4. To Mandalay

4. To Mandalay

A 45 minute transfer to Heho airport for our 30 minute flight to Mandalay. New bikes again, and we cycled along the long straight airport approach road to Inwa, the country’s capital for a few years from 1364 and again from 1599 to 1752 and again in the 1800s until the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1838. Hard to imagine as it is now a sleepy dusty village! We cycled to the Shwedagon  pagoda, the Bagaya Kayaung, an atmospheric teak monastery built in 1834 and the ‘leaning tower of Inwa’, the only remaining structure following the earthquake. sadly more damage from a recent quake meant we couldn’t climb up and enjoy the view.

After lunch overlooking the Ayeryawady river we crossed it by ferry boat and cycled on to another erstwhile capital, Amarapura, to join hundreds of others to watch sunset at or on the 1.2 km long teak U Bein bridge.

As Chan hails from Mandalay we ate well on our nights there, in a beer and BBQ place one night and two more local places for curry (a general term for any dish served with rice), many side dishes and the inevitable soup, everything served at the same time. All washed down with lots of Myanmar beer.

The next morning we did our scariest 5 km of cycling, straight from our central Mandalay hotel, as part of four lane traffic in each direction down the main road. In Rangoon motorbikes, scooters and bikes are banned from the central area, not in Mandalay! So we had to join the throng of cars, vans, coaches and ox carts on our route past the former royal palace complex to the jetty. We then relaxed on a boat trip along the river to Mingun. 

Skipper's son mimicking the tourists!

The highlight at this village was the 50 m gigantic unfinished pagoda built by thousands of prisoners for King Bodawpaya. Started in 1790, it was originally intended to reach 150 m. The cracks caused by subsequent earthquakes add to the spectacle. We also visited the whitewashed Hsimbyune Paya and climbed seven wavy terraces to see the view.

A feature at many of these pagodas is overdressed wedding couples posing for endless photographs in the heat.

The Mingun bell, 90 tonnes and 5m wide at the base also had to be visited and clanged.


Back on the bikes to cycle on this side of the river to Sagaing, yet another ex royal capital city. On the top of a steep hill (Carolyn in support vehicle for the last km!), the views of the river and green hills with many golden stupa dotting the landscape were spectacular.

We returned to the hotel for a refreshing dip in the rooftop pool! 

Some were keener than others as the temperature was a little fresh!

But less than an hour later we were off again, to Shwenandaw Kyaung, a magnificent teak building with many detailed carved figures on the outside and gold leaf decorated interiors. Originally one of 32 built in the palace complex for King Mindon around 1860, only this one survived because it was moved by his son and converted into a monastery before the remainder were destroyed by fire. After this to ‘the world’s largest book’ , 729 engraved marble slabs each in an individual white stupa and conveying all the Tripitaka, the Buddha’s teachings, around the Kuthodaw pagoda.

'Page' of the Triptaka