In search of an Empire.Siam,Burma and Singapore.

[drron]

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[RooFlyer]

amaroo - that was me holding the emergency exit in place ! It was quite loose, I could move it a couple of inches with my hand :shock: so I was holding it in place for take off :shock: Ann.

<shivers> Your experience makes me feel a bit vindicated in refusing to take a domestic flight there, opting instead for a full day on the road Yangon - Bagan.

Would have been less stressful for me, even given the blind overtaking with RH drive car driving on the RH of the road, and overtaking trucks with pedestrians all over the place.

 

[drron]

More life on the river.One thing That I had not realised was just how busy the Ayarwaddy river is.Some of the vessels looked decidedly unsafe.

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[drron]

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At Mandalay they are building a floating hotel-

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[drron]

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Then we saw our afternoon's destination.RooFlyer has already given you the history-

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Lots ot tourists come to Mindon-

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Our ship-

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The sellers were waiting for us.Getting off was probably the first time I have used a genuine handrail-

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[drron]

There were 2 lions at the entrance to this unfinished temple.Earthquakes have taken their toll but you can see they must have been huge-

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Local transport.The bike is beside the lion's eyeball-

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The temple-

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[drron]

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Earhquake damage-

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Now our guide insisted that this sign meant we couldn't climb to the top of the temple.Comments that RooFlyer had done so 2 weeks previously and that others were obviously doing so now were dismissed.

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The museum of Buddha-

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[drron]

We then went for a walk around the local villages-

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And a big bell-

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[drron]

If I misbehave the rest of my life will be spent here-

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The Myanmar workhorse from China-

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Local food.The first they call tempura-

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Above is spicy fish soup.Men playing K-ball.Incredible ball skills-

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[drron]

At the second village this young woman had a great line-

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She came up to me and said "can I walk beside you?"Why I said."Because you are so handsome."Well how could I resist.It turned out that she had really good English so I got a more personalised commentary on the village.

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Then we came to this-the Wedding cake Temple.It does have a Burmese name but I have definitely forgotten it.

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[drron]

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Psychedelic buddhas-

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Time to leave the village of my young companion.The hard sell comes but I use one of the 3 Burmese phrases I know.written phonetically-Mowherebau.
It means I am not going to buy.So she soon gives up but says-"I will see you later?"I tell a little white lie saying -yes.I worry that I have left a heart broken woman behind.
A last walk past the temple and past the last fellow packing up his stall-

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[drron]

So back to our ferry and another use of the handrail as the light fades-

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So our first dinner on board.Magnificent.Mrsdrron started with cured salmon with roe and then the beef fillet whilst I had the duck al'orange.Great.The lychee crepes were disappointing though-forgot to take my camera along the first two nights.
So to finish the first day some of the art and decorations on board-

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[drron]

We overnighted on the opposite bank to mindon so had to sail back to Mandalay in the morning.Ferries were already taking tourists to the temple-

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The Port of Mandalay-

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Balloon on Ayarwaddy-it has come down on an island in the middle of the river-

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But life goes on-

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A boat has just arrived and the carts are ready-

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[drron]

Today is a trip into Mandalay.But first some advice for those coming to Myanma/Burma.There are 3 very handy phrases which I will write phonetically.First as RooFlyer has said-minggalabar(mingalaba officially).Means good morning/evening or whatever time it is.This one saying will reap you thousands of smiles and at times leading to more interaction with the locals.Second Shaysuebar (no idea how this one is written).Means Thank you.Finally for the times you are being pestered by people trying to sell you things-Mowherebau-means I am not going to buy from you.Though not always successful as when in Ava a woman kept pestering mrsdrron to buy a bracelet.I kept using that phrase without effect.Probably after 45 minutes she turned to me and said "I know what you are saying.You are horrible not letting your wife buy anything".Guess you cant win them all.

But back to the pictorial.After brekkie we disembark.Beside our gangplank-

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The bow of the floating hotel-

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The crew are amazing.Here one of the women who has severe mobility problems is put in a wheelchair and 5 of them carry her up the stairs-

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Driving through the streets of Mandalay-

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Those last 3 are of protest Myanma style.Protest is about moving the jade market out to the airport.How to conceal scaffolding-

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Past yet another temple-

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[drron]

Mandalay is the centre of Buddhist education in Myanma.This temple is a must visit for those who take their Buddhism seriously.The name escapes me unfortunately-

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In the foreground are the women.they are allowed no further.Males can go right up to the Buddha-

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The children are a delight-

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[drron]

Buddha is bedecked in gold ornaments and the faithful apply gold leaf to his body-

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The gold leaf is said to be over a metre thick.Outside then to other parts of the temple including brass objects captured from Thailand-

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It is said that if you rub the part of your body that is diseased you will be cured so I rubbed the elephants back.Not giving me too much problem since but I think I need to go back for a supplementary dose!

 

[craven morehead]

Enthralling as usual

 

[drron]

Using my diagnostic skills this woman has epigastric pain-

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More of the temple surrounds-

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Mandalay railway station-

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Restored wall of the last royal palace in Mandalay-

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The palace was wooden and destroyed by Japanese bombing in WW2.Inside the walls is upmarket housing for the military families.

 

[drron]

So next to Mandalay hill.It was quite hazy but the temple on top as usual was very photogenic-

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The place of the Royal Palace and surrounding moat.Then over the CBD to the river-

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And a couple of pics for JohnK-

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Our next stop-

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[drron]

The semi circular structure is the prison.Interesting story is that if you die before your sentence is up your body must remain in prison until you have done your time.

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The plaques you see on the pillars are the names og donors.Some foreigners amongst them-

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Cause the way that we love is something that we cant fight, oh no
I just cant get enough, oh you make me feel alive
So come on
Ring my bell, ring my bells
Ring my bell, ring my bells

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The green roofed building is the University.Riot and the gaol is not far away.

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