Mandalay is Myanmar’s second largest city. It has an international airport with links to nearby Thailand and China. If you’re already in Myanmar, you’re likely to arrive there either by bus or by boat from Bagan as we did. The boat company we used was MGRG. The tickets cost $32 pp and include breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack. The boat leaves at 5.30 am and gets to Mandalay about 4 PM so it is a long day but a pleasant one too assuming you are well to travel. We were up all night with food poisoning so the boat ride ended up being quite an ordeal but we got there in the end. Needless to say, we didn’t eat any of the food on board but it did look ok. The bus from Bagan to Mandalay takes 4 hours so is much faster if you don’t have time.
Upon arrival at the jetty we had to endure the usual haggling over taxi price which is quite normal here (but very tiring after a while). Fortunately our hotel was only 10 minutes away, we ended up paying £2.50 for the ride which I’m sure was inflated but hey, it’s just £2.50 after all. That just gives you an idea of how cheap things are here!
We allocated 2 full days for Mandalay and I believe this is probably enough to see the main sights. The city itself won’t wow you, it’s pretty much a smaller version of Yangon however there are several attractions in the vicinity that make Mandalay a great base for exploring.
On our first day, we decided to visit Mandalay Hill. It is a religious complex and yes, it is on a hill and quite a large one I must say so be prepared for a bit of a hike. I think it took us about an hour and a half to climb up to the top with a leisurely pace. There is a pagoda or a small temple on every level which breaks the journey up nicely. The view from the top is lovely and worth the climb but it is also very popular for sunset watching so it did get quite crowded around 5 PM. We think that it’s actually nicer to go a level or two down and watch the sunset from there because it is a little closer to the city and you can see various monuments and the city sections plus you will be alone there.
Apart from seeing the various temples on your way up the hill, you can also observe local life as people actually live on the hill. It is quite startling to see the poverty levels and indeed very eye opening to a Western person.
I had two other things on my must see list in Mandalay: the white temple in Mingun and the U Bein bridge (the longest teak bridge in the world). The two things are quite far apart so after speaking with the hotel reception we decided to hire a driver for the day to take us to both attractions and a few others in between. The cost of this was £27 and I must say was tremendous value. We started at 8 am and visited Mahamuni Pagoda first. We then made our way to Mingun where you can see the ruins of what was supposed to be the biggest pagoda in the world, the world’s second largest bell and what we came for which is the white pagoda. The first two are nice to see however the white pagoda is 100% worth a longer visit. It is certainly not the most elaborate one but it lends itself to the most striking photos and you could see why for sure, so many photoshoots were taking place there! If like us you happen to be here in the middle of the day, make sure you bring a strong sunblock and sunglasses, it was absolutely boiling there with the white colour reflecting the sun so much.
In the afternoon, we visited Sagaing Hill which was a sort of a smaller version of Mandalay Hill and then we went to the ancient town of Innwa. You need to take a boat over there which I believe costs £2.50 each. Once you’re there either a horse and cart or a shared taxi will take you to the most important monuments.
Our favourite spot was the old teak monastery, it was very atmospheric and really nice to take a stroll through.
We finally made our way to U Bein bridge for the sunset. Our driver urged us to take a walk on the bridge however the best way to watch the sunset there is definitely over water. We hired a boat for an extortionate price of £10 for less than an hour but it was a nice photo spot and we enjoyed the boat ride so it didn’t matter in the end.
Our accommodation in Mandalay was Hotel Aurora and we were very pleased with the service and value we got. Our room was small but very adequate for 3 nights and cost £60 which is great value. It was located on 87th street, corner of 26th street so pretty central. The staff spoke really great English and helped us with the tickets to the next destination as well as the taxi for the day of sightseeing. I’d really recommend the hotel for a short stay but as with most hotels you should take ear plugs with you, no double glazing!
I can’t really comment on the food in Mandalay as we didn’t have much of it. We were recovering from a bout of food poisoning and were only eating bread, chips and soup so nothing to shout about I’m afraid.
As with Yangon, you should have Grab app ready for your transport needs. It’s the Asian Uber equivalent and in Mandalay you can get tuk tuk on it too. Most rides will cost you about £1!