Mandalay by Bike

In Korea, I would regularly return home with sore leg muscles from hiking so much. Back home, when I used to hit the gym, I'd return home with sore arms or a sore back. In Mandalay, I return home after a day of biking around the city with sore face muscles. So much smiling.

For the first time since touching down in Hanoi at the beginning of March, I feel as if we are off the tourist trail. All other countries in the region are used to a good amount of tourists coming through. Even in the isolated village of Muang Ngoi in Laos we met several westerners like us. The people there were used to seeing foreigners. Even though Mandalay is Myanmar's second largest city, a cultural capital, the people do not seem so used to foreigners. Furthermore, I was amazed at how long it took us to find other westerners walking the streets on that first day. It seems like everyone who passes greets you in one way or another. “Hello” comes at you from several directions, people waving out the windows of their pickup trucks, and “Ming ga la ba” rolling off the tongues of children. All greetings are accompanied by a wide smile and you can't help to do the same. So much smiling makes for some sore face muscles.

Many of the touristic sites in the area are located outside of town. It was customary throughout Myanmar's history for new rulers to relocate the capital city and many of those old capitals are around Mandalay. It seems that the tradition is still alive as the latest capital city move happened in 2005 when it was relocated to Naypyidaw from Yangon. Taxi drivers around Mandalay try to sell you a tour that runs from about 30 to 45 USD per day per car. It takes the customers to the main sites of these old capitals along the Irrawaddy river. Unlike hawkers in other countries within the region, you can count on these drivers to answer your questions honestly and point you in the right direction. They take some time to ask about you, about your trip. They even introduce themselves. One helped us out with a translation when we were looking to buy a small souvenir.

In the end, we decided against touring the sites around Myanmar and instead we rented bicycles for a couple of days to explore the city on our own. In Mandalay it is very easy to find your way around. A relatively new city, constructed in the late 19^th century, it is set up in an easily navigable grid with numbered streets. Getting around by bike can be scary at first, as there are usually no stop signs or lights at intersections. You soon realize however, that everyone is driving slow enough to react. I guess that is the traffic rule that prevails. You can go the wrong way for a block or two, you can cut across traffic on a bicycle, moto, truck or car. You just have to make sure that your moves are slow and steady enough for other folks on the road to be able to react accordingly.

Mandalay Palace moat seen from Mandalay Hill

Our first day on the bike took us directly to Mandalay Hill where we spent the entire morning. The city was named after this hill and the old imperial palace stretches out over a flat plane starting at its southwestern base. The hill has several covered stairs and walkways leading to the peak. The walkways stretch from temple to temple with locals lounging, living, praying and selling things along the way. There were some nice stretches where we were by ourselves and we could chat while making the climb in solitude. There were other sections where more tourists flocked, mostly local Burmese tourists making their pilgrimage, but there were also a few westerners. The one unsettling part was that the whole mountain had to be hiked barefoot. The walkways made it bearable but the dirt, dust, and piles of dog feces made it slightly unpleasant. The temples themselves are beautiful in that they offer a great view from their terraces and some of the decoration is unique. There is however, a level of kitsch, especially with the electronic blinking lights in strategically placed locations. Views from the top were great. To the south you can see the city of Mandalay, while the north yields a checkered pattern of rice fields up to the base of the distant mountains. Despite the dirty feet, Mandalay Hill was a nice, surprisingly relaxing way to get the best out of a couple morning hours.

While admiring the landscape from Mandalay Hill, in the immediate foreground at the base of the hill we noticed large clusters of white pop out. There were two temples, each consisting of a large golden central stupa with hundreds of white pagodas surrounding it. Standing on the platform of the central stupa at Sanda Muni looking out, you feel that you are somewhat stranded in a sea of white spires. The boundary seems so distant and untouchable if you happen to be in a spot where it's visible. It is however, an experience difficult to enjoy as the sun-scorched tiles send a burn up through your bare soles. A plaque at Sanda Muni's sister temple, Kuthodaw, explains that each of the 729 white pagodas contains a part of the book, Tripitaka, claiming to be the worlds biggest book. The pagodas at Sanda Muni contain the commentaries.

Next, we cycled over to the teak temple. With a combo admission ticket of about 10 dollars, we decided not to enter. Instead, we watched a local artist, workshop attached to his bicycle, do a piece. First he brushed the small white card with a wet black ink giving the card a dark, grayish color. Next, he proceeded to scrape that gritty black ink away, creating animals, stupas and trees in quick unassuming strokes of the etching pen. Halfway through he changed his mind, adding a fresh layer of ink to the ducks, quickly continuing on a teak-wood bridge in their place. We ended up seeing the whole show and buying that card for a dollar.

The second day of biking was a lot less templing and a lot more of just watching the city go by. With the help of about five friendly locals we found our way to the market and were able to buy thread and needles. Now we can sew those new fancy patches onto our bags. The road took us along a market that stretched down a canal. Unpleasant smells of feces, livestock, and dried fish wafted through our nostrils one after another until we finally turned off that road to continue south. After turning west, we arrived at the Irrawaddy River and rode along that for a while before turning east back to the center of town. It was just a ride. A long, hot ride with the worst brakes I've ever had to put up with on a bike before. I tried to hit them lightly. Squeezing lightly only yielded a small squeak. Squeezing the handle ever so slightly completely locked up the brake with a short, intense churning sound heard nearly a block away. I was glad to turn that bike back in at the end of the day.

One thing that must be mentioned about Mandalay is the accommodation. Up until now, we've been staying in guesthouses ranging from 5 to 10 dollars a night. While saving money, we've had to put up with some not-so-clean beds and rooms, putting our extra sheets to good use. From what I understand, hotels in Myanmar serving foreigners must have a license. Ideally, that license assures that they provide certain conditions and services. Rather than paying 10 USD a night we were paying 27 in Mandalay. The difference in conditions was night and day. The room was very clean, towels changed daily, fast wireless, flat-screen TV, delicious breakfast, in-room fridge and a team of young folks around to service our every need. It was a bit shocking for us. We were happy to see that we weren't just paying more, but we were also getting a lot more for the high cost. It made for a good, comfortable welcome to Myanmar, thoughI hope to find some cheaper budget spots further down the road.

Last but not least, the food. The receptionist at the hotel pointed us toward a good, affordable Burmese restaurant. So it seems, Burmese restaurants are open-air joints serving mostly draft beer and nuts. There is a menu with some excellent dishes but the locals mostly go for the beer (complementary nuts) and a couple of random BBQ appetizers as WWE wrestling or American movies play on the LCD screens. Stared at by the clients and attentively waited on by the young servers, we ordered a couple of interesting-sounding dishes the first night. I remember that mine was the Kachin-style Curry and it was delicious, but not the best of the two. The servings were enough for two and we noted that for our next visit when we just ordered a couple plates of rice and one main dish to share. So far, Burmese food has proven to be excellent. They have several different ethnic groups that put their touch on the cuisine, including Shan, Kachin, Chinese, Indian and Thai to name a few. It makes for a diverse, spicy experience that is certainly one of our favorites from the region so far. 

From the smiles to the temples to the tastes, Mandalay made for a great first impression of Myanmar. I'm looking forward to getting around, finding out more of what this country has to offer.