Mandalay- Myanmar

We are in Myanmar (it used to be called Burma), a country of 53 million people and located to the west of Thailand. We came here primarily because the travel blogs spoke about an untapped market and they're right!

Our first stop is Mandalay, in the north. Some aspects of this city are amazing. I was initially surprised at the longhis worn by men (around 80% of them- business and casual attire):

Also, the women (and men) wear a makeup called thanaka, a yellowish-white cosmetic paste made from ground bark:

In addition to cosmetic beauty, thanaka also gives a cooling sensation and provides protection from sunburn. People here also believe it helps remove acne and promote smooth skin.   

In Mandalay, a population of 1.2 million, there are pagodas golore:

If the pagoda is big in design and you can go inside, it is called a temple and there is usually a buddha statue inside for prayer. If there is no inner temple it's called a stupa and there are usually things of value (like books, jewelry, combs) that are buried inside the structure. Families who own land and almost all Myanmar people will provide money to build and maintain these pagodas.

We visited one famous Buddha figure at the Mahamuni temple:

This temple is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. To pay respect to the Buddha image, male devotees apply an actual gold leaf to the image (this gold has been hammered for hours and is thinner than thin paper, about the size of a large postage stamp):

We were told by our guide that women are not allowed to participate, simply stated and no discussion given. Over the years, the buddha has grown to over 15 cm thick. In gold alone it is worth about $300 million U.S. but it is considered a priceless religious figure.

Another tradition we saw on our tour is the feeding of monks at the Mahagandhayon Monastery which houses over 1,000 monks. This is a centuries old tradition for lay people to support the buddhist monks with food daily:

Here, the monks and novices (in white and extremely young) line up for food.

A tourist attraction we visited just outside the city is the longest teak bridge in the world:

The fascinating thing about this 'bridge' is that during their hot season (March- May) there is NO WATER and the bridge stands about 30 feet high over farm land!! Hard to believe with the size of the lake we walked across.

I was super amazed at two things- almost everyone has a cell phone and a motorbike. Thanks to the Chinese, they sell smartphones for as low as $30 brand new:

This one, a Smart10 from ZTE is unlocked, runs Android 5.1 and has camera, video and music capability.

And you can buy a Chinese motorbike brand new for $300- $500 and it will last about 5 to 6 years (then pitch). This is the mode of transport for about 90% of the people in Mandalay:

There are stands by the side of the road with entrepreneurs bottling gasoline in used 1 litre water bottles for $1 or you can buy it at a gas station for 70 cents a litre.

The one downside of what we saw and discussed were the low wages of workers here. Our guide graduated after 4 years of university as a metallurgical engineer but couldn't find a job except in mines up north for $150/ month. So she got a job in a hotel for $90/ month for two years and she studied to be a travel guide. She is now making $120/ month and lives in the city with her aunt and uncle. It's common for 5- 6 university educated professionals making $100- $150 per month (or about 65- 95 cents an hour) to live together and pay $200 rent total for a two room flat. 

With 30 years of military rule and self imposed isolation until 2007- Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in Asia and they have a long way to go. The people we've spoken with are very optimistic about their future!