Mandalay

04/03/2012 6:36 PM

So another hugely exhausting but incredible rewarding day; there is so much to see and so little time to do it. The pace of life is slower here; roads are terrible, frequent car troubles are common, and people move about their daily lives slower. While SE Asia in itself, in comparison to the western world, maintains a much slower and more relaxed pace of life, Myanmar is definitely the limit. There is something about it however, that makes all these things more enjoyable. I am really finding it hard to write about this country. To describe the atmosphere and environment is a challenge that is hard to meet, without actually experiencing it. It really is a place out of this world.

Today I opted to rent a taxi for the entire day at the cost of about $30 USD to ensure that I could get the most out of my day. Originally I had intended to head to Bagan tomorrow, the 5^th of March, and simply doing Mingun and Amarapura today, however, there is no boat of the 5^th which left me the option of going today, March 4^th or March 6^th. As there were things I needed to see here, I opted to spend another day here, and with the advice of the hotel manager the choice was easy. So today, I toured Sagaing, Inwa, and Amarapura. 

So I was picked up this morning around 8:30 by my beetle-chewing driver, Beetle nut is what the locals chew here giving them something up a caffeine high except slightly more potent and staining their teeth and lips dark red, in a 1970’s Toyota pick-up truck with the rear cargo area converted into benches (this is the standard form of taxi here). 

Our first stop was Sagaing, about 7 miles south of Mandalay. The trip took about 40 minutes and passed through some local markets and nice scenery. Sagaing is very similar to Mandalay hill, except that it is slightly smaller in scale but makes up for it in the hundreds of pagodas it has. So my morning started off with a 25 minute climb up yet another giant staircase to the top of another beautiful hill overlooking Mandalay and the surrounding areas. After a quick break at the top with a few photos I headed back down to meet up with my driver again.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi

Our next stop was Inwa, which is a little island that literally brings you back in time 100 years. There is little if any electricity, there are no cars, only a few motorbikes and the main form of transportation are horse-drawn carriages. However, before I go on to describing this, I will go into the highlight of my day. There is a large bridge between Sagaing and the Jetty to Inwa where there were thousands of locals lined waiting for the arrival of Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, and who is now a hero of pretty much every Burmese. The timing seemed to work out perfectly, on our way to Inwa I got a glimpse as she was standing in the sunroof of her SUV surrounded by security. I actually have a photo of her looking directly into my camera.... I think I was one of the only foreigners there. The experience was unbelievable to say the least.

The way you get to Inwa is by a small passenger boat that takes you across the river. This was nice. On arrival on the island itself, you hire a horse drawn carriage for an hour and a half with a driver that takes you around to the four main temples on the Island. They were unbelievable and it truly was a journey back in time. 

After Inwa we headed to Amarapura which is home to the world’s longest teak wood bridge. It was beautiful. I walked across is and back and took some great photos.

That's all for now. The day has been wonderful. But I'm freaking exhausted and am doing it all over again tomorrow.

All for now