I feel so bad we had very little time in Mandalay.  We spent more time in the stores than the sights! haha!!

The Citadel at Mandalay – beautiful!!! The Mandalay Palace is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed, between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon’s founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design, inside a walled fort surrounded by a moat. The palace itself is at the centre of the citadel and faces east. All buildings of the palace are of one storey in height. The number of spires above a building indicated the importance of the area below.

Mandalay Palace was the primary royal residence of King Mindon and King Thibaw, the last two kings of the country. The complex ceased to be a royal residence and seat of government on 28 November 1885 when, during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, troops of the Burma Field Force entered the palace and captured the royal family. The British turned the palace compound into Fort Dufferin, named after the then viceroy of India. Throughout the British colonial era, the palace was seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol sovereignty and identity. Much of the palace compound was destroyed during World War II by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.

Today, Mandalay Palace is a primary symbol of Mandalay and a major tourist destination.

The best exercise view 🙂

 Nearby the Kuthodaw temple is the Sanda Mani pagoda. It looks similar. There are 1,100 temples here- Inside you’ll find the largest iron Buddha, topping 18.5 metric tons and, like most important Buddha images, arriving here via various previous homes due to war and changing capital cities. This location was where King Mindon’s provisional palace once stood, and the pagoda was his memorial to a younger half-brother. Recognize it by the large collection of white pagodas standing tall and narrow. 

 Kuthodaw Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa, located in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), that contains the world’s largest book. It lies at the foot of Mandalay Hill and was built during the reign of King Mindon. The stupa itself, which is gilded above its terraces, is 188 feet (57 m) high, and is modelled after the Shwezigon Pagoda at Nyaung-U near Bagan. In the grounds of the pagoda are 729 kyauksa gu or stone-inscription caves, each containing a marble slab inscribed on both sides with a page of text from the Tipitaka, the entire Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.

Beautiful lilies being sold outside – given as offering to Buddha

A model of the temple!  AMAZING!!

Inside each temple is a page of the book

Golden Monastery in Mandalay – Shwenandaw Monastery was built in 1880 by King Thibaw Min, who dismantled and relocated the apartment formerly occupied by his father, King Mindon Min, just before Mindon Min’s death, at a cost of 120,000 rupees. Thibaw removed the building in October 1878, believing it to be haunted by his father’s spirit. The building was reconstructed as a monastery over the course of 5 years, dedicated in memory of his father, on a plot adjoining Atumashi Monastery.

The building was originally part of the royal palace at Amarapura, before it was moved to Mandalay, where it formed the northern section of the Hmannan (Glass Palace) and part of the king’s royal apartments. The building was heavily gilt with gold and adorned with glass mosaic work.

The monastery is known for its teak carvings of Buddhist myths, which adorn its walls and roofs. The monastery is built in the traditional Burmese architectural style. Shwenandaw Monastery is the single remaining major original structure of the original Royal Palace today. (Wikipedia)

The best puppets are in Mandalay!  Make sure to get them here if you like them

We checked in our hotel early evening already

Very spacious room

Pool at the Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel. The temple structure in the middle is the spa. Behind is the Mandalay Hill with lighted temples

Included in our tour was the dinner with show

Beautiful setting for dinner.  We found a use for the umbrellas – they can be used as lamp shades! 🙂

Love the buffet presentation

Hotel food in Myanmar is the best food

Soup and main dishes

Grill Station

 Skewers at the grill station. Choose all you want and they will grill it for you

Mongolian BBQ – Love the presentation in a boat

 Love the food covers

 Cultural Show while having dinner

View from our room. The hill that we did not climb :-O  Due to lack of time we were not able to climb the Mandalay Hill which is approx 1,000 steps up. View from the hotel room – Mandalay Hill is a 240 metres (790 ft) hill that is located to the northeast of the city centre of Mandalay in Burma. The city took its name from the hill. Mandalay Hill is known for its abundance of pagodas and monasteries, and has been a major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists for nearly two centuries. At the top of the hill is the Sutaungpyei (literally wish-fulfilling) Pagoda. A panoramic view of Mandalay from the top of Mandalay Hill alone makes it worthwhile to attempt a climb up its stairways. There are four covered stairways called saungdan leading up the hill from the south, southeast, west and north, and convenient seats of masonry work line these stairways all the way up. A one-way motor road today saves time and also makes it accessible for those who are unable to climb up the stairs, leading to an escalator and a lift to the pagoda at the summit.

Breakfast 🙂  Chicken Coconut Noodle Soup