Power Hotel Mandalay

... br><br>While we've both had our fill of temples and pagodas for several reincarnations, it was good to visit the gold leaf workshops and apply some to the Mahamuni Paya Buddha &#8211; already weighed down by a mere 6 inches thick of gold leaf. The fruit and veg market was fascinating and the jade market more a den of iniquity with gambling ...

... of 67 exotic species, together with 75 bamboo of various species.<br><br>The main purposes for the Botanical Gardens are stated as: <br><br>&#9679; recreation<br>&#9679; education<br>&#9679; natural laboratory<br>&#9679; conservation of rare and<br> endangered species<br>&#9679; ecotourism<br><br>The Kandawgyi Botanical Garden attracts 500 000 to 600 000 visitors annually. Most come to picnic and stroll in the beautiful ...

... and it was more than satiating including drinks. The two places were next door, and between the guesthouse and the Royal Palace, Yunan and a red building that said "health food centre" i think. I think the major sites are relatively close together, so you can do it all by bike. May 2 We did the 3 Ancient Capitals tour, $20 for a taxi, called on by the "boss lady." There were lots of additional fees though, so don't be ...

... buses, trucks, people, sacks of rice, cartons of bottles. It's mayhem, and i enjoyed it! The bus shows up, and the first thing you notice are the shattered glasses. They hadn't fallen out yet, but it looked like a bullet had pierced them and sent the ripple through it. But we couldn't get on right away, they need to cool the engine--with water. Shirtlyess guys wearing Longyis (or dresses) threw water on the engine so it would cool down, followed ...

... that this was the street we were looking for. We finally found the shop, but they did not have the shirt I wanted in my size. We ended up going to another store and buying a cheesy Baby Milo shirt for $3. After all of that time (2 hours), I should have been able to come up with something better! We went back to the hotel (it was dark now) to call it a night. We think we have walked 18 kms today and we have an early morning tomorrow. At the ...

... for the U Bein or U Pain teak bridge. We are going to come back this way and end our tour here. Amarpura means "City of Immortality". It was the capital beginning in 1783, for 50 years, prior to Mandalay. <br><br>We stopped at Maha Ganayon Kyaung, a monastery for several thousand monks. We were there to watch them line-up with their bowls for a meal. When they sat down they chanted a prayer and then ate silently. It was a pretty neat site. It would have been better ...

... Advisor and for good reason. Elly had a bath and I jumped a 'blue taxi' for a small bit of exploring. Blue Taxis are tiny 60 year old, open sided people carriers about the size of a micro van manufactured by car companies long since defunct. Mine came with a guide and driver. A note of advice, they cannot drive up Mandalay Hill so be warned. Went to the Kuthodaw pagoda home of what is termed the world's largest book, the complete ...

... archaeological zone ticket I was asked to show my passport. That was also the first time I saw a foreigner to be declined one dollar note to pay for the ticket, due to its worn out look. In Mingun there are several great sights including Mingun Paya, which would be the biggest paya in the world if completed, large hung Mingun Bell and Hsimbyume Paya with great terraces also depicted on the guide book's cover page. People do only what Lonely ...

... irritated Maya significantly, because he kept focusing on how she looked like one of them. At one point he made a reference to Chinese New Year, looked at her, put his fists together and pantomimed an explosion. This was the tenor of his behavior. The next day I went and met up with Abe. I had lunch with his family. He introduced me to a religious friend of his. He was very

... had a huge meal before we met and that was all I needed for the remainder of the day. In most places when you order food you can end up with various accompanying dishes. You nearly always get a free bowl of soup, but that can stretch to a whole plethora of other side dishes - a bowl of salad/herbs, a plate of vegetables, a sour dish, a sweet dish, a hot dish etc so that you can flavour your food to you taste. The most I had was six extra dishes plus the standard soup and bowl of rice for ...