THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Myanmar - page 412

THE MOUSTACHE BROTHERS
It's not easy to criticize the regime in Myanmar, especially in public - however, the inter-
nationally famed Moustache Brothers have been doing just this for decades, playing on
the edges of what's acceptable to the regime. This comic dissidence has, inevitably, landed
themintrouble-in1996thethreebrothersperformedatAungSanSuuKyi'scompoundin
Yangon, after which two of them (Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw) were sentenced to six years of
hard labour. Undeterred, they resumed their show in 2002; barred from performing in any
publicarea,theydecided todosoattheirMandalay homeinstead, satirizing national polit-
ics under the watchful gaze of the authorities. Officialdom then decreed that they weren't
allowed to perform there either; the brothers then decided to do the same act without cos-
tumes and make-up, since it then couldn't be called a “show”. Somehow, this ruse worked,
and they've been performing ever since . Sadly, Par Par Lay died in 2013, but the two re-
maining performers have carried on. Despite his fame, and the fact that he meets curious
foreigners every single day, Lu Maw (the only English-speaker) is actually very willing to
chat to those who pop by during the day.
SHOPPING
Pretty much all of the gold leaf applied to Buddha images by devotees in Myanmar comes
from a small area of Mandalay. There are about fifty gold-leaf workshops across the city,
many of them based in homes in the blocks around 36th St, just east of the railway line.
Mandalay is also famed for the production of wonderful tapestries , most of which depict the
Jataka. Finally,if youcan fit a giant Buddha statue into yourbackpack, gohunting in the fas-
cinating area just west of the Mahamuni Paya .
Diamond Plaza 33rd St, at 78th St; map . The newest mall-like space in town at the time
of writing, consisting of five floors of brand-name (usually ones you won't have heard of)
clothingandcosmetics.There'sa cinema sittinghereonthetopfloor,nexttoafewcheapres-
taurants and cafés, and Myanmar Book Centre, the city's best bookstore, down below. Daily
6am-6pm.
Jade Market 38th St, at 87th St; map . You'll hear lots of Chinese being spoken at this ex-
traordinarily busy market, which in theory charges foreign visitors a K1000 entry fee; you're
more likely to be asked for it at the western entrance, and less likely at the northern one. If
you're in the market for some jade, the first prices will, of course, be rip-offs; you should be
able to haggle these down to more acceptable levels, particularly if using the nearby Unison
teahouse as part of a “look, I'm really walking away” strategy. Also of note are the work-
houses off the eastern side of the market, which are where the stones get cut and polished -
quite an absorbing spectacle. Daily 8.30am-5.30pm.