Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
North of Monywa
Wizened old neem trees and many an attractive stupa enliven the busy, well-paved road
leading north from Monywa. After 19 miles, Budalin is a small junction settlement with
a basic noodle shop, from which it's still rather a slog to reach the area's minor attrac-
tions. But you'll certainly be getting far, far off the tourist radar.
TWIN DAUNG
Twin Daung is one of four volcanic crater lakes in Myanmar, from whose swirling green
waters Spirulina is cultivated. You can visit the lakeside Spirulina factory to see the con-
crete cultivation tanks, peer through a microscope at the algae's incredible spiral form
and see a range of packaged Spirulina-based products (manufactured elsewhere and not
for sale here). The palm-fronted lakeside has a certain south-sea charm and views from
the crater rim are very wide without being enormously spectacular.
Access is by an 8-mile (13km) unpaved lane that doubles back to the southwest, start-
ing just a few yards after the toll gate when arriving in Budalin from the south.
SPIRULINA
An algae that grows in alkaline, subtropical lakes, Spirulina is named for its coiled
spiral (or more accurately helix) shape, which is only visible when looking through
a microscope. Harvested and dried, Spirulina was once a food-source for Aztec
people. Today it's a popular dietary supplement said to help reduce cholesterol,
lower blood pressure and counter hay fever. In Myanmar, Spirulina is best known
as an ingredient of Mandalay Brewery's popular 'anti-aging' beer.
PAYAGYI
The large Payagyi stupa and its oversized
chinthe
(half-lion/half-dragon deity) face an
abrupt twin-peaked hill, topped with a stupa and castle-like rocky outcrop and said to
have an indelible footprint of Bagan-era King Kyanzittha at its base. Now boxed within
concrete walls and tin roof, the empty front prayer hall retains its 170-year-old teak pil-
lars. Its carved-stone floor tiles, telling Ramayana tales, have been moved for safe keep-
ing to a museum shed: notice number 274 featuring Hanuman (the monkey god) riding a
sheep and smoking a cheroot. The attractive wooden monastery building seems oversized
for the handful of resident monks.
It's 19 miles (30km) from the central junction in Budalin (marked by a golden horse-
back Bandula statue, 1640ft (500m) north of the Twin Daung turning), where you veer
