Running in Mandalay, Myanmar

Kiyomi Ran
Sep 16, 2017
2 min read

Mandalay is the second biggest city in Myanmar. But for a runner like me, the only information the probably matters is that Mandalay is the hottest city in Myanmar.

Damn me.

Thankfully, I only had one Easy Run to do in Mandalay. And because it is a big city, I saw plenty of other runners. The typical route is the run around the palace fort, which is a perfect square with each side being approximately 2.5km. Since I only had to run 45 min and my hotel was near the fort, I ran one and a half length and came back.

I noticed that like Bagan, people got up early to start their day before it got hot. There were many people jogging, running, stretching, and working out. I did get a lot of looks though as I ran, just like I did in Bagan, probably because I was a foreigner and a female running (saw zero female runners by the way).

The weather definitely slowed me down even at 5:50am in the morning, right after sunrise. Nonetheless, the view was astonishing. You can check the route here:

I started my run from the Mandalay Hill Resort, where I stayed.

And how gorgeous is this sunrise?

Although the route was very uncomfortable to run in since the ground was very unstable, I am still glad I was able to run in Mandalay.

The city itself is also beautiful by the way.

More Temple...

Another Temple...

U Bein Bridge

View with my mom

In the hot afternoons, I chilled here - the hotel at Mandalay Hill Resort

Also, since I love food, here are some food pics.

We ate on our last night in Mandalay at this restaurant called Bistro @ 82nd. According to the guidebook, it is a restaurant mostly used by upper-class and expats. But since Myanmar is so cheap, the food we ordered would have been considered very cheap in Tokyo or London or NYC. And plus, they were delicious. Definitely would recommend if you are ever in Mandalay and are sick of Asian food.