Page 307 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

SAGAING Mandalay and around 305
arrIVal and dEParTurE InWa
You can visit Inwa as part of a motorbike or taxi tour (see p.299), or on a bicycle (just over 1hr from central Mandalay).
By public transport you’ll need to catch a pick-up from Mandalay (corner of 29th St and 84th St; 30min) and get off as the
road curves around just before crossing the Inwa Bridge into Sagaing; from here it’s a 10min walk southwest down a long,
straight road to the jetty. Whichever way you arrive, you’ll have to take a very short ferry ride (regular departures daily
6am–6pm; K1200 return, bikes free) across the river.
GETTInG around
By horse-drawn carriage The easiest way to get around than any of the sights in particular. The going rate is
Inwa’s scattered sights is on a horse-and-cart tour – for K10,000 for a 2–3hr tour, although you might be able to
some it’s this experience that sticks in the memory, rather haggle this down slightly if business is slow.
EaTInG
Ave Maria T09 471 20773. The best, and most away from the horse-and-cart madness is a major bonus,
reasonably priced, of the trio of overpriced, tour party- while food features a well-prepared selection of dishes
oriented restaurants near the ferry landing stage (Inwa’s from a mainly Chinese menu (mains K5000–6000). Daily 7
only eating options). The calm riverside setting slightly 9am–5pm.

Sagaing

The low-key city of SAGAING sits just 25km south of Mandalay on the opposite side of
the Ayeyarwady River. As with nearby Inwa and Amarapura, Sagaing formerly served as
the country’s royal capital, though its stint was by far the shortest of the three, lasting
just four years (see box, p.281). The town was also the centre of a Shan kingdom
during the fourteenth century and is now capital of Sagaing Region, which stretches
way up north, almost to Tibet.
The main reason to come here is Sagaing Hill, a modest rise bristling with so many
Buddhist spires that it resembles some sort of Burmese pin cushion, while numerous
further pagodas and stupas dot the surrounding area. The view from either of the
bridges into Sagaing (one built by the British in 1934, the other in 2005) is among the
most magical in Myanmar, with rolling lines of tree-shrouded hills dotted in an
extraordinary profusion of snowy-white, Mingun (18km)
gold-tipped stupas, and the boat-strewn 0 500 umin Thounzeh
Ayeyarwady sliding lazily between. metres Sone oo Pone nya Shin Pagoda
If you fancy a break from Mandalay SAGAING HILL
while remaining in the area, Sagaing is N TAUNGY OE RD one Lion Gate MIN GON R D
also the only one of the city’s satellite THAYATPINSEIK ST
towns with foreigner-licensed
accommodation.
Sagaing Hill BAYINT NAUNG ST TAUNGYOE RD Ayeyarwady River
• Access from One Lion Gate on Ta Yat Pin Kaunghmudaw Paya
Seik St • Daily 24hr • Covered by Sagaing-Mingun Combination
Ticket (see box, p.306); K300 fee for camera or video, usually
only collected from road entrance
Around 250m high, splendid Sagaing
EaTInG
Hill pokes its omni-spired head out just Minn Wun Valley
north of the city centre. The views from MANDALAY SHWEBO RD Café & Restaurant 1
the top are predictably fantastic, though OHE TAN Pyi San 2
LAY RD
for some the walk up the hill (around HTU PAR YON ST Sagaing Shwe Paye Sone Hotel
aCCoMModaTIon
25min) is the best part of the Bridge 1
experience. The covered pathway starts Inwa SaGaInG
from One Lion Gate (boasting a single Bridge

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