On to Myanmar

Mandalay

Niether Janos nor I has ever been to Myanmar. There would be so much to discover and explore, and we have so little time. Our decision was to limit ourselves to Mandalay and Bagan for the time we have left.

To quote W. Somerset Maugham: "Mandalay has its name; the falling cadence of the lovely word has gathered about itself the chiaroscuro of romance." The same would apply to the Irrawaddy. The names have drawn us here.

To make a long story short, when we arrived I was fighting a severe respiratory infection which the flight here hadn't helped. Since our arrival I have been confined to our room for the most part, fortunately in a comfortable hotel. I went out with Janos twice for meals, otherwise I have rested in bed. And since my health is even more important to me than all the pagodas of Mandalay, I shall not do much sightseeing here, if any at all.

Our flight to Bagan is tomorrow and I am hoping to be in good enough shape for the continuing journey.

The two times I went out I snapped a few pictures.

View from our room on the 7th floor - it's a sprawling city.

I ordered congee - rice soup - in the room and it was lovely.

The streets are wide and the sidewalks narrow, not meant for walking. You walk in the street with the traffic. Only after I took the picture did I see the sign "Mixagrip", would it help me?

We went to a Chinese restaurant down the road and had jiaozi (sort of like Chinese ravioli) for lunch.

The girls were busy peeling garlic and ginger. They were very shy and embarassed but said yes when Janos asked if he could take their picture.

Condiments provided at every table - plenty of garlic!

We didn't eat the raw garlic, and we didn't have any of this either.

Construction going on across the street - the scaffolding looks a bit iffy.