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MANDALAY & AROUND

MANDALAY

Shwekyimyint Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE

(Map p 206 ; 24th St, 82/83) Founded in 1167

by Prince Minshinzaw, exiled son of King

Alaungsithu, Shwekyimyint considerably

predates Mandalay itself. It’s famous for an

original Buddha image consecrated by the

prince and for other images collected by

later Myanmar kings that were relocated

here after the British occupied Mandalay

Palace. However, these images are shown to

the public only on important religious occa-

sions. Shwekyimyint is tucked away behind

the strikingly modern Kyauk Mosque.

Cultural Museum & Library MUSEUM

(Map p 206 ; 80th St, 24/25; admission $5; h10am-

4pm Tue-Sat) This dowdy, poorly lit three-

room collection displays archaeological

fi nds, Buddhas and a bullock cart. It’s ludi-

crously over-priced.

GREATER MANDALAY

Mahamuni Paya and the Stone Carvers' Area

are conveniently visited as part of a day trip

to Amarapura, Inwa or Sagaing. There’s a

whole series of monasteries in the area west

of 85th street, between 35th and 41st Sts.

Also very pleasant for random exploration is

the area somewhat further north, which is

covered in our cycling tour, p 211.

oMahamuni Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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(Map p 202 ) The star attraction of this mas-

sive complex is its highly venerated 13ft-high

seated Buddha image, one of Myanmar’s

most famous. Many locals believe that it is

2000 years old. Over the centuries so much

votary gold leaf has been applied by the

(male) faithful that the fi gure is now entirely

covered in a knobbly 6in-thick layer of pure

gold. Entirely, that is, apart from his radi-

antly gleaming face, which is lovingly pol-

ished daily at 4am. The statue is a relative

newcomer to Mandalay. It was seized from

Mrauk U (p 287 ) by the Burmese army of

King Bodawpaya, who dragged it back here

in 1784. The epic story of this feat is retold in

a series of 1950s paintings in a picture gal-

lery across the pagoda’s inner courtyard to

the northeast. Bodawpaya also nabbed a col-

lection of Hindu-Buddhist Khmer bronze

fi gures, which were originally pilfered cen-

turies earlier from Angkor Wat, and reached

Mrauk U by a series of other historical thefts.

THE $10 COMBO TICKET & HOW TO DODGE IT

Rather than paying individual entry fees, most of Mandalay area’s key sites are paid for

collectively by buying a $10 combo ticket at any of the sites involved. Looking something

like an undernourished credit card, the ticket has a scratch-and-reveal PIN number that

is supposedly entered into a computer to be linked with your name and purchase date.

According to text on the ticket, it is valid a week from fi rst use, though certain entry

booths insist that this is a mistake and claim that it is only really valid for four (even

three) days. But as there’s no date written on the ticket anyway, and as few of the sites’

computers are actually on line, you’re unlikely to be challenged.

While the $10 fee isn’t unreasonable for the large range of attractions covered, many

visitors feel uncomfortable that the fee goes to the government (Archaeology department;

see p 21 ). If you go to Mandalay Palace, Atumashi Kyaungdawgyi, Shwenandaw Kyaung or

key sites at out-of-town Inwa, you won’t have a shot of visiting without paying. But trickery

can get you at least a peep into several others while substitution can show you equivalent

free gems. Random discoveries and lesser-known sights are often more interesting than

the commercialised tourist ‘must sees’ anyway. Consider the following tactics:

» The south entrance (not west) of Kuthodaw Paya (p 210 ) has ticket checkers, who sit

at a table and chat away until they leave work at 5pm. If avoiding them seems too 007

for you, the similarly designed adjoining Sandamuni Paya (p 210 ) is free and features

plenty more slab-in-stupa monuments.

» The teak Shwenandaw Kyaung (p 203 ) can be spied with your zoom from outside the

unobtrusive fence, but you won’t get in without a ticket. South of the centre, however,

the equally impressive ‘teak monastery’ Shwe In Bin (p 209 ) is ticket-free.

» According to attendants on Mandalay Hill, the combo ticket is no longer required

there, but should you find otherwise, Yankin Paya (p 231 ), 3 miles east, makes a fine

alternative for sunset viewing and sees far fewer foreigners.