Mandalay was founded in 1857 and is Myanmar’s second larges city. It is the commercial hub of Upper Burma and particular important for trade with China. We enjoyed strolling through the street markets, walking into random pagodas and monasteries, stumbling over colonial style buildings and discovering book stores with copies of formerly banned books about Burma. We also didn’t miss out on visiting Mahamuni Paya ,the holiest site of Mandalay, where devotees attach small sheets of gold on a large Buddha image. The action is broadcasted on screens all over the pagoda and watched by the women who are not allowed to enter the chamber with the golden Buddha.