Mandalay

Mandalay is known as Myanmar’s hub of traditional culture, a crossroads for people of different nationalities, ethnic groups, professions and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as a thriving centre for business and trade. The city abounds with important religious and cultural sites, provides endless opportunities for shopping, and is a convenient base of operations for exploring central and upper Myanmar.

Days can be spent exploring the city proper, with its numerous pagodas, monasteries, historical sites, and shopping centres. Must-see destinations in the centre of Mandalay include the Palace and Fort (built in 1857), Kuthodaw Paya and its 729 marble slabs inscribed with the entire text of the Buddhist canon, and the beautiful wooden Shwenandaw Monastery.

Nearby lies Mandalay Hill, topped by a pagoda that provides a panoramic view of the city and its surroundings, from the Shan Hills to the east to the Ayeyarwaddy River and beyond to the west. Predictably, this makes it a great place from which to view the sunset. A few miles to the east is another, much less visited, high point called Yankin Hill. This forested knoll is a treasure of hidden shrines and pagodas, providing a peaceful escape from the bustle of the city.

Pilgrims throng to southwestern Mandalay to visit the towering Mahamuni Buddha image. The pagoda is the gateway to suburb of Amarapura, which is the centre of the country’s thriving traditional crafts industries. Visitors can see skilled weavers and artisans creating everything from silk, longyis and tapestries, to marionettes and marble Buddha images. Amarapura is also the location of the frequently photographed teakwood U Bein Bridge, more than 1 kilometre long and another favorite sunset spot.

Day trips outside of Mandalay are equally fulfilling. The ancient capital of Inwa is best explored by pony cart, which provides a charming ride through a beautiful rural landscape, stopping at several ancient, breathtaking pagodas and monasteries along the way. Across the river from Mandalay is the town of Sagaing, known for its silver workshops and its tree-shaded hills harbouring scores of pagodas, monasteries, and nunneries. About 10 kilometres up the Ayeyarwaddy River from Mandalay, and easily accessible by boat, is Mingun, site of a huge pagoda that remains unfinished due to the death of its benefactor, King Bodawpaya, in 1819. There are several other pagodas nearby, as well as the gigantic bronze Mingun Bell, which is said to be among the biggest hanging bells in the world. A few kilometers east of Mingun, on the other side of the river, is the town of Taungbyone, which for one week every August is the site of the biggest, most boisterous spirit festival in Myanmar.

Farther up the Ayeyarwaddy River is the town of Kyaukmyaung, famous for its production of big ceramic pots. About 30 kilometres west is Shwebo, another ancient capital where remnants of the defensive wall and moat from glorious days gone by can still be seen. Just south of town are the ruins of an even more ancient city, the seldom-visited Pyu-era settlement of Hanlin dating back to the 4th century CE. Here visitors can see displays of archeological digs, including old tools and human remains, and visit the hot springs for which the region is also famous. Mandalay is also the jumping-off point for trips eastward into the Shan Hills. The town of Pyin Oo Lwin, which can be reached by road or train, lies at an elevation of more than 1000 metres and is therefore much cooler than Mandalay. Its abundant fruits, vegetables, and flowers, colonial-era architecture, and huge botanic garden are big draws for tourists.

>> read more: Train to Myanmar’s most majestic bridge from Mandalay to Pyin Oo Lwin, at here.

Just beyond Pyin Oo Lwin travellers will enter northern Shan State, where opportunities for exploration are endless. Towns like Kyaukme and Hsipaw are great bases for journeying into the hills by foot, bicycle or motorcycle – to visit ethnic Palaung villages and tea plantations, and to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.

Patterns on Shwenandaw monastery

Mahamuni image in Mahamuni pagoda

Mingun pagoda

National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden – Pyin Oo Lwin

Tachileik

Tachileik is a border town located on the eastern edge of Myanmar’s Shan State in the heart of the Golden Triangle, legendary for its historical links to the global opium trade. Just across a narrow river from the Thai town of Mae Sai, Tachileik is a regional trade centre that can be accessed by air from Yangon, Mandalay and Kengtung in Myanmar, as well as overland from Kengtung, which lies 106 kilometres to the north.

Another popular means of access is across the border from Mae Sai, which sits directly south on the other side of the Mae Sai River. Many tourists who are visiting Thailand for extended periods cross into Tachileik briefly so they can get a new visa when they re-enter Thailand, while Myanmar and Thai residents cross the border between towns to engage in trade.

One of the main attractions in Tachileik is the busy, sprawling marketplace where shoppers can find a huge variety of products for sale – both black market and legitimate – including clothing, handicrafts, DVDs, handbags, luggage, food and beverages, and more. There are plenty of cheap, kitschy items for sale, but also genuine traditional ethnic clothing and handicrafts from the surrounding region. Other attractions in town include casino gambling, golfing, and visits to pagodas whose designs are closer to Thai style than the bell-like, Mon style seen in central Myanmar. The most prominent pagoda in Tachileik is the big, golden Wat Phra That Doi.

Shwedagon pagoda – same name with famous Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon

A Padaung woman with her long-neck

Chiang Mai

The city of Chiang Mai offers a calmer, more laidback alternative to Bangkok for those seeking a holiday in Thailand. The largest city in the country’s north, Chiang Mai is an excellent destination for exploring history, religion, culture, cuisine, shopping, and more.

Remnants of the city’s past as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lanna can still be seen in the wall and moat that surround the Old City quadrangle. In this central area can be found more than 30 Buddhist temples – including the 13th century Wat Chiang Man and the 15th century Wat Chedi Luang – as well as numerous guesthouses, hotels, shops, and restaurants. Other Important religious sites elsewhere in the city include Wat Chet Yet, built in 1455 and located on the urban edge; Wiang Kum Kam on the city’s southern outskirts; and the famous 14th century Wat Phrathat Dol Suthep, standing on Doi Suthep mountain north of Chiang Mai and providing excellent views of the surrounding countryside. To learn more about the city’s heritage, head for the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre. The Old Chiang Mai Cultural Centre, meanwhile, offers traditional Lanna dance and hill tribe demonstrations.

Chiang Mai is also a great place for shopping, especially at the sprawling Night Bazaar on Chang Klan Road where vendors sell a huge variety of northern handicrafts and artworks. On Saturday evenings, a handicraft market is held on Wua Lai Road, while Ratchadamnoen Road is the site of a handicraft and food market that starts on Sunday afternoons and stays open until late. These markets are great places to sample Thailand’s famous street fare, and Chiang Mai is also host to countless restaurants serving everything from local specialties to international cuisine. In the former category, be sure to try khao soi (egg noodle curry) and khan toke, featuring a variety of northern-Thailand side dishes served with sticky rice.

Chiang Mai offers numerous interesting activities to keep visitors busy for days on end.

There are Thai cooking classes, mountain bike rides on Doi Suthep, and excursions to ethnic villages that can include trekking, riding elephants, and floating down rivers on bamboo rafts. About 55 kilometers (35 miles) north of the city is Chiang Dao Elephant Training Centre, where visitors can watch precocious pachyderms move logs and bathe in the river.

Chiang Mai is also a great city to visit during festival periods, including the three-day Chiang Mai Flower Festival held during the first weekend in February. During Loy Krathong (November), thousands of small banana-leaf boats holding flowers and lit candles are released onto the waterways, and hot-air balloons made of paper are released into the sky. In mid-April, the Buddhist New Year (Songkran in Thailand) is marked with a multi-day citywide water fight , much like Thingyan in Myanmar.

Wat Chedi Luang

Chiang Dao elephant training centre

Loy Krathong festival

Source: SWIFT – Asian Wings Airways