We spent 10 Days in Myanmar in September of 2018. We found the country to friendly, beautiful, and shocking – in many ways. There was so much that we wanted to see but wouldn’t have the time to, so we ultimately kept to the north-central region, visiting Mandalay, Bagan, and Monywa. The nation is entering a period of dramatic change and was an experience to remember.
10 Days in Myanmar Photojournal
Arriving in Mandalay, there was a bit of a shock factor. While it reminded us of some of the other countries we’d visited – the smells, the traffic, a bit of chaos — it had been a couple years and Myanmar felt uniquely different. It felt far less developed. A common trend throughout the region, not just Myanmar is to see laundry and various other daily activities take place in the streets.
We experienced heavy rains on our first morning in Mandalay. While waiting for our bus to Bagan to pick us up, we saw this beat up little truck with a bamboo roof and tarps on the side pull up. We laughed that we were, “glad we wouldn’t have to ride in that all the way to Bagan”. Then the hotel staff came up to us to announce that our transportation had arrived. Luckily, after 45 minutes riding in the truck, we arrived at a bus station where we transferred onto a bus that would keep the weather out.
The apparent calm of Bagan was refreshing from the chaos of Mandalay. This street in New Bagan was near our hotel. Many of the roads are unpaved, making them great for idle wandering.
A view from our hotel room showed Sitana Gyi Hpaya rising from the jungle a short way south from where we were in New Bagan.
Many Myanmar dishes are cooked separately from one another, and heavily feature vegetables. Because of this, and the prominent Buddhist culture, it is very easy for vegetarians to eat safely and share meals that are truly local. Here we got a very wide selection of items including lima beans, eggplant, green beans, and pumpkin among others.
We set off before sunrise in search of Shwesandaw Pagoda to catch the sunrise from atop the temple. We found it but didn’t realize that we had because there was no one else there and thought that this must not be right. We would later discover that it was, in fact, the temple we were looking for. Climbing the temple is no longer allowed due to a combination of factors including damage from the 2016 earthquake, a desire to preserve it, and for safety reasons.
Our trusty-steed through Bagan. There is a lot of misinformation out there about just what an E-bike is, with many places suggesting that it is a bicycle with an electric motor assist. We will dispell that rumor here, the E-bikes (at least in Bagan) are simply electric motorbikes that can reach roughly 25 mph. Because they are electric, they are nearly silent, however, which makes the rides through the jungle much more enjoyable.
On our way back from our sunrise temples, we came across a large procession of monks waiting to receive their breakfast at Manuha Temple. Each morning, the monks receive alms, given to them by local people, which must be consumed before noon. Buddhist monks are not allowed to ask for food and must subsist on what the community gives them.
Bu Paya was originally built between 168 and 243 CE on a bend in the Irrawaddy river. It was built to celebrate the defeat of the five menaces, which included the “great pumpkin”. Bu Paya is Burmese for Pumpkin (Gourd) Pagoda and celebrates the Bagan king’s victory.
Maha Bodhi temple was a nice and quiet temple. After we finished checking out the pagoda, a local woman showed us the local cosmetic Thanaka, a paste made from a tree root or branch and water which serves multiple purposes such as cosmetic, bug repellent, sunscreen, and sunburn ointment. It is worn by nearly all women and a large number of men, primarily on the cheeks.
The Ananda Temple received its gilded spires in 1990 to celebrate its 900th year.
Buddhas are so prevalent in Myanmar that they seem to literally always be just around the corner. Many of them are gilded like this in Htilominlo.
The Shwezigon pagoda is a very impressive gilded pagoda.
One thing we found unfortunate was just how much attention we were receiving while exploring. Because we came in the off-season and there were so few other tourists around, we received everyone’s attention. Most of the people were very friendly, but there were still plenty who were trying to sell you a ride, some paintings, or other items. It is a reason we came to enjoy the temples that were more off the beaten tourist trail more.
Aside from the stairs, Lawka Nanda is completely gilded in gold and almost glows in the afternoon sunlight.
Most people had left Lawka Nanda by the late afternoon, but there remained a few worshippers who knelt before this seldom visited pagoda. It was built in 1059 CE, and contains the replica of a tooth relic of Gautama Buddha, obtained from Sri Lanka.
Gadawt Palin rises from the jungle alongside the Irrawaddy as viewed from Lawka Nanda.
September is the end of the rainy season in Myanmar and thus we witnessed many small downbursts, like this one over Bagan.
Rainbows would appear briefly throughout the day following small showers – like this one at Dhammayazaka pagoda.
We enjoyed our views from this unnamed temple just north of Dhammayazaka so much that we visited it two days in a row – at sunset and midday – just for the views.
Even the temples that are seldom visited still contain exquisite works of art. Inside of this pagoda, the walls were covered in low relief carvings and paintings of Buddha. We were eventually chased off by a dog, however.
