Travel Reference
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of seven hundred items including precious stones, jewellery, gold, silver and brass statues
and - most importantly - a pure gold stupa-shaped reliquary containing two tiny body relics
(“each the size of a mustard seed”, as it was reported) and what is believed to be a hair relic
of the Buddha.
The temple's highlight is the 39m-high gilded stupa , particularly its hollow interior (a res-
ult of post-war rebuilding - the original stupa was solid). A sumptuously decorated little
corridor runs through the inside of the stupa, its walls and ceilings covered in gilded pan-
els, while at the stupa's centre is an even more spectacularly embellished miniature shrine
containing the Buddha's hair relic, along with other items from the excavated relic chamber,
showcased in fancy glass cabinets.
The terrace surrounding the stupa is unusually large, if slightly ramshackle. A long hall
on the western side of the terrace houses several fine gilded Buddhas as well as a typical
Myanmar-style temple-cum-fairground attraction, comprising a revolving table with several
alms bowls on it, into which visitors attempt to throw folded-up banknotes.
In the southwest corner of the inner courtyard, look out for the temple's nat shrine , which
includes an image of the pagoda's white-turbaned nat guardian, or Bo Bo Gyi (“great grand-
father”), with a shrine to Shin Upagot beside. Close by, at the southern edge of the complex
is a large but rather ugly Buddha of 2008, seated in a pavilion facing the river, with attractive
views over the water.
There's a handy short cut around the back of Bogyoke Market, where a small footbridge
near the Lotaya restaurant crosses the railway lines - useful if you're heading to the Aung
Mingalar restaurant, Park Royal hotel or other locations just north of the tracks.
Bogyoke Market and around
Bogyoke Aung San Rd • Tues-Sun 10am-5pm • bogyokemarket.com
Bookending the northern side of downtown Yangon is the city's principal tourist honeypot,
BogyokeMarket - or Bogyoke Aung San Market, as it's officially known - home to Myan-
mar'smostdiverseandforeigner-friendlycollectionofsouvenirshops,jewellery-wallahsand
other consumerist collectibles. Built in 1926, this colonial-era Burmese bazaar was formerly
called Scott Market after the then municipal commissioner. The market was renamed Bogy-
oke (“General”) Aung San Market after the country's beloved independence leader in 1948.
The modern market is an attractive and atmospheric place, albeit a million miles away from
the ramshackle chaos of your average Myanmar bazaar, and also hosts the best collection of
craft and souvenir shops under a single roof in the country. The most upmarket and touristy
shops are the streetside places under the arcade fronting Bogyoke Aung San Road, many of
them stuffed with huge quantities of Myanmar jade (including some spectacularly tasteless
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