Mandalay Moments: A City Guide, Mandalay, Myanmar

Following the path so brilliantly displayed by Rudyard Kipling in his poem ‘Mandalay’ we made our way to the same-named town. Mandalay is a city located in northern Myanmar (Burma), situated along the Irrawaddy River. It was the country’s last independent royal capital and is considered to be one of the cultural centers of Myanmar. Although mainly used as a transport hub for travellers it still offers quite a few sights to see and visit. Due to its history of British invasions and Japanase occupation the city was partly destroyed and now rebuilt by a diverse group of mainly Chinese and Indian immigrants who moved to Mandalay after the country’s independence in 1948. There is a strong ethnic diversity and this is reflected in the city’s architecture and urban culture.

Mandalay is still building-up its touristic infrastructure and more hotels, hostels and guesthouses are being constructed as we speak. In general most of the budget accomodations can be found in the western part of the city located just around the area of the palace moat.

We stayed at the Royal Guesthouse located on 25th Street, between 82nd and 83rd Street. Althoug the rooms are a bit small and stuffy it still is a great budget guesthouse to stay for a short while and discover town. WIFI is available and there is a small breakfast included. Apart from this one there are still quite a few others scattered around this part of the city. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).