From Hsipaw we took a bus to Mandalay (7,000 kyat) that lasted 8 hours instead of 6 because of a truck blocking the road. A seemingly nice (or so we thought) young taxi driver took us to ET hotel (23$ for AC room including breakfast) and we also decided to book with him a sightseeing tour around the city for the following day. Mandalay has a rich history and an abundance of interesting sights as it was the last royal capital of the Burmese empire before the British invaded in 1885, and the nearby ancient cities of Amarapura and Inwa also served as capitals in earlier times.
