MANDALAY & ENVIRONS:
MANDALAY:
The capital of Myanmar Last Kingdom and of Myanmar Kings,
is situated in Central Myanmar 668 km north of Yangon. It
was founded by King Mindon in 1857 and remained to be the
official seat of Myanmar Kings until it was occupied by the
British in 1885 and designated Yangon as capital. It is the
largest city after Yangon and is both a bustling commercial
center and a repository of rich cultural heritage. With the
remains of the old Royal City and many old monasteries,
Mandalay is a showcase for Myanmar art and architecture of
the 19th century. It is also noted for woodcarvings,
silverware, tapestries, silk, and other products of
traditional handicraft. It has links to all parts of the
country by rail, road, river and air.
How to get there:
It takes about 1 ½ hours by air from
Yangon. There are daily fights from Yangon, Bagan and Heho
to Mandalay. The new Mandalay International Airport has been
opened and operated since November 2000, with direct flights
of some regional airlines. Express trains are running from
Yangon to Mandalay, which take about 14 hours. Private
express coaches also run everyday along Yangon-Mandalay
highway, which is over 700 km long. If you travel overland
you can also break the journey at Taungoo (280 km) or at
Meiktila (540 km), where there are hotels for overnight
stay. |
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What to see:
Downtown:
Mandalay itself is a dirty, dusty town with some areas that
have changed little in nearly a century, but it oozes with
photographic opportunities and has its own special charm.
Take a walk along the riverside early morning or late
afternoon to watch the busy riverside activity and to see
the water buffalo working hard to bring newly felled logs to
the shore or spend a couple of hours wandering around the
sprawling Zegyo Market, originally designed by an Italian
architect in 1903. The Zegyo Market is the center of trade
linking between towns of upper and lower Myanmar. Various
local and imported (mainly from China and Thailand) goods
are in business. The Italian-styled old market building was
demolished and replaced with modern form. The Clock Tower,
next to the Zegyo Market, was built in 1903 to commemorate
the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria,
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Clock Tower |
Mandalay Hill:
The natural landmark of Mandalay, a vantage-point for
panoramic view of the city.
The stairways have been constructed from the bottom to top
of the hill which you can climb at ease and rest as you go
up the stairway. There is a saying that if you want to live
long, you take refuge in the environs of Mandalay hill. It
means that as climbing to the Mandalay hill on foot is good
for health.
And to pay homage to the pagoda along the way makes one live
long.
You can pay homage to prominent pagodas along the stairway
of Mandalay Hill. Besides, you can visit the shops of
Myanmar traditional handmade toys, gifts such as beads.
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Mandalay Hill |
Mandalay Palace:
The whole magnificent palace complex was destroyed by fire
during the World War II. However, the finely built palace
walls, the city gates with their crowning wooden pavilions
and the surrounding moat still present an impressive scene
of the Mandalay Palace. A number of palace buildings namely
"Mya-nan-san-kyaw Shwenandaw", the model of the Mandalay
Palace, Nanmyint-saung have been rebuilt and the Cultural
Museum is also located inside the palace grounds.
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Mandalay Palace |
Shwenandaw
Monastery:
Famous for its intricate wood-carvings, this monastery is a
fragile reminder of the old Mandalay Palace. It was
originally built inside the Mandalay Palace but it was moved
to the present site by King Thibaw in 1880.
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Kuthodaw Pagoda:
Built by King Mindon in 1857, modeling on the Shwe Zigon at
Nyaung U, this pagoda is surrounded by 729 upright stone
slabs on which are inscribed the entire Buddhist Scriptures
as edited and approved by the 5th Buddhist Synod. It is
popularly known as "the Worlds Biggest Book" for its stone
scriptures. |
Kuthodaw Pagoda |
Atumashi Kyaung:
The Atumashi Kyaung, or Incomparable Monastery was
originally built in 1857 by King Mindon (1853-1879) and
burned down in 1890.
For many years the ruins of the building lay open to the
elements. Stumps of the charred teak pillars, a grand
staircase and some colonnaded walls remained. The area was
cleared in the 1990s and was rebuilt according to the
original plans in 1996 by the Burmese archaeological
department with the use of convict labor. While somewhat
impressive, it does not come close to recreating the
magnificence of the original building. The Atumashi Kyaung
is near the Kuthodaw Pagoda, built at the same time, and
next door to the Shwenandaw.
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Atumashi Kyaung |
Kyauktawgyi
Pagoda:
Near the southern approach to Mandalay Hill stands the
Kyauktawgyi Pagoda of the Buddha Image that was built by
King Mindon in 1865. The Image was carved out of a huge
single block of marble and sculpted. It was hauled to its
position by nearly 12,000 men and took 13 days to transport
the marble. The statues of 80 Arahants (the Great Disciples
of the Buddha) are around the Image, 20 on each direction.
