lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

e#230MANDALAY & AROUND AROUND MANDALAYMingunm='"kân'"%72 / POP C1000Home to a trio of unique pagodas, Mingun(admission Sagaing/Mingun $3 ticket) is acompact riverside village that makes a popularhalf-day excursion from Mandalay. Thejourney is part of the attraction, whether putteringup the wide Ayeyarwady or rollercoasteringfrom Sagaing along a rural lane throughtimeless hamlets of bamboo-weave homes.1SightsMingun PayaSTUPA RUINm='"kân'".ur;"Started in 1790, Mingun Paya (or Pahtodawgyi)would have been the world’s biggeststupa had it been finished. In fact, workstopped when King Bodawpaya died in 1819.That left only the bottom third complete.But that is still a huge structure – a roughly240ft cube on a 460ft lower terrace – whichis often described as the world’s largestpile of bricks. And for added drama, thereare several deeply cut cracks caused by an1838 earthquake. Across the road, just thehaunches remain of two vast brick chinthe(half-lion, half-dragon guardian deities) thatwould have guarded the pagoda.Mingun #e 0 200 m123AHsinbyumePaya # ÚAMingun æ#Bell0 0.1 milesBBuddhistNursingHomeTicket ChintheMingun æ#Booth Ruin#Paya æ## fæ#Snack # úRestaurants ChintheRuin#SettawyaPaya æ## ú Poing# ÚPondawPayañ#BAyeryarwadyRiver# f123Climbing to the top of Mingun Paya affordspredictably fine views across the rivertowards hazily distant Mandalay, but despitethe structure’s dilapidated state, youmust go barefoot, which can be very painfulon soft Western feet.To see the giant structure without itsforeground of snack shops and ticket booth,walk the path around the back – best in afternoonlight.To see what Mingun Paya would havelooked like had it ever been completed, havea quick look at diminutive Pondaw Paya,200yd south at the end of the tourist strip.Mingun BellGIANT BELLm='"kân'"ex:='"el;='"Continuing his biggest-is-best obsession, in1808 Bodawpaya commissioned a giganticbronze bell. Weighing 55,555 viss (90 tonnes),it’s 13ft high and over 16ft across at the lip,making it the world’s largest uncracked bell(Moscow has a bigger one but it’s split andnot hung). Another unusual feature of theMingun Bell is that you can scramble beneathand stand within while some helpfulbystander gives it a good thump.Across the road, a Buddhist nursing homefor family-less elderly folk is always glad ofdonations.Hsinbyume PayaBUDDHIST STUPAz='¨fBmy'.ur;"Built in 1816, possibly using materials pilferedfrom Mingun Paya, this unusual pagodais supposedly a representation of theSulamani Paya. That, according to the Buddhistplan of the cosmos, stands atop MtMeru, the mountain that stands at the centreof the universe. The stupa is surroundedby seven wavy whitewashed terraces representingthe seven mountain ranges aroundMt Meru. At the top, one Buddha sits directlybehind another; the small one behind wasbeheaded by raiders looking for gold butwhen it was fixed, locals worried that Buddha’shead was tilted too low, so they madeanother.Settawya PayaBUDDHIST SHRINEck'et;'r;.ur;"Hollow and lacking finesse, this 1811 shrinecontains a ‘footprint’ of the Buddha. How canone be sure it’s real? Well, who else had feeta yard long with conch-shell toes and a floralheel? A lovably naive rank of sitting nat statuesleads down to the riverbank behind.