Faces on Friday - Ferry Ticket Office - Myanchan Jetty - Mandalay - Myanmar

A couple of weeks ago for my World at Work feature I posted photos of the famous Star Ferry in Hong Kong. I came across this photo when I was writing the next post for Travel Tales which is about a trip to Mingun from Mandalay. It struck me just how very different the World of Work is for these young ladies in comparison to those Hong Kong Ferry Sailors.

The second photo is of my daughter and myself with the 'Tourist Police', there to make sure everything went smoothly and that we caught the right ferry! They were very keen to be photographed with us, they are so excited that more people are now visiting their beautiful country. I thought it made a good subject for 'Faces On Friday'

Please visit the following links if you are interested in seeing more photos of the trip to Mingun.
Mandalay - Part Three - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma


Please note this post originally appeared on LindyLouMac's World in Photos but I am in the process of moving the themed posts to Travel Tales as I plan to change direction on the photography blog.

World at Work 1 - Fabric Weaving - Mandalay - Myanmar

The photos above were taken during a visit to a Fabric Weaving Establishment in Myanmar.

This post originally appeared in June last year on my Photography Blog. Due to a change in direction with my blogging I have decided to republish the series on Travel Tales. Once all transferred here any future World at Work posts will just be published on this blog.

I hope you will continue to enjoy this series, as I have lots to share with you over the coming months.

These photos were taken by LindyLouMac during a visit to Myanmar in December 2013.

Mandalay to Bagan - Ferry - Ayeyarwady River - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma

On our last day in Mandalay we returned to our hotel for supper and an early night, after watching the sunset as our taxi driver was collecting us the next morning at 5.30am. We were catching a ferry to Bagan, a ten hour trip on the Ayeyarwady River, the subject of this post. 
The first photo above was taken soon after our journey started, a very misty sunrise and so atmospheric, it must have been a very special view from that balloon.

Thank goodness that we were not travelling on this ferry, which loomed up out of the mist!
I am not sure what I was expecting the ferry to be like, but somehow I had expected it to be a little larger than the boat we were shepherded onto when we arrived at Myanchan Jetty. With just twelve passengers though it was fine with enough comfort and space for the long day ahead. We left Manadalay at 7am with an an expected arrival time in Bagan of 5pm.  We had two breakfasts as the hotel had provided us with a packed one and we were also given one onboard.  Along with the coffee, cold drinks and noodle lunch that was provided we did not go hungry or thirsty.  When we first set sail it was extremely chilly and we were glad of the blanket and pashmina that we had with us! If not the most comfortable way to travel it was certainly one of the more fascinating ways as we were able to appreciate how the Burmese in this region live on the river and in the many villages along the banks.  I will let the photos do the rest, hope you enjoy the journey. 

Finally we approached Bagan just before 5pm and as arranged by our guide in Mandalay we were met by a friend of his at the dock who took us to our Guest House in Bagan. 

If you have missed my earlier posts about Our Myanmar Trip and would like to catch up, here are the links.

Yangon - First Impressions of Myanmar
Yangon - Further First Impressions of Myanmar
Mandalay - Part One - Impressions of Myanmar
Mandalay - Part Two - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma
Mandalay - Part Three - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma


With thanks to the following sites for some of the background information included in my Myanmar posts. The links will take you directly to the official websites if you are interested in learning more about the country. I also used my Insight Guide to Myanmar for reference.

Myanmar Travel Information   Facebook - Ilikemyanmar - Information Channel    
Ayeyarwady River    Bagan - Wikipedia

All photos are my own taken in December 2013 unless otherwise mentioned.
More photos can be found on Flickr in My Album entitled   Ayeyarwady River Trip. 

Mandalay - Part Three - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma

On our third day in Mandalay we took the morning ferry to the ancient city of Mingun on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River about 11km(7 miles) upstream from Mandalay. Just under an hour on the public service ferry boats especially laid on for tourists, which leave the Mayanchan jetty early every morning.

The first photo at the top of the post was taken from the ticket office for the ferry to Mingun and shows the tourist area for the jetty. The people wearing the yellow jackets were the 'Tourist Police' there to supervise. My daughter and I had our photo taken with two of them and I will use this photo today and the one in the office on my photography blog for 'World at Work' and 'Faces on Friday' LindyLouMac's World in Photos  The jetty was actually very busy apart from the tourist boats as shown in the next photo.

We did wonder if we were going to be travelling on a ferry like this one above, but there were special boats for the tourists, which was just as well I think! However to get to our boat we did still have to walk a very precarious plank which was fun.

