Southern Myanmar - Myanmar (Burma) - page 191

Sights & Activities

Kyaikthanlan Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE
MAP GOOGLE MAP

(Kyaik Than Lan Phayar St; daylight hours) Rudyard Kipling's visit to Myanmar al-
legedly only spanned three days, but this stint resulted in a few lines of prose that turned
Burma into an oriental fantasy: 'By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea…'
The 'Moulmein Pagoda' cited in the poem 'Mandalay' was most likely Kyaikthanlan
Paya MAP GOOGLE MAP , the city's tallest and most visible stupa.
A favoured spot for watching the sunset, the best way to approach the temple complex
is via the long covered walkway that extends from Kyaik Than Lan Phayar St. This
walkway also had an impact on Kipling, who was later to comment of it: 'I should better
remember what the pagoda was like had I not fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with
a Burmese girl at the foot of the first flight of steps. Only the fact of the steamer starting
next noon prevented me from staying at Moulmein forever.'
Directly north and linked by a covered walkway is Mahamuni (Bahaman) Paya
MAP GOOGLE MAP ( daylight hours) , the largest temple complex and easily
the most beautiful in Mawlamyine. It's built in the typical Mon style with covered brick
walkways linking various shrines. The highlight is the Bahaman Paya itself, a jewel-box
chamber shimmering with mirrors, rubies and diamonds and containing a century-old
replica of its namesake in Mandalay.
Below Kyaikthanlan is the 100-year-old Seindon Mibaya Kyaung MAP
GOOGLE MAP ( daylight hours) , a monastery where King Mindon Min's queen,
Seindon, sought refuge after Myanmar's last monarch, King Thibaw Min, took power.
On the next rise south stands the isolated silver-and-gold-plated Aung Theikdi Zedi
MAP

( daylight hours) .

GOOGLE MAP

U Khanti Paya MAP GOOGLE MAP ( daylight hours) was built to commem-
orate the hermit architect of Mandalay Hill fame; supposedly U Khanti spent some time
on this hill as well. It's a rustic, airy sort of place centred around a large buddha image.
U Zina Paya MAP GOOGLE MAP ( daylight hours) , on the southern spur of
the ridge, was named after a former monk who dreamt of finding gems at this very spot,
then dug them up and used the proceeds to build a temple on the same site. One of the
shrine buildings contains a very curvy, sensual-looking reclining buddha; there are also
statues depicting Gautama Buddha's meeting with a sick man, an old man, a dead man