Mar 13, 2013 - Amarapura - an earlier capital

A less frenetic day and with some interesting variety. Set off for Amarapura, a short time capital of Burma in the 1800s. The U Bein Bridge over Taungthaman Lake is quintessentially oriental: half a mile long, teak, supported by 1060 pillars, some now concrete post floods in recent times. It was still misty and we could see people and monks crossing as silhouettes. The bridge curves as it crosses the lake and has little resting places along the way, duly shaded, adding to the atmosphere. We ran the gauntlet of craft stalls and walked along,...

Mar 12, 2013 - The roads from Mandalay

We went off this morning for a really enjoyable lovely boat ride. We clambered along rickety gang planks between boats to get to ours & watched the scene as animals, people, children, workers all went about their daily life with the Irrawady (known locally as the Ayeyarwady) at the centre of it. The river is very wide at this point - 700m (?) & there is masses of traffic, much of it semi manufacturing / industrial. We reached our destination all too quickly, some distance up river on the opposite shore. Rather than take an oxen taxi, we...

Mar 12, 2013 - A place with connotations

Used my mozzie net for the first time as I had light, time, inclination and a couple of the b*****s chasing round the room. Not as challenging as I expected and well worthwhile . Not as much fun as last time I slept under a net but useful for the future. And I did sleep well. Wedding at the hotel at 7:30 ! Such elegance so early by so many (Chinese). Off by boat for 20mins to Shweba Hill, and 30mins in small trucks. This hill with its hewn caves of 19th century built little temples, pagodas & courtyards is described by a guide book as...

Jan 30, 2013 - Mandalay and the Irrawaddy

We arrived in Mandalay with a group of about 30 tourists from Yangon. I was relieved to see motorcycles aplenty. Our first stop was at the marble carvers street, whose trees were ashy with marble dust. We walked around the corner to the Mahamuni Pagoda, known for its beautiful bronze Buddha which has been layered so thick with devotional leaves of gold his hands and belly have doubled in girth. As we approached the inner temple, our guide got very excited and said there was going to be an initiaion ceremony. We came upon a sweet...

Sep 6, 2012 - Mandalay

Recent Update: 11/11/12 News of Earthquake 9/6 Bus at 8:30am to here by 3. Good breakfast again before bus picks us up at 8:30 - Bon has a chance to ck internet (free here at Inn Wa but slow). Countryside lots of agriculture but due to considerable flooding the fields are having to be replanted and people are working on the road (single lane +, and rough) which appears to have been washed out quite a bit. Even before the flooding it is evident work was being done to improve it - see photos. I see lots of Burmese doing a lot of...

May 12, 2012 - Myanmar instalment two

We have visited many pagodas/temples during our Myanmar trip.  They are lavishly decorated with 24 carat gold leaf outside and have many Buddha images inside.  One temple inside a cave had over 1,000 Buddha statues that worshippers had placed on display.  In one temple there lives a large python, purported to be the reincarnated daughter of a monk.  The snake has been there for 13 years and was reclining on pillows when we visited. It gets fed chicken and has its own pool to cool off in when it desires.  Another temple housed a reclining...

Feb 15, 2012 - Up the Irrawaddy

The trip along the river was fantastic. While it was long, we could wander around , read and just sight-see. This is the dry season and at a couple of points they had to measure the water depth with a pole. One would pole and another call out readings. It reminded us of Mark Twain. The water couldn't have been more than eight feet deep in spots. The river is very wide with many sand bars that I imagine change during each monsoon season It took us a full twelve hours to get from Bagan to Mandalay, but we knew that up front. Good trip. Our...

Mar 7, 2009 - Ancient City - Mingun

There are four ancient cities around Mandalay. In times gone by the kings would pick a new location for their kingdom, leaving the old city behind and creating a new one. First up on the tourist trail is Mingun. This is accessible by a very pleasant river trip. I have to admit that one of the highlights of this day for me was not Mingun and its many lovely monuments, but the Mandalay Tourist Jetty and the boats and people that you find there. River life at a port/jetty is always a hive of activity, and this is a great place to visit. I...

Mar 6, 2009 - Mandalay - Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill

Today was a trip to the Mandalay Royal Palace and then up Mandalay Hill. The Palace dominates Mandalay – it sits in pretty well the center of the city, and as it has a huge moat and 8 meter high walls, all roads have to navigate around it. It's supposedly 3 kilometers of wall, hence getting from A to B often includes driving parallel to one of the walls. The original Royal Palace was long since destroyed, so in the 90's the government decided to build a reconstruction. It's sad to report, but it doesn’t seem that their heart was in it – I...

Mar 5, 2009 - The Road (Train) to Mandalay

There are various ways to get from Yangon to Mandalay – air, road, rail, boat. This being the dry season the boat is a no go, and since I'm starting to enjoy train travel, the train got the nod. So it was the 12:15 p.m. "Express" to Mandalay. The photos speak better than my words, but below is a short description. It's a great trip. 15 hours in total. The Myanmar public trains are a step down from the Thailand trains – such as the one from Hat Yai to Bangkok. Lonely Planet mentions something about "your own toilet in upper class". It is...

Apr 24, 2008 - April 17-24 - Mandalay, Hsipaw, & Yangoon

So after our awesome experience at Inle, we were slightly disappointed by the city of Mandalay...or maybe its just cities in general. We hung around for a a day or two, rented bikes and tried to bike up Mandalay hill (to avoid government fees of course) which was killer in the 45 degree heat. The ride down was pretty nice though, although the brakes on our bikes were a little sketchy! We found a really quaint little Nepali food restaurant which is where we spent most of our time, and met a really great local trishaw driver. But with the...

Feb 20, 2008 - Mandalay, again, and again

Thirteen hours later we were back in Mandalay and the circuit was complete. The trip had been a highlight and I was sad it was over, but excited to move on, and FINALLY!! I could check the internet! As expected, Baby Ainsley had arrived without complications and I had taken long enough that they’d had time to organize some photos. What a doll! She’ll be so much bigger when I get home. Immediately, I regretted being so far from home, but it didn’t take me long to get over it. She’ll be much more fun to play with in a couple of months. As...