Approaching Mingun even from a distance the view of the enormous ruins of the Mingun Phato Pagoda towers over everything is impressive. Built by King Bodawpaya it was intended to be the largest pagoda in the world, only a third of it was ever completed, but it is still a spectacular sight.  At the time of our visit it was closed to the public due to the state it is in, but maybe one day it will once again be possible to climb this amazing structure.

On arrival we explored the village and I took loads of photos of which I have selected just a few to share here. We did not use the taxi's we walked!

 Pondaw Pagoda 

 Hsinbyume Pagoda (Myatheindan Pagoda) was built by King Bagyidaw in 1816, in memory of his favorite wife. Its unusual architecture is quite striking. It is based on the Sulamani Pagoda on the peak of the mythical golden mountain of Meru, which is the center of the universe in Buddhist-Hindu cosmology. Seven terraces with with undulating rails - representing the seven mountain ranges around Mount Meru - lead up the stupa, and all the way along are niches in which mythical monsters such as Nats, orgres and Nagas (mythical serpents) stand guard.

The Mingun Bell, with a height of 3.7 metres,  is said to be the largest working bell in the world. The Kremlin bell in Moscow is actually bigger but it is cracked and therefore not in use. Weighing 90 metric tons, the Mingun Bell was cast in bronze in 1808, and once it was completed the master craftsman was executed in order to stop him making anything similar!  These young ladies asked to have their photos taken with my daughter, we were such a novelty to them.

After lunch we took the ferry back to Mayanchan jetty and returned to our hotel for a few hours relaxation before meeting up again in the early evening with our friendly guide, Poonya to have a drink together and enjoy the sunset at the 'Dagon Beer Station' 

We returned to our hotel for supper and an early night as Poonya was collecting us the next morning at 5.30am. We were catching a ferry to Bagan, a ten hour trip on the Ayeyarwady River, which will be the subject of my next Myanamar post.

If you have missed my earlier posts about Our Myanmar Trip and want to catch up, here are the links.

Yangon - First Impressions of Myanmar
Yangon - Further First Impressions of Myanmar
Mandalay - Part One - Impressions of Myanmar
Mandalay - Part Two - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma
You can also find reviews of some of the places mentioned today on my Trip Advisor - LindyLouMac account.

With thanks to the following sites for some of the background information included in this post. The links will take you directly to the official websites if you are interested in learning more about Mandalay. I also used my Insight Guide to Myanmar for reference.

Myanmar Travel Information    Mandalay Region - Wikipedia    

Mandalay - The City - Wikipedia   Mandalay Poem - Wikipedia   Words to Mandalay - Kipling Society
  
Facebook - Ilikemyanmar - Information Channel    

Mingun - Wikipedia    Trip Advisor - Mingun Paya

 
                  All photos are my own taken in December 2013 unless otherwise mentioned.

More Mandalay photos can be found on Flickr in My Album entitled Mandalay, Myanmar. which contains over 500 photos just from our three days!

Mandalay - Part One - Impressions of Myanmar - Burma

I will write three posts about our stay in Mandalay of which this first one will cover just the first day. It was a full day as we were up at 4.45 am at our hotel in Yangon for a short 90 minute flight at 7 am to Mandalay. We  were at our base in Mandalay for the next three nights Peacock Lodge by 9.30 am. After settling in we set off exploring our immediate surroundings and located the Green Elephant restaurant that my daughter had found in one of our guide books as worth a visit. After lunch we got a taxi to The Royal Palace  where quite by luck rather than good judgement we found ourselves a local guide Ponnya who would it turned out be our taxi driver/guide for the next few days. A charming young man that we became quite friendly with over the next few days as he was able to tell us so much more about the country and his life than one can glean from the guide books. In fact I hope he will be reading these posts and approving of the way I am portraying his beautiful homeland.
On our first day in Mandalay we also visited Shwe Nandaw Kyaung, Atumashi Kyaung, Kuthodaw Pagoda and Mandalay Hill. As usual I will let my photos do the talking apart from a few words of explanation where needed. For those readers that are interested in more information I include links at the end of the post.

Mandalay is the second largest city in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and was established in 1857. It was the last royal capital of Burma, located 445 miles (716km) north of Yangon and is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River. With a population of 1.5 million it is the economic centre of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. The city has much cultural heritage to share with visitors as you will see from the selection of photos I am sharing with you.

Mandalay was also the title of the poem written by Rudyard Kipling in 1892 which some of you will probably be familiar with.  Manadalay Poem by Kipling

Enjoy your virtual trip to Mandalay and do let me know your impressions if you have a moment to leave a comment, which will be appreciated thankyou.

