This bell shaped pagoda was one of the oldest, built in 1059AD.
It is located next to the very wide slow flowing river.
It looks pretty much the same all the way around.
This made us regret walking all the way around it, because the tiles were very hot in the sun.
So we didn’t actually see that much wildlife in Myanmar. Just lots of these birds.
A couple squirrels.
And giant grasshoppers.
That’s Matt’s foot trying, and failing, to be useful for scale. It was big.
This temple was very visible from a distance because of the gold covering the top.
That made it very shiny in the sunset.
It was still quite shiny up close.
This temple had quite a bit of extra gold on the other corner posts.
Inside there were a number of carvings. They told stories which we didn’t know.
This was also the first time we saw gargoyles on any temples. Most just had drain holes on the side but no extensions away from the edge of the building.
Inside was a very shiny sitting Buddha.
This temple was very visible from a distance because of the gold covering the top.
That made it very shiny in the sunset.
It was still quite shiny up close.
This temple had quite a bit of extra gold on the other corner posts.
Inside there were a number of carvings. They told stories which we didn’t know.
This was also the first time we saw gargoyles on any temples. Most just had drain holes on the side but no extensions away from the edge of the building.
Inside was a very shiny sitting Buddha.
In the shadow of the gold gilded pagodas there is a small village.
It was set up for a wedding when we visited.
They raise pigs.
And grow cotton which they spin on a manual spinning wheel.
This is the kitchen, which is shared by a large family.
They cook directly on an open wood fire.
Using a small supply of cookware.
The most solid structure in the village is the small health clinic.
