The ride in from the airport takes about an hour so we did a bit of sightseeing on the way in. These monks are lined up for their meal about midday. I think they do not eat after this. Many men come to a monastary when they are young for a week or longer. Our driver said he went back for a time when he was 30. Many tourists are brought to this spot because there are so many here. We see them every morning as they take their pot out to get rice. At that time they are bare-footed. Many monastaries here in Myanmar.
There are also many Buddhas. We stopped at a place where they were being carved from stone. Much dust and no masks.
We also stopped at a silk weaving shop, most done by hand but a few running by a generator. The electricity supply is very erratic here. We were told in the hot months of summer, there are only 6 hours of electricity in a 24 hour period. Our driver said at his home, there is no power from 8am to 6pm as it all goes to the factories during that time. This girl is doing embroidery on the wrong side.. She showed us with a mirror the reverse side==the finished side.
Many of the pagodas are covered with 24 carat gold leaf that has been pounded very thin by a several step process. A small piece of gold is placed between two bamboo sheets and pounded. This man in the back was raising the mallet about his head and bringing it down on the piece of gold. He works for an hour-- nonstop. The ones in the front are placing small pieces between the bamboo.
We were then taken downstairs where these women are pounding the gold leaf even thinner. I don't know if they were wearing ear-plugs but it was really noisy. After it is cut into small squares that people can purchase to place on the pagoda.
These women work in a basement pounding the gold leaf even thinner before it is cut into small squares to be sold to be placed on the pagodas. The noise was deafening. Don't know if they had ear plugs!
We see quite a few women carrying things on their head. Some have a pad like the one you can see here, but others seem to do it without. We've even seen them carrying a watermelon tray or a bag of rice.! Very graceful walkers.
We walked out on a wooden bridge over 100 years old and stopped to talk to these girls. Many women and girls cover their faces, or just parts with some mixture made from the bark of a tree, that we are told is a kind of astringent that helps keep them cooler. I think it's also their native makeup.
We went to a place to visit a monastary and pagoda and had to take off shoes. Some places require removal of socks as well, but dad was able to keep his on.
This hall had over 30 buddha figures. The ones here in Myanmar are rather feminine in appearance.
This was huge and really beautiful. The walls are covered with small pieces of mirror.
We passed many of these along the road into Mandlay from the airport. Mimi-gas stations, probably most for motor bikes.
And these buggies pulled by small ponies or horses seem to be the taxis outside of Mandalay. The road is full of these, ox carts, motor bikes, bicycles and cars.
This is the Irawaddy river, the largest in Myanmar, coming down from Himalayas in the north. It's really big here. It has split into smaller rivers by the time it reaches the delta region of Yangon.
While in Myanmar we went to where LDSC is having three-wheel wheelchairs built. It's very much a cottage industry, employing some disabled workers. We will get and distribute 360 during the 2007 year.
Our flight back to Yangon from Mandalay stopped and this was the view before we landed. Must be lots of iron in the soil. We were on a smaller plane and only flew at about 10,000 feet so could see quite clearly. This is the site of one of the popular tourist sites in Myanmar--Inle Lake. We hope to go there sometime. Need to sign off.
There are also many Buddhas. We stopped at a place where they were being carved from stone. Much dust and no masks.
We also stopped at a silk weaving shop, most done by hand but a few running by a generator. The electricity supply is very erratic here. We were told in the hot months of summer, there are only 6 hours of electricity in a 24 hour period. Our driver said at his home, there is no power from 8am to 6pm as it all goes to the factories during that time. This girl is doing embroidery on the wrong side.. She showed us with a mirror the reverse side==the finished side.
Many of the pagodas are covered with 24 carat gold leaf that has been pounded very thin by a several step process. A small piece of gold is placed between two bamboo sheets and pounded. This man in the back was raising the mallet about his head and bringing it down on the piece of gold. He works for an hour-- nonstop. The ones in the front are placing small pieces between the bamboo.
We were then taken downstairs where these women are pounding the gold leaf even thinner. I don't know if they were wearing ear-plugs but it was really noisy. After it is cut into small squares that people can purchase to place on the pagoda.
These women work in a basement pounding the gold leaf even thinner before it is cut into small squares to be sold to be placed on the pagodas. The noise was deafening. Don't know if they had ear plugs!
We see quite a few women carrying things on their head. Some have a pad like the one you can see here, but others seem to do it without. We've even seen them carrying a watermelon tray or a bag of rice.! Very graceful walkers.
We walked out on a wooden bridge over 100 years old and stopped to talk to these girls. Many women and girls cover their faces, or just parts with some mixture made from the bark of a tree, that we are told is a kind of astringent that helps keep them cooler. I think it's also their native makeup.
We went to a place to visit a monastary and pagoda and had to take off shoes. Some places require removal of socks as well, but dad was able to keep his on.
This hall had over 30 buddha figures. The ones here in Myanmar are rather feminine in appearance.
This was huge and really beautiful. The walls are covered with small pieces of mirror.
We passed many of these along the road into Mandlay from the airport. Mimi-gas stations, probably most for motor bikes.
This is the Irawaddy river, the largest in Myanmar, coming down from Himalayas in the north. It's really big here. It has split into smaller rivers by the time it reaches the delta region of Yangon.
While in Myanmar we went to where LDSC is having three-wheel wheelchairs built. It's very much a cottage industry, employing some disabled workers. We will get and distribute 360 during the 2007 year.
Our flight back to Yangon from Mandalay stopped and this was the view before we landed. Must be lots of iron in the soil. We were on a smaller plane and only flew at about 10,000 feet so could see quite clearly. This is the site of one of the popular tourist sites in Myanmar--Inle Lake. We hope to go there sometime. Need to sign off.
