Sad to leave Bagan but excited for Mandalay, it was a relatively short journey to the second largest city and last royal capital of Myanmar. The name sounds really romantic, probably because of Rudyard Kipling’s poem.

Looking back Mandalay is a bit of a blur, visiting one temple after another on two day trips which packed in the sights. I’m running the risk of simply rattling off all the places I visited without much information – but that’s because there are so many places to see. I’ve decided to write what I remember right now before I forget and maybe do a retrospective post later on with more detail.

There are a few ‘biggest in the world’ sites in Mandalay. First up, the ‘World’s Biggest Book’, otherwise known as the Kuthodaw Pagoda – hundreds and hundreds of stone tablets inscribed with Buddhist texts, which apparently took the monks 6 months to recite. The ‘book’ was commissioned by the King and completed in 1868, to ensure the preservation of the text. It’s very beautiful and quite the hotspot for photoshoots – I saw many Burmese wedding and graduation parties.

On top of Mandalay Hill is the Su Taung Pyei pagoda complex, which even has an escalator to take you to the top… Some great sunset views to be had here and chats with local students who come up to practice their English with visitors.

Whilst I also visited the Mahamuni Pagoda, women are not allowed to enter the main shrine so I don’t have any photos 😡 there is a live video stream where I could see men sticking gold leaf on to the Buddha image. I did this in Bagan so wasn’t too upset. I think the following photos were taken at the Mahamuni pagoda as well but to be honest I can’t remember 🙈. I do remember it felt more like a garden centre than a temple, with numerous Buddhas for sale, palm readers and a multitude of flashing lights!

I really enjoyed a boat ride across the river to the area known as Mingun, especially as the boat had comfy chairs laid out for us, and a little table with free coffee, biscuits and bananas 👏

As soon as we got off the boat, ladies selling bamboo hats descended on us and of course I bought one for 50p – something which turned out to be essential when a visit to Myanmar’s answer to the Taj Mahal, the White Stupa, turned into a photoshoot. In fact the hat made the photos 😎 I ended up with the best photos I’ve ever had of myself, thanks to Lucy who knows a few Instagram worthy tricks!

Back on the ‘biggest in the world’ theme is the ‘World’s Biggest Pile of Bricks’. I’m not making this up. Although in my opinion that’s a bit of an insult as it’s actually a huge pagoda, albeit unfinished, that you can climb up for a great view. Everyone knows if it can be climbed, I’ll be at the top!

And don’t forget the ‘World’s Biggest Ringing Bell’ – I only noticed this man who I almost knocked out when I watched this video back 🙈

Last one – the ‘World’s Longest Teak Wood Bridge’ 😂 The Burmese love their teak trees! We got here in time for sunset. There was a party atmosphere and the bridge was full of locals making the walk across, although no beer was on sale that day 😡

No visit to Mandalay would be complete without a wooden monastery. We visited the ancient Shwenandaw Monastery, which is full of, you’ve guessed it, teak carvings. It was pretty impressive! I noticed both monks and nuns here – I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I only realised on that day that the ones wearing pink robes are in fact nuns and not monks 🙈

I also got to see how Gold Leaf is produced, something I didn’t realise I had been missing and it is back breaking. A man was beating the gold leaf over and over with a huge hammer – his back looked pretty bent out of shape to me. The gold leaf is wrapped in bamboo paper, which itself takes several months to make. No wonder the price tag is high – I managed to resist a purchase this time!

Another unexpected but fascinating sight was the street where the thousands of Buddha statues are hand made. People carving the stone were literally covered in white residue – from head to toe. No protective face masks either. I can’t imagine what this does to your lungs. Typically the women were polishing and painting while the men carved.

And that’s my whistlestop tour of Mandalay. I feel like my two days were enough, although maybe I didn’t really get a feel for the day to day life as I was so busy seeing the sights. I thought I had seen enough Buddhas to last me a lifetime – and then I went to Yangon…