Page 282 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

280 MANDALAY AND AROUND MANDALAY
It’s a difficult city to love, admittedly, although there are plenty of attractions
hidden away amid the metropolitan sprawl. The beautifully wooded, pagoda-strewn
slopes of Mandalay Hill offer a blessed retreat from the city streets, as do the sylvan
grounds of Mandalay Palace (even if most of it is off-limits, and the palace itself
is actually a modern replica). Temples are another attraction, including the
revered Mahamuni Pagoda with its memorably misshapen, gold leaf-encrusted
Buddha, while the flamboyant Shwe In Bin and Shwenandaw Kyaung teak
monasteries and the extraordinary massed stupas of the Kuthodaw and Sandamuni
pagodas (housing what is claimed to be the world’s largest book) are also essential
viewing. Sunset strolls along the Ayeyarwady are another draw, while even the
endless concrete waffle of downtown Mandalay has its compensations, including
spit-and-sawdust markets, colourful mosques and Hindu temples, and the
streetside food stalls which spring up after dark. There’s also Myanmar’s best
selection of traditional performing arts, including puppets, music, dance and
old-school anyeint comedy, given a contemporary satirical twist by the celebrated
Moustache Brothers.

SEE ‘MINGUN’ MAP MANDALAY AND AROUND
Yay Hkar
HIGHLIGHTS
Mingun
Shwe In Bin Kyaung MANDALAY MYITKYINA RD
Sunset over the Ayeyarwady Ayeyarwady River
Mandalay shows SEE ‘MANDALAY’ MAP Mandalay
Hill
U Bein Bridge North
Station Shwenandaw
Inwa Kyaung
Mandalay
Palace
Sagaing
Boat trip to Mingun
Mandalay
DOWNTOWN
Railway
Station
Shwe In 35TH STREET
Bin Kyaung
Mandalay
THAIT PAN ROAD
Mandalay
Kantawgyi
Bagaya
Kyaung
Amarapura SEE ‘AMARAPURA’
BOUNDARY ROAD Lake Pahtodawgyi MAP
SEE ‘SAGAING’ MAP Maha Gandayon Taungthaman
Kyaung Kyauktawgyi
Sagaing
Hill Pagoda
U Bein
Bridge
Sagaing Ayeyarwady
Bridge
Inwa Werawsana
YANGONMANDALAY EXPRESSWAY
Bridge Jade Pagoda YANGON  MANDAL AY RO AD
Inwa
Ayeyarwady River
SEE ‘INWA’ MAP N
Snake
Temple Myitnge River
Paleik
0 3
kilometres Mandalay International Airport & Pinya (5km)