mandalay :: u bein bridge

after hiking up mandalay hill

the cab driver we had hired for the day

suggested we head out of town to 

visit the u bein bridge.

according to the cab driver

(and later the lonely planet book we referenced)

this bridge is the longest teak bridge in the world.

this statement sounds intriguing and magical,

but in reality it's horrifying.

we realized, about a fourth of the way across,

that we were on a poorly constructed bridge that 

felt like it was going to break 

with ever creaking step forward.

which would leave us swimming for shore in the middle of a lake.

after we got over our fears of falling through the bridge

we had one of the most memorable evenings of our trip.

we got to see a bit into every day life 

of villagers settled outside of the big cities we had been exclusively exploring.

we watched as the sun set, creating the most stunning colors 

stretch across the sky and reflect in the glassy lake.

we met two young monks who talked with us for hours,

inquiring about our thoughts on their country

and clarifying questions about american slang,

most importantly what does "bitch" mean and is it the same thing as saying "shit"...

seriously?!

we walked back with these two monks long after sunset,

hoping that our cab driver hadn't given up on us.

he was still waiting at the car and we drove back to the guesthouse 

on a euphoric high we had never felt before...

there were plenty of boats with the owners trying to convince you the sunset was much better from the boat

steven trying to look comfortable and at ease walking across the creaking bridge 

the poles holding the bridge up (and a blurry golden paya in the background)

nearly every piece of teak holding the bridge together was broken... unnerving 

the sun falling behind the clouds

monks were the main commuters on this bridge. crossing from the monasteries to the university on the other side, and practicing their english with anyone who will pause in the middle of the bridge.

sunset across the lake

the worst tourist trap in myanmar. women have cages of beautiful birds that you can buy and set free...

shwedagon paya

our second day in myanmar we ventured north to

see the magnificent shwedagon paya.

we had spotted the top of it around town 

as it reaches 325 feet into the sky

(in a city where the majority of buildings

are no more than four stories tall,

it's easy to see the shwedagon from almost everywhere).

we were not prepared for

the extravagance that we would see here.

the grounds are enormous:

housing hundreds of little pagodas and

Buddha monuments.

steven and i were two of maybe 5 white tourists present.

mostly there were monks walking around with burmese families,

bowing and praying for blessings upon their family.

everything was covered in gold paint.

the only structure actually covered in real gold is the main shwedagon paya.

it was one of the most stunning and incredible sights we 

saw in myanmar,

but it wouldn't be the last...

-e

we entered through the western gate where there was a long hallway with these beautiful pillars and then several flights of stairs to climb in order to approach the shwedagon paya

the view form the top of the stairs. many small payas. each representing a day of the week. Buddhist pray and ask for blessing from the paya that corresponds with the day of the week they were born on.

some of the structures were covered in glass murals

a burmese man took this picture. he said he loves photography but cant afford a camera. so the credit for this great shot goes to him.

every Buddha had one of these light shows behind it. pretty interesting

renovations

chipping gold paint

we walked by these monks about seven times before we had the courage to ask if we could take their picture

they spoke no english but were very kind and wanted a picture with me as well. i can only dream of looking as cool as they do...