This morning, Clara, another couple of girls we met at the hostel, and I, jumped out of the hostel into (surprise surprise) pouring rain, to hitch a lift to the ferry port. We were headed to Mingun, a site famous for a few monuments well worth seeing. We aimed to catch a taxi, but were told by a friendly local that it’s nearly impossible to hail a cab in Mandalay, and as it was raining he offered us a lift instead! What a nice guy. We didn’t have a lot of time to get to the port, so we were grateful. Even when he stopped to ask for directions (we knew the way, but couldn’t seem to communicate this) and when he stopped to get Betel nut chew (really? Is it that urgent?) and when he decided to drive right past the port, taking 5 minutes to do a U-turn to bring us 10m closer to the boat. Nice, but… *sigh*. This sort of run-around is very common in Myanmar when hitchhiking, or even taking a cab. Still, free ride, can’t complain, right?
Arriving just in time to get a ticket and hop onto the boat, we enjoyed an hour-long trip across the river, through mild drizzle. We could see our destination long before arriving:
Started in 1790, Mingun pagoda was designed to be the world’s tallest pagoda, and stand over 152m tall. Here’s a model of what it was supposed to end up like:
Amongst much superstition, the king who commissioned its building died before it was completed, and the giant red-brick monolith was abandoned at just 50m tall. An earthquake in the 1830’s seriously damaged the temple, leaving it in a ruined state that would make Lara Croft proud to explore its crumbling platforms:
We were told it was 100 steps to the top, but we weren’t told that the steps get bigger as you climb, which is mildly frustrating. In any case, the rain subsided as we reached the fair haul to the top, rewarding us with a breathtaking view of the surroundings:
Descending and nabbing a quick photo of me, and the colourful local markets:
We walked 5 minutes from the Pagoda to take a quick look at the world’s largest working bell. Apparently there’s a larger one in Russia, but they broke it. This one sounds amazing when struck, using a big wooden stick:
Next up was the Princess “White Elephant” pagoda, built in memory of the consort of the King, who died during childbirth. It’s unique in its rounded, tiered approach, and loads of fun to explore! Climbing to the top provides a brilliant perspective on the Mingun pagoda, which is truly goliath:
Finishing up there we made our way back to the boat and hid from the now-pounding rain below deck.
I basically spent the rest of the afternoon traipsing around Mandalay trying to find an electronics shop which would sell me a laptop charger. Clearly, I found one, else this blog would have died a death long ago!
Arriving at the hostel, we found Thijs! Upcoming plans soon started to form over Jungle Juice and Myanmar beer (not sure if that sort of planning is good or bad) and we agreed on an 8am breakfast to make an early start on moving on. We each had different ideas on how to get to Pyin Oo Lwin, but we knew it would be an adventure from the start.