One Day in Mandalay
Sunset over Mandalay and the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar
On the Road to Mandalay
Come You Back to Mandalay
“On the Road to Mandalay” is a famous song by Oley Speaks with text by Rudyard Kipling from the nineteenth century when Myanmar, then Burma, was under British Rule.
It has little to do with our quest to visit Myanmar. It is, however, a claim to fame, and several times we caught ourselves humming this catchy tune while exploring Mandalay.
Mandalay Palace and Mandalay Hill seen in the background
Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay?
Contrary to the song we did things the other way around and planned a nine-day adventure from Mandalay to Rangoon (Yangon).
Worried that our schedule was a bit rushed we planned to visit the temples in Bagan and spend a few days in Inle Lake and Rangoon (Yangon). In this first post from Myanmar, we explore Mandalay Palace, the pagodas, and Mandalay Hill.
The impressive towers along the walls of the Mandalay Palace in Myanmar
Visa to Myanmar
To enter Myanmar, you must have a valid passport with at least six months remaining validity and a valid visa. A tourist visa allows you to visit for 28 days. The cost is $75.00 and you can get the visa online.
We had let our guard down and completely forgotten about the visa requirements and did not apply for the visa till the night before our flight from Bangkok to Mandalay.
We do not recommend this approach as we ended up missing our flight. Morten’s visa came in on time but Di’s did not, and it made for a bumpy start to our Myanmar trip. The fault was entirely our own.
Celebrating our arrival to Mandalay at the roof top patio of Hotel Yadanarbon.
Flying to Mandalay From Bangkok
When Di’s visa finally arrived we rushed to BKK International Airport and our flight was eventually very pleasant. Mandalay International Airport is about 35 kilometers south of Mandalay and we hopped on a full airport shuttle bound for our choice of accommodation, Hotel Yadanarbon.
We had contacted the hotel earlier in the day letting them know there was a chance we wouldn’t make it until the following day.
We are pretty sure this meant we were shuffled to a very noisy room right by the reception on the main floor and as the hotel was full they could not move us.
The view from Hotel Yadanarbon
We paid $46.00 per night for two nights, including breakfast. The hotel was very nice and for the second night, they put us in a much nicer room.
The rooftop pool was a strong selling point but we never actually went for a swim as temperatures in the early morning and evening were cooler than expected.
We did have dinner and drinks on the rooftop and it was a magical spot to hang out hearing the sounds of the city below while catching up on social media and messages from friends and family.
Despite the challenging start, we would still recommend this hotel for its clean rooms, friendly staff, and location fairly close to Mandalay Palace.
Our wrinkled map of Mandalay
One Day in Mandalay
Our late arrival the day before resulted in us really only having one full day to explore Mandalay. Armed with a map, water, and camera gear we ventured out on foot.
As we had nine days in Myanmar we decided to get mobile data. We sorted this out first and continued toward the Mandalay Palace and Mandalay Hill via 73st Street and then 26th Street.
Di walks along the walls and moat by Mandalay Castle in Myanmar
The perimeter and moat surrounding the palace are an impressive eight kilometers long. Despite the many tuk-tuks offering rides, we were content to take in the scenery on foot.
A quick calculation meant walking 4 kilometers along the moat, to the center, and back to the exit.
Mandalay Palace
As a symbol of Mandalay, the Palace serves as a major tourist attraction today and was rebuilt in the 1990s after almost everything, except the watchtower and royal mint, was destroyed in WWII by allied bombing.
Mandalay Palace is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy and was originally constructed between 1857 and 1859.
Diana exploring at Mandalay Palace
From the entrance to the center of the palace rides on the back of a scooter were offered but we kept to our plan and walked straight from the moat to the center, through gardens and small apartment buildings.
Worn from weather and years of neglect the pagodas and watchtower are still an impressive sight and the palace was not overrun by tourists.
We would often walk completely by ourselves able to savor quiet moments in the sun. Temperatures got up to the high twenties Celcius, very tolerable for a January day.
View from the watch tower at Mandalay Palace in Myanmar
Lunch
After our visit to the palace, we walked along the moat in the direction of Mandalay Hill in search of a good lunch spot. It proved harder than we had thought as many places were completely empty.
We decided to ask a tuk-tuk driver well aware he would take us to whichever restaurant he was affiliated with, which was okay. We told him we wanted to visit Mandalay Hill after lunch and we drove off.
After having traveled for a while now, we have learned to stay aware of what is going on around us. When it became apparent our driver was taking us in the complete opposite direction of Mandalay Hill I asked him to pull over and we got off.
