Day 277 - Mandalay Palace and Su Taung Pyae Pagoda on Mandalay Hill
Wednesday, April 10th, 2019.
Today we had breakfast on the top floor of our hotel. I eat whatever there is, but I’m still not thrilled with rice, noodles or fried vegetables in the morning. The kids eat their American breakfast of eggs, toast, and watermelon. Gregory and I try almost everything, except the soup.
After breakfast, the kids went downstairs to get some homework done while Gregory and I went looking for antimalaria medicine. We first walked to a small clinic and we were surprised to talk to a female doctor who spoke English. She told us that it would be better to prevent it than to buy the antimalarial. She directed us to the Pharmacy across the street that looks more promising than the ones we had seen in Ngwe Saung or in Bagan. Luckily for us, there was a little girl who spoke English. They didn’t have the medicine we were looking for but the did have the doxycycline so we bought some just in case we didn’t find the other one at the Hospital.
We took a tuk-tuk to the Hospital and there, we found the antimalaria medicine. It wasn’t the same brand the Germans had recommended but it was good enough. We bought two boxes just in case. I’m thrilled to stop taking the doxy, an antibiotic that we have been taking for 3 months since Egypt and it is hurting me more than helping me.
We took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel watching the busy streets of Mandalay with its fruit and vegetable stands. Tons of cars, bikes honking and so much more. I had a flashback of India, luckily we made it to our hotel quickly. There, we tried to figure out our plans for our stay in Mandalay.
We left the room around 2:00pm and took grab to Mandalay Palace. First, we walked around the neighborhood looking for food. We did find some street food but I was feeling nauseated and I didn’t want to eat in the street. We took the taxi to Mandalay Palace knowing that we would find food around the Palace. We had read mixed reviews about the palace. Most of them negative and saying that it wasn’t worthwhile visiting the castle. I’m glad we did. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, especially because it had been reconstructed and almost nothing is original and all the rooms are empty. What was worth it was climbing the tower of the Palace where we could see all the different rooms that the Palace had for different functions. Each room had a different purpose and only the royal people were able to live there.
For more information about Mandalay Palace please visit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalay_Palace
It is a nice place to take great pictures but it was extremely hot and the kids and I wanted to go back to the hotel. Gregory wanted to cover a monastery that was removed from the palace and that it is the only original building that is left. Unfortunately, we ran out of time because he spent almost an hour talking and negotiating with the taxi drivers. This is a part that has been really hard for me during the trip. Gregory thinks that everyone wants to rip him off. Even if this is true, he gets upset and spends so much time arguing. I use to get involved and upset but now I just wait with the kids until he is done.
Today we had breakfast on the top floor of our hotel. I eat whatever there is, but I’m still not thrilled with rice, noodles or fried vegetables in the morning. The kids eat their American breakfast of eggs, toast, and watermelon. Gregory and I try almost everything, except the soup.
After breakfast, the kids went downstairs to get some homework done while Gregory and I went looking for antimalaria medicine. We first walked to a small clinic and we were surprised to talk to a female doctor who spoke English. She told us that it would be better to prevent it than to buy the antimalarial. She directed us to the Pharmacy across the street that looks more promising than the ones we had seen in Ngwe Saung or in Bagan. Luckily for us, there was a little girl who spoke English. They didn’t have the medicine we were looking for but the did have the doxycycline so we bought some just in case we didn’t find the other one at the Hospital.
We took a tuk-tuk to the Hospital and there, we found the antimalaria medicine. It wasn’t the same brand the Germans had recommended but it was good enough. We bought two boxes just in case. I’m thrilled to stop taking the doxy, an antibiotic that we have been taking for 3 months since Egypt and it is hurting me more than helping me.
We took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel watching the busy streets of Mandalay with its fruit and vegetable stands. Tons of cars, bikes honking and so much more. I had a flashback of India, luckily we made it to our hotel quickly. There, we tried to figure out our plans for our stay in Mandalay.
