Page 288 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

286 MANDALAY AND AROUND MANDALAY PALACE

THE MANDALAY COMBINATION TICKET
A number of sights in and around Mandalay are covered by the Mandalay Combination
Ticket (K10,000), valid for five days – unfortunately, it’s not possible to purchase individual
tickets to the sights it covers. The relevant section of the ticket is stamped at each sight
you visit, meaning it can’t be re-used. The main attractions covered by the ticket are
Mandalay Palace and the Maha Aungmye Bonzan and Bagaya Kyaung in Inwa. In
theory you’ll also need the ticket to visit Kuthodaw Pagoda, Atumashi Kyaung,
Shwenandaw Kyaung and (in Amarapura) Bagaya Kyaung and to walk across U Bein
Bridge, although in practice the ticket isn’t always asked for at these places (and seemingly
never at U Bein Bridge).

establishing his capital here in 1857. The palace followed a traditional design
informed by links with China – much like Beijing’s famed Forbidden City – with
a geometrically auspicious alignment of buildings set inside crenellated walls and
7 surrounded by a broad moat. The huge walls themselves (3m thick, 7m high and
8km in length) are punctuated by 36 bastions and twelve gateways, symbolizing the
signs of the zodiac. Five-tiered pyatthat (spire-style roofs) are placed above each of
the bastions and gates, with the exception of the four main gates (one on each side),
through which the king himself would have passed and which are surmounted with
seven-storey pyatthat – the number of tiers on a roof signifying the status of the
person using the building below.
Despite the effort put into building the thing, only Mindon and his successor Thibaw
had the chance to rule from here before the latter was overthrown by the British (who
rechristened the palace Fort Dufferin and billeted troops in its former royal quarters).
Even worse was to follow in World War II, when almost the entire palace was flattened
by Allied bombs. What you see today is a 1990s reconstruction carried out by the
military, who have long controlled the complex.
As a military area the palace grounds are mostly off-limits to foreigners, save for the
reconstructed palace and the main approach road in from the east – frustratingly, the
only direction from which foreigners are allowed to enter. There are a couple of low-key
shops and teashops along the approach road, but no other sources of refreshment.
Above the eastern entrance a sign states: “Tatmadaw and the people, co-operate and
crush all those harming the union”, and the army enhance their already stellar
international reputation by insisting that foreign cyclists leave their machines at the
gate; tour buses, of course, get to head straight to the centre.
The palace
The palace itself is more impressive as a whole than for any particular part, and many
of the smaller buildings are no more than empty shells, giving the whole place the feel
of a rather opulent film set. A spine of reconstructed ceremonial halls runs down the
centre of the complex, with signs stating what each was used for (complete with
bombastic references to the cannons which “can crush all enemies”, and other such
details). Starting from the east is the Mye Nan Audience Hall (signed “Great Audience
Hall”), which contains then-and-now pictures attesting to the accuracy of the
re-created palace, along with a replica of the king’s famous Lion Throne under a
seven-tiered pyatthat roof. Another richly decorated throne stands in the impressive
Throne Room (signed “Central Palace”) slightly further along, placed beneath a high
wood roof supported by soaring red columns.
At the western end of the palace is the Glass Palace (signed “Chief Queen’s
Audience Hall”), named after a glass bed brought from France by King Thibaw.
The palace now houses a small museum (closed for renovations at the time of
writing) containing the rather impressive bed itself, along with a series of
elaborate traditional costumes.