Mandalay မန္တလေ is the second largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1.2 million people.
Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, replacing Amarapura as the new royal capital of the Konbaung dynasty. It was Burma's final royal capital before the kingdom's annexation by the British Empire in 1885. Under British rule, Mandalay remained commercially and culturally important despite the rise of Yangon, the new capital of British Burma. The city suffered extensive destruction during the Japanese conquest of Burma in the Second World War. In 1948, Mandalay became part of the newly independent Union of Burma.
Today, Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Myanmar and considered the center of Burmese culture.
There is a lot to see from markets to temples. It’s relatively unknown to most toursits and off the normal tourist trail. It’s a real hidden gem and the gateway to other places in Myanmar like Bagan or Mingun that are worth seeing.
Tawarawadee Sri Night Market, officially known as Tawarawadee Sri Nakhon Pathom Walking Street or Thanon Khon Deun Tawarawadee Sri Nakhon Pathom, takes place along the riverside community in front of Wat Phra Ngam and beside Khlong Chedi Bucha in the area north of the Phra Pathom Chedi in Mueang Nakhon Pathom District.
This weekend walking street transforms a section of the road and canal-side path into a lively open-air market filled with rows of stalls selling street food, fresh items, clothing, accessories, second-hand goods, handicrafts, souvenirs, and small household items, while the setting features traditional wooden houses and canal views that add a nostalgic, community-oriented feel close to the historic heart of the province.
The market draws both locals and visitors seeking an evening outing with affordable goods and casual dining in a relaxed provincial atmosphere that stays genuine rather than heavily tourist-oriented.
The market originated as a smaller canal-side flea market or talat ...
Choeng Tha-Na Bot Temple, officially known as Phutthasathan Choeng Tha-Na Bot พุทธสถานเชิงท่า-หน้าโบสถ์, is a preserved archaeological and religious site in Tha Sai subdistrict (near Pak Kret), Nonthaburi Province. It combines the surviving structures of two ancient temples: Wat Choeng Tha and Wat Na Bot.
The site now lies within the grounds of the Royal Irrigation Department (กรมชลประทาน) along the Chao Phraya River, making it a quiet, lesser-visited historic spot with Ayutthaya-period roots.
The exact founding dates of both temples are not clearly documented, but architectural evidence and historical records indicate they date back to the late Ayutthaya period (mid-to-late 18th century or earlier) and continued into the early Rattanakosin era. Wat Choeng Tha (meaning roughly “Temple at the Pier” or “Landing Place”) and Wat Na Bot (“Temple in Front of the Ordination Hall”) originally functioned as active community ...
Wat Tanit Rai, also known as Wat Tanoodrai or Wat Tanot Rai, is a modest rural Buddhist temple tucked away in Bang Khonthi District of Samut Songkhram Province, roughly an hour southwest of Bangkok.
Surrounded by palm orchards and quiet farmland near attractions like the Amphawa Floating Market, it offers a peaceful escape that blends centuries-old heritage with more recent temple artistry.
The temple stands out for its two distinct sections that highlight different eras of Thai religious architecture. The historic ordination hall, or ubosot, dates back more than 200 years to the late Ayutthaya or early Rattanakosin period, with some accounts linking its formal establishment to 1792 during the reign of King Rama I.
Its name likely derives from the rows of sugar palm trees, known locally as ton tanot, that once covered the site before the temple was built. This ancient white structure has largely avoided major internal restorations, preserving its original simple interior, dark wooden ceiling, low ...
