Our transfer to the Princess Panhwar went seamlessly. We had time to look around the Mandalay Hill Resort which is a gracious Raj era hotel. Might have to try and stay there if we ever come back.
The boat is very comfortable with all mod cons. Only three seasons old and very well designed. The crew are fantastic and the food superb. We are trying to be disciplined with how much we eat but it is all very tempting. Fortunately most of it is pretty healthy food and we are eating the Asian food options frequently which I don't think are fattening.
On Sunday we didn't move from the quay until the evening and spent the day touring the important sights in Mandalay. We first went to the workshop which makes the gold leaf for the temples. This is a labour intensive 7 day process per batch and it transforms small gold ingots to gold leaf which is finer than paper - fly away thickness. From there we went to the most revered pagoda, the Mahamuni Buddha. This statue is believed to be an actual representation of Buddha but his face has been covered with 2 tons of glod leaf over the centuries so it has reduced his features somewhat. People (men only) were queuing to add their piece of gold leaf while we were there. Also there was an initiation ceremony for novice monks and nuns -7 year olds who must spend time in the monastery at least twice in their formative years to ensure that they understand Buddhist principles for living. They and their families were beautifully and ornately dressed. Our guide was very excited that we were able to see this parade as it is not a regular occurrence.
From there we went on to a wood carving and a silk workshop where we contributed to the country's economy. The tourist trade and the flow on to businesses is very important to those employed below the level of the military and I was happy to help! We then visited the Kuthodaw Pagoda where the teachings of Buddha were first written out in Myanmar. Previously they had been handed down by word of mouth but in 1836 they were carved into marble slabs in sanscrit which is very intricate. There are 729 slabs standing at least a metre hgh each with it's own little protective house. Shwenandaw Monastery was the last stop over before lunch and the third round of shoe removal. Why didn't I pack those slip on shoes? We did go back to the boat for lunch and a bit of a rest. Then in the late afternoon we went to a large lake which for many years could only be traversed by boat. Then a very long foot bridge of tall Teak poles was built and people had easy access to the city. It is still in operation and there were crowds of people there to stroll along it and to watch the sun set. We were taken out onto the lake in sampans to watch the sunset and it was beautiful.
Today we are just a little way down river at the town of Sagaing. Population 200,000. We drove to the top of Sagaing Hill to visit the Pagoda and take in the view. We overlooked the Irrawaddy and hundreds of small temples. This is primarily a religious comunity with many monasteries. We stopped off at another stupa to photograph the different style which was influenced by the Sri Lankan Buddhists.
We then tackled a horse drawn cart ride to a teak constructed Monastery. They were ponies really and we had our first view if rice paddies. The monastery had the most amazing pillars holding up it's 9 tiered roof. The logs were 60 feet tall and between 3 and 4 feet in circumference. All the walls were intricately carved and there was quite a story about the first monks to occupy the building. This was the first time we were harrassed by women wanting to sell souveniers. They were persistant and innovative. When we didn't buy first up some of them hopped on their scooters and followed us to the monastery waiting for us to re emerge.
This afternoon has been free time and it was nice to relax. Now it is time for a shower and to saunter down to dinner.
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