An early morning 45 minute boat trip taking us to an unfinished temple was a pleasant, if rather cool, start to the day. As we chugged down the river we saw a very rare sight which was that of river dolphins who had us mesmerized for a while. The temple was only built as far as the foundation and that is no longer very safe after being damaged by the earthquake a few years ago – looks rather unstable! We then saw other earthquake affected buildings/statues before going to the temple which is referred to as the wedding cake. Very white and very large! Unfortunately everywhere is being used as a selfie spot and unfortunately I forgot to bring a flowy dress and fancy umbrella for my selfies – you are in the minority if you just want to see the sights!
Following our walk in the hot sun we found a shady cafe and sat under the trees watching the river and the gentle way of life.
A stop for lunch and then a full afternoon seeing the sights took us to an old teak temple, the stone carving street where all the Buddha’s are carved – OH&S would have a heart attack if they saw the conditions the people work in! Also saw how they make the gold leaf which people buy to put onto the temples! Lastly a crazy drive up a steep hill to watch the sunset – very spectacular!
Mandalay has lots of monasteries and you see lots of monks and nuns as you travel from temple to b! There is a walled 1.7km square what was once a palace but was taken over firstly by the British army and later by the Japanese army and now houses the army of Myanmar!
Today was an early start as we had a 6 hour drive to Kalaw, which is hill country. Early on we stopped at the longest teak bridge in the world. Amazing how you can have people walking so far above ground with no railings to stop people falling over the edge! The roads were something to behold as we climbed higher and higher around hairpin bend after hairpin bend! We did finally arrive and it feels pleasantly cooler here which is lucky as we are going on a bit of a trek tomorrow!
wedding cake temple.
Teak bridge
Earthquake damage
Following our walk in the hot sun we found a shady cafe and sat under the trees watching the river and the gentle way of life.
A stop for lunch and then a full afternoon seeing the sights took us to an old teak temple, the stone carving street where all the Buddha’s are carved – OH&S would have a heart attack if they saw the conditions the people work in! Also saw how they make the gold leaf which people buy to put onto the temples! Lastly a crazy drive up a steep hill to watch the sunset – very spectacular!
Mandalay has lots of monasteries and you see lots of monks and nuns as you travel from temple to b! There is a walled 1.7km square what was once a palace but was taken over firstly by the British army and later by the Japanese army and now houses the army of Myanmar!
Today was an early start as we had a 6 hour drive to Kalaw, which is hill country. Early on we stopped at the longest teak bridge in the world. Amazing how you can have people walking so far above ground with no railings to stop people falling over the edge! The roads were something to behold as we climbed higher and higher around hairpin bend after hairpin bend! We did finally arrive and it feels pleasantly cooler here which is lucky as we are going on a bit of a trek tomorrow!
wedding cake temple.
Teak bridge
Earthquake damage
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