What to See in Mandalay, Myanmar

What to See in Mandalay, Myanmar

After spending a few days in Yangon and Bagan, I made my way northeast to Mandalay. My original plan was to take The Road to Mandalay cruise, which starts in Bagan and stops on Mingun on its way to Mandalay. It looked like a super chill cruise and a nice way to experience Burma but then I learned that the Ayeyarwady River is really low in February so the ship wouldn’t make it all the way to Mandalay anyhow and I’d have to take a bus. I had no desire to take the bus. For the price, it just didn’t seem worth it. So I flew from Bagan to Mandalay instead and hired a tour guide and driver to take me around. And man, did they take me around. I actually had to tell the tour guide that I was all templed-out at one point and that I wanted to end the tour.  (Although I was well looked after during the day, and had both a tour guide AND a driver, my tour guide wasn’t the most exciting.) BUT if you’re wondering what to see in Mandalay, Myanmar, here are my suggestions.

King Galon Gold Leaf Workshop:  My tour started here, which was a fun way to see how they make all the gold leaf that adorns the many buddhas in Mandalay and beyond. This was a very quick stop and as it turned out, it was also very close to my Mandalay hotel, which was convenient.

Mahamuni Pagoda: This is at the top of all the “What to see in Mandalay, Myanmar” lists. Busy temple that’s a major pilgrimage site in Mandalay. This was really beautiful but most of my pictures are full of strangers as it was quite crowded so no only this very basic photo for you! Soz.

Marble Street: Very close to Mahamuni Temple. Super interesting street where many marble Buddhas are made, many of which are shipped to China. It’s amazing what humans are capable of.

Aung Nan Myanmar Handicrafts Workshop: After Marble Street, we also made a quick pit stop here to use the loo and check out the amazing wood carvings. A bit touristy but you know I like the crafty stuff. (See top photo.)

Mandalay Palace: I had just finished The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (fantastic read), and this palace features heavily in the beginning of the book. While I was there, a tour guide for a group of Americans asked if anyone had read the book and no one had so I piped up and put in a good word. It is the last palace in Myanmar occupied by the royal family before they were exiled to India, although now it’s really just a reconstruction. It should still be at the top of your list of what to see in Mandalay though! The palace is oddly empty and bare, just fyi.

Golden Palace Monastery: This was perhaps one of my favorite things to see in Mandalay after Mandalay Palace because of the ridiculously beautiful woodwork that obviously photographed extremely poorly. This is the only remaining original part of the royal palace. (It was moved from its original location at the Mandalay Palace.) Amazing that they let people walk all over this.

The World’s Largest Book: Over 700 slabs of Buddhist scriptures. Beautiful and peaceful in all of its white marbleness.  It’s definitely worth checking this place out on Instagram because apparently there’s a lot more that I didn’t see. It’s all very very Instgrammable, but this is definitely when I really started to lose steam so the fact that I missed all the photo opps is not surprising. HOT. Mandalay was HOT.

Kuthodaw Pagoda: Once you walk through the world’s largest book, you’ll come to Kuthodaw Pagoda. This is the royal merit pagoda and it was built by King Mindon Min in the 1850s.

Mandalay Hill: We ended the tour at the top of Mandalay Hill, which was a great way to get an overview of all of Mandalay.  This would be an awesome place to watch the sunset from. (Note there were some temples in between — the temples where your shoes get stolen apparently so I was advised not to leave them — but I totally broke down at the last temple stop and asked to wrap up the tour.)

Take a Cruise to Mingun from Mandalay

If you, like me, love a good boat cruise, consider taking a half day sailing cruise  to Mingun, up the Irrawaddy just north of Mandalay. Discover the world’s largest bell, meet locals in a typical village, visit the historic Mingun Pahtodawgyi stupa, and watch an epic sunset. I think this is one of the nicest things to do in Mandalay. Book this tour.

Summary of What to See in Mandalay

In hindsight, I would have broken this tour of Mandalay in half and done three-ish hours one day (plus snacks, drinks, and photo breaks) and three hours another day (plus snacks, drinks, and photo breaks). Given that it was so hot, it was just way too much to see in one day. So really, what I did in one day is an ideal two day itinerary for Mandalay. My challenge is that I really wanted to sit down and soak things in for a bit and make all the Instagrams but we were go-go-go. (And obviously, I kinda like to be fed.) By the time I got back to my hotel, I was too exhausted to even get a massage, which tells you something. Now all this being said, I only had one night in Mandalay and did my tour on the day I arrived so squeezing all the sights into one day worked with my schedule. But you live, you learn. Next time around, when I’m planning what to see in Mandalay, Myanmar, I’ll go a little slower. I wish I had left more time for souvenir shopping and eating and just wandering around. Mandalay (and Burma!) deserves it! You’ll feel the same!

My Hotel in Mandalay

While I was in Mandalay, I stayed at Link 78 Mandalay and liked it. The restaurant on the top floor was great — the tea leaf salad was so delicious I had it twice. Rooms were clean and modern. Pre-arrival service was pretty non-existent — I was hoping for some tour guide recommendations — but the team at the front desk was friendly and helpful and spoke good English. In short, this was a fine stay and I’d consider this a business class hotel. (Don’t let the ground floor entrance scare you off. Once you get upstairs, it’s nicer.) Also, the wifi was great! Clocked in around 10Mbps. Note I had considered staying at The Hilton, which is the best hotel in town, but it was under renovation and was a lot of money for just one night. So Link 78 it was.

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• What to do in Yangon, Myanmar
• What to do in Bagan, Myanmar

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