THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Myanmar - page 422

The 30m stupa of the Sone Oo Pone Nya Shin Paya lies in wait at the top, a handsome,
pleasingly decorated reward for your endeavour, with fancily colourful tiling and rich
turquoise-and-green tessellated glass behind the main statue. In addition, the views of the
river are quite superbfromhere, andwith decent enoughweather you'll see Mandalay'sgrey
sprawlwaytothenorth.Thereareseveralotherreligiousstructuresonthehill,themostinter-
estingofwhichis UminThounzeh ,acurvedchambercontaining43seatedandtwostanding
Buddha images, a twenty-minute walk from the Sone Oo Pone Nya Shin Paya.
Kaunghmudaw Paya
7km northwest of central Sagaing • Daily 24hr • Covered by Sagaing-Mingun combination ticket • Motorbike
taxis charge K6000
Some way to the northwest of Sagaing but easily visible from a distance, Kaunghmudaw
Paya is the town's most interesting religious monument. Looking somewhat like a white-
washed, 50m-tall mammary gland, it was completed in 1648, its decidedly non-Burmese
design based on the Ruvanvalisaya stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Like its counterpart,
it is said to house a number of relics of the Buddha, including a tooth - actually an ox-bone
fake - and several strands of hair.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SAGAING
By pick-up It's possible to get to Sagaing on one of the smoke-hooting pick-ups from Man-
dalay , butthesedropoffnearthemarket-nowherenearSagaingHill,butfineifyou'replan-
ning to stay in or otherwise make use of the town itself. It's a 2km climb from the market to
the hill - walkable, just about, though it's far easier to hop on a motorbike taxi.
Tours Most travellers arrive in Sagaing on a motorbike or taxi tour . Some drivers will take
you to the base of Sagaing Hill, and others to the top - ask about this when arranging your
trip, since you might be asked extra for the latter, unless your driver is also planning to visit
a commission-friendly silversmiths on the way down.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Outside Mandalay, Sagaing is the only place in the area with foreigner-licensed accommod-
ation - and there's one whole hotel to choose from. While a day-trip is enough for some,
there's certainly some merit to staying the night - it's an appealing place which won't have
any other foreigners after sundown.
Pyi San One road north of Aoe Tann Lay 072 34505. A passable place to eat, located one
street parallel to the Shwe Pyae Sone hotel; as with any restaurant in Sagaing, you'll have
curious locals gazing at you throughout your meal. The fare on offer includes hefty-sized
Chinese staples (from K1500), and good draught Dagon beer. Daily 8am-9pm.
Shwe Pyae Sone 20 Aoe Tann Lay 072 22781, [e-mail] . If
youfeellikestayingintheMandalayareabutnotinMandalayitself,here'syouronlyoption.
It's actually a very nice little place, with courteous staff and surprisingly presentable rooms;