We took a day trip out of Mandalay with Muireann and Matthew visiting Sagaing, Inwa and Amarapura - three different areas teeming with temples. It was a full day! In Sagaing we saw many of them and climbed the hills to see many more stupas and temples dotted throughout the rolling green landscape. At the temples it was crazy and there was souvenir stand after souvenir stand with an occasional one selling Buddhisty stuff - everything from incense sticks and Buddha figures, to these lucky owls made of papier mache. They were very cute sitting row upon row, wide-eyed, side by side. We couldn't resist getting a couple of small ones for our Xmas tree (when we get one). We'll see if they make it home in one piece!
By the end of the day we were pretty 'templed' out! At Amarapura we watched many monks crossing its famous U Bein bridge over large Taungthaman lake - the longest teak bridge in the world, about 1 mile long (1.2km) with 600 teak supports. These were leftover from the Palace at Inwa when it got moved to Mandalay. In Inwa we had to catch a small boat to get to the temples and the only way to get around was by horse cart. We were not happy at this as it was quite expensive (even though we bargained them down), but we had no other choice... Still, it was a nice afternoon inspite of a storm and pelting rain. * Mush
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