Food vendor, Mandalay, Myanmar
He objected and explained he had to go this way in order to hit a side street. After a few stern looks, we jumped back in the tuk-tuk, and surely after two quick left turns, we were now heading in the right direction again.
To our tuk-tuk driver’s credit, he did take us to a really nice place and we parted ways on better terms. It was slightly unnerving though as we were the only patrons at Café Queen Restaurant.
The staff, however, was super friendly and served up a couple of giant plates of rice and vegetables and while no other customers arrived for the entire meal, we enjoyed every bite and witnessed life as it unfolded with friends of the staff arriving for a quick chat and they were kind to check in on us several times.
Neighborhood market in Mandalay, Myanmar
We found ourselves a few streets from the main drag in a quiet neighborhood and spotted no other tourists until we got closer to Mandalay Hill.
Food vendors were set up along the street and almost everyone we met was quick with a smile and a “hello”.
On one idyllic side street kids were trying to fly what appeared to be a homemade kite while other kids biked or ran up and down the streets while parents brought back fresh vegetables from the nearby market stalls.
Two monks walk up a set of stairs near Mandalay Hill in Myanmar
Mandalay Hill
Known for a multitude of pagodas and monasteries Mandalay Hill is located northeast of the city center. You can pick one of four covered stairways that lead you to the 240-meter hill, 790 ft.
An impressive array of masonry work lines almost every visible inch of these stairways. Mandalay hill has been a pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddist for almost two centuries.
The covered stairway leading to the summit of Mandalay Hill
There are 1,729 steps to the summit if you chose to walk the stairways and remember you have to remove your shoes when entering.
We had already done plenty of walking by the time we arrived at Mandalay Hill but we decided to hit the stairs nonetheless.
Alternatively, there is a road leading to the summit, and if the stairs sound daunting a taxi or tuk-tuk ride will get you to the summit and the Sutaungpyei Pagoda.
Climbing the stairs to Mandalay Hill, Myanmar
It was late afternoon when we started our jaunt up the stairs. It felt as if we were the only people in Mandalay who had this idea. We stopped several times on the way to marvel at the views, the pagodas, and the workmanship that must have gone into this construction marvel.
And yes, it was surprisingly hard to walk that far on bare feet, and we stopped several times to catch our breath also.
I wanted to catch the sunset from the top and at a point near the summit, I went ahead of Di and was sweating bullets as I climbed each set of stairs only to find another set of stairs at the top of yet another impressive platform.
Late afternoon view from Mandalay Hill, Myanmar
I finally stopped to take a few shots of the panoramic view of Mandalay. We were not quite at the summit yet and I decided to find Di again.
It was not as easy as I thought as the stairs felt like a maze or labyrinth in sections. It was rather magical in the late afternoon light. We did find each other and kept going for the last little stretch to the summit and the Sutaungpyei Pagoda.
We were surprised to find crowds of people at the summit as we had been almost alone during our climb. Many visitors must have come up by taxi or tuk-tuk. We padded ourselves on the back, well done us.
Do we have all the photos we need :)
The evening sunset was spectacular and the whole experience was enormously rewarding and one of the more memorable moments during all of our travels.
That was until we realized we had to walk down again in the dark. It wasn’t as bad as I make it sound but our legs were trembling by the time we reached the streets below the hill.
What an adventure. We found a tuk-tuk and with a satisfied feeling and a good workout under our belts we whisked through the warm evening air back to our hotel.
Back at the hotel, we had snacks and another celebratory drink at the rooftop bar again. As mentioned our room for the second night was superior to the first night and sleep came easy.
Sutaungpyei Pagoda at sunset, Mandalay Hill in Myanmar
Travel Day to Bagan
When traveling in Southeast Asia you know it is only a matter of time before you are hit with traveler's stomach. The following morning it was my turn.
The issue at hand was our upcoming bus trip from Mandalay to Bagan with a midday departure. Di was a champion and went to fetch Immodium to the rescue at a nearby pharmacy.
I am happy to report it did the trick although I was nervous about the six-hour bus ride.
It wasn’t the best way to wrap things up but it didn’t take away from a great stay in Mandalay. If you are in the area, do not skip Mandalay.
Before we knew it we were on our way to the OK Express bus in the back of a tiny pickup truck with open seats.
Read our next post from Myanmar:
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The photos in this article are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro2. Lenses: XF 14mm f/2.8 R - XF 23mm f/1.4 R - XF 35mm f/1.4 R - XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Capture One Express. I used Fujifilm film simulations for some of the photos.
