25/1/14 - Pauk Taw Pauk Myung - Shwe Kyet Yet (Mandalay)

Saturday 25 January, 2014

Pauk Taw Pauk Myung - Shwe Kyet Yet (Mandalay)

We quietly drift in to Mandalay. This city already has a different feel to anywhere we have been - a seemingly bustling, busy port. But the order of the day is: Pack, breakfast, disembark.

We moor underneath a hill called Saigang Hill which is widely recognised as the religious centre of Myanmar. This hill is home to 600 pagodas and monasteries, 3000 monks and 100 meditation centres. We will explore the hill on foot tomorrow.

On to a coach and off we go to explore Mandalay. First impressions are of a large, bustling city - wide, almost 'boulevarde' style main streets, traffic lights(!), lots of traffic. We are not in Yandabo now Toto!

Our luggage is taken separately to the hotel and we start our first excursion in Mandalay. Our morning takes us in to Amarapura where our first stop is the Mahagandayon Buddhist monastery where we wander around and look at elements of the daily life of the monks. Then join in the rapidly gathering throng of tourists waiting to see the 1300 or so monks line up for their 10:15 second meal of the day. We feel desperately sorry for the monks as the tourists jostle to take photos of the long line, turning what is a normal daily routine for these peaceful people into a bit of a madhouse.

The kitchen

Upmarket accomodation for the monks

Monks receive breakfast here

Novices

Next on to the U Bein Teak bridge. An interesting stop - the bridge quite opposite to what was expected, but a surprisingly rustic kind of a bridge that evoked a sense of the country. The bridge is over 200 years old, has 984 teak posts and is 1.2 kilometres long - the world's longest teak span.

Our final stop this morning (apart from lunch) is at Thein Nyo silk weaving workshop. Silk weaving is a major product of this region and the fabrics are beautiful. We escape with wallets intact from the workshop store.

Lunch, then off to the hotel to get our rooms. Bliss! A beautiful hotel with large, comfortable rooms. We rest for a hour or two then start excursion number 2 for the day.

This afternoon our first stop is the Shwe Nandaw Kyuang or Golden Palace Monastery - a teak monastery that was once covered in gold leaf (hence the 'Golden' bit).

Next on to Kuthodaw Pagoda, home to the world's largest / heaviest book in the world. The 'book' is a collection of marble slabs - each housed in it's own pagoda - and inscribed with Buddhist teachings.

A model of the complex

Finally, in to a shuttle (and I used that term loosely and advisedly) to the top of Mandalay Hill (and NAFP) to the Su Taung Pyai pagoda where we take in the panoramic view across Mandalay and the Ayeyarwady River. Back to the hotel, relish a little bit of high speed WiFi before dinner and (glorious, comfortable, king-sized) bed.