Mandalay Hill
(1,000 kyat camera fee; if you walk, you skip entry fee)
Mandalay Hill is a must-visit place in Myanmar, especially for the sunset. Burmese people make the trip up this 230m hill to enjoy the sunset and monks make the trip up to practice their English with foreigners. (This doesn’t stop fake monks to approach and demand money for showing the tourists around. Of course, the Vinaya prohibits the monks from asking for money) Legend has it that the Buddha once prophesied that a great city would be found at the foot of the hill upon his visit, hence the numerous sights centred around Mandalay Hill.
After sightseeing in the Northern part of Mandalay, our taxi driver drove us to Mandalay Hill for the sunset. We did consider climbing up the stairs (of 1729 steps) ourselves to see monasteries and temples along the way to the top. But after the Hsipaw trek, we didn’t feel guilty for skipping an opportunity to exercise. So we got a ride to the top and saw a lot of Chinese people taking a stroll up and down the hill. It reminded me of my trip to China couple years ago, which impressed me with people so diligently exercising and keeping healthy. Our taxi driver, U Soe Gyi, was quite amused by them and said, “[Pointing to the left] Chinese man! [Pointing to the right] Chinese man! Many many rich Chinese men!” I asked how he could tell so fast. U Soe Gyi said Chinese people have orange skin and added, “Myanmar people are all working. We don’t have time for walking. Chinese men, they are rich, so they have time for walking. All the time.”
Once we arrived at the top, we left our shoes in the taxi, quickly memorized the number plate of U Soe Gyi’s car, and went inside to walk up to Su Taung Pyai Pagoda at the top by escalator. Yes, we walked up the escalator barefoot. Interesting sensation.
We had about an hour until the actual sunset. The top of Mandalay Hill wasn’t too crowded. The tiles were warm and there was a breeze, which helped us to change to rest mode quick enough. We could walk around the pagoda in circle and enjoy the full panorama of the city of Mandalay.
Then, there were sprinkles of rain. The clouds were thick in the sky and we worried we wouldn’t be able to see the sunset. But this didn’t seem to concern the people around us, as they chatted away with family and took pictures.
We had been up here for 1 whole hour. Then, the long-awaited sunset.
Before everyone crowds around the elevator, we headed down right away.
To see a post on the whole day in North side of Mandalay, click here.
