The Second Capital

We moved to Mandalay after our 5 day vacation in Yangon. Because Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and a major commercial center in the center of the country it is often referred to as the "second capital." Although, now that I think about it, it would make more sense to call it the "third capital" because Yangon is now the old or the second capital since the government moved to Naw Pyidaw.

Mandalay is also famous for being the capital of the last great Burmese (Bamar) Kingdom before the arrival of the British. In fact, there are 5 kingdom capitals within a couple hours of Mandalay. This area was a hot bed for the Bamar ethnicity.

Before arriving, I had romantic thoughts of Mandalay. I recalled many romantic and exotic places in the states with Mandalay in the name. I knew it was set against the famous Irrawaddy, which I also romanticized about. In truth, Mandalay is little more than a thriving metropolis in a developing country. The main difference between Mandalay and say Iloilo in the Philippines is the massive palace wall that dominates a corner of the city. Inside this wall is where the last great king had his teak palace and miniature city. The palace has long been destroyed and the current government built a concrete structure in it's place. Tourists are allowed inside but they can't wander far because the old palace is also where the military has a base.

There is definitely a touristy area in Mandalay, which also happens to be the downtown area. We used to stay at a guesthouse that received hardly any foreign tourists but we just moved to a cheaper guesthouse that appears to be THE tourist center. It is crazy how full of white people this place is! We've seen more foreigners in 48 hours than we've seen during the entire 2 weeks we have been here! Because of all of the tourists, we are also lucky to be constantly approached by drivers and tour guides who are trying to get us to partake in some serious site seeing. Alas, they seem to be the only Burmese interested in speaking to us. I think this is because most Burmese are too shy because the ones we work with are extremely nice and eager to hold conversations.

The funny thing is that when we get a block away from our guesthouse the foreigners disappear! It appears that most of them are not here to partake in the great Mandalay way of life but to rush through the 4 surrounding old capitals on their way north. Thus, going most places in Mandalay takes us off the tourist circuit. This means loads of stares and gapping mouths and smiles and waves from adorable children.

Having said all this about Mandalay, we have yet to actually witness most of it. Our schedule is busy during the week and our first weekend here was spent lounging around because Laura was a bit under the weather (yet again). We'll post more when we discover more!