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Shwe Daza Paya
As you approach from the south, central Shwebo’s skyline is given a very alluring dazzle by a collection of golden pagoda spires. These cluster around the extensive, 500-year-old Shwe Daza Paya. Close up, however, the complex feels a little anticlimactic. Across the road, the dilap
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Christ the King Church
Sorry, we currently have no review for this sight.
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Kandawgyi
This lake formed by Azin Dam (a water storage and flood-control facility that’s also used to irrigate local rubber plantations) also boasts a tidy recreation area and is a favourite picnic spot with locals. Don’t miss the tasty buthi kyaw, deep-fried gourd, sold here. At the northe
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Yadana Man Aung Paya
The oldest and most important Buddhist shrine in Nyaungshwe, this handsome gilded stupa is hidden away inside a square compound south of the Mingala Market. The stepped stupa is unique in Myanmar, and the surrounding pavilion contains a museum of treasures amassed by the monks over
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Sasanayaunggyi Kyaung
Half a kilometre north of the Paya Thonzu, the monastery and meditation centre of Sasanayaunggyi Kyaung, a stop-off point for day-trippers, features a lovely 19th-century glass armoire with painted Jataka panels and 400-year-old scripture in Pali inside. The monks are chatty and fr
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St Mary’s Cathedral
Myanmars largest Catholic cathedral is an impressive red-brick building dating to 1909. The neo-gothic design is mainly down to Dutch architect Jos Cuypers, who modified a more Byzantine structure created by Henry Hoyne-Fox.The floridly decorated interior with its red, white and gr
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Cape Bayint Naung
At the southern end of the harbour lies this park, named for King Bayinnaung, a Burmese monarch who invaded Thailand several times between 1548 and 1569. A bronze statue of Bayinnaung, outfitted in full battle gear and brandishing a sword pointed at Thailand – not exactly a welcomi
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Ananda Ok Kyaung
Just west of Ananda’s northern entry, this small vihara (sanctuary or chapel) features some detailed 18th-century murals bursting with bright red and green, showing details of everyday life from the Bagan period. In the southeast corner, you can see Portuguese figures engaged in tr
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Myanmar Gems Museum & Gems Market
The glitter has dimmed at this small museum, on the 4th floor of a building that mainly operates as a shopping plaza for jewelry stalls, since the government carted off the biggest gems to another repository in Nay Pyi Twa. Still, theres a few eye-catching pieces of bling and preci
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First Baptist Church
Founded by American Adoniram Judson in 1827, this was the countrys first Baptist church. In addition to this place of worship, Judsons legacy also includes having been the first person to translate the Bible into Burmese. As a result of his work, today Myanmar has the third-highest
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Kha
Spirited away in the back of the little-known, dark and dank Kha-Yon Caves are rows of ghostly buddha statues and wall paintings that come lurching out of the dark as the light from a torch catches them. Close by is another, smaller, cave system with an open cavern and a small cave
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Shwebon Yadana
The city’s most striking buildings are a pair of towering gold-painted wooden throne rooms, nine tiers high, once part of King Alaungpaya’s 1753 palace. What you see today, though, are reconstructed, empty structures; the exhibits formerly on display are now in the National Museum
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Mansu Paya
Beyond the bus station, the main road bends between the two halves of the gold and stucco Mansu Paya , said to be over 250 years old. One side of the monastery is archetypal Shan, the other is Burmese with a notable octagonal stupa. Hidden by school buildings just off the main road
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Old Shwegu
Around 400m west of the central jetty is a stretch of relatively old wooden houses. Further inland is an area of tree-shaded footpaths and alleys that forms an intriguing pottery district. Here, in household compounds, Shwebo’s archetypal tau ye-u (drinking water pots) and subu (fo
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Hsu Taung Pye Zedidaw
This gilded ‘wish-fulfilling’ pagoda is the town’s most eye-catching religious building, sitting on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River at the north end of Zaw John (Strand) Rd. Opposite its stupa, a 98ft-long reclining buddha and nearby standing equivalent were funded by a Japanese
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Yat Taw Mu
Pointing dramatically towards the mountains on a ridge overlooking Nyaung Toung lake, the 60ft-high standing buddha statue known as Yat Taw Mu is probably the most distinctive landmark in Kyaingtong. Next to the statue is a dusty Cultural Museum with an emphasis on costumes, as wel
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Candacraig Hotel
Formerly the British Club, this classic colonial pile comes complete with side turrets and is set in attractively manicured gardens. Theres a slightly spooky air to the place – many locals believe its haunted – and it sees comparatively few guests, despite the seven huge, if old-fa
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Mahapasana
Totally artificial, this ‘great cave’ is where the Sixth Buddhist Synod was held in 1954–56 to coincide with the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Measuring 456ft by 371ft, the cave, which can accommodate up to 10,000 people, took only 14 months to build. It helped
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Produce Market
This riverside market specialises in colourful heaps of Chinese fruit and local vegetables. Many of the latter arrive by canoe and are then lugged up the rear stairway on shoulder poles. At dawn, this creates an unforgettable spectacle with boats gliding in across shimmering golden
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Ratanabon Paya
This massive stupa (sometimes called Yadanapon) is ringed by 24 smaller stupas. It was apparently built by Queen Shin Htway in 1612. During WWII a bomb nailed it, but it had already been picked at by treasure hunters attracted by the name, which means ‘accumulation of treasure’. Re
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