We left the room around 2:00pm and took grab to Mandalay Palace. First, we walked around the neighborhood looking for food. We did find some street food but I was feeling nauseated and I didn’t want to eat in the street. We took the taxi to Mandalay Palace knowing that we would find food around the Palace. We had read mixed reviews about the palace. Most of them negative and saying that it wasn’t worthwhile visiting the castle. I’m glad we did. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, especially because it had been reconstructed and almost nothing is original and all the rooms are empty. What was worth it was climbing the tower of the Palace where we could see all the different rooms that the Palace had for different functions. Each room had a different purpose and only the royal people were able to live there.
For more information about Mandalay Palace please visit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalay_Palace
It is a nice place to take great pictures but it was extremely hot and the kids and I wanted to go back to the hotel. Gregory wanted to cover a monastery that was removed from the palace and that it is the only original building that is left. Unfortunately, we ran out of time because he spent almost an hour talking and negotiating with the taxi drivers. This is a part that has been really hard for me during the trip. Gregory thinks that everyone wants to rip him off. Even if this is true, he gets upset and spends so much time arguing. I use to get involved and upset but now I just wait with the kids until he is done.
I try not to get upset but I this time I did because, after all the waiting and all the negotiation, he ended up getting a tuk-tuk to take us up the hill to see the sunset from a famous Pagoda. Tuk-tuks can be ok but I prefer and feel much safer in a car. And we are talking about a few dollars that he is saving, that's what’s got me very frustrated.
The fun part about all this was that we got a ride to the front gates of the palace, where taxi drivers can not come in, with a bunch of locals in a pickup van. The bad news was that it was so crowded that Gregory and Daniel were standing up in the back of the pickup. I was upset and worried that they would fall. The driver asked them to please sit down because of the police. All the locals were smiling at us and they were thrilled that we were sitting with them in the back. Next to me was a bucket full of their sandals and then I noticed that the back of the truck had a mat where everyone sat down.
We took our tuk-tuk to Su Tang Pyae Pagoda. It was scary to see the tuk-tuk taking wide open turns and honking when he entered the other lane. We made it out alive! When we got there, we had to take off our shoes which I think is really filthy, especially when you still have to take electric stairs in barefoot. Many of the locals have gross feet and I just don’t understand why they have to take off the shoes when their feet are worse!
We saw an amazing sunset from the top of the Pagoda which is on a hill. It was gorgeous. We walked around the Pagoda, saw many Buddhas and then took an elevator to go down. Sunshine and I went to get our shoes. Gregory and Daniel had left them in the tuk-tuk. We drove back home in the middle of the chaos in bet tons of cars and bikes beeping. We stopped at the same restaurant called J & J where we ate last night. After dinner, we went shopping for Sunshine’s earbuds but she didn’t buy anything. We came back to the hotel where I spent a few hours catching up on the blog. We waited for 10:00pm to call David or Grandpapa to wish him Happy Birthday!
The fun part about all this was that we got a ride to the front gates of the palace, where taxi drivers can not come in, with a bunch of locals in a pickup van. The bad news was that it was so crowded that Gregory and Daniel were standing up in the back of the pickup. I was upset and worried that they would fall. The driver asked them to please sit down because of the police. All the locals were smiling at us and they were thrilled that we were sitting with them in the back. Next to me was a bucket full of their sandals and then I noticed that the back of the truck had a mat where everyone sat down.
We took our tuk-tuk to Su Tang Pyae Pagoda. It was scary to see the tuk-tuk taking wide open turns and honking when he entered the other lane. We made it out alive! When we got there, we had to take off our shoes which I think is really filthy, especially when you still have to take electric stairs in barefoot. Many of the locals have gross feet and I just don’t understand why they have to take off the shoes when their feet are worse!
We saw an amazing sunset from the top of the Pagoda which is on a hill. It was gorgeous. We walked around the Pagoda, saw many Buddhas and then took an elevator to go down. Sunshine and I went to get our shoes. Gregory and Daniel had left them in the tuk-tuk. We drove back home in the middle of the chaos in bet tons of cars and bikes beeping. We stopped at the same restaurant called J & J where we ate last night. After dinner, we went shopping for Sunshine’s earbuds but she didn’t buy anything. We came back to the hotel where I spent a few hours catching up on the blog. We waited for 10:00pm to call David or Grandpapa to wish him Happy Birthday!
Want to see pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zh9dPU4RNJZ4ZQzz5
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