Blogs from Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 5

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Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay October 18th 2013

We had fun getting to Mandalay, an early morning boat ride and then a bus to Heho and a short flight. We had time to chat at the airport to some of the baggage porters and they told me Mandalay would be “a bit warm”. I can tell you they were not exaggerating, it was so hot and humid, like walking around in a sauna. In Mandalay we met with our “UN Group” which was later renamed the "OK Team" – Denis and Stella from Singapore, Sandar and Terence from Sydney, Dee and his parents Schwa and Sang. So, our little group was now 14 and we had a chance to practice some more language skills with Rob trying out some Lao language with Dee’s parents. We spent 2 and a half days in and around ... read more
Heho
around Mandalay
around Mandalay

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay August 11th 2013

On August 11 we flew to Mandalay Myanmar. We met this German girl named Lynn. Then we went to the hotel. After that we went to a temple made of wood. It had wood carvings of art. Then we went to the Jade Market. I got a good luck Chinese Buddha necklace made out of jade. After that we went to a temple with a huge gold Buddha. We bought a piece of gold to give to the Buddha, but I could not give it to the Buddha because no girls were allowed to put the gold on it. It made me mad! We saw dressed and we got two. One was blue and one was red. I am going to wear it for my school picture. Then we went to a palace. It showed who ... read more
Me and my new friends
This was so much fun
I had so much fun with the monks

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay January 23rd 2013

Well leaving Bagan for Mandalay was the same scenario at the airport but a bit later well an hour but that does mean getting up at 5.30 instead of 4 am!!! It was a long drive into town and once again we crossed the Ayeyarwady River with a whole city of temples in the hills towards the west. I swear this is the land of temples. Our hotel was old but our room was pleasant enough and clean and the water hot. We went to survey our neighbourhood and did a big walk around a very big block. There were many primary schools and a mixture of huge houses and quite small ones that were in different states of disrepair. The contrast really amazes one. The gutters you could smell and of course you had to ... read more
monks breakfast queue
 rice cooker
 weavers

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay January 22nd 2013

U Bein's bridge lies outside of Mandalay. It is theplace to be at sunset, as hordes of foreigners and locals alike gather to walk its teak planks and marvel at the engineering feat of extending 1300 yards across a shallow lake. I walk with my fellow travelers, then we disperse to different places as the sun sets lower in the haze, turning a soft gold, then orange, then a ball of red. I stay on top of the bridge. A huge flock of 1000 ducks, the duck herders tell us, are directed into their pen for the night on land. They'll collect the eggs in the morning, and sell them at the market. There are ducks, and there are people. People and more people, with cameras, mostly. Some vendors have set up small businesses along the ... read more
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Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay January 15th 2013

9 January 2013 "I am worried about you because you are foreigners, the only foreigners ever to sit down at my shop", says the serious young man who is hovering around our table nervously. "It may not be good for you. You should be careful." His rice with mango salad is delicious, but he is petrified that it will not be good enough for us or that it will make us sick. His English is excellent and so we order another tea just so that we can spend more time and chat. Another university graduate who has had to make a career of working in the family tea shop as there is no other work to be had. This is a common story here. Unless you are "connected" to someone important, you stand very little chance ... read more
leaves for wrapping betel nut
Ye Htut & Friend
beautiful embroidery

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay January 14th 2013

8 January 2013 This is going to be a difficult one. maybe I should give it some time before writing about Mandalay. The emotions are strong and will surely cloud the dusty reality. We had no expectations flying into Mandalay. Everything I have ever read about visiting this city with the romantic name and connotations, has been negative. From guide books to blogs, nobody raves about Mandalay. We were intending to stay a night and then get moving on to Bagan, but fortunately that didn't happen. This is why we travel, and this is why we travel without too much of a plan. Mandalay, if you let it, will grab you by the heart and squeeze. ( I was going to say grab you by the balls, but mothers are reading this, so I'll try to ... read more
Mandalay fort wall
Seen at the gates
juice vendor

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay December 17th 2012

Today we headed off on a boat trip to Mingun about an hour from Mandalay. Waiting at the jetty for our boat was very interesting. It was the same place from where many small local cargo boats came and went and we saw a variety of items being loaded and unloaded. There were many children around the jetties begging food from the tourists but they never seemed to eat anything they got. Bananas were a particular favourite. The trip to Mingun finally got underway about half an hour after the expected departure time. There was much to see of local life along the river and the boat trip was very enjoyable. It cost 5000 kyat each for the round trip. The boat pulled into Mingun after about an hour’s sailing and there were quite a number ... read more
Everyday life
Solar panel house
Mingun cart driver

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay December 16th 2012

The previous night we sat down and looked at the things we would like to see in Mandalay and made a list. In the morning straight after breakfast we headed out to find a taxi driver who for a reasonable price would be able to take us to these sights. As it turned out we found one right outside the hotel door who told us it was possible to do everything on our list in just one day and for a price we could afford. Without wasting any more time we set off to see what Mandalay had to offer. The first thing we saw was the magnificent Mahamuni Paya, and a glistening golden Buddha.The OH was able to approach much closer than I and had he wished he could have placed a square of gold ... read more
Interesting crab dinner
U-Bein Bridge
World's Biggest Book

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay December 15th 2012

Excitement as we headed off for our very early check-in for our flight to Mandalay, Myanmar. Air Asia now depart for Don Muang and we had stayed at the Amari Don Muang so had only a short walk across the over highway walkway. The airport was already abuzz with people and check-in for our flight had already begun. Everything at the airport was very efficient and relatively painless but they were very thorough in checking we had valid visas for Myanmar. Passing through immigration and then customs was also very quick. Because our flight was in a fairly small plane we waited in the departure lounge for the buses that speed you across the tarmac to deposit you at the bottom of the steps of the plane. The flight took a bit over an hour and ... read more
Mandalay city
Monks procession




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