One Day in Mandalay
Yesterday morning we flew into Mandalay, Myanmar from Bagan. And we hit the ground running! Itโs truly amazing how much of the city you can see in just one day. Let's recap the places we went!..
Mandalay Royal Palace
A walled city built by King Mindon in 1861 with his Golden Palace in the middle. Unfortunately, many of the buildings were destroyed during WW2 and had to be rebuilt after the war. But you still get a sense of what life was like by walking through these old-style buildings. We also got a bird's eye view from the watch tower.
Mahamuni Buddha Temple
The most revered Buddha image in Mandalay and the most ancient in Myanmar. This Buddha was cast in the life-span of Lord Buddha in the seated posture of relaxed deportment. It is covered in layers of gold leaf which are placed on the image by those coming to worship at the temple.
Gold Leaf Production & Silk Weaving
Speaking of gold leafs, we visited a gold leaf factory where we learned about the ancient and time-consuming process of flattening gold into leafs. We also stopped by a silk weaving factory where we witnessed the intricate and ancient craft of weaving silk for wedding dresses and men's pants (skirts).
Shwe Nandaw Kyaung Monastery
The only original monastery left in Mandalay, The Shwe Nandaw Kyaung was built in 1880 using material from King Mindon Minโs apartment in the Royal Palace. Its an impressive structure, ornamented with detailed teak carvings, mirrored glass mosaics, and gilding. We spent a lot of time here just exploring the fine details and art in the wood carvings.
Worldโs Biggest Book (aka Kuthodaw Pagoda)
Kuthodaw Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa in Mandalay with 729 marble slabs. Built in 1857 during the reign of King Mindon. The entire 15 books of Tripaka are inscribed on the slabs, each of which is housed in its own small stupa. It is said that if you read for 8 hours a day it would take 450 days to complete.
U Pein Bridge
Named for U Pein who was the donor-builder, U Pein Bridge is a .75 mile long wooden bridge built in 1849 that spans across the Taung-tha-man Inn Lake. It is constructed entirely of old planks and timber posts of dismantled houses from Sagaing and Inn-wa.
Mandalay Hill
This was the most beautiful spot we found in all of Mandalay! Mandalay Hill sits 230 meters above the surrounding city, making it a natural watch-tower for the ancient capital of Myanmar. We drove through switchbacks up the hill and once we reached the top we had to take an elevator up 5 floors to reach the temple on the hill.
That's all from Mandalay! I'd say we saw quite a bit in just 24 hours LOL. Next stop is Thailand's coastal city of Phuket. From there we'll ferry out to explore the island of Phi Phi and then over to Krabi. It's about time we have some relaxation on the beach!! ๐๐๏ธ
Thanks for following along with our journey through South East Asia! Please follow me (@brandonfrye) for more travel pics and adventures.
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You guys did quite alot in a span of 24hrs. That Mandalay hill really is a beautiful spot!
Congratulations @audreybits, you won the comment upvote for this post!! And yes, we did a LOT really fast in Mandalay. I'm still stoked at how much we got to see in such little time. Anyways, thanks for all of the conversation and discussion you share on my channel. I really do appreciate it!! :)
Its amazing, isn't it?
Thanks to you too!
I find the Worldโs Biggest Book (aka Kuthodaw Pagoda) to be most amazing. Its hard to comprehend that (at a reading rate of 8 hours per day) it would take more than one year to complete this book.
You covered a lot in one day! What a beautiful place and you captured it well in the photos. Thank you for sharing.
We really did lol. The key was connecting with a taxi driver who knew the city and how to see as much as possible in 4-6 hours. He did not disappoint! :)
Your post is your best wishes. I follow you. I am shocked to see such a beautiful post and I can not confuse myself. I learn this post and try to make it a new one.
The architecture is absolutely beautiful. The detail demonstrates the patience and concentration of the culture there. Great that you are enjoying!
The layered, wooden roofs are incredible. It's too bad we don't put this much thought or design into today's architecture. We just put things up as fast as possible.
Like the tattoo photos and travel pictures of last time, your photos look great this time too. I especially like the pictures of kuthdow pagoda and being an Asian myself I can easily relate to these pictures.
Waiting for more.๐
Thanks, the tattoos are healing up nicely now. More to come from Thailand! :)
buddhism photo
hey i have just subscribe your channel i was watching your video " 10 things you should not do in steemit" that was great video
Wow ... you packed a lot in, for sure. You must have been tired in that last shot. But you went to some amazing places and captured some fantastic shots. Success!!!
@brandonfrye Your all photos are very beautiful. I can imagine how difficult it can be to click those pictures. I really appreciate the efforts you make for providing quality content to your followers. You are doing such a great work keep doing it !! I am your YouTube channel suscriber as well really like your content. Thanks !!โบ๏ธ
@brandonfrye please reply. Is it more expensive than Thailand? Because I been to Thailand and I am planning to go out in September. The pictures are so good that I wanted to see the place!!
Nice blog sir...this place is really fascinating...u have given me the whole insight of this place...your creativity is great...its important to have working leaders on this platform...hope that u like working here!...keep supporting us to grow...
I also watched your videos on YouTube
U r a great man...
Hello( แแแคแแฌแแซ )
Mandalay hill and shwedagon is the featured of myanmar. This two placed is have many history and culture .Thanks lay bare and proud for myanmar.If Next time, you reached myanmar
I went to explain and show other famous place.
If you went can join with me :-) . No need money !i went help you free.Wellcome to myanmar ...!
Address
City -Mandalay,pyin oo lwin city @sattpaing(Myanmar)
@brandonfrye awesome places. As more as i am watching the pics of new places, i am falling in love with all of them. Hope one day i will visit all the places which are on my must watch list.
That picture from the top of the hill is awesome! The green landscape is something to envy being from the US where the grey concrete dominates unfortunately.
Great photos Brandon! Looks like a great place to visit for sure! :)