandalay

MANDALAY is one of those names – like Timbuktu, Zanzibar or Samarkand – which
has long lingered in the imagination of Western travellers, thanks largely to a poem
(“Mandalay”) penned by a writer (Rudyard Kipling) who never actually visited the
place. Redolent with images of a bygone Asia, modern Mandalay can prove a
disappointing, if not downright exasperating, place at first glance, with its endless grid
of largely modern, generally indistinguishable and consistently traffic-plagued streets
– Kipling’s “tinkly temple bells” and “spicy garlic smells” replaced with the deafening
klaxons of rampaging buses and pick-up trucks belching clouds of exhaust.

A right royal merry-go-round p.281 The Mandalay Combination Ticket at
The Mandalay Combination Ticket p.286 Inwa p.304
Mandalay addresses p.290 The Sagaing–Mingun Combination
Boat trips from Mandalay p.291 Ticket p.306
The Moustache Brothers p.297 King Bodawpaya and the Mingun
Festivals in and around Mandalay p.298 Pagoda p.308