MANDALAY, MYANMAR (PART II)
Here are more pictures from Mandalay. See Part I to focus on pics from the Mandalay Fortress and Royal Palace.
First, a mid city view (from my hotel) in late afternoon (when the haze had mixed out somewhat). Mandalay Hill is in the background...
Zooming towards Mandalay Hill with the Su Taung Pyei Pagoda at the top...
Looking back towards Mandalay from Mandalay Hill at midday when the pollution was worse...
The Su Taung Pyei Pagoda (looking at the roof)...
Inside the pagoda...
The Buddha (with people praying)...
There was an elevator that people could use to get to the pagoda from the road further down the hillside...
Views from Mandalay Hill (from the pagoda) towards the north...
View to west...
Looking northwest towards another pagoda and the partially deciduous woodlands (during the dry season)...
In the dry woodland...
Back in the city, there was a store that made gold leaf products, including Buddhas, serving trays, etc...
People making the products in the store...
A Burmese calendar at the gold leaf store. Note the Burmese numbers do not correspond to the Western numbers (of the days in each month) as the Burmese use a 15-day numbering cycle based on the moon (15 waxing days, 15 waning days, though occasionally there are only 14 waning days). Also, note if a month contains parts of 6 weeks, the last days (days 30 and/or 31) are in the upper left, not the lower left...
Zooming in shows that this was the previous year's calendar (2014--but yet this was February 2015!)...
A street in a somewhat quieter part of Mandalay (not far from the Thinga Yarzar Canal) with a speed limit sign using the Burmese numbers. This says speed limit 30 (and oddly, Myanmar still uses MPH)...
The Thinga Yarzar Canal...with somewhat dirty water but otherwise tranquil in an otherwise dense city...
The neighborhoods were quite rustic along the canal, despite being just a few blocks from densely populated areas...
A teak pedestrian bridge over the canal...
Nearby is the Ayeyarwady River (not particularly appealing, including a lot of rickety boats), seen at sunset...
Sunset (in haze)...not shacks on the other side of the river...
Nearby, an outdoor Buddha with purple snakes...
A motorcycle in the middle of Mandalay...note no helmets, which is typical (and the baby)...
One thing commonly chewed here (like in neighboring India) is paan (made from the betel leaf and areca nut). When people spit it out, it leaves a red stain--these are common on the streets in Myanmar...
Somewhat odd traffic lights in Mandalay (they usually have the seconds, like in numerous other Asian countries)...
Odd menu with some "dare foods" at, of all places, an Indian restaurant in Mandalay. Note the various goat dishes. There were other Indian restaurants in Mandalay with more vegetarian options.
They celebrate Valentine's Day in Myanmar, much like most of the rest of the world (this was in early February)...
One more street scene in Mandalay...
A type of coral tree in bloom on a highway just south of Mandalay...
Go here for Part I of Mandalay.
All of the above pictures on this page were taken in February 2015 by Brandt Maxwell.
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