Mawlamyine
Directly north of Kyaikthanlan Paya and linked by a covered walkway, this is the largest temple complex in Mawlamyine and easily the most beautiful. It’s…
Shutterstock / R.M. Nunes
Mawlamyine
With a ridge of stupa-capped hills on one side, the Thanlwin River on the other and a center filled with crumbling colonial-era buildings, churches and mosques, Mawlamyine (ေမာ္လႃမိုင္) is a unique combination of landscape, beauty and melancholy. The setting inspired both George Orwell and Rudyard Kipling, two of the English-language writers most associated with Myanmar. Kipling penned his famous poem “Mandalay” after visiting, while Orwell, whose mother was born here, used Mawlamyine as the backdrop for the stories Shooting an Elephant and A Hanging. Not that much has changed since the days when Orwell and Kipling were around, and if you've ever wondered what life was like during the Raj, Mawlamyine is a pretty good time capsule.
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Mawlamyine
Rudyard Kipling’s visit to Myanmar spanned just three days, but it resulted in a poem, 'Mandalay', that turned Burma into an oriental fantasy. It began…
Mawlamyine
Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island) isn’t a hideaway for nasty monsters. Rather, it’s a beautiful island directly west of Mawlamyine. Roughly the size of Singapore,…
Mawlamyine
A local pilgrimage site, Nwa-la-bo is still relatively unknown outside Mon State and few foreigners make it out here. This is surprising because the…
Mawlamyine
If you thought you’d seen some big old buddhas, just wait till you get a load of this one. Draped across a couple of green hillsides at Yadana Taung,…
Mawlamyine
The small town of Kyaikmaraw (က်ိဳက္မေရာ), 15 miles southeast of Mawlamyine, is the site of Kyaikmaraw Paya, a temple of serene, white-faced buddhas built…
Mawlamyine
Unlike most of Myanmar's regional museums, Mawlamyine's is actually worth a visit, even if the collection isn't huge. It's dedicated to the Mon history of…
Mawlamyine
Founded by American Adoniram Judson in 1827, this was the country's first Baptist church. In addition to this place of worship, Judson's legacy also…
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