205MANDALAYSIGHTSMANDALAY & AROUNDSIGHTSMANDALAYSIGHTS26ft-high walls cut from deep red-brown
stone. The walls are punctuated at regular in-
tervals with gatetowers topped by pyramids
of fancifully carved woodwork. The overall
eff ect isn’t quite as impressive as you might
anticipate, in part because of the sheer length
and regularity of the walls, but the scene cre-
ates photogenic refl ections in the moat, and
in certain long-zoom angles the watchtowers
appear to stretch to infi nity. Built in 1857, the
fort was a walled city within a city where the
relative locations of the teak houses repre-
sented the residents’ status within the social
hierarchy. At the centre was the royal palace.
Mandalay Palace PA L AC E
mNÿel"nn'"et×
(Map p 204 ; admission $10 combo ticket; hentry
7.30am-4.30pm) Before 1885, the fortress
walls enclosed a gigantic royal city. The Brit-
ish ejected the Burmese elite from their teak
houses and deported King Thibaw, then de-
molished part of the original city to create a
parade ground and turned the centrepiece
palace complex into a governor’s residence
and club. Much later, during fi erce WWII
fi ghting in March 1945, the palace itself
caught fi re and was destroyed leaving noth-
ing of the original. Today the area within
the walls is mostly a vast tree-shaded army
camp. However, foreign visitors can visit the
central palace, which was completely rebuilt
in the late 1990s, reputedly using forced la-
bour. Foreigners may enter the fortress area
only through the east gate (by trishaw, taxi,
bicycle etc), and due to army sensibilities are
allowed only within the oval palace loop plus
along the road that leads there directly (even
though there’s no obvious physical barrier to
venturing down some other roads).
The reconstruction is impressive for its
scale (over 40 timber buildings) and com-
pleteness, but less so for its artistry and the
peeling paint on its corrugated metal roofs.
Start by getting a general overview by climb-
ing the curious spiral watchtower, butNorthern Mandalay
æTop Sights 19 Royal City Hotel......................................A5
Mandalay Hill........................................... C1 20 Sedona Mandalay...................................C5
Mandalay Palace & Fort ........................ B3
Shwenandaw Kyaung............................ D2 úEating
21 A Little Bit of Mandalay..........................C5
æSights 22 BBB .........................................................A5
1 Atumashi Kyaungdawgyi ...................... D2 23 Café City .................................................C4
2 Kuthodaw Paya...................................... D2 24 Green Elephant.......................................C5
3 Kyauktawgyi Paya ................................. C2 25 Ko's Kitchen............................................A3
4 Mandalay Hill Bobokyi Nat 26 Marie-Min................................................B5
Entrance .............................................. C2 Peacock Lodge ..............................(see 18)
5 Mandalay Hill Chinthe Entrance........... C2 Spice Garden ................................. (see 15)
6 Mandalay Palace East Gate .................. C3 27 Too Too Restaurant ...............................B5
7 Myatsawnyinaung Ordination
Hall ........................................................C1 ýEntertainment
8 Peshawar Relics..................................... C2 28 Mandalay Marionettes...........................C5
9 San Dha Mukhi statue ............................C1 29 Mintha Theater .......................................C5
10 Sandamuni Paya.................................... D2 Yatanaban Restaurant..................(see 14)
11 Shwe Mann Taung Golf Resort.............. B1
12 Standing Buddha.................................... C1 þShopping
13 Zoo .......................................................... C2 30 Garuda ....................................................A2
31 Rocky ......................................................D5
Activities, Courses & Tours Sunflower...................................... (see 26)
14 Yatanaban Swimming Pool................... C2
Information
ÿSleeping 32 MTT (Myanmar Travels &
15 Hotel by the Red Canal.......................... D4 Tours)...................................................C5
16 Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel ................... C2
17 Mandalay View Inn................................. C5 Transport
18 Peacock Lodge ...................................... D5 33 Sun Far Travels & Tours ........................A5