212MANDALAY & AROUND
MANDALAY NORTHERN MANDALAY
oHotel by the
Red Canal BOUTIQUE HOTEL $$$
(Map p 204 ; %61177; http://www.hotelredcanal.com;
22nd at 63rd St; r $135-186; aiWs) This
intimate 25-room faux palace has more
character than most other Mandalay ho-
tels put together and comes complete with
neo-traditional roof gables and a trickling
‘stream’. The interior is dotted with Asian
knick-knacks, there’s a fl oral welcome and
cocktails are free to guests from 6pm to
7pm. It’s tucked away on a dusty back road
beside a small canal that does indeed turn
red in some seasons. Credit cards are ac-
cepted with 10% commission, but only on
24 hours’ notice.
oPeacock Lodge GUESTHOUSE $$
(Map p 204 ; %61429, 09 204 2059; http://www.pyin
oolwin.info/peacock.htm; peacocklodge@gmail.
com; No 5 60th St, 25/26; s/d $18/24; a) One of
Myanmar’s great homestay-style inns, the
Peacock’s charming retired hosts treat many
guests like part of the family, maybe showing
you their fascinating old photos (‘granddad’
was a British-era mayor of Mandalay). There
are four spacious rooms in the main 1960s
home overlooking a lotus-fi lled canal. There’s
also a bungalow room off the mango-shaded
garden, where tables are set for a well-pre-
pared breakfast. In the cool season, three
simpler rooms without air-conditioning
(single/double $12/14) are available in an
attached bamboo house. It’s peaceful and
comfy without being posh. Great value. Gethere by taking 26th St east, then turning
north at a sign to ‘Hotel Treasure’.Royal City Hotel HOTEL $$
(Map p 204 ; %31805, 28299; royalcity@winmax
mail.net.mm; 27th St, 76/77; standard s/d $20/25,
superior $25/30; ai) One of the city’s most
traveller-oriented midrange options, this
tall, narrow 19-room tower has windows all
round, simple but eff ective bathrooms and a
lift that works when electricity allows. Supe-
rior rooms have bathtubs and stronger, qui-
eter air-conditioning. Breakfast can be taken
on a fl ower-decked outdoor/indoor roof gar-
den, which is one of Mandalay’s fi nest.Sedona Mandalay HOTEL $$$
(Map p 204 ; %36488; http://www.sedonahotels.com.sg;
26th at 66th St; superior/deluxe $130/170; as)
The large, open-plan lobby is as alluring
as the sprawling outdoor pool behind, but
rooms can feel a little ordinary for the price.
The big plus in some deluxe rooms is the
view staring straight down the eastern moat
towards Mandalay Hill. You can pre-book
rooms online (sometimes discounted to $70
on http://www.agoda.com), but in situ credit cards
are no longer accepted. The business is a
Singaporean joint venture.Mandalay View Inn GUESTHOUSE $$
(Map p 204 ; %61119; http://www.mandalayviewinn.com;
66th St, 26/27; r $42-54; a) Converted from
a two-fl oor 1960s villa, this 12-room guest-
house feels cosier and more personable than
most hotels. Carved wooden panels enliven
the decor, but bathrooms are small and dat-
ed, there are a few signs of wear, and roomsWHITE ELEPHANTSLegend has it that before giving birth to her auspicious son, the Buddha’s mother dreamt
of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus fl ower. In certain Buddhist countries this
led to the idea that rare albino elephants were sacred. Their holy status also meant they
could not be put to work.
The white elephants were expensive to feed yet without any practical use. Western
observers in 19th-century southeast Asia saw white elephants as the embodiment of
fi nancial extravagance, and the term came to mean as much in standard English. How-
ever, in Burma/Myanmar and Siam/Thailand, the possession of white elephants remains
a potent symbol of kingship: you can view several of the specimens – which are actually
more pinky brown than white – outside Yangon (see p 39 ) and in Nay Pyi Taw (see p 140 ).
Certain Burmese monarchs referred to themselves as ‘golden-footed lord of the white
elephant’. In 1885 one of King Thibaw’s white elephants died, an omen that superstitious
Burmese interpreted as foretelling the king’s imminent demise at the hands of a British
invasion force. And the Brits’ insensitive decision to drag the elephant’s carcass uncer-
emoniously out of Mandalay Palace so horrifi ed the pious city folk that it helped spark 10
years of guerrilla resistance.