Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
persized eyelashes (each 33cm long). A stylish little bindi, diamond-encrusted crown and
golden robes decorated with glass mosaics complete the look, while the soles of the image's
huge feet are covered in auspicious golden markings. A gilded statue of the ubiquitous
Shin
Upagot
sits in a small shrine opposite the feet.
Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda
Shwegone Rd (turn right out of the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, head down Shwegone Rd for 100m then go left
through the arch signed “Nat Htat Gyi Paya” and down this side road for 100m, then head up the covered stair-
case on your right) • Free, although a donation (in US$) may be requested
The
Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda
(“Five-storey Pagoda”) is home to another of Yangon's super-
sized Buddhas - not quite the equal of the nearby Chauk Htat Gyi in size at a mere 9m high,
although the super-intricate, hyperactive decoration makes the Chauk Htat Gyi Buddha look
positively boring in comparison. Seated in the earth-witness mudra, the figure - one of the
country's most flamboyant images - brushes the ground lightly with enormous pink finger-
nails and sports riotously decorated golden robes plus a jewel-encrusted crown, the whole
thing set against a magnificent wooden backdrop.
Northern Yangon
The featureless suburbs of
northern Yangon
straggle all the way up to the airport and
beyond. None is of any particular interest, although they are dotted with a few further
Buddhist monuments including the fanciful
KabaAyePagoda
and the grand
LawkaChan-
thaAbhayaLabhaMuniBuddha
statue,thelattereasilycombinedwithatriptothesuburb
of Insein on the city's popular
Circle Line
railway.
Inya Lake
,
Myanma Gems Museum
and
KabeAyePagoda
caneasily beseentogether asasingle day-trip; ataxi outfromdown-
town should cost around K5000.
Inya Lake and around
CentrepieceofnorthernYangonistheextensive
InyaLake
(formerlyLakeVictoria),created
by the British in 1883 to provide water for the city. It's now one of the city's favourite
pleasure-spots with attractive (and free) lakeside walkways along its eastern and western
sides, usually busy with couples smooching under umbrellas.
TheareaaroundthelakeishometosomeofYangon'spremierrealestate,particularlyalong
University Avenue
, on the south side of the lake. Here, at no. 54, you'll find the
house of
Aung San Suu Kyi
, where Myanmar's most famous dissident was kept under house arrest
for fifteen years, although there's not much to see apart from the large walled compound
toppedwithmetalspikes,razorwire,manyNationalLeagueforDemocracyflagsandaphoto
of General Aung San over the main gate. Further down the road is the former home of Aung
San Suu Kyi's long-term adversary Ne Win, who lived here until his death in 2002.
