We then met with our driver that would take us to all Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa that day and boarded his vehicle. The two travelers that we were traveling with were retired Japanese and they were surprised to see the pickup truck, they probably thought that we rented a real car. The great thing though was, they were not hesitant to board it and looked like they were enjoying riding the windowless pickup truck. Our driver said that we will go to Amarapura to visit a monastery around 10AM. So before going there we decided to visit one of the most famous temple in Mandalay City which is called the Maha Muni Paya. This temple has a Buddha statue that is revered so much by the locals. They put gold leaf on it’s body and as years go by, the body of the statue now has accumulated 6 inches (thick) of pure gold. 
As I was observing everything that is going around the temple, I noticed that only men can go inside where the Buddha statue is located and only men can put gold leaf on it. All the women were kneeling on various sides of the altar and some of them approach men and give them the gold leaves so it could be put on to the statue. Even though there were a handful of tourists taking pictures of what was going on, you could still feel the serenity of the place and it’s also amazing to see people who are solemnly praying inside the temple.
A local artists polishing a wooden Buddha sculpture at the temple grounds
After visiting Maha Muni Paya we then visited some local artisans doing a variety of handicrafts sold to tourists. I like seeing how things are made especially handicrafts as you could see the talent of those people involve in making these products with very intricate details. Mandalay has so many artisans that makes sculptures, woven products and more. 
By 10AM we then proceeded to a monastery in Amarapura where we saw the awe-inspiring U-Bein Bridge. We went inside the monastery to see the monks eating. I don’t know though why it became a tourists spectacle to tourists but nevertheless I still went inside to see it. After an hour so, we then went to Sagaing Hill. Sagaing is one of the major tourist destination in Mandalay due to the numerous temples and stupa that can be seen here and also the beautiful view on top of the hill. Our driver dropped us off and we started climbing the long stair up the hill. It’s amazing how strong the retired Japanese couple were since I was already panting halfway and they still have the energy to continue walking. Here are some pictures of Sagaing Hill: 
By the time we’re finished with exploring some parts of the temple up the hill, we’re already feeling hungry and asked our driver if he could take us to a local restaurant. He took us to a local restaurant nearby the riverside where the boats to Inwa are located. After lunch we then crossed the river by boat which cost us less than a dollar per person (two way tickets) and our pick up truck was left on the other side of the river. Upon crossing the river we then boarded a horse carriage that would take us to various sights in Inwa. The horse carriage cost us $3/person (max of 3 persons per carriage) and we were contemplating if we needed to take it or just walk around. We opted to take it instead since we don’t have any idea on where to go in Inwa. 
Our carriage’s drive was a woman and she was hilarious. She was trying to talk to us in her language which obviously we don’t understand and she’ll end up laughing frantically. Her laughter was so infectious that all of us ended laughing with her. I think she’s the highlight of our entire tour that day. Even without understanding a word she said, she made us laugh so hard. We spent approximately three hours touring Inwa. Inwa has so many old temples that seemed to have been forgotten by time. A lot of them seemed to have been not fully restored but nevertheless a sight to behold. Here are some of the places that we visited in Inwa. 
After the trip to Inwa, we then went back to Amarapura to catch the sunset at the banks of the lake. It’s one of the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Since I was already exhausted, me and the oher traveler who joined this trip stayed in one of the restaurants drinking coconut juice and just marveling at the beauty of the sunset. Relaxing at the side of the lake, enjoying the breeze while staring at one of nature’s most beautiful spectacle was probably the best way to end that day.
U-Bein Bridge before noon time, looks like a painting doesn’t it?
Beautiful!!!
U-Bein after the sun set… so beautiful!
Next Week: Mandalay City Trip Part 3 – Mingun and Mandalay Hill
I hated that the preparing of the food was the spectacle it was, westerners literally pushing to take a good photo. We instead visited the school in the monastery and returned the next day with a motorbike. The monks were a lot more friendly when it was completely empty. The school was very interesting too. We donated some school supplies and they were pretty appreciative.