225AROUND MANDALAYSIGHTSMANDALAY & AROUNDSIGHTSAROUND MANDALAYAY E YA RWA DY B RI D G E STechnically, U Bein’s Bridge is part of
Mandalay’s $10 combo ticket (see p 208 ). In
reality nobody checks.
Around the Bridge
Near either end of the bridge there’s a se-
lection of viewpoints, plus food stalls where
you can buy noodles, tea and roasted crab.
Kyauktawgyi Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE
ekY;k'et;'äkI".ur;"
Around 200yd beyond the eastern end of
side of U Bein’s Bridge, this 1847 pagoda,
built by Pagan Min, was supposedly mod-
elled on the larger Ananda Pahto at Bagan
(p 156 ), but its fi ve-tiered roof makes it look
more like a Tibetan/Nepali temple. While
the paya doesn’t have the perfectly vaulted
roofs or the fi ner decorations of the original,
it does have a serene seated Buddha image
and some well-preserved frescoes in the four
approaches. The southern entry ceiling de-
picts some bossy, English-looking fi gures in
bamboo hats.
Maha Ganayon Kyaung BUDDHIST MONASTERY
Just west of the bridge, this sprawling mon-
astery is home to several thousand young
monks. Founded around 1914, it’s renowned
as a centre for monastic study and strict re-
ligious discipline, and for most of the day it’s
a pleasantly meditative place. But at about
11am, busloads of tourists arrive to gawp
while the whole monastery sits down to eat,
their silence pierced by the endless rattle of
camera shutters. Worth avoiding.
Other Sights
Pahtodawgyi BUDDHIST STUPA
puqiu"et;'äkI"
This vast bell-shaped pagoda was erected by
King Bagyidaw in 1820. It’s the tallest struc-
ture for miles around (185ft), a mesmerising
white apparition that seems to fl oat above
the water when viewed from across the lake.
Climbing half-way to the upper terrace af-
fords great views, showing the plethora of
hti (stupa pinnacles) glittering through the
Amarapura tree-scape. However, women
aren’t allowed up.
Bagaya Kyaung BUDDHA MUSEUM
b;"kr;ekY;='"
(admission $10 combo ticket) This 1996 recon-
struction of an early-19th-century monas-
tery has plenty of fl ying wooden fi ligree
roofwork, which looks exciting from afar.
However, on closer inspection the work
looks ham-fi sted and the collection of 19th-
century Buddha images will appeal only to
specialists. In the area around here you’ll
fi nd a foundry where giant woks are ham-
mered into shape, there are several distinc-
tive tobacco drying barns and, hidden
away at the edge of a military encampment,
it’s possible to glimpse the sorry ruins of
some former palace buildings.Ayeya r wa dy Br idge s
Linking Sagaing and Amarapura are two
parallel bridges, each with multiple metal-
framed spans. The newer three-span, four-
lane highway bridge was completed in 2005.
The 1934 British-engineered, 16-span Ava
Bridge carries the railway and a narrower
road. In 1942 the British demolished two
spans of this bridge to deny passage to the
advancing Japanese. It wasn’t repaired until
1954.
If you cross the Ava Bridge, you’ll prob-
ably be charged the Mingun–Sagaing $3 fee.
However, if approaching from the eastern
side, you can stop before the checkpoint and
look down to glimpse Thabyedan Fort, one
of three chunky if far-from-dramatic forts
built as a last ditch defence against the Brit-
ish advance in 1885.Shwe-kyet-kay STUPAS, VIEWPOINT
er ̄äkk'kY
(Map p 228 ) One of the best places from which
to appreciate Sagaing is from across the river
at this little bluff with a cascade of small stu-
pas. It’s part of a pair with the bigger Shwe-
kyet-yet on a gentle rise across the road. The
name, meaning Golden Fowl’s Run, relates to
a legend that in a previous life the Buddha-to-
be had lived here as a golden chicken and had
fl uttered up the hillock to evade royal trap-
pers. The Buddha-bird’s younger brother had
chosen the riverside bluff.Inwa (Ava)
a='"v
For over half of the past 650 years, Burma’s
royal capital was Inwa (Mandalay $10 com-
bo ticket required). Yet nowadays the site
is a remarkably rural backwater of empty
fi elds sparsely dotted with widely spaced
ruins, monastic buildings and stupas. It’s
a world away from the city bustle of Man-
dalay, and for many, exploring by plodding
old horse cart is all part of its charm. At
the time of research, the $10 combo ticket