In Mandalay, following in Buddha's footsteps

After our eventful and beautiful days in Bagan, it was time to pack our backpacks again and head to the next city, Mandalay, where a few more highlights of our journey through Myanmar awaited us.

For this, we had already booked a bus for the journey to Mandalay a few days earlier. Originally, we wanted to take a ferry from Bagan to Mandalay on the Irrawaddy River, but unfortunately, they only operate during the dry season, so the bus remained our only option for the onward journey. We were picked up from our hotel in a pickup truck, which was supposed to take us to the bus terminal. However, our driver was anything but relaxed and drove at what felt like 80 km/h, honking the horn constantly, while more and more people got on board. In total, there were nearly 20 people packed into a space that felt like 4 square meters, and once again, all we could do was shake our heads... Too bad we can't upload videos at this point ;-)

We were quite surprised when our pickup truck driver got on the coach bus, and we feared the worst for the journey. However, unlike in the small truck, he drove the bus calmly, so the bus ride was completely uneventful.

We had booked the Yadarnabon Hotel for our stay in Mandalay, which, like many places on our trip, offered unbeatable value for money and had a really nice rooftop terrace. Unfortunately, Mandalay was also the end of the road for our joint journey with Annika and Paul, as our paths were to part ways here. However, we still had 2 more days in the city together, which we spent exploring some highlights =)

On the first day, we hired a driver for our time in Mandalay and got lucky with Nyi Nyi, who we can highly recommend (09-440252386 or nyiminnhtike2014@gmail.com).

Mandalay has a lot to offer, even though the legendary palace of the last Burmese king was completely burnt down in 1945 and nothing remains. There are several Buddhist sacred sites, such as the country's most sacred Buddha statue at the Mahamuni Pagoda, our first destination for sightseeing.

Afterwards, we visited the famous U-Bein Bridge, the longest teakwood bridge in the world. It spans the Taungthaman Lake in the nearby village of Amarapura. The kilometer-long wooden structure offers a breathtaking view, especially during sunset, so we strolled leisurely across the bridge and found the best spot to watch the sunset. Once again, we noticed the red spit stains from betel nut chewing, which we definitely won't miss.

On the way back, we struck up a conversation with an older Buddhist monk, who invited us to his monastery for the following day. Of course, we gladly accepted the invitation.

But before that, Lisa had another highlight on her birthday. The surprise was huge during breakfast when suddenly small birthday cakes were brought to our table along with a serenade by the staff. Many thanks to Annika and Paul for organizing it and the great surprise =))

After breakfast, we wanted to witness the famous monastic breakfast in a monastery in Amarapura, near the U-Bein Bridge. All the monks of a monastery, in this case over 1,000 monks, have breakfast at the same time. The process is unique, as they all line up in orderly rows and are served by volunteers at an incredible speed. The food is donated by the benevolent.

After this impressive spectacle, a friendly monk showed us around the monastery and guided us through the grounds.

Then we made our way to the much smaller meditation monastery of Uott Ta Ma, the monk we had met the previous day. He was very friendly and gladly showed us around his monastery, where we learned about his impressive life story and gained some knowledge about Buddhism.

Buddhism is an experiential religion and differs significantly from faith-based religions such as Christianity. It follows the concept of karma, meaning that thoughts, speech, and actions have consequences in the future and can also originate from a previous life. The goal is the development of one's own mind and to be reborn in a higher state through good deeds and a corresponding way of life, ultimately breaking the cycle and entering Nirvana.

It is very impressive to see how the monks renounce material life and dedicate their lives entirely to their faith, even though it is unimaginable for us to live like that.

After visiting the two monasteries, we also visited the Mandalay Royal Palace, a city within the city, surrounded by an 8-meter-high wall. The current palace was built in the 1990s because the original palace commissioned by King Mindon in 1857 was destroyed during World War II and burned down to its foundations. The palace was then rebuilt by forced laborers. The watchtower offers a great view of the entire grounds.

After taking a break back at the hotel, we went to Mandalay Hill to watch the sunset as the culmination of our joint trip through Myanmar. The view from the pagoda at the top of the 240-meter-high mountain is highly recommended.

On Lisa's birthday, of course, we couldn't miss out on champagne and cake, so we toasted in our room to celebrate.

However, the next morning, it was time for us to say goodbye to Annika and Paul, as our paths sadly diverged once again. Thank you both for our unforgettable journey through Myanmar. We had an incredible amount of fun, and we are very grateful to have made such good friends. We are already looking forward to seeing you again back in Germany =))