9th of July, 2012
On our first morning in Mandalay we chose to hire a trishaw (three person bicycle) as our form of transportation. Whenever possible we like to take transportation that doesn’t require gasoline and is a much more peaceful ride. Also, being outside give you a much better experience of the surroundings and a chance to interact with the locals.
We hired a very nice man who had his trishaw parked across the street from Silver Swan Hotel. There were plenty of taxis parked right in front of the hotel that had very high fixed prices. In fact, their prices were a little more than double of the latest Lonely Planet (2011) prices! For instance, a day trip to U Bein Bridge, Inwa and Saghaing Hill will cost you 50,000 Kyat! Whereas, in the Lonely Planet the price is in the range of 18 – 20,000 Kyat! That’s a huge difference in price for no more than one year in time! However, even the price for the trishaw was significantly higher. Our driver claimed that it was due to the increased prices of everything by the government. We finally agreed on a price of 6,000 Kyat to take us on a round trip journey, plus waiting time at the Gold Leaf Pounders District, Mahamuni Image and Shwe In Bin Monastery.
Golden Rose- Gold Leaf Factory
With the temperature soaring over 33 degrees Celsius and very high humidity our driver started to work hard for his money very quickly. We arrived at The Golden Rose gold pounders workshop within a few minutes and were glad to get out of the hot sun. Please remember to bring a large brimmed had and wear lots of sunscreen when you take any form of open air transportation as the weather is unforgiving even on a cloudy day like this one. Outside of the foundry you can already hear the loud pounding of of sledge hammers slamming against a block on a stone. Inside there were a few slender but muscular guys repeatedly pounding gold tablets into super thin sheets of gold leaf.
A lady greeted us and began to explain the process of making these super thin sheets of gold. First they start with a gold tablet of 24 grams and they begin pounding that into a flat pancake like shape. Then they cut that sheet into four smaller parts, start pounding each of those 4 sheets into smaller components of about 16 and the process continues until each sheet is super duper thin. The whole process takes over six hours of pounding and when they are done that 24 gram gold table has created 2000 sheets of gold leaf of about one inch square! You can buy these in packs of 10 in the 1″ size for 3000 Kyat. Again prices have increased significantly, but we figured these guys are working super hard in the heat.
I’m sure you can also bargain a little and they also sell a variety of other sizes of sheets and use gold leaf for other items. This includes covering bodhi tree leaves in gold leaf. This process as well as the cutting and packaging of the gold leafs is done by a group of women who are working in a glass encased room where the temperature seemed hotter than outside. I’m sure it was at least 40 Celsius in that room and I only noticed one of those women breaking a sweat!
Gold leaf is used in Myanmar as a way to donate to religiously significant places and objects. Many Buddhist images or structures are covered in gold leaf by devotees, often one piece at a time.
Mahamuni Paya- Buddha Image Covered in Gold Leaf
According to the Lonely Planet, if you get there by 4:00 AM you can watch the caretakers brushing the teeth of the Mahamuni Buddha image but that was a little too early for us and since women aren’t aloud to place gold leaf on the image there was no incentive for Heidi to get up that early in the morning! Instead, it was our second stop of the day after purchasing the gold leaf. As with all religious places in Myanmar, upon entering you are required to remove your shoes and the ground can get very hot if in the sun! First you walk through a hallway full of trinkets and other shops full of souvenirs. This complex is huge, but if you make a wrong turn someone will quickly guide you in the right direction of the Buddha and you will recognize it immediately as you will soon see the Buddha covered in six inches of solid gold leaf and more being added everyday. Except for the head, the entire Mahamuni Buddha is covered with gold leaf. Please remember to dress appropriately as a strict dress code is adhered to and you will not be allowed to place the gold leaf if you are wearing short pants! For women, there are fuzzy video screens so you can ‘kind of’ watch your friends place the gold leaf on the Buddha image. After getting past the guards you walk up a short staircase to the Buddha and the quarters are tight as there will most likely be others also placing gold leaves and praying. Placing the gold leaf was quite easy as it sticks very well! If you did not buy gold leaf from one of the gold workshops you can also purchase them here as well. Overall, it was a great spiritual experience for me and highly recommend!
Shwe In Bin Kyaung Monastery- Teak Monastery
We arrived at the Monastery around noon and without a taxi or a guide I don’t know how you would find this place as there are no distinct markings outside the grounds and nothing is written in English. As soon as you enter you are supposed to remove your shoes and socks. There is a sign for that in English and please be respectful of this! You will have to walk across the hot concrete and dirt paths and under a wonderful smelling mango tree to get to the monastery which you can’t miss among the other buildings as it is the largest building in the complex. You might think it to be a little odd that you are supposed to leave your shoes at the entrance and then walk across the dirt and drag some of that dirt with you inside the monastery, but there are monks tending to the grounds that keep the place very clean. Once we were inside we were not disappointed as we were the only ones there! It truly is a gem and great place to meditate and or enjoy the beautifully carved teak panels inside and out.
We sat inside in silence for about 20 minutes in our attempt to mediate, but both Heidi and I are novices at it and after coming in from a dusty sweaty ride it would take longer than that to get into a meditative state ;). We had the entire place to ourselves for at least 30 minutes before a couple of other westerners showed up but it was still very peaceful. If you are into mediation and/or just want to get away from the crowds this is definitely the place! Of course this place may not be the same in the near future as more tourists visit Myanmar. I bet in the near future this will be a paid site, so come now …
Our first full day in Mandalay will be continued in the next post. Hopefully we will find internet again soon!