Our tour of Mandalay started with The Royal Palace, where you definitely need to use your imagination as sadly most of what can be seen there today dates from a 1990's restoration by the Burmese government. Unfortunately rather than employing craftsmen and materials to replicate the palace of King Midon, they chose to rebuild using concrete and corrugated iron. Worth a visit though as although the site bears little resemblance to the 19C original it still manages to convey the grandeur and sheer vastness of the palace.

The Watchtower from which in 1885 it is said Queen Supalayat watched the progress of the British Forces up the Irrawaddy 

Next we visited Shwe Nandaw Kyaung which was at one time part of The Royal Palace, due to its removal and rebuilding on a new site in 1878 as a monastery, it was the only building to have remained intact after World War II. A miraculous survival that has allowed future generations to see this very grand example of C19 Burmese Teak Architecture in all its glory. Four different roof levels, many beautiful carvings and its imposing teak platform just give us a hint of the former glory. Many of the exterior panels are crumbling due to the the ravages of time, although some have been replaced with inferior reproductions that lack the depth of the originals. The structure was once gilded and covered with glass mosaics, imagine what it must have looked like then. Personally I found the building very appealing in its natural though ageing state.

Atumashi Kyaung  was just next door and is a yellow ochre and white painted building that European visitors in the 19C referred to as one of the most beautiful buildings in Mandalay. Burnt down in 1890, it has since been magnificently restored. Just next door to Shwe Nandaw Kyaung it is worth a visit, just to experience the vastness of the hall!

We then drove north-east out of the city towards Mandalay Hill visiting the Kuthodaw Pagoda en route.

Mandalay Hill  viewed from the east moat bridge of  The Royal Palace. The city took its name from the 240 metre (790 ft) hill that is located to the north-east of the city centre.  Known for its many pagodas and monasteries, the hill has been a major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists for nearly two centuries.

The world's largest book stands upright, set in stone, in the grounds of the Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay. It has 730 leaves and 1460 pages; each page is 107 centimetres (3.51 ft) wide, 153 centimetres (5.02 ft) tall and 13 centimetres (5.1 in) thick. Each stone tablet has its own roof and precious gem on top in a small cave-like structure of Sinhalese relic casket type called kyauksa gu (stone inscription cave in Burmese), and they are arranged around a central golden pagoda. The most unusual book I have ever seen! The 729 pagodas individually house the marble tablets on which the Tipitaka has been inscribed. When it was first unveiled it took 2,400 monks to recite  the text, hence the name! 

Just a few of the pages!

Finally the climb of Mandalay Hill which was worth the climb for the  panoramic view of Mandalay from the top, plus for all the other things of interest there were to see. There are four covered stairways called saungdan leading up the hill from the south, south-east, west and north, and convenient seats of masonry work line these stairways all the way up. The climb is considered a rewarding experience and a commendable deed at the same time. Two gigantic chinthes(stylised lion figures) stand guard at the southern and main approach at the foot of the hill, popularly known as the Chinthe hnakaung atet(two chinthes ascent) which consists of 1,729 steps, this was the one we did! 

Southern Route Entrance

After that climb and seeing the magnificent views we were well and truly ready to return to our peaceful haven at the Peacock Lodge, having arranged to spend the following day with Ponnya from 8am until 6pm. Another fascinating day of sight seeing in the Mandalay area, which will be the subject of my next post.

If you have missed my earlier posts about Our Myanmar Trip here are the links.

Yangon - First Impressions of Myanmar
Yangon - Further First Impressions of Myanmar

With thanks to the following sites for some of the background information included in this post. The links will take you directly to the official websites if you are interested in learning more about Mandalay. I also used my Insight Guide to Myanmar for reference.

 Myanmar Travel Information   Peacock Lodge   Mandalay Region - Wikipedia  

 Mandalay - The City - Wikipedia   Mandalay Poem - Wikipedia   Words to Manadalay - Kipling Society
  
 Facebook - Ilikemyanmar - Information Channel   Mandalay Palace       Shwe Nandaw Kyaung

 Atumashi Kyaung    Kuthodaw Pagoda  Tipitaka  Mandalay Hill

                              All photos are my own taken in December 2013

More Mandalay photos can be found on Flickr in My Album entitled Mandalay, Myanmar. which contains over 500 photos just from our three days!

I would also like to point out that this entire trip was organised as independent travellers by my daughter. She planned and researched an itinerary, which we discussed, then she booked all the hotels and flights.

  All rights reserved by LindyLouMac Photo Collection