Burma Part 3: Mandalay

Madalay: The last royal capital of Burma

We took another night bus from Inle lake to Mandalay, the cultural hub of Burma!  We arrived in the wee hours of the morning, which was perfect, because we rented a motorbike and headed 7 miles south to a city called Amarapura (“City of Immortality”) to witness the sun rise over the iconic U Bein Bridge on the mystical Tuugthaman Lake!!  Because we got there so early in the morning, we were the only westerners there and had the WHOLE lake to ourselves!!  We hired a small boat and our paddler took us anywhere and everywhere our photography- lovin- hearts wanted to go to capture the beauty of the first morning light peaking through the teakwood bridge.  To top it all off, at that time in the morning, we were able to see the early morning commute of hundreds of monks and other villagers as they crossed the bridge.  The raw simplistic beauty of the morning was very surreal.  The U Bein Bridge is the world’s longest teak footbridge (1300 yards) and is one of the most photographed places in Burma, and for good reason!  After enjoying our boat ride across the lake, we walked back to the other side on the bridge.

U Bein Bridge in the sunrise!