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Published: August 4th 2009
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After initially stepping off at Bagan airport and not realising it until the nurse checking our ears for swine flu informed us, we counted ourselves lucky to have made it back on the plane to Mandalay as planned. Located approximately an hour away from the airport, there was something I found charming about Mandalay instantly, even with its dusty potholed roads! With a population of around 7.7 million, mostly Burmans including a large Indian and Chinese community, Mandalay is Burma’s last royal capital and second city. It has more of a relaxed vibe and laid back atmosphere to that of Yangon and perhaps that is why I found it so appealing. It is home to around 60% of Burma’s monks, numerous teahouses and trishaws. Although Burma opened up its borders with China in the 1990s and is the business hub of the country (15% of the national economy), it still seemed less hectic to me then Yangon.
We spent the first day walking around town seeing the sights of Shwekyimyint Paya, Zeigyo market, Mandalay Fort and taking in life on the city streets (it is so fascinating you can definitely fill up hours and days doing this). In the afternoon
On Mandalay Hill
Panoramic views of Mandalay we walked barefoot up the 230 metre high Mandalay Hill and were pleased to discover panoramic views - to the south Mandalay Palace and the city, Ayeyarwady to the west and Shan Hills to the east. At the top was a huge standing Buddha image. It was at the bottom of the hill that we were to find a very special person, our guide for the next 2 days. The first thing he said to us was, “I would like to show you my country…” He had an extremely gentle disposition, a welcoming demeanor and a smile that was infectious; he definitely enriched our Mandalay experience.
On the three nights we were in Mandalay we ate at the Chapati Stand (I highly recommend this) where you sit on plastic chairs on the street watching your chapatis get cooked; went to the Moustache Brothers Performance where Lu Maw told jokes and took us through slapstick political satire and traditional music and dancing (his brother Par Par Lay was imprisoned for telling political jokes and the group is blacklisted from playing at outside events) and watched the Mandalay Marionettes where five traditional musicians played on the floor and introduced puppeteers. At
On the streets of Mandalay
Notice the old buses that are used Moustache Brothers it was interesting to hear politics spoken about so openly and that they are relatively left alone by the government to do their performance each night. Lu Maw kept us very entertained with his old school expressions and colloquialisms. “No money, no honey,” and “Up the creek without a paddle,” were but a few of the many phrases he used. The Marionettes also had some quirky characters as puppeteers and it was good to experience some Mandalay entertainment.
We were frequently asked by people in Mandalay if we liked their country Burma, as tourist numbers had significantly decreased over the last few years especially after Cyclone Nargis. Although we reassured them that the people and landscape of Burma were amazing, we explained the dilemma most travellers face when choosing to travel or not to Burma. While they understood the reasons, you couldn’t help but empathise with them about the impact the decline in tourism was having on their livelihoods.
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