Day 245 3 Ancient Cities in Mandalay

Yesterday evening, upon arrival at the hostel, I booked a tour for today that will take us to three districts of Mandalay. All 3 places were once important cities in the history of Myanmar.

After breakfast, the group gathered at the reception and shortly after, we were on our way in a minivan. Our first stop was at a temple where one of the few statues showing Buddha during his lifetime is located. However, the women in our group were not allowed to come close and could only admire it from a distance. Why exactly, no one knows.

On the way to a monastery, we made a short stop at a woodcarver's and a weaving workshop.

We arrived at the monastery around 10:30 am, the time when the monks return from their alms round to have lunch. Monks of all ages lined up in front of the gate and slowly walked into the dining hall. Some monks stopped briefly to exchange a few words.

We then visited two more temples with pagodas on a small hill. From the top of the hill, we had a beautiful panoramic view of Mandalay and its surroundings.

Afterwards, it was time for our lunch. We were having such a lively conversation that our guide reluctantly interrupted us to continue our journey. So we did. We crossed a river with a small fishing boat.

The plan was to explore the island with a horse-drawn taxi. However, we preferred to explore the area on foot.

We convinced our guide to skip 2 temples and instead visit the other two on foot. As we strolled through the various small villages and between the fields, we gained a good insight into the daily life of the locals.

In addition, we visited two more temples.

The highlight of the day was supposed to be the sunset at the U-Bein Bridge. The bridge is considered the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world. However, today was a public holiday for the Burmese people (full moon) and the bridge was crowded.

However, we found a spot and introduced the others to the tradition of the sundowner. We each bought a beer and made ourselves comfortable on the bridge. It was once again one of those moments that can't be described. One of those moments where everything is just perfect as it is. We enjoyed the sunset as a group with a cool beer and a Myanmar cigar, and we were simply happy.

And all this with people I've only known for about 12 hours. Such stories can only be experienced while traveling.

And as if this moment wasn't already perfect enough, we were able to admire not only the sunset but also the moonrise. Just wow.

Back at the hostel, we made plans with our driver because we wanted to see the sunrise at the U-Bein Bridge tomorrow.