The sprawling city with trading centres surrounded by monasteries and pagodas was the last
royal capital. The Mahamuni Pagoda enshrines a large sitting image so covered with gold that its body has turned bulbous. A solemn ritual of washing the face of this image takes place every dawn, with hundreds of silent pilgrims in attendance.
Mandalay Palace within the moat a replica of the original palace, which was destroyed in WWII, shows the Great Audience Hall, the Glass Palace, the chambers of the queens etc. The one original palace pavilion of teak that exists today was saved because it had been moved to be used as a monastery, now called the Shwe Kyaung or Golden Monastery. The floor plan of this pavilion is different from the traditional setup of a proper monastery, a comparison to be made with the Shwe Inbin and the Taing Taya or Hundred Pillars Monasteries. read more
a hundred years ago they were dusty lanes leading to villages which are now townships of the city. The majestic Shwedagon Pagoda towers over Yangon from his perch on a high hill, a spire of 98m covered in plates of gold and topped with a jewelled crown, surrounded by many golden pavilions and smaller spire. Four stairways, two lined with shops of carving, images, bronze ware and folk toys lead up to the wide, marble-paved platform. Other pagodas of note are the Chauk Htat Gyi a huge reclining Buddha image and the Botahtaung Pagoda overlooking the Yangon River where you can walk into the spire to the chamber or relics.
no other place can do. Site of the First Myanmar Empire, its heroic kings and brave knights remain very much alive in the hearts of the people and in literature and song. Magnificent temples dot the wide plains, such as the elegant Ananda Temple, the majestic Thatbyinnyu, the beautiful Suklamani and the hulking Dhammayan Gyi. You can watch the sunsets from the Shwesandaw Pagoda, next to the oldest reclining image in the country, the Shinbin Tha Lyaung. A pagoda with classically beautiful and colourful wall paintings is the Myinkaba Gubyauk Gyi. In nearby river port Nyaung U stands the golden Shwezigon Pagoda which celebrates its pagoda festival every October, while the Ananda Temple's is in January, both highlights of the neighbouring towns and villages as well as for pilgrims all over the country.
le, shops or bars. They offer a perfect get-away holiday. 
River
ry and culture going back to the 2nd Century. Their last royal capital is Mrauk U, now a site e of a ruined palace and magnificent temples of stone. The architecture and the style of images are vastly different from those of the rest of the city. Relief figures lining the temple corridors are a precious record of the life of king and comer of the various periods.
parks and options to go trekking or climb mountains. With Putao, a town in the far north as the starting point one could climb 
oo, lacquer or fabric. There are many old objets d'art that do not overstep the 80 years' antique mark that forbids it from export, but as equally beautiful as the oldest treasures.
houses built on high stilts. For transportation they use boats which even children row by one feet standing on the stern. There is a roving markets that st makes a round of the five main villages, including Taung To and Indain which are the sites of ancient pagoda complexes with hundreds of shrines and pagodas decorated with carved stone or stucco figures of mythical creatures.
and Palaung come to trade. Their villages are not far and one can drive or hike to where they live. 
