Mandalay – Bhikkhus' in lines

Bhikkhus' are standing in two lines with their big silver put. The last Bhikkhus' are coming out of the houses and getting into the formation. It is 11 a.m. and it is time for breakfast. As a part of their daily routine are they standing in two lines to enter the dinner-hall where their breakfast will be served from two huge pots. They are all standing without shoes and in the traditional Bhikkhus Cloaks in the dark red color.

There is a silence around the breakfast ceremony in the Mahagandayon Monastery in the Amarapura area outside Mandalay, while we can see everyone are getting their own position. The Breakfast ceremony for the Bhikkhus' is open for public as the surrounding buildings. Cloaks are hanging down from balconies and Bhikkhus' are walking around us, while we are walking around the Monastery, which was founded in 1914.

Bjørn and I have arrived to Mandalay, from where the view from Mandalay Hill has been explored the day before, with visits to different temples. Seeing small busses full of Bhikkhus and been confirmed that the national pair of shoe is Flipflaps, since even the road constructions workers are using this.

At one of the temples are we seeing a Bhikkhu sitting and speaking into a microphone surrounded with green light, while everybody can hear it over the speakers in miles area. As every bigger city with respect for themselves does Mandalay of cause have a huge fountain show with light and music. When we are passing by it, can we hear “By the Rivers of Babylon” by Boney B from 1978, coming out of the speakers, which is giving associations to charter tourist partying at sunny beaches of Spain 30 years ago:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down

Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion

When the wicked

Carried us away in captivity

Required from us a song

Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land”

With Private Driver

We are entering the Toyota Crown, which we have rented for the day with a driver, since this option was cheaper than getting a taxi to and from the U Bein Bridge, which is our finale destination today, and a most see for us since it is the worlds oldest and longest teakwood bridge with a length of 1,2 kilometer and 1,086 pillars. The construction finished in 1851 while the capital still where in Amarapura before it moved to Mandalay in 1857. The bridge is usually the last stop since the sunset should be stunning.

The House ride - Inwa Ava

We are jumping in the small boat to cross the river. The driver of the boat is standing in the back of the long slim boat. A large black cloud of smoke is coming out of the engine, when he is pulling the line to start it. It is only taking a few minutes before we are at the other side. Horses with their horse-drawn carriage are standing ready for us to walk us around. The price is 10.000 Kyat for a two hours tour, visiting the Teak Monastery, the Watch Tower and the Me Nu Oak Kyaung.

We are sitting in the horse-drawn carriage when we are on our way to the Teak Monastery. It is quiet, since it is out of season. The only noise we can here is the sound from the horse and the wheels. We are turning left, and entering a small narrow road with fields on both sides. There is only space for one horse-drawn carriage, but suddenly when we are turning right we are nearly colliding with another horse-drawn carriage, but our driver is having a fast reaction, so while the two drivers are jelling to each other and going as far as they can come to the edge of the road it is possible to pass.

In the horizon can the Watch Tower now be seen. It is 30 Meter high and is leaning to one side as the Leaning tower of Pisa. When we are arriving to the tower is there only a lady trying to sale us souvenirs. It is not possible to get up in the tower, which was built in 1822 but because of an earthquake in 1838 is it only the lower part of the tower that are left. The fundament for the original tower can still be seen.

After the Watch Tower are we arriving to the Me Nu Oak Kyaung Monastery before we are back on the boat, and getting into the Toyota Crown.

The last stop of to day is a small 30 minutes ride from us. We are heading to the U Bein Bridge after a day visiting monasteries; handcraft shops, where we have seing how they are making the thin gold which they are using for sculptures, plates, and seeing the beautiful view form the Hillside Temples (Sagging Hill) with the view over the thousand temples.

The famous bride (the long walk)

It is Sunday, there is full of people. There are a lot of families who have taking a day trip to the U Bein Bridge. Boats are ready to take you over the Taungthaman Lake. People are jelling after us to sell us a trip, but we haven’t arrived just to take a look at the worlds oldest and longest teakwood bridge with a length of 1,2 kilometer, from a boat, we have arrived to walk over it.

Even though it is a bit cloudy is the light still good and it is only getting better since we are getting closer to sunset. The Bridge is narrow and there are a lot of people so you need to walk slowly and follow the flow carefully, since there is no railing on the side of the bridge.

A splash is being heard. Out of my corner of my Eye do I see a boy jumping from one of the pillows. He is playing and swimming with some of his friends, since the bridge is used daily by locals to cross the Taungthaman Lake. There are some main platforms on the way, but even though there are 1,086 pillars the bridge is still swinging a bit from side to side. Different Bhikkhus' are passing by us, as we are walking over the bridge.

On the way back over the bridge is the light from the sun soft. The light is just as you could imagine here on our last day in Mandalay, before we are getting on a VIP night bus to Yangon, where the service with two stewardesses and big seats with its own entertainment system, with Bollywood movies and with leg-space better than you can fine in a bus in Denmark, is the standards here in Myanmar again surprising us, in a positive way. Undoubtedly Myanmar is with their level of English and the new ongoing constructions getting ready to a boom in tourism over the coming years.