Mad Dash

Today was our last day. We ditched the group again, tee hee! We spent 4 hours shopping at the Bogyoke Market this morning and had a great time! It is similar to the Chuk-chuk market in Bangkok and the Grand Bazar in Istanbul. We kept trying to go through it in a logical manor, but there was no use, the place is a maze. I had been wanting a Hsun-ok (temple jar) since I booked the trip and I found a perfect one. Carmen and I both got a beautiful teak monk - he has some of the typical Burmese mirrors but he's not gilded. He's more sophisticated than the ones we've seen in front of the temples. He's just beautiful. We're both very pleased. We also got some lacquerware bowls, boxes and trays, and several gifts for all of our important people back home.

I came on the trip with an empty suitcase hoping to find many treasures, and I have. Packing today, I have plenty of room for my treasures, but I'm low on padding. Luckily, I have found another benefit of a group trip; I'm borrowing some friends' dirty clothes to fill up my suitcase, and thus keep my treasures nice and snug!

This afternoon we went to see the reclining Buddha. We decided to walk the little over a mile there; which was an adventure. Our hotel pointed us in the wrong direction, but we still managed to find our way. We both felt like we were walking around Al-Kobar (the local city outside of the compound we grew up in in Saudi). The Buddha is even more spectacular than the one in Bangkok. Generally, I'm not a big fan of the painted Buddhas, but this one was magnificent. There was so much detail in his eyes, I really liked him. He was very serene, as Buddhas are supposed to be, with his long ears and mirrored robe.

We took some pictures around our hotel too today. The hotel used to be part of a biological museum, that explains the dinosaur!