lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

WHITE MARBLE & WHITE ELEPHANTSThere are numerous Buddhist monuments in the suburbs surrounding Yangon, butKyauk Daw Kyi (Map p 38 ; Bargaryar St; admission free; h6am-6pm), an immense seatedBuddha, is undoubtedly the most impressive. Carved from a single piece of marble foundoutside Mandalay in 1999, the partially finished statue was painstakingly transported toYangon by boat and train (on a specially built track) a year later, events that are depictedin the complex’s modern murals. After the detailing was finished, the Buddha was positionedat its current home at the top of a hill and encased in glass.Couple a visit here with the nearby Hsin Hpyu Daw (Map p 38 ; admission free; h8am-5pm), an unmarked park across the street where two white elephants are held. The elephants– actually light pink in colour – were found upcountry and brought to Yangon in2002, their discovery regarded, by the military at least, as a good omen for the country.39YANGON SIGHTSSIGHTSIn late 2007 Yangon was the centre of hugenationwide fuel protests, which were led byBuddhist monks. The protests quickly escalatedinto antigovernment demonstrations,which resulted in the deaths of many protestorsand worldwide condemnation.In May 2008 the worst natural disaster inMyanmar’s recent history hit the south of thecountry (see p 305 for more). Yangon was declareda disaster area by Myanmar’s government.Many of the city’s pagodas, temples,shops and hotels had minor to serious damagefrom falling trees, lampposts and fences.However, when reconstruction work began, itwas found that most of the city had escapedmajor structural damage. By mid-June 2008electricity and telecommunications were backto normal, and shops and restaurants had reopenedwith brand-new corrugated-tin roofs.HistoryMyanmar’s biggest city, Yangon is comparativelyyoung. It became the capital only in1885 when the British completed their conquestof northern Myanmar, and Mandalay’sbrief period as the centre of the last Burmesekingdom ended.Despite its short history as the seat of nationalgovernment, Yangon has been in existencefor a long time – although mostly as asmall town – in comparison to places suchas Bago (Pegu), Pyay (Prome) or Thaton. In1755 King Alaungpaya conquered centralMyanmar and built a new city on the siteof Yangon, which at that time was knownas Dagon. Yangon means ‘end of strife’:the king rather vainly hoped that with theconquest of central Myanmar, his struggleswould be over. In 1756, with the destructionof Thanlyin (Syriam) across the river, Yangonalso became an important seaport.In 1841 the city was virtually destroyed byfire; the rebuilt town again suffered extensivedamage during the Second Anglo-BurmeseWar in 1852. The British, the new masters,rebuilt the capital to its present plan and corruptedthe city’s name to Rangoon.In 1988 around 15% of Yangon’s city-centrepopulation – all squatters – were forced tomove to seven myo thit (new towns) northeastof the city centre. Many of the old colonialbuildings once occupied by the squattershave now been refurbished for use as offices,businesses and apartments.The city changed dramatically followingthe 1989 banishment of socialism. Startingin the early 1990s, the government begansprucing up the city’s appearance by cleaningthe streets and painting many publicbuildings. Since 1992, when the procapitalistGeneral Than Shwe took power, new carsand trucks have taken to city roads, mobilephones are commonly seen in the city centreand satellite dishes dot the horizon.In November 2005, quite unexpectedly, thegovernment announced that the newly constructedcity of Nay Pyi Taw in central Myanmarwas to be the nation’s capital. Despitethe government upping sticks for the newcapital, Yangon remains the commercial anddiplomatic capital and by far the largest city.1SightsCITY CENTREBotataung PayaBUDDHIST TEMPLEbuil'teqC='.urC"(Map p 42 ; Strand Rd; admission $2, camera $1) Oneof Yangon’s ‘big three’ payas, and said to containhair relics of the Buddha, the BotataungPaya was named after the 1000 military leaderswho escorted relics of the Buddha fromIndia to Myanmar over 2000 years ago (Bo