From the moment we arrived in this city in January, our family has been on the go. Between the girls' school, our schedules, language learning, and so much more, we've not had the opportunity in the last 10 months to visit any of the other "must-see" sites throughout this beautiful country.
So when a local holiday meant the girls had a few days out of school, we jumped at the chance for a short getaway. We were in desperate need of a little family bonding, not to mention a little R&R.
Still, traveling can get expensive and we are always hesitant to dip into our savings unless absolutely necessary, so we decided to try to experience our journey the way locals would do it... we took the bus!
It was actually really fun. These buses are much nicer than the buses we used to take on youth trips. The cushy, leather seats swiveled and reclined almost all the way back. The bus company provided pillows and blankets (good thing too since they kept it like an ice box in there!) It was quite comfortable and we enjoyed practicing our language skills with our co-travelers.
The bus left at 9 p.m. and we arrived in Mandalay at 5:30 a.m. the next morning. I would've slept really great on the ride if they hadn't stopped every two hours and made us all get off to take potty breaks. I guess it's better than the alternative though - needing to "go" but not having any stops - so I can't complain.
The sun was just coming up as we arrived at our hotel.
First item on the agenda was breakfast followed by a little sight-seeing. The city of Mandalay, found almost completely in the middle of the country, was only established a little more than 150 years ago. There are still some neat historical points of interest worth seeing, including places where Adoniram Judson spent a lot of his time.
Later in the day we spent some time poolside, chilling out before riding some trishaws into town for dinner.
The next two days were quite the same. Touring, sight-seeing and relaxing. Not to mention a lot of good Asian eating.