Some of our favorite temples were unnamed and mostly unvisited. You can just see the tops emerging from the foliage and upon arriving, discover a mostly abandoned temple. At these temples, the jungle has begun to swallow the structures back into nature.
A few temples still receive careful attention from devout worshippers but are ignored by many tourists. Again, these were some of our favorites, as we could peacefully wander the grounds and discover their secrets.
After Bagan, we traveled north to Monywa. Unlike Bagan, Monywa was chaotic and more polluted, but also had far less influence from tourism. Since we traveled in the off-season, we may well have been the only western tourists in the entire city.
The Thanboddhay temple in Monywa is said to house over 580,000 images of Buddha. We didn’t bother to count, but we believe the number. Buddhas covered every inch of the pagoda, ranging in size from the size of a thumbnail to towering figures reaching to the ceiling. There is no way to convey the sheer number of Buddhas you see in Myanmar, they are everywhere.
A bus of local kids were excited to take their pictures with us at the base of Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung in Monywa. We easily spent a good 10 minutes taking pictures before we were on our way.
Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung is the second tallest Buddha statue in the world at 424 feet tall. It consists of 31 floors, with each floor depicting one of the 31 planes of existence in Buddhism. Yes, we did climb all the way up. The reclining Buddha is also hollow depicting scenes from Buddha’s life. The complex, including a stupa from which this picture was taken, is part of a famous monastery.
The steps leading to many temples and pagodas are lined with vendors selling various wares from souvenirs to clothes and food. it seems odd to see such commercialism at religious sites, but Buddhism is so much a part of the Myanmar culture that it can’t be separated from any aspect of life. Unfortunately, many of these vendors are also homeless or nearly so, living on the steps that they sell their goods from. As we climbed the nearly mile of stairs, we could see beds, televisions, kitchen, and families just behind their goods.
Monywa rests on the banks of the Chindwin river. Many old riverboats have grounded themselves on the banks and are now the homes to many local residents.
We came across some very intricately decorated Buddhas at the Shwezegon Pagoda in Monywa. It was also at another building in this complex that we came across an adult reading/writing class – or so it seemed as we couldn’t quite understand what was being said. Regardless, we were offered a seat and welcomed.
After doing some exploring in Monywa we rested alongside a lake and watched as the locals went about their days. As is the case throughout much of Southeast Asia, motorbikes and tuk-tuks are the way to get around, and in Monywa it was no different. Just like in Vietnam, you’ll sometimes see entire families sitting on a bike.
After Monywa, we headed back to Mandalay for a few days to end our stay in the country. We came across Durian, the “king of fruit” which is popular throughout the region. While we don’t like it, some people will swear by it. Here a vendor is setting up his stock of durian on the roadside in Mandalay.
Mandalay Palace was destroyed during WWII, but was rebuilt in the 1990s. Currently, it rests in a Myanmar military zone, so most of the area is off-limits. Despite that, it is very impressive to wander among the teak buildings that Myanmar is famous for. We left shortly after this picture was taken due to the storm that was rolling in.
1774 marble slabs depict Buddhist teachings at Sanda Muni Pagoda at the base of Mandalay Hill.
A popular game among children and teenagers uses a wicker ball the size of a soccer ball and seems to resemble some form of hacky-sack. We don’t know exactly what they were playing, but they seemed to be having fun.
Mandalay Hill seemed to go up and up forever, with each new landing presenting a new Buddha and yet another staircase. Yet once at the top, the views were spectacular. Here we could see part of Mandalay and the Irrawaddy river stretching out before us.
If you look carefully near the center screen, just right of the cliff, you can see a small golden pagoda rising from the jungle. Even deep in the jungle, there is always a pagoda in sight it seems. Here, about an hour outside of Mandalay the air was clean and the natural beauty of Myanmar really showed itself.
We loved Dee Doke waterfall. The color comes from limestone that has dissolved into the water. Helped along by locals, the falls have created several levels of semi-natural pools of cool clean water that is great to swim in. There are locals who operate small cafes or just offer drinks along the side, we rented a tube to float around on.
An offering of Mandalay street fair. Fried vegetable fritters, samosas, spring rolls, and chilis. Due to the rather high rate of food poisoning that occurs in Myanmar, we opted to not try street food, though these admittedly looked pretty safe and pretty good too.
So much of the country is literally gilded with gold. Many Buddhas and temples are covered in gold leaf. That gold-leaf is still made by hand rather than by machine. Here a man hammers a pack of gold leaf and paper to the timing of a bamboo-cup water timer.
The sidewalk surrounding the Mandalay Palace walls were a popular place to walk in the evenings with the locals and we enjoyed it too. It was a relaxing place to walk with great views too and made for a fitting view to end our 10 days in Myanmar.
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