Blogs from Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 9

Next stop on our Burmese journey was Mandalay. Having read some reviews I was pleasently surprised to really like the place, was much more intereresting that I was led to believe. We had arranged a pickup through a very helpful travel agency in Bangkok. This brought us into the mountains to visit Myanmo, summer home for the British to get out of the oppressive heat of Mandalay. About 2 hrs drive north east of Mandalay there was lots of local life to see on the way, the workers in the quarry being the most astonishing, they were breaking the stone with hammers! Backbreaking no noubt. Back to Mandalay and a visit to the U Bein Bridge at Amarapura, a 200 years old teak bridge, very pretty. The water levels in the lake were quite high. Was ... read more

So we finally pulled up to a heaving bus terminal still 20 minutes from our well deserved rest. We grabbed a bloke who had a bit of cardboard with a guesthouse name we recognised and he plonked us in a truck with some locals and we were off to Mandalay. The guesthouse was odd. It all looked normal but the room was a basement that had been put together from leftovers from other hotels. We didn't care. Our Frankenstein room had 4 beds - a bunk and a double and was a bargain. It was not however ready yet and so we nipped round the corner for a noodle soup before finally crashing. At some point the electricity must have come back on as we awoke to all the lights, fans and even the air con ... read more

Ok, we're now more than a week further and basically all we did was visiting an English school in Mandalay and cruising to Bhamo Myanmar style... Guess this latter was a trimmed down or budget version of a similar trip we might do later when pensioners on the Mediterranean... Let's Enjoy English! On our cycling around in Mandalay we got lost at a point one day while looking for the teak monastery, but a nice local guy helped us out. Actually he offered to guide us there. Very kind we thought so we went off. On the way we stopped at his home, he offered some cold drinks (goood!!) and he told us that he runs a private English school in the evenings for the kids in the neighbourhood. This is a really great thing as ... read more

They say that Thailand is the land of 1000 smiles.. Well Myanmar must be the land of the genuine smile. The people here light up when they see a foreigner... and they don't come to often I am guessing. I can count on my hands usually, the number of foreigners I see daily.. using my toes is reaching but it's possible if you are doing something major like taking the ferry (which only leaves twice a week!), This is also land of the ultra antique car, but all are put to use daily as taxis or standard family vehicles (if you can afford to travel like that). We ventured out with the Israelis to Amarapura and Saigaing for the day. It rained for most of the evening so we had dinner and called it an early ... read more

This was one of the best day trips we had. It was full of Burmese history, culture, food and people. The highlights included: Mandalay (photos in previous blog) Visiting the stone carvers workshop Purchasing longyis (Burmese traditional wear and getting help from the locals), a wall tapestry and a puppet at the weaving and handicrafts shop. Amarapura It is 11 km south of Mandalay and most famous for its teak bridge and lake. Maha Ganayon Kyaung: a monastery currently home to around 1300 monks. We arrived before 11am to watch them queue for their last meal of the day. It was a picturesque sight, all the monks dressed in their saffron robes, holding their alms bowl lining up along the leafy road. U Bein’s Bridge: a 1.2 km wooden footbridge (longest teak bridge in the world) ... read more