lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

EF66BauktawYANKIN# £166KyaikkasanGrounds(Sports Field)# £ TamweSwimmingPool St266Myittar# ÚChaukhtatgyiNyuntPaya# £# Ú366Ma HlwaGone 3# ú19# £6626#úKandawgyi4Lake# ú# ú 40 #þ663228EFSeveral of the city’s embassies, clinicsand smaller hotels are in the lake’s vicinity,the majority north of the lake. Just east ofthe Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, on the southernside of the lake, floats a Shin Upagotshrine. Upagot is a Bodhisattva (Buddhistsaint) who is said to protect human beingsin moments of mortal danger.The eastern side of the lake is dominatedby a very expensive governmentfinancedproject including a small parkand a playground for children, as well asthe fanciful or monstrous (depending onyour taste) Karaweik, a reinforced concretereproduction of a royal barge. Apartfrom being something of a local attractionin its own right, the Karaweik (Sanskrit forGaruda, the legendary bird-mount of theHindu god Vishnu) is also the name of agovernment-owned restaurant nearby.University AveRdN at Mauk RdPhoS einKan Yeik Tha Rd0 1.2 km#e0 0.6 milesR dThin GanGyun RdTha Mein Ban Yan StSet Yone Rd (Mill Rd)Aung MWai Za Yan TarRdingatar RdKaba Aye Paya &Mahapasana CaveBUDDHIST MONUMENTSkmõCea".urC" NH=¾' mhCp:snliHU='8UWhen the designers were asked to comeup with a suitable blueprint for the ‘worldpeace’ zedi, which was built for the 1954–56Sixth Buddhist Synod, they obviously decidedthat Mickey Mouse and friends were theepitome of world peace, because the KabaAye Paya (Map p 38 ; Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd; admissionfree; h24hr) has a Disneyesque feel andlook to it. The 112ft-high paya also measures112ft around its base. It stands about 5 milesnorth of the city centre, a little beyond theInya Lake Hotel. The interior of the monumentis hollow and contains some nice Buddhistsculptures, including a lei-myet-hna(four-sided Buddha sculpture).Just north, Mahapasana (Map p38 ; KabaAye Pagoda Rd; admission free; h24hr), the‘great cave’, is a totally artificial. It was herethat the Sixth Buddhist Synod was held in1954–56 to coincide with the 2500th anniversaryof the Buddha’s enlightenment. Thisenormous cave (measuring 456ft by 371ft; itcan accommodate up to 10,000 people) tookonly 14 months to build. It helped that therewere 63,000 labourers. The cave is still usedto hold grand religious ceremonies.Inya LakeLAKEa='"lY;"kn'Inya Lake (Map p 48 ) is roughly five timeslarger than Kandawgyi, but to see actualwater you must explore on foot and bravethe powerful sun. There aren’t many opportunitiesfor shade, only scattered umbrellas,which are popular with young couplessneaking a little alone time.Before reclusive dictator Ne Win died inDecember 2002, he lived on University AveRd at one end of the lake while Aung SanSuu Kyi, who was released from house arrestat number 54 in November 2010, was atthe other end. For years these two importantfigures in contemporary Myanmar historyresided like powerful nat locked in a battleof wills.Myanmar Gems Museum &Gems MarketMUSEUM¨mn'mC¾ekY;k'mYk'rtn;¨ptiuk' NH=¾'ekY;k'mYk'aer;='"¨pxn'"(Map p38 ; %665 365; 66 Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd;admission $5; h9am-5pm Tue-Sun) Just northof Parami Rd, thisgovernment-owned museumis meant to impress – starting withthe world’s largest sapphire, which comes49YANGON SIGHTSSIGHTS