lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

MR ANTONY: LOCAL GUIDEI’m a Karen Christian who has lived in Mawlamyine for 12 years, but I only speak a littlebit of Mon. I work at Breeze Rest House and as a local guide.Best VillageOn Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island; p 101 ) there are many villages. Tourists can see the traditionalMon way of life, including villages that make good-quality walking sticks and rubber bandsfrom local rubber. Sometimes, during a festival, tourists can see traditional kickboxing.Best TempleSeindon Mibaya Kyaung (p 96 ) has some artistic wooden crafts and antiques. There’s avery old throne and some carvings from ivory donated by King Mindon’s wife.Best BeachSetse Beach (p 104 ) is the only beach around Mawlamyine. It’s a quiet place and not farfrom Kyaikkami and the Yele Paya.Best Day TripNwa-La-Bo Pagoda (p 102 ) is a rock pagoda on the top of a hill, like the famous GoldenRock. It’s only a half-hour drive from Mawlamyine but not many tourists go there.Secret SpotFrom a viewpoint between U Zina Paya and Kyaikthanlan Paya (p 96 ), on the high peaklooking over the town, you can see what many tourists say is the most beautiful sunset inSoutheast Asia.lamyine), and generations of his family wereborn and bred here. Kipling’s visit was shorter,just three days, but resulted in a few linesof prose that turned Burma into an orientalfantasy: ‘By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’lazy at the sea…’ The spirit of the poem ‘Mandalay’,from which these words arise, lives onin Mawlamyine in the form of the golden poemsof Buddhist stupas sprawled across thejungle ridge behind the town.At the northern end of this ridge is Mahamuni(Bahaman) Paya, the largest templecomplex and easily the most beautiful inMawlamyine. It’s built in the typical Monstyle with covered brick walkways linkingvarious shrines. The highlight is the BahamanPaya itself, a jewel-box chamber shimmeringwith mirrors, rubies and diamondsand containing a century-old replica of itsnamesake in Mandalay (p 208 ).Farther south along the ridge is KyaikthanlanPaya, the city’s tallest and mostvisible stupa. Impressive though the payais, it didn’t do much for Kipling, who waslater to comment of it: ‘I should better rememberwhat the pagoda was like had I notfallen deeply and irrevocably in love with aBurmese girl at the foot of the first flight ofsteps. Only the fact of the steamer startingnext noon prevented me from staying atMoulmein forever.’ He was certainly not thelast to think like that…Just below the paya, you can admire theview over the city; it’s a favoured spot forwatching the sunset. The best way to approachthe paya from town is via the long coveredwalkway that extends from Kyaikthan St.Below Kyaikthanlan is the 100-year-oldSeindon Mibaya Kyaung, a monasterywhere King Mindon Min’s queen, Seindon,sought refuge after Myanmar’s last monarch,King Thibaw Min, took power. On thenext rise south stands the isolated silverand-gold-platedAung Theikdi Zedi.U Khanti Paya was built to commemoratethe hermit architect of Mandalay Hillfame; supposedly U Khanti spent some timeon this hill as well. It’s a rustic, airy sort ofplace centred around a large buddha image.U Zina Paya, on the southern spur of theridge, was named after a former monk whodreamt of finding gems at this very spot,then dug them up and used the proceedsto build a temple on the same site. One ofthe shrine buildings contains a very curvy,sensual-looking reclining buddha; there are97MON SOUTHEASTERN STATE SIGHTS MYANMAR & ACTIVITIES SIGHTS MAWLAMYINE & ACTIVITIES (MOULMEIN)