Mandalay Hill

Mandalay Hill overlooks Mandalay and the surrounding countryside. To get there, one must climb lots of steps. I was disoriented when I got out of Kuthodaw Pagoda. I walked around looking for a pair of lions that marks the start of the climb up the hill, but a local pointed me to some steps, so I just took off my shoes and climbed. En route, surprise surprise, here were yet more temples.

This was by far the nastiest barefoot walk I have made so far in Myanmar - there were lots of caterpillars crawling on the steps, and there was dog poop, bird poop and unidentifiable poop smeared by people who stepped on them. But, I was here to climb the hill and enjoy the views from the top, so I carried on and tried not to think about what I was stepping on.

The temples along this route weren't particularly noteworthy, and they got gaudier and gaudier. I am used to climbing steps, but it was slightly demoralizing as each time I thought I was at the top, I spied yet another flight of stairs. I knew I hit the top when I was asked to pay 1,000 kyat to view a spectacularly gaudy pagoda - think pink tiles juxtaposed with green ones. But, the views were great.

Coming down the hill, I realized I had deviated from my route up. I eventually came down to the (anatomically correct, it turns out) lions I was looking for to start my climb. At the lions, I procured another motorcycle taxi to take me to my hotel.

That evening, I had a really good briyani dinner at a makeshift street stall a few blocks from my hotel.

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