A day in Mandalay

We arrive in Mandalay on the evening of Christmas Day, just in time for a meal at a BBQ restaurant with Anne, our tour company, Grasshopper’s, country manager, who presents us with another Christmas gift and our very own turkey and Christmas cake, which no-one was expecting!  After a jolly evening we have the following day off from cycling to explore Burma’s second largest city – giving me an opportunity to try out my Christmas present from Robin, a whizzy new camera.

 

Mandalay was Burma’s last royal capital – they seem to have moved around the country according the whim of the ruling family, but Mandalay apparently fulfilled the Buddha’s prophecy to found a metropolis of Buddhism at the foot of Mandalay Hill.  It remains the country’s second city (Rangoon/Yangon being the largest by far) but little remains of the 19^th century royal city, which was devastated in WW2.  You can still see the large rectangular site surrounded by water, which makes for some pretty reflections in photographs, but the only original royal building to survive stands elsewhere in Mandalay and is now the Shwenandaw Monastery.  It is an ornate teak building complete with many elaborate carvings, but looks very fragile today.

Close by is another highlight, the Kuthodaw Pagoda which contains the World’s Largest Book, over 700 marble slabs inscribed with the entire teachings of the Buddha, each slab protected by its own white “house”.  Lots more photo-opportunities here!

 

Our final photo-op of the the day is from the top of Mandalay Hill.  There are four covered walkways, guarded at the entrance by fierce-looking chinthes, leading up to top of the 790ft hill.  We walk up – considered a meritorous deed – but find we are virtually alone in doing so, while the motorcycle taxis are doing a brisk trade.  The road may be quicker, but our 20 minute climb is filled with delights, from the stalls lining the stairway - Aung Sang Suu Kyi poster, anyone? – to the many Buddhas at key points, including a Stalinist Buddha pointing down hill to prophesy the building of the city.  By the time we get to the top the crowds have arrived in force and line the terrace waiting for their sunset photograph.  But tonight the weather gods are not co-operating, and the sun sinks behind cloud way above the horizon.  There is still much to photograph, including monks taking iPhone photos of other monks posing with Buddha images.  I love this collision of cultures.

After walking back down to the hotel, we clamber aboard our own motorbike taxis – there are still relatively few cars in Mandalay, so this is the best way to travel and head to a recommended restaurant.  The taxis are great – only 100cc or so – so you feel pretty safe, but the drivers whizz in and out of traffic, while using their few words of English to point out famous sights.  Though we do have to detour for one to fill up with petrol – not from a pump, but delivered by the bottle.   The restaurant was another experience.  Immediately we sat down our table was surrounded by 10 or 12 small boys (waiters) in a huge hurry – or competition? – to serve us, even though we haven’t had time to study the menu.  Food arrives immediately – though it’s not necessarily our first choice, much of what we asked for was off that night.  And it’s ridiculously cheap, even with the beers it’s less than £10 for 3 people – cheaper than the taxi-bikes!