Kusinara Pagoda- personally I thought it was spectacular,the outside is a little run down but once you get inside ....well, once you get inside there are no signs, it was kind of dark and I was not sure I was even in the right place. Then this little old man came around a pillar and signaled for me to follow him. I took my shoes off and he lead me to the reclining Buddha. I thanked him - CHAY ZOO BAH he smiled and started talking to me in Burmese - the taxi driver had parked and he came in as he had never been. He just kept saying WOW! Anyhow,the caretaker gave the taxi driver the low down and he translated the best he could to me. The caretaker took us around the back to see the hidden statue. He told us to make a wish and rub the reclining Buddhas bum! So we did! He then took us out to a small pagoda that has a baby Buddha in it and a skinny Buddha ....the glass reflection did not make for great pics.
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| Death bed of Buddha |
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| The caretaker and a hidden statue behind the reclining Buddha. |
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| The walls are just beautiful, gold flowers on Trees of Life. |
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| Buddhas big feet, not as big as the footprint he left in Thailand tho? |
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| Stunning |
Wardrobe Malfunction - so, this month is when all the young girls and boys go through their Novice Monk ceremony. Therefore, the celebrations are constant, came across these ones today.
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| It's all fun and games until the elephant looses its head! |
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| Hope he is getting well paid to sit in there cause it is only 35 degree out! |
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| On the road again! |
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| The women & children in the back of a pick up. |
Doors were intricately carved. |
Monk bathing on the walkway.   |
Skinny Buddha: meditating and did not eat!
Made a trip back to the Kuthodaw Pagoda cause I thought it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen, back to the gold pounders - to use the washroom - stopped at the stone carvers again!
A taxi cost 20 dollars for a half day or 27 for a full day, so I took the full day - by one-ish I had pretty much seen what I had wanted to so I just picked out a temple on the map. It was in a very impoverished area. Once we got there I walked into the yard and it looked like a truck repair yard. Thinking I was in the wrong place - not the first time today- I walked up the road a bit and turned into an alley. Looking over the stone fence I could see that I had been in the right place and it was indeed the temple. The men in the huddle appear to be gambling, the place is a mess. No money to live let alone repair the temple. I then asked the driver to take me to another temple I just picked out and he said I did not want to go there! OK, I'll take your word for it!
Stopped at the City Cafe for a late lunch/early dinner and had a delicious burger and a mango smoothie! Happy tummy! When I got back to the hotel I felt the need to walk a bit -
Ended my day on the rooftop bar trying to get a picture of the sunset - no luck as the smog was just too thick - the rum sour was pretty darn tasty tho!
Made a trip back to the Kuthodaw Pagoda cause I thought it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen, back to the gold pounders - to use the washroom - stopped at the stone carvers again!
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| It's amazing and it is also quiet in there . |
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| Water main (?) break. What a mess! |
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| Stopped in, cause I knew they had western toilets! |
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| Serenity |
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| Chaos |
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| Love it! |
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| Dirty job |
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| Happy! |
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| Life on the river does not appear to have changed much. |
A taxi cost 20 dollars for a half day or 27 for a full day, so I took the full day - by one-ish I had pretty much seen what I had wanted to so I just picked out a temple on the map. It was in a very impoverished area. Once we got there I walked into the yard and it looked like a truck repair yard. Thinking I was in the wrong place - not the first time today- I walked up the road a bit and turned into an alley. Looking over the stone fence I could see that I had been in the right place and it was indeed the temple. The men in the huddle appear to be gambling, the place is a mess. No money to live let alone repair the temple. I then asked the driver to take me to another temple I just picked out and he said I did not want to go there! OK, I'll take your word for it!
Stopped at the City Cafe for a late lunch/early dinner and had a delicious burger and a mango smoothie! Happy tummy! When I got back to the hotel I felt the need to walk a bit -
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| Behind the man is the public bath and laundry area. This is the first time that nobody was in there. |
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| Frying with coal on the street. |
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| So much of the food is fried, all in the same oil. Looks like it might be good! |
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| After walking for about an hour I wanted a drink - stopped here, they only had beer and whisky - I said thank you in Burmese and they were so shocked. |
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| Young girls moving the bricks on their heads. They were my days pay recipients for today. |
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| Silly monks! |
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| Snuggle up with Buddha! |
Ended my day on the rooftop bar trying to get a picture of the sunset - no luck as the smog was just too thick - the rum sour was pretty darn tasty tho!
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