We arrive in Mandalay at around noon and pick Nylon Guesthouse (USD 20/night) from 3 similar ones close to each other. A few minutes later we borrow bicycles next to the guesthouse for the afternoon and the next day for K 5.000. Based on a Lonely Planet cycle tour suggestion we start our ride at a market and then through residential areas we get to a beautiful old teakwood bridge on a canal. Passing it and going further on we reach the Ayeyarwady River where it's endlessly fascinating to watch the loading and unloading of boats from little ones to big cargos.
Then we keep on pedaling along the canal to the stunning Shwe In Bin Kyaung teak monastery. We take a rest at a neighbouring teahouse which is full of young monks. One of them joins us to practise his English. It is the time to learn how monks can afford fancy mobile phones or private English lessons. We finish our day at a puppet theatre.
Amarapura, an ex-capital of Burma is 11 km from Mandalay. We bike here the next day through the city, continuously asking locals for directions. They’re keen on helping all the time: if you stop somewhere and start looking around , surely someone will approach you and offer help. On the way we stop at a huge stupa which is under reconstruction supported by an unbelievable curved bamboo structure.
U Bein’s Bridge is the world’s longest teak footbridge at 1,300 yards across a lake. We leave our bikes at the foot of the bridge and negotiate with a boatman to take us through the lake so that we can walk back on the bridge later. He paddles (with his feet) slowly with us. The lake is still quiet with no so many tourists around.
At the other end of the bridge we visit an unusual looking temple, rather Tibetan/Nepali style which is buzzing with students preparing for their exams.
The temple has some stunning, well-preserved frescoes on the ceilings.
We have a pleasant pedal back to town along Kandawgyi Lake. We get really hungry after the trip and are happy to find a big, airy teahouse. There is no surprise in its popularity: the menu comprises a great variety of different types of extremely cheap dishes. We cannot choose so just look around at what others are eating, then order by pointing at a nice plate of thali, doughnuts filled with grated coconut and a strawberry juice. All of them are freshly made, right in front of our eyes. Look at the last entry - we didn’t dare to try it!
Filled with energy (in the form of tremendous amounts of sugar…) again we head to the 230m Mandalay Hill to catch the view of the town at sunset. Again, friendly locals guide us to a monastery court where we park our bikes. After climbing the hill, then endless flights of stairs we stop at a viewpoint to look down at Mandalay. Golden stupas stand out of the smoke flying over the town.
Last morning in Mandalay walking to the port we join locals in a small cafe for a typical breakfast: deep-fried doughnuts (similar to the Spanish ‘churros') freshly made on wood fire, sweet milk tea, and some plain Chinese green tea in a pot that comes for free as usual. As people eat their breakfast and look at the newspaper, we get hidden gazes and smiles; when we leave and ask for the bill, the owner insists on us being his guests and doesn’t let us pay. We might be the first foreigners eating at his place.
We opt for the tourist boat departing at 9 am (K5000 return) to Mingun. We have been longing to cruise on the Ayeyarwady since we read The Piano Tuner. The trip lasts for an hour and now we have 3 hours to go around before returning to Mandalay port.
Mingun, a riverside village is home to a trio of unique pagodas and a giant bell weighing 90 tonnes, it’s around 4 m high and almost 5 m across the lip, making it the world’s largest untracked bell. You can even stand within while others thump it from the outside.
Top left: Nats (spirits) guarding a stupa
Top right: the unfinished Mingun Paya, which would have been the world’s largest stupa, but only the base was completed
Bottom: Mingun Bell
Arriving back to town we discover new delicacies at a mobile salad stand. These move around town all day long, and use a unique small gong to draw attention. You can choose from the chopped ingredients like fresh green mango or carrot, some sort of pickled fruit, then the salad is mixed with herbs, chili, garlic, oil, peanuts and, 'who knows what else' by hand and served in a plastic bag.
In the evening we get on a bus (K8000) and leave for Lake Inle.
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