Mandalay

Mandalay 

Having said goodbye to Bangkok, we flew to Mandalay on Bangkok Air. For a 90 minute flight it was amazing. Comfortable seats on this A300 with loads of legroom. They also served us a meal.  And, when you fly on this airline, everyone is allowed to go to the lounge before boarding, where they have comfortable seating and snacks and drinks. They also offered free wifi so I was able to download a couple of expired Netflix episodes as well as charge up my devices. 

Our guide, Jojo, and driver Khin Soe, met us outside customs and away we went to Mandalay. The city is about an hour from the airport. Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar, with a population of 1.2 million. The countryside is all about farming. Lots of watermelon crops, also nag with rice, wheat, peanuts and cotton. The city is the former capital of the region and the once presidential palace, now housing the military, sits in the middle of the city surrounded by a large 2-mile square moat. We also visited the famous Ubein Bridge, made entirely of teak. It's 1.2 km long and is believed to be the longest teak bridge in the world. 

For sunset viewing we drove up to the top of Mandalay Hill and enjoyed the 360-degree views while waiting for sunset. We could also see our hotel nearby. Turns out, my room faced west so our second night I watched the sunset from my hotel room. 

Our main activities yesterday were visiting the wet market, which is the local fruit, meat, vegetable and flower farmers market. They had some beautiful tomatoes and ginormous radishes that looked more like white carrots. 

Following the the market we drove to the banks of the Irrawaddy River and scurried across (well, scurrying might not be quite the word) the water on thin planks while holding on to a bamboo pole. A little daunting. I kept thinking about how sad I'd be if I tumbled into the water and lost my camera. And cellphone. And my dignity. 

Not to worry, all went well and the three of us successfully navigated our way onto our boat - the third one out, so you have to walk across planks between boats. We set off for a one hour cruise up the river to visit the unfinished stupa of Bodawpaya. 

I am still recovering from my bout with food poisoning and on top of that caught Karen and Joanne's colds. I wasn't feeling my best but my spirit is strong so I soldiered on. Getting into the little tuk tuk I banged the top of my head on the metal rod, bringing searing pain and tears to my eyes. Fortunately no bleeding and after a few minutes I was better. Can't seem to catch a break though. 

We ate lunch in a Chinese restaurant since my stomach was still a bit too unsettled to try the local cuisine. I have virtually no appetite but I hope that will improve. I know it will give my body the fuel it needs to finish getting better. I had some bland chicken and some steamed rice. 

We stopped at a gold leaf making shop where young men still manually pound the leaf and bamboo paper, using 10 pound wooden mallets. Amazing. 

There were a few more pagodas we visited but I was not up for it so while Karen and Joanne went in, I laid down on the seat in the van and tried to rest. Plum pooped. And I was saving my energy for the Kuthodaw Pagoda where over 700 stupa shrines hold the written tablets of the Tripitaka, the writings of Buddha. It was worth the wait and I enjoyed it very much.