The year was 1885 and the last Burmese king was standing strong. The British forces were marching into Mandalay with very little opposition. Their plan to take over the country was succeeding- but capturing the Royal Palace of Mandalay in the centre of the city, was going to be an important symbolic victory. As it turned out, overtaking the palace- and King ThibawMin- was even easier than predicted. The British demanded unconditional surrender and that’s what they got.The King and Queen were put on a bullock cart and taken down to the river to be sent into exile in India. The story goes that when the British soldiers pulled out their guns, the King dropped down to his knees and begged for his life to be spared. His queen, however, walked on her own defiantly towards the steamer on the mighty Irrawaddy. After the British invasion, the palace was used by the colonialists as a base for troops in Mandalay and many of the royal treasures were looted and sent back to London ( many are still on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum). Every global aggress or eventually must face a rising challenger. And so it was that […]
The Shwenandaw Monastery, all teak monastery originally part of the Royal Palace is one of the finest examples of traditional 19th century wooden monastery building in the country. The monastery was originally part of the Royal Palace in Amarapura, before it was moved to Mandalay, where it formed the northern section of the Hmannan (Glass Palace) and part of the king’s royal apartments. The building was heavily gilt with gold and adorned with glass mosaic work. When the capital city was moved to Mandalay, the building was dismantled, transported to Mandalay and rebuild there as part of the new all teak Royal Palace in 1857. Shwenandaw Monastery was built in 1878 by King Thibaw Min, who dismantled and relocated the apartment formerly occupied by his father, King Mindon Min, just before Mindon Min’s death, at a cost of 120,000 rupees. Thibaw removed the building in 10 October 1878, believing it to be haunted by his father’s spirit. The building reconstruction was finished in 31 Oct 1878, dedicated in memory of his father, on a plot adjoining Atumashi Monastery. It is said that King Thibaw used it for meditation, and the meditation couch he sat on can still be seen. The […]
Local and foreign travelers bound to the Naga Traditional New Year Festival 2019 held in Leshi of Naga Self-Administered Zone of Sagaing Region may pay visits to traditional houses of Naga ethnics, said chairman of Naga traditional cultural committee U Aung Htut. Visitors may observe life-styles of six Naga ethnics such as Tangkhul, Makury, Para, Koka, Laungphury and Khiamniungan residing in Leshi Township and will have the opportunities to interview those people of Naga ethnics directly. “The traditional houses of Naga ethnics were built with the aim of enabling the people to know their life-styles. After showing them as showrooms at the festival, the houses will be maintained by local tribes” said U Aung Htut. Naga ethnic people will live at the traditional houses after the festival as part of maintenance. The local and foreign guests to Leshi Township ma stay at these traditional houses together with Naga ethnics. Source: Yadanabon Newspaper
When I first received my itinerary from “Hotel by the Red Canal,Mandalay”, for my ballooning trip through the Mandalay I skimmed it quickly, city tour here, nice hotel there, cooking class there……. What the heck is that I thought? I would soon learn on my trip and love it…. but as I kept going down the list the thing that got me the most excited out of everything on the list was taking a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE with Oriental Ballooning!! I would be going hot air ballooning for the first time in Mandalay,Myanmar! Our flight was with “Oriental Ballooning”, an awesome hot air ballooning company in Myanmar that does flights over the Mandalay, Bagan, Inle and Ngapali. The night before our flight I didn’t sleep much as I was a bit anxious for some reason. Hot air ballooning is something that has ALWAYS been at the top of my bucket list and “Hotel by the Red Canal” arranged for that. I was picked up from our hotel on-time at 5.45am and transferred to the balloon site where we were met personally by the all pilots and given a breakfast of the best pastries we had in Myanmar and coffee […]
HOTEL BY THE RED CANAL,MANDALAY CELEBRATES HOSPITALITY EXCELLENCE WITH SPICE GARDEN RESTURANT AND PRANA SPA LOCAL BUSINESSES EARNING THE 2018 TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE MANDALAY,MYANMAR – YEAR 2018– HOTEL BY THE RED CANAL, the Beauty of Mandalay today extends congratulations to SPICE GARDEN RESTAURANT AND PRANA SPA local businesses that have earned the 2018 TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence. Now in its 12th year, the achievement celebrates businesses that have consistently earned great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Recipients of the Certificate of Excellence include accommodations, restaurants and attractions of all sizes that have continually delivered quality customer experience. “We are delighted that so many local businesses in MANDALAY earned the 2018 Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence,” said Mr. Kumar, General Manager of Hotel by the Red Canal “The recognition helps to set the benchmark on hospitality operational and service excellence in Mandalay and ensures that the industry is continuously striving to achieve customer service that is best-in-class for our visitors and the community. “TripAdvisor is excited to announce the recipients of the 2018 Certificate of Excellence, which celebrates businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, […]
The majority of married women in the villages rely on production of handmade works. The women in Myintlaung Village near Myitnge Town, Amarapura Township, Mandalay Region raise their income by weaving a wide range of plastic baskets. Knowing from one of the baskets makers said that this is a home-based job opportunity for them. They buy raw materials from the plastic factory in Industrial Zone 1 in the region, paying Ks 1,200 per Kilo. They woven baskets for their survival and this is a family business in the region. Most married women working from home. There is a regular demand for the handmade woven plastic baskets, which are available in different sizes, designs and colors. They have mostly been sent to Shwebo, Myitkyina and Mandalay markets. The wholesale price for a basket is Ks 1,500. In the retail market, the price rose to Ks 2,000 from Ks 3,000. A local basket maker receive wages of Ks 500-Ks 600 per basket based on size. Handmade baskets are one of the popular accessories of people for shopping groceries, flowers and meats at local markets and are boost income in Mandalay.
