It's been a day and a half here in Burma, and it's been so fun and interesting to learn more about the culture and history here in Mandalay.
We got to Mandalay early in the morning and met our family! Yes! Finally!
At the Mandalay airport, we met with our tour guide and driver and found out that we had our own personal 24 seater bus! So awesome.
Next stop was the Golden Palace, the home of the old king and queen. The palace grounds were huge and had so many different buildings and quarters. The king had 67 official wives with 4 chief wives, so you can imagine how much living space there is!
We then stopped for lunch and then headed for Shwe Nandaw Kyaung. Which means the golden monastery. This monastery is unique because it is in its original state. Many monasteries in the area have been rebuilt after being destroyed from the war bombings. However, this one kept intact but is no longer gold after years of weather. You can now see the original teak wood that the entire monastery is built out of. The carvings are incredibly detailed!
We then headed off to the biggest book in the world. Made of over 700 pages, each page has its own pagoda and has enscriptures of Buddha teachings. There were rows upon rows of white pagodas with a page inside each!
The view atop Mandalay Hill was gorgeous, and the sunset was a great ending to the day.
We're having such a great time with family, and we are learning a ton! I can't wait to see what Mandalay has in store for us tomorrow!
We got to Mandalay early in the morning and met our family! Yes! Finally!
At the Mandalay airport, we met with our tour guide and driver and found out that we had our own personal 24 seater bus! So awesome.
Our first stop was Maha Myut Mune. Built in the early 1900s, the bug Buddha is currently adorned with tons of gold leaves donated and offered by visitors. The original statue was quite skinny and not even gold, but after the king allowed visitors to put gold leaves on it, the size has grow and the statues itself has even become a bit disfigured because of the abundant amount of gold!
Women aren't allowed to actually do the offering of gold, so the men of the group went for us. Eric couldn't get over the size and how cool the experience was.
Next stop was the Golden Palace, the home of the old king and queen. The palace grounds were huge and had so many different buildings and quarters. The king had 67 official wives with 4 chief wives, so you can imagine how much living space there is!
We then stopped for lunch and then headed for Shwe Nandaw Kyaung. Which means the golden monastery. This monastery is unique because it is in its original state. Many monasteries in the area have been rebuilt after being destroyed from the war bombings. However, this one kept intact but is no longer gold after years of weather. You can now see the original teak wood that the entire monastery is built out of. The carvings are incredibly detailed!
We then headed off to the biggest book in the world. Made of over 700 pages, each page has its own pagoda and has enscriptures of Buddha teachings. There were rows upon rows of white pagodas with a page inside each!
The last part of the day was the best. We went up to Mandalay Hill to watch the sunset. Since our bus was too big for the mountain hill, we transferred to two smaller (more fun) pickup trucks which we used to go up the mountain. Super fun! We felt like locals!
The view atop Mandalay Hill was gorgeous, and the sunset was a great ending to the day.
We're having such a great time with family, and we are learning a ton! I can't wait to see what Mandalay has in store for us tomorrow!
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