Page 79 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Midtown Yangon Yangon and around 77
Between the eastern and southern staircases 1
An image of the third of the four present-era Buddhas, Kakusandha, occupies the
shrine opposite the top of the eastern stairs. Almost back at the southern staircase, set
against the base of the stupa just past the Tuesday Planetary Post, is the Child-clutching
Brahma (signed “Child holding Brahma Image”), showing the Indian god holding an
infant and popular with devotees hoping to have children of their own. Directly
opposite, a glass case holds a solid-gold miniature Replica of the Shwedagon.

Maha Wizaya Pagoda
• Corner of Shwe Dagon Pagoda and U Htaung Bo roads • Daily 6am–9pm • Free
Built in 1980, the Maha Wizaya Pagoda was officially constructed to commemorate
the unification of all Theravada orders in Burma, although unofficially it stands as a
monument to its creator, military ruler Ne Win (not to mention the king and queen
of Nepal, who also contributed various Buddhist relics). Sitting virtually in the shadow
of the Shwedagon, from the outside the Maha Wizaya Pagoda looks like a modest
miniature sister of its huge neighbour. Inside the hollow stupa it’s a completely
different story, with a bizarre interior done up to look like a miniature forest with
a night sky above, decorated with myriad symbolic animals and other objects.

Martyrs’ Mausoleum
• Ar Zar St (entrance roughly opposite the bottom of the Shwedagon Pagoda’s northern staircase) • Tues–Sun
8am–5pm • K3000
The striking Martyrs’ Mausoleum, immediately north of the Shwedagon Pagoda, is a
vaguely Soviet-looking mausoleum-cum-monument shaped rather like a skateboarding
ramp, painted bright red and sporting the five-pointed star which also appears on the
national flag, symbolizing the union of Myanmar. The graves of General Aung San and
the eight cabinet ministers assassinated alongside him in 1947 at the city’s Secretariat
(see p.65) are laid out along the front of the mausoleum, alongside the remains of Khin
Kyit (Aung San’s spouse), Queen Supayalat (wife of Burma’s last king, Thibaw), and
former UN Secretary-General U Thant.
The original mausoleum was largely destroyed in a 1983 bomb blast carried out
by North Korean agents in an attempt to assassinate South Korean president Chun
Doo-hwan during a visit to the memorial – the president escaped, but 21 others were
killed in the explosion. The monument was subsequently rebuilt but kept closed to
the public until 2013 for fear that it would serve as a rallying point for pro-democracy
campaigners thanks to its association with General Aung San and his family.
You can get a reasonable view of the mausoleum without actually going through the
gates, and there’s nothing much to see inside apart from assorted pictorial displays
(in Burmese only) of General Aung San dotted around the grounds surrounding the
memorial – although the views of the monument framed against the Shwedagon spires
behind are impressive.

Yangon Zoological Gardens
• There are three entrances to the gardens: the Southern Gate, at the junction of Zoological Garden and
Bo Min Khaung roads; the Northern Gate (off Lake Rd); and the Museum Gate (at the junction of Upper Pansodan and Bo Min Khaung
roads) • Daily 7am–6pm • K3000
Yangon’s old-fashioned Zoological Gardens (opened in 1906) aren’t exactly state of the
art but, equally, aren’t as bad as some Asian zoos. The fact that many of the animals
formerly held here have now been moved to the new zoo in Naypyitaw (see p.188)
means that overcrowding isn’t a problem, although the handful of tigers which remain
are still confined within wretchedly small pens, and the monkey cages are pretty

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