Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar (just behind Yangon) but it isn't nearly as nice. It's much dirtier and not too many sights worthwhile in the actual city however the real draws are 4 ancient cities nearby.
The first day in Mandalay I spent relaxing in the morning (the night bus didn't provide the most restful night as the roads in Myanmar are TERRIBLE) and then I spent the afternoon looking for the Maha Muni Pagoda where new gold leaf is regularly applied to the buddha. After nearly 3 hours of wandering around the streets of Mandalay I finally found the place, thanks the help of a local guy who led me there and then refused a tip, and it was really a worthwhile temple to visit. There is a large buddha there with lots of people praying and males continuously going up to the buddha to put new gold leaf on it (only men are allowed). I even got to go up to the buddha and add some gold leaf of my own. After visiting the temple I took a trishaw ride (bicycle with a side car for passengers) to Mandalay Hill where I climbed to the top for sunset. The Burmese seem to really enjoy building pagodas on the tops of hills as every larger hill seems to have a pagoda or at least a stupa that you can climb to. The sunset and the view of Mandalay from the top of the hill was very spectacular but it was a LONG climb up just for the sunset.
The following day I took a tour of 3 of the ancient towns: Inwa, Sagaing and Amarapura. Inwa was the first town that I visited and I thought was the nicest and most beautiful. Upon arriving at the town I took a horse pulled cart around the 3 main sites: a teak monastery, a leaning watchtower, and an old temple. Even though these 3 sites were very impressive and worthwhile visiting I thought the best part was riding through the country side full of rice paddies and locals working. Also the town is located on a peninsula with the most common access by boat across the river, as such there are almost no motor vehicles there which makes it very peaceful compared to Mandalay.
The second town of Sagaing wasn't as nice as Inwa I thought as the main attractions here include temples, the famous one being a temple located on a hill surprise surprise. The town was still worth a visit especially since it's located only about a 5 minute drive away from Inwa but it wasn't peaceful like Inwa and all there was to see there were temples, which I've seen lots of at this point and they all start to look the same after a while.
The third and final town that I visited on the second day was Amarapura which is famous for having the worlds longest teak wood bridge at 1.2 km long! Before arriving I had imagined a beautiful bridge with nice polished teak wood; however, after seeing the actual bridge I was slightly let down. The bridge was very simply built with just weathered pillars and planks of teak wood to make the surface, and in some places a handrail; not as picturesque as I was hoping but still quite nice I guess. The better part of the attraction was the scenery of the surrounding landscape as the bridge crossed over some green fields and part of a lake. I also happened to be there for sunset which made the scenery even nicer. Also at Amerapura are several monasteries and temples which house hundreds of monks, so it was very common to see monks walking around.
At the end of the day I was privilaged enough to have been invited to dinner at a locals house who I met the previous night on Mandalay Hill. The experience of eating dinner with the local people was extremely interesting as I got to see where and how they live and also eat the food that they eat everyday. The actual eating was a little uncomfortable though as I was the only person eating while the room of about 6 or 7 people just sat there staring at me. This is apparently normal though as they all ate before I arrived and the guests are supposed to eat seperatly from the hosts, but it still made me feel a little uncomforatble. The food for the most part was absolutely delicous, there was only one plate that wasn't very good: an extremely salty fish curry that I managed to choke down. Afterwards I treated them all to a couple of beers at the local pub and we all had a great time (or at least I did anyways).
The next day I had planned on visiting the last of the four ancient towns: Mingun. To get to this town you have to take a boat up the Irrawaddy river for an hour but I didn't know that there was only 1 ferry a day that left at 8:30am so I unfortunately missed it. Instead I spent the day wandering around the city of Mandalay and visiting some of the other well known temples although none of them were that spectacular. I also visited the Mandalay Palace which was a complete waste of time as it was only the shells of original buildings (absolutely nothing inside them) and a very tiny museum at the back.
My fourth day in Mandalay was spent visiting Mingun now that I knew what time the ferry boat left. I thought that Mingun wasn't too impressive compared to the others (Inwa and Amarapura were by far the best) but also that it was more touristy, something that I hadn't really noticed in Myanmar until now (more touristy simply means a few stalls selling souvenirs and also "guides" willing to show you around). The two main sights at Mingun were a little interesting with one being nicknamed the largest pile of bricks and the other being a completely white temple. The Mingun Paya (the largest pile of bricks) was supposed to be another temple but the building never was completed and as a result a HUGE cube shaped pile of bricks sits in the middle of the town. Climbing up on top of the bricks allows some nice views of the town but that is all there is to see there. The Myatheindan Pagoda (white temple) was a nice change from all of the other temples in the area and worth a walk around and I thought it was the highlight of this town. Near the base of the Myatheindan Mingun Paya was the Mingun Bell which is apparently the second largest bell in the world and it was intended for the Mingun Paya but since it was never completed the bell just sits at the base.
After visiting Mandalay for 4 days I had planned on taking the night bus to Bagan; but when I tried to book the bus ticket I was informed that the driver doesn't take foreigners. As a result I had to spend another night in Mandalay before heading off to Bagan the next morning.
The buddha at Maha Muni Pagoda with a few male worshippers placing new gold leaf on it.
A boy walking through a green rice paddy field around the ancient town of Inwa.
The teak bridge of Amarapura with some green fields and the lake around it.
A view of a boat rowing on the lake near the teak bridge which can be seen in the background.
A couple of monks and other locals walking along the teak bridge at Amarapura.
A view of the Myatheindan Pagoda at Mingun, note this is the same temple that is on the cover of the most recent lonely planet Myanmar guide book if anyone has seen it.
The large bell at Mingun.
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