Chinlone, which is also known as caneball, is the traditional sport of Burma or Myanmar. Chinlone is a team sport which is a combination of sport and dance. Chinlone is more on creativity and not competitiveness. Chinlone in Burmese means basket-round or rounded basket. The ball is made from rattan. The game is played by two teams with six players each. They pass the ball back and forth using their feet, knees, and their heads as they walk around a circle. While the rest pass the ball around, a player goes into the middle alone, and the player creates a dance of different moves strung together. If they drop the ball to the ground, the play should start again. This game is usually played barefoot or using chinlone shoes that will let the players feel the ball and the ground. The players can make contact with the ball through the top of their toes, the inner and outer sides of the foot, the heel, the sole, and the knee. The sport requires extreme flexibility, agility and fitness as well as exceptional coordination. Chinlone has played a prominent role in Myanmar for about 1,500 years. It’s style is so performance based […]
As I am working at the Hotel by the Red Canal Mandalay, gives me a chance to interact with people from many other countries. I realized that most of our guests praised to their room keys which are made up of “Palm Leaf”. Then I got an idea to write about the “Palm Leaf” and started collecting the sources, history and data related to that. Surprisingly, one of our valuable guests from UK asked me why I did not have a last name. In fact, I was a little puzzled by their questions and a little embarrassed because I had no answer to give. I just said that it’s not our custom to name a child after his or her father’s name, although some people do.I realized again that the traditional Myanmar way of naming children is quite unique. The technique is an astrological calculation that includes a person’s virtues, the day they were born according to the Myanmar lunar calendar. These calculations are called a “Zartar” in Myanmar language and are etched or inscribed into a palm leaf with a stylus. I had seen the leaves on a wall at my house but had never paid much attention to […]
King Mindon established Mandalay Yadanarbon Nay Pyi Taw in 1857 and the city was completed in 1859. The size of the city was 2400 ta (cubit).Each side of City was 600 cubits; one cubit is equivalent to 7 yards.Mandalay is a very histiorical city. It was home to the two last king of Myanmar; King Mindon and King Thibaw. The British took over the city in 1885.Mandalay is located 716 km North of Yangon. It was the royal capital of the last two kings of Myanmar, and is the cultural and religious centre of Buddhism. The city is also famous for its traditional crafts. Mandalay has a tropical wet and dry climate. The Mandalay streets are laid out in a grid system, and are numbered east to west (up to 49th) and North to South (over 50th).Among the various types of traditional food on offer in Mandalay, are the famous Mont T, Htoe Mote and La Phat. Highlights of the city, it’s seven structures include Mya Nan San Kyaw Shwe Nan Daw (Golden Palace), Moat, Pitakas Taik, Thu Damar Congregation Hall, Atu Mashi Monastery, Ku Tho Taw Pagoda and Thein Taw Gyi. Mya Nan San Kyaw Shwe Nan Daw (Golden […]
Vesākha (Pali; Sanskrit: Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists on different days in India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar and in other places all over the world. Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s Birthday”, it commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Buddhahood), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada or southern tradition. The decision to agree to celebrate Vesākha as the Buddha’s birthday was formalized at the first conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition. The resolution that was adopted at the World Conference reads as follows: That this Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, while recording its appreciation of the gracious act of His Majesty, the Maharaja of Nepal in making the full-moon day of Vesak a Public Holiday in Nepal, earnestly requests the Heads of Governments of all countries in which large or small number of Buddhists are to be found, to take steps to make the full-moon day in the month of May a […]