We have already seen many golden temples, but when crossing the bridge of Mandalay they are everywhere we look. We understand why Myanmar is called the land of the golden temples. We go to a football field in the city centre where we will camp for two nights. There is a toilet, but no water...do we need to say more? There are some curious villagers watching us and we start a conversation with them.

The Football Field

Chatting with the Locals

As a result, we find someone to do our laundry and a guy offers us to take a 'shower'. We can refresh us with a bucket of water but it‘s more than most overlanders get on the football field, so we are very pleased. In the evening the atmosphere in the group is good and we talk until late at night.
We expected a lot of Mandalay but it turns out to be a relatively new city. Nevertheless, it’s a pleasant city to drive through and see the many temples scattered around town.

One of the Many Temples Scattered around Mandalay

There's also a big lake just outside Mandalay where we enjoy our first Sugar cane drink.

Enjoying the Lake with a Sugar Cane in our Hand

For us, Mandalay is the perfect place to repair and strengthen our luggage racks. We make drawings of the things we need, because people in Myanmar don’t understand a single word of English, and quickly we find the correct bolts and some helping hands. We also ask around for an aluminium welder to fix our broken rack. We stop at a shop with welding equipment and ask there for help. The man calls someone up, takes his scooter and escorts us to an aluminium welder. The welder pays much attention for detail and does a fine job.

Our Welder

When we ask how much we owe him, he motions that it’s for free. He just looks so happy that he could help us. We are also very happy with him so we give him a tip. Then we look for a new spare tyre. Again we are escorted by a man on a scooter to a store. They can’t help us, but they call around and give us an address. We also buy a repair kit, just in case. At the end of the day we are truly amazed about how much we can do in one day when people are willing to help. In the evening we have dinner at a somewhat expensive restaurant, with a group of the overlanders.

Nice Dinner with the Overlanders

It’s been a long time since we have eaten so well. We eat grilled duck with honey sauce. Then we go back to the football field for the usual chat and beer.

In and Around Mandalay

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