Sunday Shopping

The bus took us shopping this morning.  It was nice to go in the morning, rather than the evening.  It was just me, Robert, Aye Aye Than and Myint Naing, the driver.

We parked near Ocean, directly in front of Skywalk.  Robert had asked me about the fancy new mall in town and I had no idea what he was talking about.  I've been walking right past it for the last month.  It's not finished yet and looks like it could be pretty nice when it is done.  It also looks a lot like the next door mall, Diamond Plaza, which is still largely empty of stores.  There's an Adidas store, a kids' clothing store and a variety of purse, jewelry, clothing stores and some hair salons in Skywalk.  $4 for a shampoo and massage.  I'll be going back.

Vendors at the Chinese market.  Open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.  These are hardworking people.

Mango season!

The market is several blocks long and extends a bit sideways, as you can see here. I was standing on the main road of the market looking down a side street.  And these are streets, not a formal market.  I have to remind myself not to step out in front of a truck or car or motorbike without looking.

Before going to Skywalk, we walked down the street to the Chinese market to buy produce.  I got mangoes and apples.  I was tempted to buy so much more but I've been to the market a lot lately and really didn't need anything.

Skywalk isn't done.  We weren't allowed past the first floor.

Lots of baby, kids clothes.  This red dress was $21 USD.

Adidas!

We started at the top of Diamond Plaza so Robert could get an idea of what was available.  Top floor is the movie theatre ($1.50 for current 3D movies that are playing in the US).  There's also a chocolate store that also sells gelato and sandwiches.  There are a couple of other fast food type dining options, including one place with free WIFI.

The fourth floor has furniture stores, restaurants and spas.  Tucked away in what appears to be a deserted area is an AFC.  Think KFC - fried chicken that is good but pricey, by Myanmar standards.

At one point Robert and I found ourselves in a deserted, dark corridor.  It says something about how safe I feel in Myanmar that my only concern was that I was with an American guy who I really don't know.  Of course, he was a gentleman, not a serial killer.  It never occurred to me that I could be mugged or harmed by a Myanmar person.

On the third floor we checked out the Sony store for televisions.  Then we hit Super 1 which is sort of like a Target, only smaller.

The second floor has a variety of clothing stores and we passed those by on our way to the basement to Ocean, the grocery store.  The bad news is that there's still no cheese.  The good news?  Oatmeal is back after about 5 months without it.  I hope it doesn't take that long to get cheese back.

Instead of heading right back to the school, I asked Aye Aye Than and Myint Naing if we could take a quick tour.  We drove past the moat around the Palace and headed toward Mandalay hill.  We passed several of the monasteries and the Buddhist University.  We stopped briefly at the oldest monastery in Mandalay so I could take a picture.  What I really wanted to do was shop for the amazing looking curios that were for sale but didn't want to hold everyone up and am trying not to spend money.

Now I'm enjoying an overcast afternoon, watching movies.  A perfect Sunday.

The oldest monastery in Mandalay.  Close to the Largest Book and Mandalay hill.