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Maha Muni Pagoda
Shwe In Bin Monastery |
Maha Muni
Pagoda:
Revered as the holiest pagoda in Mandalay, this pagoda
enshrines the famous Maha Muni Buddha image, which is said
to have been cast in the life-time of and in the very
presence of the Buddha. Consequently, devout Buddhists hold
it to be alive and refer to it as the Maha Muni Sacred
Living Image. The Image in sitting posture is 12 feet and 7
inches (3.8 meters) high. It was brought to Mandalay from
Rakhine State during the reign of King Bodawpaya in 1784.
The early morning ritual of washing the Face of the Buddha
Image draws a large crowd of devotees everyday. And the
image is also considered as the greatest, next to Shwedagon
Pagoda, in Myanmar. A visit to Mandalay would be incomplete
without a visit to Maha Muni Pagoda.
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Shwe In Bin
Monastery:
This attractive monastery built in traditional Burmese
fashion is one of the few buildings that have survived the
test of time. Constructed in 1895 by Chinese merchants, the
monastery consists of many impressive woodcarvings and also
contains a number of admirable works of art. At present
there are 35 monks that live in the monastery complex which
is held up by the classical teak foundation that is often
seen throughout the country but rarely in as good condition
as at this illuminating site.
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Yankin Hill:
3 km east of Mandalay Fort has a whole complex of temples
and monasteries running along the top of its ridge. With two
staircases at either 'end' of the hill, you can walk the
complete circuit - so take your shoes with you.
Arts and Crafts
For lovers of arts and crafts, Mandalay represents the
largest repository of Myanmar arts and crafts. It is here
that visitors can observe skilled craftsmen making beautiful
articles of tapestry, ivory, wood, marble and stone carving
and engravings, silverware and bronze statues according to
the time-honored traditions of their forefathers. Besides
those, the other arts and crafts workshops of silk-weaving
and gold-leaf making are also places worthy of visiting.
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Arts & Crafts
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ENVIRONS:
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Mingun:
Located about 11 km upriver from Mandalay, on the west bank
of the Ayeyawaddy River. The one hour boat trip to Mingun is
a very pleasant way to see the real life on the river.
Mingun has a gigantic unfinished pagoda, 50 meters high,
overlooking the river, and the 90-ton Mingun Bell, the
largest ringing bell in the world cast in 1170 by King
Bodawpaya.
Amarapura:
Amarapura the "City of Immortals", situated about 11 km
south of Mandalay, was the capital of upper Burma until
1850. As it was the custom, most of the important wooden
palaces and monasteries were taken down and transported to
the new capital in Mandalay. Little remains of the old
Amarapura palace but you can still find two masonry
buildings - the treasury building and the old watchtower.
The corner pagodas still stand at the four corners of the
once square city. Apart from Pagodas that have survived, the
ancient art of silk and cotton weaving, using handlooms is
very much alive. The 150 year old Mahagandayon Monastery, is
a famous Buddhist learning center and home to a thousand
monks, who will form a procession as they go to take their
noon and final meal of the day and the 1.200 meter long U
Bein wooden bridge, over 150 years old, is the longest teak
bridge in the world.
In-wa (Ava):
Ava situated on a small island, between the Ayeyarwaddy and
Myittha rivers, was first founded as a capital by King Thado
Minbya in 1364 A.D. It was destroyed by the earthquake of
1838. The ruins of the palace, the massive fort walls and
moat can still be seen of the splendour of the past when it
had been the capital for more than four and half centuries.
The best way to explore this island is by horse cart. The
king palace at that time does not exist any longer, however
still the “Leaning Tower” of Inwa, 27 meter (90 feet) high
masonry Watch Tower. The Maha Aung Mye Bon Zan Monastery, a
brick-and-stucco monastery built by the Chief Queen of King
Bagyidaw for her royal abbot (Nyaung Gan Sayadaw) in 1818
and the Bagayar Monastery, famous for its impressive ornate
woodcarvings and teak posts are the high lights.
