Mandalay (Myanmar) .

Mandalay was completely different from Bagan, in comparison, it is a bigger city with busy streets, buildings, shopping centers,...(despite the many shopping opportunities, it was difficult to find certain cosmetic items.

In and around Mandalay there were great attractions: a waterfall with a kind of lagoon in a beautiful blue, where you could refresh yourself, a monk monastery, the U Bein Bridge and the Hsinbyume Pagoda in Mingun, a place that can be easily reached by boat on the other side of the river. Everything could be easily reached by tuktuk, even though our tuktuk driver had a quite fast driving style. In the monastery, we were even invited by a monk to see the inside of the monastery. There were many pictures and statues of their former monk leaders who had already passed away. There was even a separate building, the former bedroom of a monk, where his bed still stood and pictures were hung everywhere, like a kind of small museum or memorial. Also, the huge statues that showed former important monks and how much they are worshiped here. Then we visited the prayer and meditation room. Then we saw the place where the food is prepared. The whole thing is financed by donations. Some donors were also there and were allowed to eat with us. We were also asked for a donation.

Another highlight for me was the white temple in Mingun. It was incredibly hot and shoes were not allowed there. So, we had to go in barefoot. If you stepped on tiles in the blazing sun, you could burn your feet pretty badly. The temple with all the white looked naturally beautiful, especially under a bright blue sky and sunshine. In the pagoda, I met a monk who could speak English. He was here with his students, whom he taught in English. The children curiously stood around me while I was talking to the monk. He wanted to know where I come from and how I like Myanmar. Then he wanted to take a photo with me and the others in the group too, so we were busy taking photos for a while. The children couldn't speak English yet or were too shy to speak English with me, but they smiled shyly when I asked them something. In contrast, the monk seemed very proud that he could talk to me. Then we said goodbye and the people here in Myanmar with their kind, polite but interested nature are growing more and more into my heart. After visiting the Indonesian island of Flores, the people here are just as hospitable as on Flores, just a little shyer, more reserved. Maybe because tourism has already arrived here earlier than in Flores. My next encounter at the temple complex were two boys, maybe 8 or 9 years old, who offered to take photos of me. They turned out to be the best photographers ever. They told me where to stand or sit, how to position my arm or foot, and where to look. The two of them were amazing, and so I had beautiful souvenir photos. After that, I had to quickly return to the boat because it was going back to Mandalay at 12:30, and only at 12:30. After that, I was still at a local market, a really local market because me and the two girls from my hostel were the only tourists at the market, where there was really everything, spread over several floors, connected by escalators, there was fruit, vegetables, flowers, jewelry, cosmetics, fabrics and clothing, toys as well as all imaginable knick-knacks. Suddenly the lights went out and it was pitch black... power outage. This happens several times a day here in Myanmar. That's why most accommodations have generators.

On the last evening I visited Mandalay Hill, a mountain with a temple on top. And many dogs on the way there. One of them attacked me because I wanted to take a picture of him. He barked angrily and ran after me. But I escaped with a fright:) you just shouldn't get too close to them, he apparently felt threatened by me. I took a tuktuk back to the hostel and went to bed early because the next day I have to get up at 3 o'clock already, because the next adventure in Myanmar is already waiting...:-)