Amarapura, the city of immortality
 Contrary to its purposeful name, the city of
immortality, the period of Amarapura was
very short comparing to the other Burmese
kingdoms. The first Amarapura was founded by
King Bodawpaya, the fifth king of the last
Burmese dynasty called “Kaungbaung”, in
1873AD. Later, it moved back to Inwa by King
his successor in 1823. Then, it became the
capital in 1841 as King Tharrawaddy
resettled and finally moved to Mandalay by
King Mindon in 1859AD, together with all the
materials that was used in the Amarapura
Palace. Nowadays, some dotted pagodas that
built in this period scatter around the
living quarters… some whitewashed… some let
deteriorated… and a part of old city wall
all that escaped from construction of
British built railroad. The sounds of
‘click-clekt’ from the weaving looms
overwhelm the narrow streets of Amarapura
and one could find out rows of silk yarns
being dried on the street sides as Myanmar’s
most valued silk “Acheik” ceremonially
longgyies are on the process, while the
fishermen yielding small fishes from the
flooded farmlands and wide Thaungthaman lake
could defiantly make you an interesting day
out . Amarapura is 11-km south of Mandalay.
U Bein Bridge
 Also known as the world’s longest bridge
using teak woods, this bridge was accredited
to U Bein (Mr. Thin) who was said to be a
clerk. He wisely utilized old teak planks
from demolished Inwa Palace to connect
Amarapura and a sizable village across the
Thaungthaman Lake, where the water is fed
from Ayarwaddy River. The bridge is 1.2km
long, having 804-rooms, and used 1088 teak
posts where some of those have been replaced
with concrete base. The construction work
started in 1848 and completed in 1851. It is
best visited just before sunset to take a
romantic walk on the bridge. The photo
enthusiastic should take a rowing boat where
the bridge reflected in the water with
different light conditions before sunset.
Mahagandaryon Monastery
 One of the most disciplined monasteries in
Mandalay area, Mahagandaryon monastery was
established in 1914. Between 10:00 and
10:30am, hundreds of Buddhist monks queue
for their last meal of the day is quite a
sight. This is a place where one could
glimpse into the Buddhist’s monastic life.
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