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Hsinbyume Pagoda
U Bein Bridge
Maha Aung Mye Bon
Zan Monastery |
Sagaing:
Sagaing lies 21 km southwest of Mandalay on the opposite
bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River. Once you cross the Inwa
Bridge, you see the hilltops, each crested with a pagoda,
the banners proclaiming the Buddha's teaching, the refuge
from all ills and tribulations where over 600 monasteries
for monks and nuns are located for Buddhist studies and
meditation. The Padamyazedi dates from 1300 while the U min
Thonze or thirty caves pagoda has many Buddha images in a
crescent shaped colonnade. Mural paintings can be seen in
the Tilawkaguru cave temple, which was built around 1672. At
the nearby village of Ywahtaung you can see silver workers
producing bowls and other silver items by traditional
methods. The most impressive Soon Oo Pon Nya Shin Pagoda
nearby was constructed in 1312. The view of Sagaing from
Soon Oo Pon Nya Shin and its approach is marvelous. About 10
km from Sagaing is the Kaunghmudaw, an enormous dome-shaped
pagoda built by King Thalun in 1636, on the model of the
Mahaceti Pagoda of Sri Lanka. At the nearby village of
Ywataung, you can see silversmiths making silverware by
traditional methods.
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U min Thonze |
Monywa & Pho Win
Daung:
About 136 km to the west of Mandalay lies Monywa, the
commercial center of the Chindwin Valley or northwestern
Myanmar. Places of interest include Thanbokde Pagoda, with
over 500,000 Buddha images; Bodhi-ta-taung (one thousand Bo
trees): Ledi Kyaungtaik, a teaching monastery where Buddhist
scriptures are inscribed on 806 stone slabs: and Kyaukka
Village, known for its own distinctive style of lacquerware.
Just on the other side of the Chindwin River and a 30
minutes drive by pick-up is the seldom visited 15th Phowin
Taung temple complex where more than 450,000 sandstone
Buddha’s were carved in the hillsides in caves, alcoves, or
tiny niches. The cave murals are still intact with indigo
blues and soft pastels. Many of the Buddha’s can be seen
without entering the caves or niches and footwear is
permitted as long as one is not entering the sanctuaries. A
stunning Buddha not to be missed is the reclining Buddha
resting on a rectangular stone mosaic which shimmers with
cut glass."
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Thanbokde Pagoda |
Shwebo:
Shwebo is a rice-collecting centre on the railway about 50
miles (80 km) north-northwest of Mandalay and 17 miles west
of Kyauk Myaung, a river-side town on the Ayeyarwady, which
is famous for glazed pottery works from toys, cups, letters,
bowls, pots to huge water jars that are tied in hundreds and
floated down the river as rafts. These are widely used
throughout the country.
Shwebo was the birthplace of Alaungpaya, founder of the
Alaungpaya dynasty (1752–1885), and is the site of his tomb.
The palace and other royal parks, lakes, moats and watch
tower have been neglected, disrepaired, ravaged and ruined
in the last two centuries. With the promotion of the tourism
industry, the government has launched upon the
reconstruction of the palace buildings, parks and dredged
the royal lake for the benefit of the visitors and locals.
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Pyin-Oo-Lwin (Maymyo):
Over 1000 meters above sea-level, Pyin Oo Lwin is a popular
hill station about 69km away from Mandalay. It is well known
for its colonial style houses with large compound and pine
trees, eucalyptus and silver-oak abound in town.
Delightfully cool and pleasant the whole year round.
It was founded by Myanmar official Maung Dwe in 1851 and
later named as May Myo by British Colonel May in 1896. The
142-hecter well laid-out Botanical Garden, scenic Pwe-kauk
Waterfalls, Chinese Temple in addition to British built
colonial buildings are places worth visiting. Nearby are
Peik-chin-hmyaung Cave and Gokteik Rail Bridge.
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Peik-chin-hmyaung
Cave |
Paleik:
You can find many wondrous places in various part of the
world and Myanmar is no exception. One of these is the Snake
Pagoda, situated at the town of Paleik, which is 15 miles
from Mandalay.
The formal name of the Pagoda is known as “Ratana Laba Muni
Sutaungpyi Muei Phaya” but it is known to be as “Meui Phaya”
or “Snake Pagoda”. In 1977, a Buddhist monk was clearing the
bush in that area and found a Buddha image inside a ruined
Pagoda.
On top of the image were three large pythons and from that
time on, the place became known far and wide in the country
as the Snake Pagoda. Each snake is fed a pot of milk and
three eggs every five days. But later on, due to
instructions from a veterinarian, each was given 50 ticals
of goat meat for protein. But every morning at 11:00 a.m.,
the snakes are given a bath. Pilgrims from various parts of
the country come to pay homage to the snake Pagoda in Paleik
town whenever they arrive in Mandalay. It is Buddhist belief
that even animals through merit earned in previous
existences are deserving of care and attention. |
Mogok:
Mogok, known as Gems city, lies in a beautiful mountain
valley 128 miles to the north-east of Mandalay, and 60 miles
to the east of Ayeyarwady river. Myanmar rubies, sapphires
and emeralds and other precious stones are mined in Mogok
area. Only packaged tours are allowed to visit Mogok with
special permission. |
Mogok |
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