203MANDALAYSIGHTSMANDALAY & AROUNDSIGHTSMANDALAYSIGHTSbecomes ever more dense. This means it’s
all too easy to miss the small penultimate
stupa, in front of which a contemporary
statue depicts ogress San Dha Mukhi of-
fering forth her severed breasts. That’s the
sort of display that might have alarmed a
more squeamish man, but according to leg-
end, her bizarre feat of self-mutilation im-
pressed Buddha so much that he ensured
her reincarnation 2400 years later as King
Mindon.
If you aren’t up to the 45-minute each-
way walk, it’s possible to take a taxi (blue/
normal taxi K8000/10,000) using a long
switchback road (allegedly built with forced
labour) that brings you within an escalator
ride of the summit. Along the same route
there are also very occasional shared pick-
up shuttles charging a hefty K1000 per per-
son. They leave from near the giant chinthe
entrance. These shuttles have usually ceased
before sunset. Beware that police don’t like
letting motorbikes up Mandalay Hill. Some
motorcycle-taxi drivers even claim to have
lost their bikes for giving it a go while a
few foreigners have received fi nes for riding
their rental bikes up.
Shwenandaw Kyaung BUDDHIST MONASTERY
eránn'"et;'ekY;='"
(Golden Palace Monastery; Map p 204 ; admission $10
combo ticket) Lavished in carved panels this
fi ne teak monastery-temple was originally
built as the royal apartment of King Mindon,
who died inside it in 1878. Reputedly unable
to cope with Mindon’s ghost, his successor,
King Thibaw, had the building dismantled,
carted out of the palace complex and reas-
sembled outside the walls, where it was con-
verted into a monastery (1880). It’s a good
thing he did, as all the other palace’s royal
buildings were later lost to WWII bombs.
At one time the building was gilded and
decorated with glass mosaics. These have
long gone and some exterior panels have
weathered badly or been removed or re-
placed, but those inside are still in excellent
condition, particularly the 10 Jataka (past-
life stories of the Buddha).Atumashi Kyaungdawgyi BUDDHIST TEMPLE
atumrHiekY;='"
(Atula; Map p 204 ; admission $10 combo ticket;
h9am-5pm) This unusually shaped temple is
a series of diminishing stupa-dotted terraces
over an arched base decorated with peacockGreater Mandalay
æTop Sights ûüDrinking
Gold Pounders' 11 JJ Cafe 2..................................................C6
Workshop ............................................ C6 12 Super One ...............................................C6
Mahamuni Paya ..................................... B7 13 Uncle Chan's.......................................... D6
Shwe In Bin Kyaung............................... A6 14 Unison Teahouse ...................................A6
15 View Point ...............................................A4
æSights View Point ...................................... (see 15)
Aurora.............................................(see 17)
1 Chanthaya Paya..................................... A5 ýEntertainment
2 Jade Market ........................................... B6 16 Moustache Brothers ..............................C6
King Galon ..................................... (see 18)
3 Ma Soe Yein Nu Kyaung........................ A6 þShopping
4 Stone Carvers' Golden Rose .................................. (see 17)
Workshops .......................................... B7 17 Golden Rose ...........................................C6
5 Tingaza Kyaung ..................................... A5 Jade Market .................................... (see 2)
18 Shwe Pathein..........................................C6
ÿSleeping Soe Moe .........................................(see 18)
6 Ayarwaddy River View
Hotel .................................................... A4 ïTransport
7 Great Wall Hotel..................................... C7 19 IWT (Bagan slow boat, ticket
8 Hotel Mandalay...................................... C6 office) ...................................................A6
20 Mayan Chan Jetty ..................................A4
úEating 21 Thiri Mandala Bus Station (for
9 Shwe War Thar ...................................... B6 Monywa, Shwebo) ..............................B4
10 Sin Yin Chun........................................... C6 Tourist Boat Association ............. (see 20)