45th to 47th day, Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Mandalay

Mandalay,

as exotic as it sounds, you somehow expect more.

But in reality, you are greeted with constantly honking motorcycles (everyone seems to have one), red snot everywhere you walk and see (yes, the spit from constant betel nut chewing), and vastness. Yes, Mandalay is really damn big for a pedestrian lover like me, which means if you want to see something, you have to walk damn much, damn far.

But it still has its charms, its beautiful sides. So on the first day after arrival, oh yes, the trip itself was also spectacular, it started in the beautiful Nyaung Shwe at 8 am with the mini bus over a really interesting mountain road, first always uphill and eventually, it must have been 3 hours downhill. But don't ask how, I am always amazed at how easily and quickly you complete the serpentine bends here, which, in my opinion, requires good driving skills in any case. And after 7 hours, we finally reached our destination safely.

Well, as I said, the first day in Mandalay, put on my shoes, put on my backpack, stored water (very important, don't go a meter here without the prospect of fresh drinking water!), and walked. First destination: 'Golden Palace', i.e. the former royal palace, and already, it means walking. The outer wall was only 3 blocks away from me, yay, but no, that was not yet the destination. Because the palace is naturally in the middle of the walled area, and since tourists are only allowed to use a specific one on the opposite side, it meant marching first. One side had an estimated length of 1.5 - 2 km, so it was already a good 2.5 km to the entrance (the sun was already at its zenith), and since the palace logically stands pretty much in the center of the area, it was another 1 km.

Unfortunately, as it quickly turned out, the palace was rather unspectacular, so I quickly took the usual pictures and went back to the street (1 km), quietly sneaking past the constant offers of "Taxi, Taxi" and continuing marching.

First to Atumashi and Shwedandaw Monastery, which fortunately stood side by side. And here it should be mentioned that the Shwendandaw Monastery stood out among all the ones I had seen before. It was completely made of wood, seemingly carved (one would think) very beautiful. Next destination not very far: Kuthodaw and Sandamani Pagodas, also very worth seeing with their seemingly hundreds of linearly arranged small stupas. Now to the last destination of the day, and that was exhausting again. Mandalay Hill, and it meant going uphill, always uphill. I think I climbed stairs for 90 minutes non-stop, and unfortunately, the reward was a smog-covered sky that didn't reveal much of its beautiful distant view.

So the final march began, going down the stairs and once around the palace grounds to the opposite side to the hotel, another 4 km. Second day, the goal was to explore the surroundings of Mandalay, first by ferry for 90 minutes upstream on the Irrawaddy River with the destination Mingun. Here, the largest stupa in the world was supposed to be built, with a height of over 150 m (megalomania), but spectacular and all just for a supposed tooth relic of Buddha. Also worth seeing in Mingun was the largest still ringing bell in the world (the one in Moscow is broken) and the Hsinbyume Pagoda. There was also the opportunity to climb the never fully built Great Mantara Gyi Pagoda. Which was already very damaged after 2 major earthquakes in the past.

Okay, back on the boat and back to Mandalay. From here, in the opposite direction to Amarapura, to the legendary U Bein Bridge. This is the longest teakwood bridge in the world, and it is worth waiting for the beautiful sunset to admire the very beautiful scenery.

And they're over already, two beautiful days in Mandalay.

Off to Bagan...

Thwalai ba ounmae (Goodbye)