Monywa

Immediately after breakfast we load the coach and are off to Monywa and sites with thousands of Buddhas and some really gigantic ones.

Along the way we stop at various locations offering interesting photo ops. The riverside is alway teeming with activity. Well, almost always! It appears that the place where we could see lines of women carrying loads of gravel on their head and loading it onto barges is empty. The ladies being replaced by mechanized conveyor belts. Technology puts some more folks out of work. But, still there are some interesting shots to be had.

Several times we stopped to photograph carts drawn by brahmas down the road while we play "frogger" with the highway traffic. Photography can be hazardous to your health, but sometimes well worth the effort. We also have to be careful not to scare the poor animals into the roadway.

Stopping for coffee and a nature break we found a nearby market with some great photo ops too.
                           

After lunch we continued on to our hotel, the Win (notice only one "n") Unity, which was a very nice resort. Since our "superior bungalows" were a fair distance from reception our luggage was delivered and we were given a ride to our rooms.  No rest for the wicked, so we grabbed our gear got back on the bus and headed out to a couple of special locations with our "rent a monks" for some more photography. The first location was an old wooden temple, which almost looked abandoned. The carving of the walls and windows was very intricate and interesting, which greatly added to the ambiance of the shoot. Here are a few examples.   

Then we took our young friends to another location where there were literally hundreds of buddha statues, all identical and arranged in perfect order, like headstones in a military cemetery.

We all piled into th coach once more for our final location, Bodhi Tataung, where there is a standing Buddha 424 feet tall. The dark specks you on the statue in the picture are windows. You can climb up inside it to the top. We did not do that! remember once you enter the religious area of a temple, which may include the surrounding grounds, it's no shoes, no socks. Also notice the huge reclining Buddha. It is 333 feet long.

Fun Shot

Notice the monk

Finally! a reward for a long hot day