Tag 1 in Myanmar: Hello Mandalay!

Chaos in the Plane

There are several ways to get to Rome, and some to the ancient royal city of Mandalay. Several airlines fly to Mandalay International Airport from Bangkok. Most of them from Domestic Airport Don Muaeng and some from Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is well-known to every tourist in Thailand. We opted for the slightly more expensive flight from Suvarnabhumi because we didn't want to deal with the time-consuming airport transfer through Bangkok's traffic.

Instead of adventurous backpacking tourists, there was a group of around 150 domestic travelers on board with us, who were returning directly from the Muslim pilgrimage Hajj in Mecca. For many of these pilgrims, this trip was probably their only opportunity to fly to a distant place. Accordingly, the chaos on board the plane was also immense. It took over an hour for each of the inexperienced passengers to find a seat and stow their personal luggage as close to their heads as possible. This also put a damper on the enthusiasm of the Thai flight attendants, who usually wear a fixed smile on their faces: They ordered the passengers to finally sit down and be quiet.

During the taxi ride from the airport to our hotel in Mandalay, our driver told us about the economic boom that has been going on since the opening of the borders 7 years ago ("many tourists are visiting us now"), about China's great influence on the economic development and the resulting dependence ("they give us fish for one day, but they should teach us to fish by ourselves") and about the diverse landscape within Myanmar ("Mountains, Jungles, and Beaches").

After checking into our hotel, we set out to get a first impression of Mandalay. Conclusion: Mandalay is not much different from other larger cities in Southeast Asia. Motor scooters are also the most popular means of transportation here, no consideration was given to pedestrians in traffic planning, and there is bustling activity everywhere.