Standing On Top of The Fortress Tower Next To The Cannon 

Hvar is famous for its coastal shore, beautiful limestone buildings and luscious beaches. The island is the sunniest spot in Croatia, making it an attractive holiday destination. Locals claimed it as the queen of the Croatian Dalmatian islands. Hvar Island is an island located near the city of Split, Croatia. The estimated travel time from Split to this beautiful island by boat would be an hour. I would advice you to get the boat tickets to the island a day beforehand, however last minute tickets are available.
 
My travel companions and I spent the day enjoying the sea breeze and sun. It was such a nice place to relax and wind down in. Although we only spent a day there, we all wished to have stayed there for longer. If you like beaches and sun, you may consider staying in Hvar for a few nights and head to see the isolated blue cave nearby.
 
As for now, Happy Jetsetting! ✈

​Location: Hvar Town, Hvar Island, Croatia 

When I was visiting Mandalay, I had a local friend, Min Min as my tour guide. One of the places he took me to was the Mahagandhayon Monastery in Amarapura, on the outskirt of Mandalay. The monastery is the country’s most prominent monastic college, founded in 1908. Mahagandhayon accommodates thousands of monks and nuns to study Buddhism within Myanmar. Monks who are studying in this monastery line up for their lunch time at 10:30 daily and this sight is the most attractive activity for tourists. The line-up last around 30-45 minutes as each monk receive their food portion from locals whom prepared it beforehand.
 
This monastery, like many other Buddhist monasteries relies heavily on donations and patrons to sustain its operations. Many benefactors from local or abroad supports the Mahagandhayon Monastery. The patrons would be acknowledged through listing of their names on tablets shown on the exterior of the monastery’s buildings. From my brief time there, I got a glimpse of their self-controlled, regimental lifestyle. Later on, I found out that monks are allowed only 2 meals per day and lunch being their second and last meal. They would only get to eat again in the early morning the next day. This fact was quite shocking to me, knowing how hard it would be if it were for me to adopt their lifestyle. I had even more respect for the monks’ lifestyle and very much admire their discipline.
 
As for now, Happy Jetsetting! ✈

Location: ​Mahagandhayon Monastery

​Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery is a beautiful architecture located in an ancient imperial capital called Inwa in Myanmar (Burma). Inwa or Ava (Burmese: အင်းဝ) was the capital of Burma for nearly 360 years and the name means ‘the mouth of the Lake’, reflecting its geographical location. Queen Nanmadaw Me Nu, chief wife of King Bagyidaw, built the The Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery during the Konbaung Dynasty in 1818. The monastery was used as the residence of the Royal Abbots during this dynasty, which was also the last dynasty in Burmese history. Unlike other monasteries at the time, which were built with wood, the architecture of Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery was built with bricks. During the hot summers, monasteries that were built with wood can easily catch fire from the hot sun. The choice of using bricks to build the Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery made the building less prone to fire and easier to perserve. The rare choice of building material however did not alter much of the style of the monastery. Like the wooden monasteries, this brick monastery was built in a similar style, with multi tiered roof. The stucco ornamentations were also carved out to the ones similar to the wooden monasteries at the time.

I visited the monastery during a late morning till noontime, which was a mistake timewise! (Again! Read my Shwedagon visit to find out why.) When visiting any temples or monastery in Myanmar, one must be barefooted. The floor was burning hot and my feet got a little burned with blisters. I had to quickly hop up the stairs and get inside of the monastery to save my feet from getting burned. Compare to the outside of the monastery, inside of the building was very cool. I think there must have been 10 degrees difference between the indoor and the outdoors. It took great patience and perseverance to get some good photos outdoor because of the hot weather. I was so thankful for my travel buddy, Yan whom I met the night before at my hostel for braving the fiery burning floor with me. (Oh yes, I was traveling alone and I happened to meet a girl from my hometown, Hong Kong, so we decided to travel together.) Despite the challenging hot weather, I still had a good time visiting the Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery. I enjoyed looking at the intricate designs of the architecture and learning more about its stories and history. One funny thing about my visit was that people mistaken me as a local Burmese girl since I was wearing traditional Burmese dress. Some spoke to me in Burmese and was surprised that I couldn't respond. Anyways I hope you like the photos of Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery.
 
As for now, Happy Jetsetting! ✈

​Location: Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery, Inwa, Myanmar