Established in 1857, Mandalay is the 2nd largest city and the last royal capital of Myanmar ( formerly called Burma) on the Irrawady River.
In its center is its restored MANDALAY PALACE from the Konbaung Dynasty, surrounded by a moat. The present day Myanmar was conquered by British colonial forces. Ratanapunja was the ancient name of the city. It was given the name of Mandalay from its 236meter high Mandalay hill, which is now a very popular tourist sight.
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| MANDALAY PALACE |
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An important note : WEAR EASY SLIP ON / OFF SHOES /SANDALS.
Every temple or pagodas, we need to take off shoes and socks ! so bring a plastic bag to carry your own shoes with you. You might exit a different gate.
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| No shoes and socks allowed within temple /Pagoda grounds |
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| Entering the Palace. Need to leave a passport at guardpost and register.. |
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| entrance gate to Palace ground |
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| why is she taking picture thru the grills? gotta ask her... |
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| have " Chia Yu " , will travel |
MANDALAY HILL provides a beautiful view of the city from its summit. Best to visit at sunset. At its foot, the Kuthodaw Pagoda houses hundreds of Buddhist scriptured inscribed marble slabs.
During the reign of the Konbaung Dynasty, the city of Mandalay served as proof of the splendour of the golden age in Burma. Today Mandalay is the cultural center and is home to several Buddhist monasteries and displays exquisite examples of Mandalay masonry.
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| touch the cobra head for good luck.. |
you can take the elevator up from car park to the top, or just climb a few dozen steps.
KUTHODAW PAGODA
It is located at the base of south east staircase to Mandalay Hill. The Kuthodaw Pagoda is the world's largest book. It was built by King Mindon at the same time he was constructing his Royal Palace. The central stupa is modeled after the Swezigon Pagoda at Nyaung U in Bagan.
The stupa itself is connected to the outside entry by means of a long corridor is set in the middle of a 13 acre field of 729 pitaka pagodas or shrines. Each shrine contains a marble slab, inscribed on both sides in Pali script text.
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| taking a break |
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| Peterpatterpot making new friend |
U BEIN BRIDGE
This bridge is the longest teak footbridge in the world. It gently curves 1300 yards across the shallow Taungthaman lake, creating one of Myanmar's most photographed site. In the dry season, walking along the bridge feels very high mostly crosses seasonal vegetable gardens. But after the summer rains, the area becomes a big lake and water laps just below the floor planks.
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| beautiful sunset ... |
The best time to visit is just after sunrise when hundreds of villagers and monks commute back and forth across it.
We were there about 6pm and it felt and sounded like thousands of villagers except they were dressed in "Versace" and carrying Louis Vuittons !!!
We only managed 10 feet on to the wooden planks and decided to get down to the ground and that was a very good decision bcos sunset photography is amazing at the far end, on ground level. A small cafe is set up with seats for those who want to have a cuppa and wait for the sunset photos.
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