Joe Louis holds down Mandalay Fort

 

After crossing over the moat to approach Mandalay Fort, the first thing I noticed were the signs on the wall. With messages like, “All opposition will be crushed,” you get the feeling that the location isn’t a Disneyesque tourist sight. And although it houses the royal Mandalay Palace, the former home to the last kings of Burma, it was, and still is a fort, and the residence to the Myanmar military.

I walked alongside one of the citadel’s walls for a bit. It really is a beautiful structure. The bricks are thick and imposing. The redness gives a sense of history but also a distinguished character that seems native to the land. The salient feature of the barrier is its size. Each side of the wall is longer than a mile and so the full circuit makes for a good walk. I visited on a clear, bright afternoon, but as the sun began to set the scene became even more picturesque, with the moat providing pretty reflections of the changing sky.

Although it only cost $10 to enter, I didn’t actually visit Mandalay Palace that lay within the fortress. The original palace and other structures were burned down during the fighting of World War II. The military rebuilt replicas of the buildings, but from what I’ve read they don’t resonate as the originals would. Still, if you have the time it may be worth checking out, but I was satisfied with outer wall and gates.

 

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 See what other bloggers are saying about Mandalay Palace:

“you definitely need to use your imagination as sadly most of what can be seen there today dates from a 1990’s restoration by the Burmese government. Unfortunately rather than employing craftsmen and materials to replicate the palace of King Midon, they chose to rebuild using concrete and corrugated iron. Worth a visit though as although the site bears little resemblance to the 19C original it still manages to convey the grandeur and sheer vastness of the palace.”
–LindyLouMac Travel Tales