Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GOOGLE MAP
are the windowless ruins of a three-storey stone fortress retaken from the
Japanese by Britain's Royal Berkshire Regiment in a March 1945 battle.
Near the summit, on the east side facing the penultimate stupa, a contemporary statue
depicts ogress
San Dha Mukhi
offering forth her severed breasts. That's the sort of dis-
play that might have alarmed a more squeamish man, but according to legend, her bizarre
feat of self-mutilation impressed the Buddha so much that he ensured her reincarnation
2400 years later as King Mindon.
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Other Stairways
Steeper stairways lead up from the north (25 minutes) or west (15 minutes) but there's
little to see en route apart from canoodling couples (south) or lounging monks (west).
Wear shoes for these stairways and, near the top of the south route, be prepared to clam-
ber across/between a trio of pipes.
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Vehicles
It's possible to drive most of the way up Mandalay Hill. From the upper car park both a
lift and an escalator tower should whisk you up to the hilltop. However, as both are often
broken you'll probably need to walk the last five minutes by stairways. From 10th St at
68th St, shared pick-up route 16 (per person K1000) shuttles to the car park. Motorcycle
taxis typically charge K3000 up, K2000 down (even though the down route is much fur-
ther due to a long one-way loop).
Shwenandaw Kyaung
BUDDHIST MONASTERY
(Golden Palace Monastery; admission K10,000 combo ticket)
Lavished in carved panels, this
fine teak monastery-temple is noted for its carvings, particularly the interior gilded
Jataka scenes (past-life stories of the Buddha). The building once stood within the Man-
dalay Palace complex as the royal apartment of King Mindon, who died inside it in 1878.
Reputedly unable to cope with Mindon's ghost, his successor, King Thibaw, had the
building dismantled, carted out of the palace complex and reassembled outside the fort-
ress walls, where it was converted into a monastery (1880). It's a good thing he did, as all
other palace buildings were later lost to WWII bombs.
WHITE ELEPHANTS
Legend has it that before giving birth to her auspicious son, the Buddha's mother
dreamt of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus flower. In certain Buddhist
