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Yangon, Myanmar
The largest city in Myanmar is Yangon (formerly Rangoon). This is an interesting city with a mix of colonial architecture, modern high-rises and many gilded Buddhist pagodas.
Shwedagon Paya is one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites. This 325 ft. zedi is adorned with 27 meteric tons of gold leaf, along with thousands of diamonds and other kinds of gems. It is believed that it enshrines eight hairs of the Gautama Buddha and other relics of three former Buddhas. Four entrance stairways lead to the main terrace. The hill upon which this stupa sits is 167 ft. above sea level and the entire complex stretches for 46 hectares, Visitors approach the main terrace along four covered walkways each of them flanked by a pair of 9m tall chinthe (a lion-like creature). If you prefer not to climb you can use the elevators found at the northern, eastern and southern entrances. The…
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Mandalay on the Irrawaddy River
In our armchair travels we have now left Malaysia behind and are heading for Myanmar, formerly Burma. Mandalay is a city and the former royal capital located in northern Myanmar. The city sits on the Irrawaddy River. To get an awesome view of the city and surrounding area people climb up to the summit of Mandalay Hill.
Climb on up Mandalay Hill and see the city spread out in front of you. This 760 ft. hill has covered stairways that will lead you upwards. The most popular climb is from the southern side. People especially enjoy going up to the summit at sunset. The climb takes around thirty minutes.
The hill has two southern stairways. One of them begins between two giant chinthe (half-lion, half-dragon guardian deities) with a total of 1729 steps. An alternative is the southeastern stairway. These two routes converge and then the climb takes you to…
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