{"id":88,"date":"2016-12-16T06:50:13","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T06:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88"},"modified":"2018-12-15T17:25:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-15T17:25:09","slug":"mandalay-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Mandalay, Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"js_2v\" class=\"_5pbx userContent\">\n<div id=\"id_58ad346042ecf0247712765\" class=\"text_exposed_root text_exposed\">\n<p>Flew into Mandalay this morning. As I only had a day here, I hired a guide and a driver to show me the sights. First stop was the U Bein Bridge that stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Built in 1850, the 1.2km bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world &#8211; it&#8217;s a bit wobbly so well believe it&#8230;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-88 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-365x365.jpg 365w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-119-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-215-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-38-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-48-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Next stop, was an unexpected one to the Maha Ganauon Monastery, to watch the donations procession for the novice monks &#8211; everyday people from acr<span class=\"text_exposed_show\">oss the world arrive to donate food, clothing etc to the monks. This is their only source of food and essentials. I must say it felt a bit like feeding time at the zoo!<\/span><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-88 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-58-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-76-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-67-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"text_exposed_show\">\n<p>At the Mahamuni Temple the original Buddha made of brass weighed 6 tons but over the years worshippers have added approximately 18 tons of gold leaf it&#8217;s looking a bit out of shape these days!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1174\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86.jpg\" alt=\"fullsizerender-8\" width=\"640\" height=\"634\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86.jpg 640w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86-600x594.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-86-300x297.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I went to see how they make gold leaf, all by hand &#8211; manually hammering 32ounce nuggets for at least 6 hours, back breaking work. It&#8217;s actually an insane process.<\/p>\n<p>I was lucky enough to witness an initiation ceremony for novice monks, such amazing costumes &#8211; now I know what all the trashy Christmas decorations in the markets are really for&#8230;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-88 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-96.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-96-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-96-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-96-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-96-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-106.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-106-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-106-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-106-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-1110-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-126.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-126-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-126-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-126-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-126-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>The Worlds Largest Book was really cool 730 leaves carved on a stone tablet inside its own little structure.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-4' class='gallery galleryid-88 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-204-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-216-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-224-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-233-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243.jpg'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-243-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Saw lots of other temples &#8211; geez there is a lot here! Donating or building a Pagoda gives one an eternal life! Myanmar is known as the &#8220;Land of the Pagodas&#8221; if you just rotate on an elevated piece of land you will see them at almost every hour on the clock.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1179\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136.jpg\" alt=\"fullsizerender-13\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136.jpg 640w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136-600x600.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-136-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Walking around the markets in Myanmar as a whole is so pleasant, it doesn&#8217;t feel like you are running the gauntlet, you can relax and really explore and enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly a trip up Mandalay Hill to view the city. Then back to the hotel and the sky bar for a well earned beer&#8230;! In the bar a local girl arrived to do a chinlone show (basically soccer skills with a cane ball). I was the only person in the bar not many tourists here&#8230; This girl had the most amazing ball skills I have ever seen. I felt very lucky to have had my own private show &#8211; I would use her at one of my functions any day!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1193\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-272.jpg\" alt=\"fullsizerender-27\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-272.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender-272-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3x-2\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flew into Mandalay this morning. As I only had a day here, I hired a guide and a driver to show me the sights. First stop was the U Bein Bridge that stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Built in 1850, the 1.2km bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world &#8211; it&#8217;s a bit wobbly so well believe it&#8230; Next stop, was an unexpected one to the Maha Ganauon Monastery, to watch the donations procession for the novice monks &#8211; everyday people from across the world arrive to donate food, clothing etc to the monks. This is their only source of food and essentials. I must say it felt a bit like feeding time at the zoo! At the Mahamuni Temple the original Buddha made of brass weighed 6 tons but over the years worshippers have added approximately 18 tons of gold leaf it&#8217;s looking a bit out of shape these days! I went to see how they make gold leaf, all by hand &#8211; manually hammering 32ounce nuggets for at least 6 hours, back breaking work. It&#8217;s actually an insane process. I was lucky enough to witness an initiation ceremony for novice monks, such amazing costumes &#8211; now I know what all the trashy Christmas decorations in the markets are really for&#8230; The Worlds Largest Book was really cool 730 leaves carved on a stone tablet inside its own little structure. Saw lots of other temples &#8211; geez there is a lot here! Donating or building a Pagoda gives one an eternal life! Myanmar is known as the &#8220;Land of the Pagodas&#8221; if you just rotate on an elevated piece of land you will see them at almost every hour on the clock. Walking around the markets in Myanmar as a whole is so pleasant, it doesn&#8217;t feel like you are running the gauntlet, you can relax and really explore and enjoy the experience. Lastly a trip up Mandalay Hill to view the city. Then back to the hotel and the sky bar for a well earned beer&#8230;! In the bar a local girl arrived to do a chinlone show (basically soccer skills with a cane ball). I was the only person in the bar not many tourists here&#8230; This girl had the most amazing ball skills I have ever seen. I felt very lucky to have had my own private show &#8211; I would use her at one of my functions any day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[183],"tags":[82,92,127,131],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.0.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mandalay, Myanmar - Otter Travels<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mandalay, Myanmar - Otter Travels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Flew into Mandalay this morning. As I only had a day here, I hired a guide and a driver to show me the sights. First stop was the U Bein Bridge that stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Built in 1850, the 1.2km bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world &#8211; it&#8217;s a bit wobbly so well believe it&#8230; Next stop, was an unexpected one to the Maha Ganauon Monastery, to watch the donations procession for the novice monks &#8211; everyday people from across the world arrive to donate food, clothing etc to the monks. This is their only source of food and essentials. I must say it felt a bit like feeding time at the zoo! At the Mahamuni Temple the original Buddha made of brass weighed 6 tons but over the years worshippers have added approximately 18 tons of gold leaf it&#8217;s looking a bit out of shape these days! I went to see how they make gold leaf, all by hand &#8211; manually hammering 32ounce nuggets for at least 6 hours, back breaking work. It&#8217;s actually an insane process. I was lucky enough to witness an initiation ceremony for novice monks, such amazing costumes &#8211; now I know what all the trashy Christmas decorations in the markets are really for&#8230; The Worlds Largest Book was really cool 730 leaves carved on a stone tablet inside its own little structure. Saw lots of other temples &#8211; geez there is a lot here! Donating or building a Pagoda gives one an eternal life! Myanmar is known as the &#8220;Land of the Pagodas&#8221; if you just rotate on an elevated piece of land you will see them at almost every hour on the clock. Walking around the markets in Myanmar as a whole is so pleasant, it doesn&#8217;t feel like you are running the gauntlet, you can relax and really explore and enjoy the experience. Lastly a trip up Mandalay Hill to view the city. Then back to the hotel and the sky bar for a well earned beer&#8230;! In the bar a local girl arrived to do a chinlone show (basically soccer skills with a cane ball). I was the only person in the bar not many tourists here&#8230; This girl had the most amazing ball skills I have ever seen. I felt very lucky to have had my own private show &#8211; I would use her at one of my functions any day!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Otter Travels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-16T06:50:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-15T17:25:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/\",\"name\":\"Otter Travels\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\",\"name\":\"Mandalay, Myanmar - Otter Travels\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-16T06:50:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-15T17:25:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c47cd72e3b05b20b8a71a729604b8ab\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/?p=88\",\"name\":\"Mandalay, Myanmar\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c47cd72e3b05b20b8a71a729604b8ab\",\"name\":\"lulu1369\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c743e1257576c0d462337e71129ab222?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"lulu1369\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/fullsizerender7.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxrZm-1q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3272,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/3272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ottertravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}