Traveling to Myanmar had my stomach in knots for weeks leading up to the departure. I was nervous about all sorts of things from the food, how long the bus rides were going to take, how were the kids going to hold up, and a number of other nightmarish thoughts I won’t bother you with. The fears and anxieties I had about bringing my family to this relatively untouched by tourists country were for nought. Even the children will look back on their week long stay in Myanmar as a fond memory.
Our itinerary looked like this: two days in Mandalay, five-hour bus ride to Bagan, two days in Bagan, ten-hour bus ride to Yangon, two days in Yangon. I will cover Mandalay here and the other two locations in other posts because it is a lot to digest.
Mandalay
Landing in Mandalay and heading to our hotel via shared taxi to help with the fare. It was an easy transfer and the taxi service people were extremely kind. They had a good time playing with Tage. He gets a lot of attention in the Asian countries because he’s at that right age and, let’s be honest, he’s so handsome!
We stayed at Golden Dream Hotel and highly recommend staying there. The front desk is helpful in arranging tours, taxis, and making sure our bus for the next leg of the trip was arranged. The breakfast our stay came with offered a good variety of Asian offerings. If noodles, rice, and pot stickers are not appetizing for breakfast they also offer toast and eggs. The rooms are clean and relaxing to come back to after the end of a long day site-seeing.
Our taxi driver picked us up at 8:30am and we saw most of what Mandalay has to offer in that one day. We saw stone cutters carving Buddhas from marble and other stone material. There are some amazing artisans in Mandalay; we were further impressed with the wood carving and bead embroidery factory shop and the silk factory we quickly walked through. The gold leaf factory was fascinating and a highlight for us. We watched as men pounded the gold between sheets of bamboo paper, learned the process of how they get the gold so thin to put on the buddhas, and how the bamboo paper is made that the gold leaf is pounded onto. The gold counters put a bit of gold put on our cheeks and foreheads as a little souvenir.
At the Mahamuni Pagoda where only males are allowed to enter the buddha site. Us girls hung out and watched the worshippers while the boys went to see the giant gold buddha up close. We explored the Mandalay Palace; it covers a massive swath of land, was built beginning in 1857 and was the government seat until the third Anglo-Burmese war. During World War II the palace was largely destroyed and a replica was built in the 1990’s. It is an impressive place to visit and you can spend quite a lot of time here, even with children. The kids were interested in walking in and out of the several buildings that are on the property. We eventually had to cut them off because after a while they all look exactly the same.
Watching the monks walk down the street and line up to eat lunch at 10:00am is a fascinating site. You can observe this at Mahagandayan Monastery and is a not to be missed opportunity. When I heard what it was I thought, “why would I want to watch men and boys line up to enter the cafeteria and then watch them eat?” You will understand when you see it just how spectacular it is. It is fascinating to watch the customs and rituals they go through and to see what they eat. It is a great way to show the children a different way of life than they have ever seen.
Shwenandaw Monastery is absolutely incredible for the teak wood carvings. It is awe-inspiring that a carving of that magnitude from the 1880’s. The children had fun looking around the outside of the building at the carvings and the 3-D and also running around the grounds around the Monastery. There are toilets for a fee at this location and are squatters.
We watched the sunset from Mandalay Hill and were able to get some stellar photos of the area around Mandalay Hill. Before crossing the bridge to Mandalay Hill there is a great spot to pull over and get photos of the temples, monasteries, and pagodas that dot the hill sides. It is an impressive view.
Day two we went out to walk on the teak wood bridge which is quite incredible, minus me losing the lens cap to my camera through the widely spaced wooden slats! The name of the bridge is U Bein and there is no fee to walk across it. You will see all sorts of examples of rural ways of life which are great learning experiences for the whole family. The old bikes, the children riding on them with parents, the fisherman in the water casting his net, the women paddling the canoe standing up, and the shepherd leading the cows through the river are all glimpses into daily life of these Burmese people.
Mahamuni temple will provide you with some great photos with the gold, white, and turquoise colors and the line of Buddhas placed all in a curved line. The children thought it was pretty cool but I could tell they were getting tired of seeing temples. We did have one more pagoda to see and it housed one of the largest buddhas I have seen inside a building- and we have seen a lot of large Buddhas. This is located at Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda at Sagaing Hill and is worth the visit.
Bus Ride From Mandalay to Bagan
We took the OK Bus from our hotel to Bagan and it took five hours. Reading about bus rides in Myanmar on the internet can put a tremendous fear in you as there are plenty of horror stories to go around. You can read everything from the bumpiest ride I have ever had to awful music blaring at top volume or both in one trip. I want to assure you we had a great experience and the children were just fine on the bus ride. The bus was more of a 20 seater van than a bus and they did sit a couple of extra people in the aisle, but it was not uncomfortable. Booking your bus ticket in advance will assure you a seat and paying extra for VIP bus trip is worth the extra $2USD.
The road was bumpy, but not fly-out-of-your-seat bumpy. The time went by quickly; we were all surprised how quickly we made it to our destination. Five hours was all it took for us- we were on the 5pm bus and arrived at 10pm. We transferred to the bed of a truck and that took us the rest of the way to our hotel. Be advised that if you are traveling in November the air is chilly at night in the back of a jeep. You will see locals in coats, not just light jackets, but coats. I don’t think that is necessary, but a light jacket will keep you comfortable if you are out late.
Mandalay Is Worth the Visit With Kids
All of my fears were quickly put to rest. You will love the Burmese people and their genuine kindness. They are some of the nicest people we have met in all the countries we have been to. The children enjoyed Mandalay and the variety of sites to see. It is not all temples and pagodas so it gives the children a break. Hand your child a camera and see what they capture here. It is fun to see the world through their perspective