Burma part 2

Our happy little group of friends (L - R) Sonny & Monica originally from Jamaica but now live in London, Karen & Doug originally from England but now live in Perth ( Karen was born in Burma and moved to England when she was about 9 yrs), retired Colonel Myat Thin ( Leslie) and Valerie who have always lived in Burma, Connie ( Leslies' sister ) originally from Burma but now lives in Perth, Dennis originally from Burma but now also lives in Perth joined us for 4 days. Taking the photo is Lorna, Connie & Leslie's sister who has always lived in Burma. We two suspects are hiding behind Valerie & Connie. Understand all that ?

Lorna on the left and her sister Connie. Or should that be Connie on the right with her sister Lorna?

These dancers / singers were warming up the crowd in preperation of a religious parade later in the day. It was a long day.

More dancers with the band in the background.

At Pindaya cave. the legend has it that a princess was held captive by a bloody big spider but was eventually saved by a prince. Can't remember the rest of the story - sorry. Will get our people onto it.

The prince coming to the rescue.

Large Buddha statue that Alan thinks looks a bit like Tom from Mena Creek. What do you think?

Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits.

The Shwe Zigon Pagoda in Bagan. This was the proto type to the Shwe Degon in Rangoon.

The main stupa at Shwe zigon. Buddhas frontal bone and a tooth are reported to be hidden inside this.

Petrified wood which had been turned into an interesting 'water feature'. Unfortunately someone had pulled the plug and it was a tad dry.

Some floor tiles which took my fancy.

I liked the composition of this photo. This was in a building used by pilgrims to rest, eat and sleep in.

Some Buddha statues in Pindaya cave. It took us a 6 hour drive over the roughest road to get here, but it WAS worth it. It really was. Then it was a 6 hour drive home again.

This young statue in Pindaya cave was solid gold. Crikey.

During the monsoon season the river in the distance flood these plains and comes up to the creek at the bottom of the picture. When the flood waters subside, the area is immediately planted with crops in the fertile soil until the next monsoon when the cycle begins again.

A local school on Inle lake. Education is a high priority in Burma and even the current regime encourage schooling for all children.

Can I take them home ? Alan with a couple of mates.

A couple of very nice Buddha images.

A Buddha image protected by a naga in the form of a cobra. No those are not used tyres.

These are the famous leg rowing fishermen of Inle lake. They stand on the front of the boat and holding the top of the oar they use one leg to row the boat. Once a year there is a big competion where crews of up to 10 rowers compete against other villages. This was not on during our visit.

These bamboo cages are used to catch fish. The fish are caught live in a clever combination of this bamboo cage and a net inside the cage. Note the fishermans leg around the oar.

These are potatoes going to market further down the river. Behind is a storm brewing which we were caught in whilst paddling along, lucky we had a motor on the back - got bloody wet though.

Calm before the storm.

These people spend their lives living in houses on stilts over the lake and create floating gardens to grow all manner of vegetables.

Near Bagan when the river level drops during the dry season huge sand bars are exposed in the middle of the river. For approx. 4 months of the year locals plant various crops in the nutrient rich mud. Mainly quick growing herbs, a variety of sesame seeds, and a type of morning glory which is delicious.



We hired a boat to go across the river and visit an important pagoda. This shot was taken on the way home with the sun setting over the pagoda and the crew sitting on the roof of the boat. Note the vase of flowers, nearly every type of transport we came across in Burma had flowers or plant material attached somewhere.

The boat and crew before we headed off.

Cargo boats on the river, these ones were not going anywhere that day.