Most people come here at sunSET to see the golden red sun set behind the teak bridge! That's why I come at sunRISE! I try to spend as little time as possible around big cities and big crowds. So, today I hire a personal guide to take me 7 miles out of Mandalay to see the 'U Bien Bridge'. It is over 3/4 of a mile long and is the oldest and longest teak bridge in the world. There are amazing things to see at the end of the bridge, but I am afraid to walk the entire 3/4 miles to the end of it.

My guide picked me up at the hotel at 4:30 a .m. and we were off to Amarapura, the "City of Immortality". At one time Amarapura was the capitol of Myanmar. We ride out of the city and through the open countryside in the early morning darkness.

The top attraction of the day would be the 200 year old bridge, built out of teak wood salvaged from a teak palace that was dismantled in Amarapura. The Royal Palace, made of teak wood, was taken down when the capitol moved to Mandalay. The mayor then, U Bien, had the wood used to build the bridge.
 
Over 1,000 teak columns were used in this world famous pedestrian bridge across the Taungthaman Lake. The bridge is used by hundreds of local workers and monks to get home after work every day. Fishermen are throwing their nets out as I stand on the bridge and watch. 
 
We arrived before sunrise and walked around the plethora of sellers set up on the road leading to the bridge. We waited around in the dark for the sun to come up. It was a cloudy day and the sun was stubborn about showing itself . Finally, it came up, and I got the sunrise photos while the hordes of other tourists and locals were still soundly sleeping. 

Then I walked the bridge! On the other side of the bridge there is the Kyauklawgyi Pagoda. They say it is a beautiful thing to see, housing a 5 1/2 ft high marble Buddha Image, surrounded by gorgeous murals. But, there is a danger if you cross to the end of the bridge! 

Some say that you will remain single if you don't walk to the end of the bridge. I made sure I stopped before I reached the end! I have avoided "the trap" for too many years to chance it now!

There are too many women in these Asian countries I need to dodge. I am often told I am "handsome". I laugh at their desperation (mostly to myself) when I hear that. If it's not the women themselves, someone wants me to meet their daughter or sister. Foreign travel is risky for an American man . Better luck with the next one! Nevertheless, I don't need a bridge jinxing me, just in case. So, I will not see the Pagoda there.

One highlight of visiting the city of Mandalay, is getting out of Mandalay! So, after visiting the bridge, my guide spends the day taking me around the countryside. 

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is probably one of the few places left in the world where the way of life in the countryside hasn't changed much by the development brought on by the western world. There are ancient temple ruins, stupas and monasteries to see everywhere in this country! There are ruins of city gates that once stood strong and beautiful. There are tombs of old kings and palaces to see!

Myanmar is 'off the beaten track' as far as tourist go. I am so glad to be able to come here now, before it changes too much!

My guide (wearing a loungyi) takes me to several temples today . I enjoy riding through the countryside and seeing this part of Mandalay on the motorbike.

I will post photos of some other amazing places in the next post, but in this post I have photos of some temple ruins in the countryside, just outside of the busy city of Mandalay.

We stop at what was at one time the capitol of Myanmar, (then Burma). The ruins are amazing. If you go with a tour group, they only take you to the entrance of a dirt road. From here you hire a pony cart to take you to the ruins. But, since I have my own personal tour guide, he takes me on the bike down the dirt road to see the ruins.

These ruins are located about 13 miles from the big city of Mandalay. It's called the Daw Gyan Pagoda. It seems like a different world out here!

I roam around the old city ruins and climb the stairs to get inside the old buildings . There is one building that was built just for the children of the Kings and other royalties. It has small passageways and coves built all through it. It like an elaborate hide-and-seek playground!

Another building has small execution rooms. I climb steps to rooftops of some of the ruins. There are views from the tops of many of the ruins. From here I can see the fields where the common people labored. These are the moments you never forget.

Among all the ruins, there is only one Buddha image that is still in use. Buddhist visiting the site stop here and pay their respects to Buddha.
 
Later we ride to another temple site in ruins. There are a lot of brick stupas scattered around the area, weeds grow in what was once an important site. I see one large sitting Buddha, now weathered, but intact.

NEXT: "As Far As You Can See!"