We took another overnight bus to Mandalay and then a taxi to Nylon Hotel. For lunch, we went to a restaurant and enjoyed some World Cup games with the locals. We set out for a walk to see Mandalay Palace and Fort. The palace was surrounded by a mote and walls, so we walked around the outside for quite some time to find the proper entrance. Inside the walls, there was a small village. The palace wasn’t well kept, and I’m not sure it was worth the time. We convinced a motorbike to drive us back down the long driveway and then up to Mandalay Hill. It gave great views of the city and the Shan Hills. That evening, we also visited Kuthodaw Paya and some other temples. Alicia played volleyball with a local group and got a number of stares. Once she proved she was good, they were all about her playing. We also experienced kickball, a sport that looks like volleyball except they toss the ball over the net with their feet and some sort of bicycle kick. We convinced our motorbike drivers to take us around the next day, so we visited a number of things: Amarapura – U Bein’s Bridge (the longest teak bridge in the world), gold leaf pounding workshops, more temples: Mahamuni Paya, and a monastery: Shew In Bin Kyaung. On both Mandalay Hill and U Bein’s Bridge, I had people staring, waving, and smiling at me. Once they got brave enough, the mom of the family would bring her kids up to me and pat/pet me with a giant smile on her face. Alicia and I were pretty much the only white people around, and I wonder if it was the first time they saw someone like me. Several different groups wanted their picture with me. It was funny. They’d giggle and pat me.

After Mandalay, we took another overnight bus (12 hours I think) to a small town of Kalaw. We arrived at 2:45 AM. The bus just dropped us off on the side of the road, and a man in a big puffy coat with a growling (at the guy) dog said he’d show us to our hotel. I was a bit apprehensive because it was weird that the dog was growling at him (and he was out and about at two in the morning), but he led us straight to our hotel. At the end, he gave us a business card and said to use that service. The hotel owner woke and led us into a dark, damp, and smelly room. Despite the conditions, we attempted to sleep since it was the middle of the night.

Quick notes on Burma per Lonely Planet:

• “Despite the country’s serious problems, there’s a tendency among visitors, expats and some locals to talk about Myanmar as an ‘unspoiled’ tourist destination, one where the atmosphere, values and friendliness of ‘old Asia’ prevail – as fairytale-ish as such an assumption is. One of the reasons for this view is Myanmar’s relatively tiny number of tourist visitors, in the region of 300,000 per year. Contrast that with the 14 million who descend on neighbouring Thailand annually for their holidays and you get an idea of how under-developed tourism is in the country.”
• “Bear in mind that Myanmar is a country that imprisons its people for disagreeing with the government’s line. Ensure you don’t behave in a way that will get locals into trouble.”
• I also read that in Yangon, a government official’s vehicle was hit by a motorbike, so he banned all motorbikes for the city.
• If you have time, read about Myanmar’s history and government. It still seems quite corrupt and sad for the local people, but they are still very happy with big smiles.
  

  Mandalay – Gold leaf pounding workshop – And you thought your job was hard!

  

  Burmese food – Fish curry and sweet corn paste

  

  Motorbike drivers for the day – Alicia

  

  Mandalay

  

  Mandalay

  

  Temple and monk in Mandalay