Category Archives: Myanmar

Mandalay

Posted on by
2

I spent my last two night in Myanmar in Mandalay and splurged a little on a $40 a night hotel downtown.  Mandalay is quite flat and easier to walk around than Yangon, though you still need to watch that you don’t fall into a storm drain that is missing a cover.

There is a large Chinese influence here with many new hotels being built by the Chinese and lots of Chinese restaurants.  There is even a large mall downtown, but with few businesses inside and even less shoppers.
This is the view from Mandalay hill, which is a great hike, or, if you prefer, there is an escalator at the top where taxis can drop you off!  The rainy season has started now and there was rain for both days in Mandalay.  It was quite heavy, but it tends not to last that long.
In downtown, you can see where they make gold leaf.  It’s the small squares of gold that they stick onto shrines, Buddha images, golden rock, etc.  They start with a sheet of gold and hammer the hell out of it until it is so thin that it is virtually worthless.  They sell a pack of ten 3cm squares for $3.  This may make a better gift than the gems!
The airport is a staggering 45km away from the city, so allow lots of time to get there.  There are foreign exchange offices there, but they were closed.  Also, there was a power outage when I got there, so everyone had to wait till it came back on so they could use the X-ray machines!
Remember, you cannot exchange Myanmar Kyat outside of the country, you need to leave with US dollars so I would strongly suggest you exchange your money before getting to this airport.  Otherwise, you may have more souvineers than you bargained for!

Gems

Posted on by
Reply

Myanmar apparently has a lot of natural resources.  One of the things the tourist shops try to sell are gems.  Throughout the 3 weeks I wondered if the gems are actually good quality or are just cheap coloured stones.

In Bagan, there is a gem museum, really just a front for a shop.  There is a sign telling you how to identify a genuine gem. 
So, Myanmar identifies a genuine stone as being “enchanting”.  It all sounds too scientific for me, so I passed on buying one!
Some people say they have got really good deals on diamonds and precious metals, but I think you really need to know what you are looking for or you end up buying a worthless chunk of stone or metal!

E-bikes in Bagan

Posted on by
3

My second day in Bagan I decided I wanted to explore a little further out, so I rented an e-bike.

I’m not sure I got the manliest looking bike though.
Me: it’s yellow.
Owner: Yeah, yellow. Good colour, you like?
The customer service is pretty good.  If you have a low battery or a flat tire they can come and give you a new bike on the side of the road and take this one back to be repaired.  Right now the rental is $8 per day, which seems resonable.
They are made in China and all the gauges are in Chinese.  They travel about 40 km/h and you get about a 30 km range on them.  After that you have to peddle until you find a phone to call for assistance!
I found a few unique temples.  Kyansittha Umin is very close to the famous golden stupa, Shwezigon.  What is unique about Kyansittha though, is that it’s built into a cliff face.  Tunnels are dug through the rock.  I think many people skip it because I was the only one there.  It’s locked and no pictures are allowed.  However, a nice woman living next door had the key and she walked me through it in broken English.  She had a flashlight too, which was handy. There are many murals inside of when Mongolians where in Burma.  The Burmese say it was an invasion, but there seems to be a difference of oppinion from scholars.  The images seem to show Mongols shooting pigeons along side the Burmese, not shooting at each other.
The other one was supposed to have a great view from the top.  Dhammayazika is about 3km outside of New Bagan and you could climb to the top.  Unfortunately, they are doing renovations and it’s closed.  It was still interesting to see how they use bamboo scaffolding and no safety gear!
I ended with sunset at the top of one of the taller ones with many other tourists and many touts selling paintings and T-shirts.  They kind of mob you on the way down.  Even still, most vendors seem friendly, if a little pushy.