Mandalay

Well, Mandalay is not quite as exotic as it's made out to be. In fact it's a dusty, dirty, polluted, busy, smelly grid of streets. And it's pushing 40 degrees (the picture below sums up the mood in the mid-afternoon heat). But it grew on me as the day wore on. I didn't bother with the main touristy things such as the hill and the palace but instead went to see the world's biggest book at the Kuthodaw Paya (picture below). 729 text-inscribed marble slabs, each in a little stupa, together represent the 15 books of the Tripitaka, the three baskets of Buddhist teachings. The rest of the day has been spent walking between the post office and DHL trying to post a Burmese Harp. Still no success.Les mer