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Beautiful city of Mandalay

01/05/2013 18:36

Goooooood morning! That was the first thing I said when I woke up because of the sun that was shining on my face. What a way to start the day.

Each of us knew that it was going to be a long and heavy day. We were going to climb the Mandalay hill. One of the touristic attractions of Mandalay. The hill is 790 ft high and counts 1730 steps. From the top of the hill there’s a view over the entire city and the citadel.

So we filled our tummies and took the bus to the hill, where there were many tourists. We first took some pictures at the foot of the hill, known as the Chinthe hnakaung atet. (You can find a picture below).

A local told us that the climb wasn’t too heavy and that there were many stops along the way. One of the stops was the hermit U Khanti’s dazaung. So we started walking and enjoyed the beautiful view around us. On our way to the top we saw monuments like “Shweyattaw” and “Sanda Muhki”. Both were impressive but I had the feeling this was not it. I wanted more.

After one hour and a half we reached the top and enjoyed the view. Jiji (also known as Jihane) had 2 bottles of wine, cups, and some food with her. It was something totally new, picnicking on this hill, with this great view. I guess this is what they call a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The feeling was immeasurable. Friends, fun, sun, freedom, … I had all the things I ever wanted to have.

After a refreshing moment we went back down to visit Mandalay Palace which was constructed between 1857 and 1859. Because of time issues we only visited the Clock Tower, Hluttaw, Royal Mint and the Watch tower. Spanish tourists told us those were the ones that were the most worth our time.

The clock Tower was really beautiful and a guide told us that the time was marked by a water-clock. Which was –in my opinion- a genius idea.

Hluttaw was like watching a movie. On this trip I have seen a lot of beautiful, surreal things but this was really unreal. It was decorated with figures and flowers.

The royal Mint was not that spectacular but the Watch tower was in my eyes an architectural masterpiece. Certainly because it was built in 1885.

Today tourist’s day was truly amazing and I won’t forget about the things I saw and the feelings I experienced. I just skyped with my friends at home and I’m pretty sure they’ll visit the same we did!

Now I’m going to grab some dinner with everyone, and I think I will be in bed early.

See you in a week!

Julie

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