Myanmar, Part 3
Day 47, February 13
I have this huge mosquito bite on my foot so I kept waking up in the middle of the night to put medicine on it. And after each time, it took a while to fall back asleep. So I was really tired when I finally had to get up for breakfast.
Our breakfast was surprisingly normal – omelettes. We then had to meet our taxi downstairs at 8:30 to go to the ferry. We had to take the ferry from Mandalay across the Irrawaddy River to the little town of Mingun.
The ferry was about an hour ride across. When we got there we were greeted by water buffalo carriages exactly like the horses we rode yesterday. We decided to walk though because the carriages weren’t going that fast and we only had about 2 hours to explore.
We did many stops and each one we didn’t spend more than 10 minutes. Our first stop was Naung Daw Gyi Pagoda.
Followed by Sat Taw Yar Pagoda.
Then we came across The Giant Lions.
We think the lion is curled up in a ball and then the head area was never finished
Next was the Pa Hto Daw Gyi Pagoda. It is an incomplete monument stupa. The ruins are the remains of a massive construction project begun by King Bodawpaya in 1790 which was intentionally left unfinished. The project was seen to be taking a heavy toll on the people and state so allegedly a prophecy was created to get the King to stop construction.
Overview of Mingun
In addition to the huge monument stupa, the King also built a giant bell that weighed 90 tons. This project was completed.
After that was the pagoda I had been wanting to see, the Hsinbyume Pagoda. The pagoda is painted white and modeled on the physical description of the Buddhist mythological mountain, Mount Meru. It was stunning to see. It looked like we could be somewhere in Greece because of all the white.
Saw this while walking around
Then it was time to head back to the ferry. We had to sit down below because we were one of the last ones to board and all the bamboo lounge chairs were taken.
Once we were back at Mandalay, we found our taxi driver and he took us back to the hostel. We immediately headed out for lunch. We went to the same place as last night since we knew they had decent wifi. I got the fresh spring rolls that came out fried spring rolls.
After that we went back to the room and rested. After 2 days of sightseeing we were really tired. And we have to check out tomorrow to head to Thailand so we needed to get organized.
When it was time for dinner neither one of us wanted to walk around to find a new place to eat so we went back to the same place again. I got the veggie Thai fried rice.
Day 48, February 14
This was our last morning at this hostel before heading for Thailand later in the day. We had fried egg and potatoes for breakfast. I think the weird stuff was just on the weekends.
Check out was 11:30am so we hung out in our rooms until the very last minute. I left my big bag in the lobby and went over to the restaurant that’s been my hangout for a coffee and then a quick lunch before it was time to leave. I got the Burmese curry port. I was really hesitant to order anymore curry here after the curry I got the other day that had fish. But I’m glad I did because this was, by far, the best thing I’ve had in Myanmar.
They love their curly straws at this restaurant
Then at 3 we headed out for the airport.
*I am so glad we had the opportunity to come to this amazing country. It was more challenging than any other country to enter but worth it in the end. It is not a big tourist destination like Vietnam and Thailand are, possibly due to all the internal conflict they have experienced. But I think in a few years it might become a tourist hot spot but right now it feels very untouched and pure. I have enjoyed learning about their culture and exploring their ancient sites. Aside from a few creepers that just stared rudely the first night, the people have been amazing. From our hostel staff to our taxi drivers to the restaurant workers and everyone in the little villages we visited, everyone has been incredibly helpful and so very nice. They were as curious about us as we were about them and I love that. I love that they wanted to know about our life while simultaneously we were learning about theirs. It saddens me that their beautiful country has been in such conflict because all the different ethnic sects we’ve encountered have been so gracious and kind. I hope to return one day and visit the areas that are off-limits to travel due to fighting. I would love to learn and see more of Myanmar.*
The ride to the airport was about 45 minutes. I chatted with our driver about music and he told me about a Burmese band that he was listening to. When we got to the airport we did all the usual steps and got to our gate with about 45 minutes to spare. We went to a cafe for wifi but it still really didn’t work. It has now been 2 weeks with extremely, painfully slow wifi.
When it was time to board we took a shuttle to the plane. Our flight was only an hour and fifteen minutes but they served us a fruit plate. So now I can add Bangkok Air to my list of favorite airlines (Vietnam Airlines is also on there). I sat next to an Irish lady from Dublin and we talked the whole time so it made the flight go by really quickly.
Our first flight on Bangkok Air
When we landed I somehow was the very last person to go through immigration so by the time I got to my sister she had already collected our bags and we were ready to go. We exchanged some money before taking a taxi to our hostel.
We arrived around 9pm and the front looked like it was soon to close up. So instead of trying to find a place for food we decided to eat the 24 hour free toast they offer. I had 3 pieces of toast and a glass of chocolate Ovaltine for dinner. For some odd reason, I’ve noticed that Ovaltine is a thing over in this part of the world.
Lots of showers and bathrooms at this hostel!
Sign on our door
We are leaving early tomorrow morning to go to an overnight elephant sanctuary so we ate, showered and went to bed.
Momma Payne
February 14, 2017
The white pagoda is beautiful. How do they keep it so white and pristine looking?