Mandalay

Second largest city in Burma, north of Yangon

An early-morning street market in Mandalay
This is a typical taxi in Mandalay, a three-wheeled pickup-type contraption.  I took them a couple times, but it seemed like the exhaust was piped directly to the passengers in the back.A shop selling thanaka, a yellow paste that's used on the face.  My guide is in there buying some for his female relatives.
Woman at the market, carrying things on their heads.A monk supply store, with everything a monk needs--fan, begging bowl, monk undershirt.
Woman praying at the Mahamuni Paya in Mandalay.  This is a temple where women were not allowed in closer to the Buddha image.  A revolving spirit shrine.  You toss in money, and try to get it into the bowls.  I assume that if you get it into the bowls, your wish is more likely to be granted.
I bought some custard apples at the market.  It's a strange fruit--you break it open, and there's these little nodules inside that you suck the flesh off.  The large brown seeds are in the middle.The eastern side of Mandaly palace, surrounded by a moat.
At the base of Mandalay Hill.  The outside of temples often have lions like this.On the left is the taxi driver that took me to the top of Mandalay Hill.  Notice the swastika on his shirt.  It's a traditional symbol here, but I've gotten mixed reports on what it means.
Sunset from Mandalay Hill.
On our way to Amarapura (we were on bikes) we stopped at a marble carving workshop.  Here the worker is finishing up a Buddha statue.The man who normally carves the faces has been out ill.
This is a very old teak bridge near Amarapura.  No bikes were allowed to be ridden across it, in order to preserve it.A monastery near Amarapura.  The monk is washing his hands after eating (they eat with their hands).
The monastery kitchen.Many pilgrims travel throughout Burma in groups on buses (if they have a little money) or trucks (if they have less), visiting the more famous monasteries.  At this monastery close to Amarapura, some pilgrims invited me to lunch.  The pilgrims sleep and eat at an area set aside for pigrims at the monastery during their stay, and cook their own food.
The first supermarket I ever saw!  They had bar code scanners and everything. I actually found some dental floss here.Nuns, on one of the two days each month that they go around, asking for alms.  Most restaurants and shops have a stack of small bills (very small, less than a cent) that they hand out, or sometimes bananas.
Trishaws normally transport people, but this kid is transporting some corrugated metal.This game is a lot like hackey sack, except it's played with a large wicker ball. You can't see it in the picture, it's a blur.
Billboards...advertising a fruit drink, and pig food.Houseboats on the waterfront.  This was a very poor part of the city.
Normally there's lots of water buffalo at the waterfront, but I missed them this morning.Hauling a barrel on a boat
While we were waiting for a ferry, Tutu and I came across an opening ceremony for a building.  Lots of soldiers and schoolchildren.  Apparently opening ceremonies are a big deal for the government, and they get schools to send over children to attend and provide a crowd.  Right after this photo I was told to stop taking pictures, but later I was able to get in close and watch the actual ceremony.Looking for lice.
Another very poor area on the water.Scenes from the ferry.  These sailboats carry sand that's dug up from sandbars in the river, and used for construction.
Notice the man carrying sand on his head.Using sail power and rowing
Me with my pet praying mantis.Mingun Paya--a very impressive old ruin, very much damaged by earthquakes.  It was huge, but originally intended to be much bigger; it was only one third finished.
My guide and I climbed to the top.  Since we went barefoot (as is always done in temples) Tutu grabbed some leaves to stand on.  The sun on the dark bricks was very hot!
We rented an ox cart to take us back.There's an old age home close to Mingun Paya that we stopped at. Most old people in Burma are taken care of by their family, so these people must feel very neglected.
I went with the women I met in Inle lake--Stephanie, Myra, and Ricki--to a movie theater showing Mission Impossible 2.  Notice the hand-painted movie poster.On our way to the airport, we stopped at some workshops.  In this one, gold leaf was being produced.  This man is pounding a leather booklet containing a piece of gold leaf in each page.
There's no fans or air conditioners in the gold leaf workshop--it could blow the gold leaf away.  The women sweat!This was a Kalanga workshop.  Kalangas are the sequined, stuffed tapestries that Burma is famous for.  Most of these were exported to Thailand, for sale to tourists there.
At this brass foundry, almost exclusively Buddha images were made.  The brass is poured in between two molds, then the molds are broken and the brass statue remains.  The mold in the pit is a seated Buddha image.
This huge statue was commissioned by the biggest movie star in Burma.  The hands in this position are supposed to ward off evil, represented by the snakes below.