As I was sitting in the lobby of my hotel cooling my burn with a bottle of soda I met some friendly travelers and we decided to go eat dinner together at a chapatti stand. In Myanmar there are plenty of Indian and Nepali food options. The LP said that the chapatti dinner would only cost something like fifty cents, but times have changed and it was more like $2-3. Like I’ve said before, don’t rely on the guidebooks for accurate pricing, inflation is rampant.

The next day I hired a motorbike driver to take me around the city. The first stop was outside of town to the U Bien Bridge, which is famous for being the longest (1.2k according to wikitravel) bridge made out of teak in the world.

Well, I have to say I was expecting something different, and perhaps a little more elaborate looking.

The bridge is not that special, but the river and countryside is very pretty. This is where I saw the “duck parade” in my previous post.

Also, there is a large monastery nearby, and if you visit around 10am you can watch all the monks gather for breakfast.

After the bridge we headed back to town to see the Maha Mayt Muni Paya, which is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the country.

In the center of the temple there is a four meter tall statue of Buddha, but unfortunately as a woman I wasn’t allowed to get very close to it.

The final stop of the day was Mandalay Hill, but just before we reached it I went into another temple complex named Kuthadaw Paya, which according to wikitravel is the site of the world’s largest book.

I didn’t see any oversized books, so I guess it refers to all of the tablets contained within each of the many stuphas, as being a collective book. The tablets each contain a part of the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism’s most sacred text.

I loved the hundreds of stuphas, some freshly whitewashed and some beautifully molded over.

Finally I made it to Mandalay Hill, which is a very large hill offering sweeping views of the city.

Only after the trip did I read that there are pickup trucks to the top, but I think that part of what makes visiting this hill interesting is not so much the view at the top, but all of the interesting temples and people you pass on the way up.

Every time I thought I had reached the top I would walk a little further and find another set of stairs leading even higher to another temple. (Buddha says, “Keep going!”)

Finally, after a very sweaty climb, I reached the top to find some refreshing breezes and sparklies.

That evening it was back on the bus to head for my next destination.

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The way these farmers herd their ducks near Mandalay, Myanmar is amazing. Maybe they can’t fly away, but I’m amazed that these ducks haven’t figured out other ways to escape.

The few things I’d read about Myanmar before I visited suggested that coming to Myanmar was like stepping back into time. Of course the old cars, buses, trucks frakensteined from World War II era army leftovers,

and horse and buggy combinations all invoke this image, but so what? Have you been to Nepal lately?

No, Myanmar didn’t seem like it was in a time warp until I was on the bus ride to Mandalay, staring out the window, and realizing that grinding meal with an ox and grindstone is still a common practice here. Whoa! This old Japanese airport bus has just transported me back over a hundred years in time.

BTW, if you ever wondered just how uncomfortable the seats on a public bus can be.

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If you’re on the road from Dallas to Austin, you must make a stop at the Czech Stop for some delicious Czech style pastries. Okay, I’ve been to the Czech Republic and I don’t ever remember eating anything like this there, but whatever, it was pretty freaking tasty. Plus they have Dublin Dr. Pepper on the fountain!

You can’t go wrong with a place where, “Delicious is Our Business.”

It’s also the perfect place to replenish your supply of pickled eggs and pigs feet on a long road trip.

(Sorry there are no other photos of the actual pastries. I kind of scarfed them down before I could even think about taking photos. )

Some good tips! Also, just because a country is in Asia don’t expect them to use chopsticks. In many parts of SE Asia a fork and spoon are the normal eating utensils.

At first I thought there was a different Buddha to pray to for every day of the week, but then I found out that you’re supposed to pray to the Buddha representing the day of the week on which you were born. Anyone have an old calendar?

Myanmar is one of these countries where you will be asked to take your shoes off a lot. You will definitely have to remove your shoes AND your socks for any religious site. You should prepare yourself for some dirty, dirty feet at the end of any day of sightseeing.

When dressing for the temples be sure that your upper arms are covered, you aren’t wearing anything too low cut, and your legs are covered to at least past your knees (the longer the better). The Burmese are very strict about these things, so believe me you will be denied if they deem your clothes to be inappropriate.