Mandalay - 24 to 27 September - posted from Rebak

Travel from Bagan to Mandalay was by train.  Fortunately we were “Upper Class”, which meant we had large soft seats rather than the wooden ones in "Ordinary Class" essential for a 7-hour journey, except for Susan who always feels travel sick if not facing forward, as all the seats faced aft! When she arrived in Mandaley she was feeling pretty grim.  Mostly the scenery consisted of flat farmland interspersed with rural stations filled with people willing to sell food. The open windows provided air conditioning and the restaurant car facilities comprised numerous vendors walking up and down the train selling snacks or more substantial meals.  The ladies' skill in balancing a tray of food on their heads while walking down a swaying train was very impressive as we felt nauseous even trying to get to the loo!  On arrival at Mandalay trasnsport for the short distance to the hotel was by tuk-tuk.  In the evening we walked several blocks to a recommended restaurant, which was very smokey and the food barely eatable but the football was good.  The walk there, a few blocks, in the dusk was fairly exciting with numerous cross-roads with traffic from all directions but no traffic lights or, it seemed, traffic rules plus the enevitable pot holes. People was very helpful where there were no street signs and several trishaw drivers monitored our progress awaiting for our custom.

A one-hour river trip took us to Mingun - our transport was a substantial boat, capable of taking 50 or so - just us, our guide and the crew. A relaxing trip on the river.

Mingun Pagoda, unfinished as it was abandoned on the death of king Budawpaya in 1819, would when finished apparently have been the largest in the world rising to 500 feet, three times its present size. The base was only completed by thousands of slaves and prisoners of war.  It has subsequently suffered earthquake damage but the climb gave some great Ayeyarwady views.Our guide gave us tree branches to walk on as the ground was so hot. It is a mark of respect to even remove footwear before entering all religious sites in Myanmar so the feet could become quite tender.

Mingun also claims another "world's largest" - a bronze bell weighing about 90 tons.  This King Bodawpaya planned to go with his stupa. While it is about one third the size of the world's largest bell in Moscow, it is the largest uncracked bell in the world.  For pictures click here - our photos were not suitable.

Back in Mandalay for lunch we were guided in the mystique of Burmese cuisine, rice, curry side dishes of sauces and vegetables. Mostly too spicy and sour for our tastes. We are not lovers of loads peanut oil and mountains of shrimp paste but we always find a part to eat, occassionly only the rice.

It was to be a golden afternoon.  At the Mahamuni Paya, also originally built by King Budawpaya, there is a bronze Buddha statue that has, over the years, been so covered by gold leaf applied by devotees that its shape is totally unrecognisable.  Only the head is not so covered and is washed every morning by monks.

In keeping with custom only men are permitted to approach it and apply the gold leaf. At the same temple there are several bronze images of mainly Hindu dieties, originally looted from Angkor Wat (Cambodia) but successively looted from other resting places before ending up here.

Continuing the "golden" theme we visited a gold leaf workshop.  One ounce of gold is reduced by repeated hammering, between strips of deer skin,  to 3600 pieces of gold leaf each 1.5 inches square and apparently about 1 micrometre thick, each selling (we were told) for about 200 kyat (17 pence).  With gold at over USD 1600 per ounce the arithmetic doesn't work!

There are streets of crafts in Mandalay include marble working.  We admired and opted out of close inspection because of the dust.

The Royal Palace was destroyed during WWII but the main part was rebuilt not particularly well, and apparently using forced labour, in the 1990s for the forthcoming tourist boom of 1996.  About the only thing the reconstruction does is give an idea of the scale of the original.  The reconstruction itself seems rather a pointless use of resources.  The scale is also obvious from the moat and walls.  The road trip around the outside its 12 km.  Fortunately the "Lion Throne" which was in the palace had been removed to India by the British. and on independence was returned to the national Museum in Yangon.

Another claimed world's record was the "worlds largest book" - The entire Tripitaka are inscribed on 729 marble slabs,. Each in its own stupa in the Kuthodaw Paya. In 1900 a paper edition of the stoneorigional was printedin 38 volumes, each with 400 pages.

It is obligatory to take in the view from Mandalay Hill at sunset which would have been good, if it hadn't been for the smoke haze!

 It is expected that a boy will join a monestary for a month at about ten years old and again for a shorter while in his late teens.  The parents see this as an honour and a time of great celebration.
In Amapura, briefly the capital  before it moved to Mandaley, we visited a monastery housing 1,000 monks. . Rather than all 1000 descending on the local population with their alms bowls each morning the donors for that day come to the monastery and the monks form a queue, collect their food and other donations - toothpaste, soap etc - before eating in the refectory.

Another "world's largest" - the U Bein bridge across Taungthaman Lake- at 1300 yards the longest teak wood bridge with over 1,000 teak posts.  Somewhat restored in places with concrete footings but impressive nevertheless.  We walked across and took a boat back to savour the ambiance.

After a ferry trip across a tributary of the Ayeyarwady a horse-drawn cart along some pretty rough tracks took us to Ava and  Bagaya Kyaung, a old teak wood monastery, where monks were teaching young children in the cool dark interior.

In leafy green Sagaing where even more monasteries abound we visited a nunnery where it was apparent that Buddhist nuns are expected to do much more for themselves than are monks - they were busy preparing breakfast for the next day and are not constrained by the same amount of rules.

The Mustache brothers cabaret show is a Mandalay attraction - at least for foreign visitors.  We decided to walk the few blocks to it as taxi drivers were reluctant to take us. Half way a tuk tuk picked us up and promised to bring us back. You have the feeling that the locals know of the preformance in a front room at a certain time of day.  There are three brothers, of whom one speaks good English, together with their wives and sisters.  The show has an expected dated flavour comprises satire, song and dance and is based on traditional folk opera.

Myanmar style football

A local football game is played by two teams of three players; the objective being to keep the ball in the air, with judges scoring the efforts and a running commentary being made over a PA system.  We stopped to watch this one for a few minutes, until trucks got too impatient with the slight obstruction our car caused.