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Mandalay
was the capital of Myanmar till 1885 when
the British occupied what was left under
King Thibaw, the last King of Myanmar. It is
still the center of culture and religion.
Mandalay lies 716 km (one and a half hour
flight from Yangon) north of Yangon.
Mingun
lies 11 km up the Ayeyarwady river from
Mandalay and is accessible by boat.
Old capitals of Myanmar
within easy day tripping distance are:
Sagaing (capital of Myanmar from 1315 AD
to 1364 AD) that is 21 km south west of
Mandalay; Innwa (capital of Myanmar
from 1364 AD to 1764 AD (except for the
brief interludes) that is 20 km south west
of Mandalay; and Amarapura (capital
of Myanmar from 1841 AD to 1860 AD) that is
11 km south of Mandalay.
Pyin Oo Lwin
(67 km east of Mandalay and 1.5 hours
drive), a hill station 1,070 meters above
the sea level with cool pleasant weather.
Monywa
that is 84 miles northwest of Mandalay (3
hours drive) that could be reached via
Sagaing.
Main attraction:
 Mandalay:
Mandalay hill (view sunset from the
top); Peshawa Relics (three bones
of Gautama Buddha) enshrined in
Ingyin Taw pagoda at the base of the
Mandalay hill; Mandalay palace walls
and moat; the replica of the
former palace; Kuthodaw pagoda – 729
stone slabs with Buddhist scriptures - known
as the largest book; the famous Mahamuni
pagoda in which the bronze – but
gradually coated with thick layers of gold
leaf - Buddha statue was taken from Rakhhine
in 1784; traditional marble sculpture
workshops; and traditional gold leaf
workshops.
 Mingun:
That place is famous for the
largest uncracked hung Mingun bell
(90 ton) in the world; and also for the
biggest unfinished pagoda Pahtotawgyi in
the world.
 Innwa:
Nanmyint watch tower
(known as the leaning tower of Innwa),
Maha Aungmye Bonzan brick and stucco
monastery and the Bagaya Kyaung, the
monastery entirely made of teakwood and
noted for its 267 teak posts that support
the whole monastery.
 Amarapura:
Maha Gandayon monastery and
seminary, with thousands of monks. The
world’s longest (1.2 km) teak foot bridge
(U Bein bridge); and
traditional silk cloth
weaving handlooms
 Sagaing:
Panoramic view of the Ayeyarwady river and
Mandalay from top of the Sagaing hills
that is dotted with numerous pagodas;
Kaung Hmu Daw pagoda that takes after
the Sinhalese architecture; and
the silversmiths.
 Monywa:
Kyaukkar
village which is famous for the lacquer ware
different from Bagan style; and Mohnyin
Than Buddhay Pagoda where more than
500,000 Buddha images are seated. Other
places of interest are the Hpo Win hill
and Shweba hill (a religious site
with unique pavilions and images cut from
sand stone).
 Pyin
Oo Lwin:
Purcell tower, a gift from Queen
Victoria (UK); 237 acres Botanical
garden developed by the Turkish P.O.W
during World War One.
Before arriving Kyaukme:
Gokteik steel bridge,
over a 300 meter deep gorge which is more
than a hundred years old and the second
highest railway bridge in the world.
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