Burma 2016: Mawlamyine and ‘Pagoda Ridge’

February 2016

When we were in Yangon, planning where we were going to go – Bagan and Inle Lake, of course – the hard-to-prounounce city of Mawlamyine (also known as Moulmein, so much easier to pronounce) was not on our radar. But a couple of tourists recommended it as a relaxed and picturesque spot with a wonderful walk along a ridgetop filled with pagodas. Moulmein, situated in the Salween River delta, was first capital of British Burma and a main trading centre and seaport. It was a cosmopolitan city with a large Anglo community. Remanants of that heritage are everywhere – once stately old buildings now in ruins.

Few tourists bother to visit Mawlamyine, so it’s wonderfully quiet. We were the only guests in our hotel.

At night we’d go down to the water, where street vendors sold a variety of noodley dishes. We’d slurp them down, noisily and with relish, like the locals do, as we watched the sun set.

We spent an entire day up on 'Pagoda Ridge', which is dominated by the large and impressive Kyaik Than Lan Pagoda. There are over 30 smaller temples on the ridge, all with something interesting to see, and all very photogenic.

This group of elf-like creatures lined one of the roads on the way to the temples. I wonder how often they require fresh coats of paint to keep them looking so colourful...?