The morning following the Popa trip, I had enough time at the Ostello Bello to enjoy breakfast and get my things together, but that was about it, and I was essentially prepared for today to be written off to travel time. I hopped a bus to Mandalay, taking around 5 hours, and arrived just in time to find Clara at the hostel (love it when a plan comes together) and jump on a 3-passenger motorbike with an Irishman “John” to catch the sunset at the bridge. We were fortunate the weather held – the experience was near-death enough as it was:

So bridge, I say? Why yes, Myanmar features the world’s longest wooden bridge! It’s hundreds of years old, constantly attractive to walk across, and it’s right here in Mandalay:

Whilst you can walk it for free, even if the weather isn’t perfect it’s quite an experience to jump onto a boat (costs about $8 for 1/2 hour) and see it from the water. I’ve heard it’s great during the day, but it’s especially impressive when in silhouette at sunset. Here’s a taste:

Hearing that it was a “full moon festival” in Mandalay (the moon was admittedly full, no tricks here) we were told that the monks all had a day off, and would frequently invite their families to the main pagoda in Mandalay to celebrate. We stopped by on the way back to relish in the happy, bustling atmosphere, with people lighting candles, halls scented with jasmine, floors cleansed by the fresh rain and every 3rd person requesting a selfie because they’re so pleased to see foreigners at the pagoda:

The three-person deathmobile was our ride home too:

Snapping up a little free wifi at the hostel we ordered beer and takeaway noodles from the shop across the road. You can get the noodles delivered in plastic bags, but this looks a little too worryingly like a fairground goldfish for my taste, so I had mine in a box with chopsticks. Sometimes, it’s the little comforts.