After a sleepless night I could not have been more stoked when it was time to get up! My kina finger was extremely sore and I’d been using cold cans of beer and soda out of the fridge to try and soothe it. Finally I could sort it out! My finger was very swollen and I couldn’t put any pressure on it at all so Kyle got stuck with the fun jobs, including sorting out my mop!
The breakfast spread was impressive. However, by turning up at close to 9 am we quickly learnt that the earlier you get to breakfast the better, as some of the food choices were now limited in supply. Alongside rice, noodles, bacon, tomatoes, samosas, and curry, the breakfast buffet also included a good spread of fruit and was accompanied by our choice of eggs, freshly cooked, and all the usual drink options.
When we had finished eating a staff member approached us to give us a rundown of activities in the area. She suggested a tour of three nearby ancient cities, so we booked a private taxi to take us the following day. There were many sights to see in the area around the hotel so we dedicated today to doing a massive walk to explore these. At this point I also got some help with my finger, getting a bandage to tie it to the neighbouring finger for support. This combined with the quad strength ibuprofen I had taken before brekky helped a lot to ease the pain!
The first site on the agenda was the palace. We were skeptical about whether this was worth visiting or not, however, we needed the 10,000 kyat ($10) archealogical ticket for the other sites we planned on visiting, so figured we may as well have a look since we were walking past it.
The palace was around an hours walk from the hotel, so before going in for a nosey we stopped at Cafe City to have a cold drink and a bite to eat. The food and drinks were very expensive and of poor quality. The blueberry smoothie was a struggle to finish, it felt like I was drinking straight sugar!
The palace is located in the centre of a large square of land, 2 miles long on each side, surrounded by a moat. The palace can only be accessed by tourists from one of the four entrances, the East gate, as the rest of the square is currently used by the military. The palace was rebuilt in the 1990s after the original was destroyed by earthquakes. It was interesting to see the layout of the palace, it was very open and every room had multiple points of access. There was a museum on the site where we viewed the clothing worn by royalty and the ministers in the 19th century, along with different items daily items such as beds, candle holders and book boxes. Before leaving we climbed the watchtower to get a view over the site.
From the palace we went to a couple of Pagodas located at the bottom of Mandalay Hill. Surrounding each Pagoda was numerous identical small white buildings uniformly arranged. Each building housed an inscribed stone, and together formed a book.
At the second Pagoda we were cornered by some locals who painted Thanaka leaves on our cheeks. This was their lead in to try and sell us goods including postcards and bracelets.
It was then time to start the 45 minute climb up Mandalay Hill. It was a nice walk, with a great view to soak in on the way up. There were also many kittens and puppies to provide amusement.
As we arrived at the first Pagoda, around 15 minutes into the climb, we stopped to take photos and were approached by a local monk. He was keen to walk with us so he could practice his English. Of course we obliged and made the most of the opportunity to ask him all our questions about Myanmar as well. He proved to be a great tour guide, showing us around the Pagodas and enlightening us on many details, such as the positioning of the Buddha and the stories behind groups statues.
From the top of the hill there was an uninterrupted view over Mandalay. The monk pointed out to us places of interest, including the university and prison. We stayed to watch the sunset, meanwhile being entertained by groups of school students learning English who are taken to the hill to talk to tourists to practice speaking. We were approached by several groups who were shy at first but soon opened up to bombard us. The classic questions where “Where are you from?”, “Do you like Myanmar food?” and “What is your hobby?”. Of course the questions finished with a photoshoot!
After sunset we walked back down the hill and caught a Grab to Shan Ma Ma for dinner. The food was great, we had sweet and sour pork, Ma La vegetables, enough rice to feed a family of 10, a bottle of Mandalay beer and a Sprite, all for only 9,000 kyat ($9).
For our tour of the ancient cities we were picked up from the hotel by taxi at 8.45 am.
Our first stop of the day was at a wood carving shop in Amarapura. It was impressive to see, they get so much detail into their carvings, and all while squatting on the ground using simple tools!
Next on the list was a weaving workshop where they make Longyi’s and wedding dresses. It was intriguing to watch, everything is stitched using simple, old large hand operated machines. A silk wedding dress takes approximately 1 month to make, working 10 hour days, with costs starting at $300 USD.
The final stop here was at a monastery where we watched the monks have breakfast. It was a bit weird and we felt out place as 1,200 monks walked to breakfast and ate in silence, while a bunch of tourists stood watching.
The next city on the list was Sagaing. First we went up Sagaing hill which gives a great view out over the city. We visited a few Pagodas, including a Japanese Pagoda located on the hill for the families of the Japanese soldiers lost in battle on the hill. Then it was lunch time! The location we stopped at was pretty average. We had our first choice of mains rejected because the kitchen had run out of pork!!!??!!! They then offered to make us a tea leaf salad, which we had asked for earlier but wasn’t on the menu, so we ended up with that and some vegetable fried noodles. We’d smashed through all the mornings sites very quickly so since we had time to spare, we stayed at lunch for an extra hour or so playing 500.
From Sagaing we travelled to Inwa. To get there, we had to take a boat across the river which cost $1.50 each. When we arrived on the other side at Inwa, we were immediately harassed by people trying to sell us goods. Classic. The sites in Inwa were spread out and the roads weren’t great, so the only method offered to us to get around was a tour by horse and carriage. It cost $10 for the tour which took 2 hours.
Two of the stops on the tour were old monasteries, one wood and one stone. At the first (wooden) monastery, Kyle wouldn’t enter one of the rooms as it was FULL of bats! And although most were sleeping, there were still a few flying around. They were absolutely everywhere.
The second stop was at an ancient Pagoda. I found it interesting to have a look round, even though we had seen a huge number of Pagodas by this point. There were a few kids at this stop that wouldn’t leave Kyle alone, trying to get him to buy postcards and bracelets.
At the third stop, the concrete monastery, we found some locals sitting inside for a picnic. They were so kind, offering us food and tea and trying to get us to join them. It was a tempting offer but we were both keen to keep moving to get out of the heat.
Following the Inwa tour we caught the boat back across the river and drove to our final stop for the day, U Bein Bridge, the longest and oldest teak wood bridge in the world. The plan was to stay here for sunset, but as sunset was still a couple of hours away, we decided to walk the bridge and then head back to the hotel rather than wait around. The bridge is over a wide river which wraps around pieces of farmland. It is a walking bridge and has shelters spaced along it to provide a break from the sun.
For dinner we went back to Pan Cherry Noodle House. This time we had a couple of tofu dishes which were both really tasty! Kyle’s one, recommended by the owner, was very spicy so the mango smoothie came in handy.
Kyley on Tour 