Myanmar Day 3 - Mandalay - 21 May 2012

After we got ready for the day, our driver had not arrived yet.  So we decided to walk from my aunt's place to my grandma's place.  It was just a 5 min walk.  But hey, it was still a chance for Mister to see the bustling town in broad daylight! haha

Kyaukse Clock Tower

Kyaukse City Hall

Transportation for the factory workers - There are so many factories in Kyaukse

Family-run shops

Our first stop in Mandalay was the Mahar Myat Muni Pagoda, located southwest of Mandalay city, which houses the most revered Buddha image in the whole of Mandalay. It is said that this is the oldest Buddha image in Myanmar and was cast during the life span of Lord Buddha himself. In addition, many local Buddhists turn up to stick gold leaves on the Buddha image to gain favor. It is said that the image has already been covered by gold that is more than a couple of cm thick.

Mahar Myat Muni Buddha Image 

You can actually see guys sticking gold leaves. 

Only guys can touch the Buddha Image.

With my aunt

Mister with Gigantic Myanmar Gong!

Next up was Mandalay Hill. Standing at 790 feet tall, it houses a pagoda at the peak. There are two options to access this pagoda, either by car or by foot but be warned that the journey consists of over 1700 steps! However once you are on top, you are rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view of the whole of Mandalay city. Well known sites such as the Irrawaddy River and Sagaing Hill can be viewed from here. If you are here in the evening, be sure to stay for a beautiful sunset view. If you are looking for an exotic food snack, be sure to try the deep-fried wasps that can be purchased from the vendors on the way down from the pagoda. Mister said they tasted pretty much like potato chips, probably as a result of the amount of seasoning that is used in the preparation for the snack.

 View from the top of Mandalay Hill

Deep-fried Wasps

Kuthodaw Pagoda, otherwise known as the World’s Largest Book was our next stop. It is actually located at the foot of Mandalay Hill’s Southeast Staircase. This pagoda got its nickname from having 729 pitaka pagodas. These pitaka pagodas are shrines which each contain a marble slab with Buddhism’s sacred texts written in Sanskrit. It is known that these marble slabs were carved back in October 1860 under Myanmar’s old monarch, King Mindon.

a marble slab with Buddhism’s sacred texts written in Sanskrit 

(inside one of the pitaka pagodas)

It is truly an amazing sight to see so many pitaka pagodas all lined up in perfect rows and in addition, show no signs of weathering despite the Burmese weather.

In the middle of the courtyard also stands a starflower tree. Over 118 years old, this tree not only emits a Jasmine-like fragrance through the courtyard but also serves as a shade for many families who can be seen having picnics here.

We then moved onto Atumashi Kyaungtawgyi and Shwenandaw Kyaung. Both monasteries are located next to each other and provide excellent examples of traditional Burmese monastery architecture. Foreigners will have to pay for entrance fees in USD BUT there is this tourist pass (USD10) which can allow you entry into several tourist attractions in Mandalay area. So do ask for this pass at the ticket counter.

Atumashi Kyaungtawgyi

Shwenandaw Kyaung

No trip to Mandalay could be complete without a visit to the Mandalay Palace. As the last royal palace in the Burmese monarchy which ended in 1885, it was constructed between 1857 and 1859 for King Mindon who had founded the last royal capital which was Mandalay. During World War II, the Japanese burnt down a significant portion of the palace and only the royal mint and watch tower survived. Reconstruction took place in 1989 and today, Mandalay Palace serves as a major tourist destination for all tourists to Mandalay. Inside the palace, a statue of King Mindon sits on the iron throne. Most of the palace today is very empty with few decorations still around. Mainly, tourists will just want to enjoy the ambiance and the feel of the place.

During lunch time, we headed to a local Burmese salad restaurant. I loveeeeeeeee salads!!!  so flavorful and not fattening since there is no fried stuff. We had vermicelli soup, big lime salad, tomato salad, fish cake salad and tofu salad. Yum!

After a hearty lunch, we went to see how to make Myanmar cotton cloth from cotton threads. Different colored threads were arranged in a meticulous way to make a cloth with a pretty pattern! We realized that it is such a labor-intensive process and learnt to appreciate these traditional clothes more.  It would now make me think twice before bargaining the prices of these clothes.

 Different colored threads were arranged in a meticulous way to make a cloth with a pretty pattern!

Amazing how simple threads transformed into pretty patterned cloth!

Afterwards, we headed to another of Mandalay’s landmarks, the U Pain Bridge in Amarapura. One of the longest wooden bridges in the world, it was constructed more than 200 years ago and links the two banks of the Taungthaman Lake. It is also considered as one of the scariest bridges in the world. No handrails are present and if you go during the dry season, there is no lake underneath the bridge to soften your fall should you fall down from it :D Most locals however, cross this ¾ mile bridge daily without any worries. Come in the evening to enjoy a beautiful sunset view, one of the best in Mandalay!

It was really getting hot and we headed back to Kyaukse.  Of course, it is still to early to call it a day so we went to Kyaukse Hill.

At the top of Kyaukse Hill

You can see pagodas scattered in several places in the background!

In Buddhism, we have had 4 Buddhas so far.  The last (4th) Buddha is known as Gawdama. These 4 statues are meant for 4 Buddhas of Buddhism.

After enjoying a hearty meal prepared by my aunts, we played with my niece a bit before calling it a day. As we were going to Bagan the next day, we needed to get up at 4am and leave at 5am to avoid the scorching hot sun! So yes, we gotta go to bed early!

My cute niece

She was a bit sick :(

If you are considering of going on a day trip around Mandalay, Amarapura, Sagaing, Minbu, car rental [including driver, fuel, car] might cost around 80,000 Kyats / USD100 for an 8-seat mini van.

Adios!

xoxo

Miss N