Mandalay ...

... where the flying fishes play."* - Rudyard Kipling

On Dec. 26th we had to rise early since our Yangon Airways flight to Mandalay left at 6:30 a.m. We, along with Court and Susan, had hotel rooms “on the cheap” @ $20 per night. Unfortunately for us, they had hot water but we didn’t. Tourist sites around Mandalay included the famous Mandalay Hill, the U’Bein’s footbridge (1.2 km long , built 200 years ago and constructed entirely of teak),

shopping for textiles in Amarapura,

and taking a riverboat up the Ayeyarwady to Mingun to see the ruins of what would have been the world’s largest pagoda had construction not stopped at the death of King Bodawpaya in 1819. At the site of the Mingun Pagoda reportedly is the world's largest uncracked bell pictured below.

(Of course the visit would not have been complete without being on Mandalay Hill at sunset!)-rw

* As near as we can tell, the "flying fishes" Kipling was referring to were fresh water dolphins that swim in the Ayeyarwady River. We didn't see them, however, since it would have required several hours on a boat to go upriver!