Author Archives: Björn

On the Road to Inle Lake

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We continued the drive from Pindaya after lunch – now heading straight for Nyaungshwe, our base for the next few days around Inle Lake.

On the way – what else could there be – we had a further stop at the Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery to visit the stupa and the temple. For this one, it is not the building or the artistic value that makes this outstanding – it is rather the whole atmosphere, peacefulness and tranquility of the place, that sinks in – – a worthwhile stop … even for someone close to or already being templed-out.

Kalaw Farmers’ Market

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In the Kalaw area a rotational market scheme is in operation. This means the farmers’ market is in a different location every day – and only returns to a location after five days. Today it was market day in Kalaw.

The farmers’ market is all about fresh produce, hence the market starts early in the morning. I therefor got up around 06:00, to have an early morning stroll around the market and see the market being set up.

The Road from Mandalay … to Kalaw

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When we got back from Mandalay Hill the hotel reception was packed. A group from India had just arrived and had started digging into the breakfast buffet. So – good timing to leave Mandalay.

We were now heading to Kalaw, further South and higher up in the mountains of the Shan state. A drive of about 250km was ahead of us. The first part on a modern highway – the last bit on a curvy mountain road. The trip took us about eight hours (including a good number of breaks … for coffee, lunch, toilets and banana cake).

We finally made it to Kalaw around 17:30 – with some time to spare to explore town (and its downtown Auung Chan Tha Pagoda) before meeting up for a Nepalese dinner.

Mandalay Hill

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This morning once more started with a quick temple trip. After breakfast we did jump on a truck to head up Mandalay hill to the escalator building heading for Su Taung Pyae Pagoda (yes … a building with a series of escalators leading up to the actual pagoda).

From the pagoda on top of the hill we had great views over town and towards other temples, but also the palace.

 

Spiritual Mandalay

Gallery

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This gallery contains 18 photos.

After the palace things turned to the spiritual side again. We were now heading for Shwe In Bin Monastery (ရွှေအင်းပင် ဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်း), built in the late 19th century and made entirely from teak wood with loads of detailed wood carvings. The … Continue reading →

Royal Mandalay

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After lunch we made it to Mandalay Palace.

While the palace dates back to the 1850s, most of the buildings were destroyed during world war II – the buildings on display today are mostly reconstructions done in the 1990s.

The original palace was the last palace of the kingdom of Burma, indeed the last two kings used to live here. Buildings all feature one story only (even if that may look different – exception of course the watch tower); the levels or spires of the roof though indicate the importance of the respective building.

We did enjoy a guided tour of the palace, including background on the last king; we also had the opportunity to get a view of the area from the watch tower.

Sunset at U Bein Bridge

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The sun won’t wait for the tourist, who is a bit late for sunset – right!? So here you got the reason, why we were in a bit of a rush today … making our way from Sagaing Hill over the Irrawaddy to the Taung Tha Man Lake and the world famous U Bein Bridge.

U Bein Bridge is – at about 1200m – the world’s longest bridge made from teak wood .. sitting on well more than 1000 support poles.

Boats were waiting for us – and soon we were out on the lake, first cruising a bit (including a trip to the other side of the bridge) and then making it to a good vantage point for sunset-behind-bridge views and photos … below some selected evidence.