Myanmar is not only famous for it’s Pagodas and beautiful sunsets, but also for wood carving and amazing embroidered decoration. Today I had a chance to visit a huge store full of souvenirs and beautiful stuff that made me want to buy everything- teak Buddha’s, monkey-skull necklaces, pig teeth bracelets, embroidered cushion covers and silk longis. In other words, a fantasy for souvenir-buying monster. And by the way you could see how the wood is carved in traditional, Burmese way!
Mandalay, the city of thousand of pagodas, is one of the most beautiful places in whole Birma. However, it also has many other amazing towns on it’s outskirts: Mingun, the little island where you may ride a taxi in posture of a cow carriage and see the biggest bell in the world that weights 101 tons. Then, Ava (Small River)- another jungle-like town, where the teak Bagaya monastery is located within wild flora of this place. And the third awesome place is Amarapura. It’s 12 km south of Mandalay. There, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset from the lake, or from the teak wood U Bein bridge. And photos taken from there are as impressive, as the place itself. Unforgettable experience.
That was a very busy day in Mandalay for me… This town can really mix up you with all these 2000 pagodas that are located here. First we visited the Shwenandaw monastery, that is totally made out of the teak wood in a carved technique. What’s more the, Kuthawdaw Pagoda, that contains the largest book in the world (owned by UNESCO) is so mind-blowing, that I am still overhelmed. In Mandalay city, I saw so many amazing things you won’t find anywhere else (note the Kyauktawgyi Pagoda, where a sitting Buddha sits carved in one single piece of marble, weighting 900 tons)… So here are my photos!
Design & Culture by Ed 