I escaped Mandalay and it's lethal brown smog as early as possible the next morning. Caught a shared minivan for a two hour trip North East into the mountains, to the town of Pyin U Lwin, famous for its fresh air, cooler temps and this, the Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens. Truly world class... enjoyable scenery, quite and relaxing vibe and TONS of plants from all different regions all very well labeled and mostly in English! Ahhhhhh! My idea of paradise!
These are views from my hotel room. My usual strategy of finding a room on a major river to get some airflow does not prove to be effective against the thick, soupy, brown air of Mandalay. My body felt overwhelmed and assaulted and I was scared to leave my fancy hotel. I made my plan to get out of town as quickly as possible the next morning. Hack, hack, cough, cough.
