My Birthday in Mandalay

After a few hours of sleep and a cold shower (unfortunately, there is no hot water), we start our day by lounging on the rooftop terrace of our hotel. Breakfast buffet We spend the day strolling through the city, watching craftsmen at work, unsuccessfully searching for the stone carver's quarter, and planning our further journey. For example, we book a flight. On 5.12. we'll be heading back to Chiang Mai, Thailand, but until then, we still have two days in Myanmar :)

Before we leave Myanmar, there's one thing we absolutely have to try: Betel nut. As we stroll through the city, we pass by many street stalls. When we find a stall with a young man with good teeth behind it, we go for it. He makes us two small packages of betel nut, coconut, cinnamon, lime, and chili. I actually thought we would chew it in the evening when it's not so hot, but Max has already stuffed his package into his mouth. Okaaayyy, then in the midday heat :-D By the way, we only pay 11 cents for both. A few meters away, we sit down on the curb and chew. And spit. Yeah, red spit. But it's not as bad as we thought. What we find really sweet: our vendor and some people from the café next door are really concerned about us because it's our first time and most people apparently vomit and have a really hard time with it. They give us advice and keep an eye on us. Fortunately, we tolerate the nut well. We just feel a little drunk and have a headache.

In the evening, we end up in a local street restaurant where we eat delicious food and chat with two Chinese people sitting at our table.

The next day is finally here - it's my birthday! After a short cold shower, our path takes us back to the rooftop terrace where a beautiful Asian-kitschy pink cat cake is waiting for me :-D Of course, the hotel staff couldn't resist singing me a birthday song. Just to make it really embarrassing xD But I'm really happy about the surprise with the cake :)

And luckily, it doesn't taste as sweet as it looks. But since we can't share the whole cake, we share it with the other hotel guests. Two girls in particular are happy to have a piece with the cat's head.

After a more than ample breakfast, we hop on the motor scooter to explore the surroundings of Mandalay. Max has done some research and found some sights that we'll visit today. But first, our path takes us to the stone carver's quarter - we finally found it. The area is covered with white dust and there are unfinished Buddha statues everywhere. Often with a finished body and a square block head. It seems that the stone carver, who specializes in faces, still has some work to do.

Just driving around the area is already a lot of fun, and the weather is great, at least as long as we're driving. Our path takes us past pagodas, temples, the Irrawaddy River, fields, and villages. When we stop so that I can look at a few cute pink piglets, the farmer immediately tries to catch one for me. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they run away too fast.

One main attraction in the surroundings of Mandalay is the U-Bein Bridge in Amarapura. The longest teakwood bridge in the world.

Right across from it is a large monastery complex where we take a look around. A monk who wants to improve his English offers to be our guide after a long conversation and takes us through the monastery. During the conversation, it becomes clear once again that the whole wise and self-sacrificing behavior of the monks is more show than reality. Actually, the monks have a number of strict rules that they are supposed to follow, but in practice, hardly anyone does. Many men choose to live as monks because it promises a carefree, secure, and simple life. Our monk seems to be well-fed (which actually violates a rule, because they are supposed to treat their bodies like a temple). He has been living in this monastery for 30 years and has therefore achieved some special privileges. For example, he has a hard time getting out of bed in the morning (quote), so he skips the morning prayer and meditation. He only gets up for breakfast. The monks are actually supposed to earn this breakfast by receiving food on their alms round in the village. But it's different here. This monastery has a large kitchen that takes good care of the monks. By the way, they supposedly are not allowed to clean, so there is staff for that. But we have also often seen monks sweeping or repairing their facilities. Towards the end of the tour, we were allowed to see a private area, a section separated by partitions with a mattress, books, and a television. So he doesn't live a bad life as a monk. To make a long story short: there are rules, but whether and how strictly they are followed varies widely.

After visiting the monastery, we take a look at the bridge, which serves as a popular photo motif, especially at sunset. During the day, there is relatively little activity. Just before the bridge, we buy ourselves a portion of the best coconut ice cream we've had so far.

After grilling a bit on the bridge, we continue our journey to Inwa, the former royal capital, where only a few half overgrown temples and pagodas remain. But we find these old, slightly weathered pagodas much more beautiful and interesting than the white or golden ones. Our path to Inwa takes us across a river, which we cross with a small ferry. There is no bridge, but luckily our scooter is allowed on board.

Inwa is comparable to Bagan, but smaller, and instead of scooters, people ride in horse-drawn carriages through the area. But we stick with the scooter.

On the way back from Inwa, I narrowly pass by an animal that was run over by a car, and used to be a dog or a cat. The upper body was completely run over and the legs still looked completely normal. I had to close my eyes tightly for a moment while driving.
For sunset, we're back at the U-Bein Bridge, and by now, several tour buses have arrived and the bridge is packed. Luckily, we were there in the morning.

After the sun has set, we relax with a beer at the bridge and make our way back.

It's dark now and scooter riding reaches the next level, but I'm having fun! I think I'll buy a scooter in Germany.
In the evening, I put on the dress I bought in Bangkok and a tuk-tuk takes us to a fancy restaurant that Max chose. With valet parking and door holder. The food is very delicious and besides what we ordered, there is plenty of other food brought to us. Small sauces, dips, pastes... We roll out of the restaurant, take a few more laps around the block to relieve the tension in our stomachs, and have a few cocktails in a nice bar. Wonderful birthday :)

The next day, we wander around the city a bit, eat at KFC for a change, and at around 3 o'clock, we take a tuk-tuk to the airport. We booked it through Grab, and I think the driver is going to the international airport for the first time. The ride takes about 1 hour, and along the way, we see a female dog with a puppy's head sticking out of her rear. She casually walks across the 4-lane road and seems to hardly notice the birth... When we arrive at the airport, our driver is visibly overwhelmed. He doesn't really know what to do with the signs for Arrival and Departure. He heads for the taxi parking lot and wants to kick us out there. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand our explanations of where we need to go. Luckily, another taxi driver comes running and explains to him that he needs to keep going. Before each turn, he looks at us very insecurely and waits for our hand signals. As if he was afraid of driving into a military restricted area or something. Well, we arrive and the airport looks like a normal airport. No wooden counters with paper and pen like in Myeik ;) I have to mention one positive thing: For the first time, we had the pleasure of meeting a friendly immigration officer. He even smiled at us! :)