lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

224MANDALAY & AROUND AROUND MANDALAYWHICH CAPITAL WHENCAPITAL FROM… NOTESInwa (Ava)1364Taungoo 1555Inwa (Ava)1636Shwebo 1752then calledMokeseboSagaing 1760Inwa (Ava)1764Amarapura1783Inwa (Ava)1823Amarapura1841following the 1838earthquakeMandalay 1861-85 the British laterbanished the royalsto Indiayou explore Inwa by horse-cart. Pay slightlymore to be driven around Inwa, to add Paleikor to substitute Mingun for Inwa. Doingthe whole lot in one day would be exhausting– and quite impossible if you wanted todo the Mingun boat. Ideally, make two orthree more modest day trips.AmarapuraamrpUr%02 / POP C35,000Myanmar’s penultimate royal capital, Amarapura(pronounced amuRA-puRA) means‘City of Immortality’, though its period ofprominence lasted less than 70 years (from1783). Starting in 1857, King Mindon dismantledmost of the palace buildings andshipped them 7 miles north to Mandalay,which was to become the new capital accordingto a Buddhist prophesy. These daysAmarapura is essentially a spread-out suburbof Mandalay, but it’s leafy and attractivelyset on a wide, shallow lake, namedfor an ogre who supposedly came looking1SightsoU Bein’s Bridge WOODEN FOOTBRIDGEwI"pin't®t;"The world’s longest teak footbridge gentlycurves 1300yd across shallow TaungthamanLake, creating one of Myanmar’s mostphotographed sites. In the dry season it feelssurreally high and mostly crosses seasonalvegetable gardens. But at the height of summerthe lake rises several feet and laps justbelow the floor planks. Just a few of the 1060poles on which it stands have been replacedby concrete supports.A great time to visit the bridge is just aftersunrise when hundreds of villagers andmonks commute back and forth across it.The light is often best around an hour beforesunset, but by then there will be a largenumber of tourists and trinket sellers. Apopular visiting tactic is to walk across thebridge then return by paddle-boat (K3000)as the sun is setting. However, as boats areusually only available at the bridge’s westernend (where tour buses arrive), you’ll need tomake pick-up arrangements before you walkacross. Or simply ask your taxi/motorbikedriver to drop you at the eastern end. In thedry season a track along the southeast sideof the lake is passable by motorbike.Amarapura #e 0 400 mTo Mandalay# â BagayaTobaccodrying# æWok'Houses'#æKyaungFoundry66PalaceRuins #ä# ÚPahtodawgyi66# ö#-2Taungthaman66LakeMahaGanayonKyaung# æKyauktawgyifor Buddha here. The lake is crossed by anBoatsPaya#for Hire# Úiconic wooden footbridge. Several other3scattered attractions can be visited, but# æthey’re widely spaced, so a bike or taxi isUBein'salmost essential.Bridge1Ayeyarwady RiverShwe Yinma RdASagaing-Mandalay RdA‚Minawon St0 0.2 milesBMilitaryAreaKanthitan StB66123