To Mandalay and back as Myanmar On The Run winds down

By Rahul Banerji

The sands of time are running out for Myanmar On The Run and we had to literally race through what Mandalay has on offer for visitors. Golf took its share of time, leaving us with bare hours to complete a chunky itinerary.

So it was a race first of all up Mandalay Hill, 729 steps each way and its gorgeous Buddha statue with disciple in attendance first of all at the Sutaungpyi Pagoda, which has its own fascinating legend.

As the story goes, the Buddha foresaw the emergence of a holy city at the base of the hill from where the Sutaungpyi Pagoda is now located, which was fulfilled by the great builder king of Bagan, Anawratha a thousand years ago.

Marble pages

Thereafter we went through temples, pagodas, the world’s largest book – each page set in stone – at the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Mandalay Palace, et al.

Netaji’s prison

The sprawling Palace, now manned by the army, is protected by a moat on all four sides, an arrow-straight set of water-bodies that the king used to sail on in his ornate barge, now long vanished.

The vast inner yard and buildings were rebuilt not very long ago and not very skillfully, but the walls and the moat are a reminder of how regal it would have been being bombed into dust by the Allies to target the occupying Japanese forces during World War Two.

Incidentally, the vast grounds also hold what is called the Glass Palace, and was where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was interred for a while when in British custody.

At Kuthodaw, locally called Maha Maha Lawka Marazein Paya you get the world’s largest book which is actually 729 marble slabs each containing a page inscribed in the Pali script containing the entire teachings of the Theravada school of Buddhism.

Each slab sits in its own canopy and the whole book is spread out in neat rows radiating away from the main Kuthodaw structure, which appears modeled on the Shwezigone Pagoda of Bagan.

One must-stop spot is Shwenandaw Kyaung, a temple built entirely out of teak wood. It was once a palace and later converted into a place of worship.

Still no khao-suey

To round it off, we found our way to a Shan restaurant for dinner, though the legendary khao suey — also a Shan speciality — continued to be elusive.

The spread available was vast, plus the fermented tea salad, laphet, another unique offering of Myanmarese cuisine finally made its appearance on our table.

In between, at a beer bar, I found the coolest item on this trip, barbecued okra. To die for.

Ten juicy, long bhindis on a grid skewer of bamboo, hissing and spitting away on the little fire, chopped up and doused with a powdered mix that the lady at the counter refused to share. Suffice to say, it was the perfect foil for the crunchy okra.

Will come back just for that! Sadly, I was too engrossed in wolfing it all down to take a proper picture at the time.

But it was time to move on, and back to Yangon we headed to round off what has truly been a visit to remember, whether for the golf, the sight-seeing or the food.

Also read: Myanmar on the run: Bullock-carts and bullet points