More Myanmar pictures....

Sunset in Bagon from the Oak Kyaung Gyi pagoda group.

Fairly typical view from anywhere in Bagon: fields waiting for rain and temples everywhere.

The painting quality is amazing since these were created between the 11th and 13th century.

Our driver, guide, and chariot in Mandalay.

The pedestal of the unfinished Mingun structure. If they had completed it the upper dome would have nearly tripled its height.

A giant guardian lion outside Mingun, north of Mandalay. About 10 years ago an angry army general ordered both of them blown up and this is what remains.

The Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in Mandalay.

The tops of the stele's housing the Nanmyaebonthar Sannandawya Sandamuni.

Nanmyaebonthar Sannandawya Sandamuni Pagoda, AKA The Worlds Largest Book, with 1772 stone tablets inscribed with the entire Buddhist spiritual text. This is a view down through a bunch of the stele's housing the tablets.

Sculpture on the grounds of Shwedagon Pagoda.

Pictures from our week in Myanmar. I have to highly recommend considering a visit to this country to anyone looking for absolutely friendly people, beautiful landscapes, practically no western products or branding anywhere, and absolutely friendly people (did I already say that) :) Easily one of my favorite countries so far on the trip.

I think this is the west entry to Shwedagon Pagoda, which is the spire in the background. Each entry is slightly different, but most people enter from the east (it is symbolic in Buddhism and thus is the grandest entrance). This is a "mediocre" entrance.

The upper level of Shwedagon Temple in Yangon. As with all temples/pagodas in Myanmar, you have to remove your shoes before entering. You quickly learn to run from shade to shade or to test which tiles do not transfer heat as much. I think we both made it through the week without burning our feet too badly.

The Karaweik restaurant on the edge of Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon as the day fades.

A very large Buddha with elaborate gold and wood carved backing. It was in a temple we never got the name of, but it has over $18 million in gems in the head piece. We had tea and snacks with the head monk of one of several monasteries on the grounds of the temple.

Cars waiting in line for gasoline. Most of their fuel is exported to Thailand or China, which of course creates shortages for their own people. Note the tiny blue taxi. This is fairly common transport in the capital city of Yangon. They sometimes squeeze six passengers into one of those.

A few pictures from our visit to Cambodia. We only visited Siem Reap because we wanted to explore Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the world, and that it certainly is. Since we were there in the low season for tourists, we were mobbed nearly everywhere to the point where we could not even exit our vehicle at times.

Archway carving detail at Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat exterior. It is a massive structure. Most tours only stop for a little more than an hour, but we managed to stay for nearly five hours before we decided we needed to move on.

Faces on the towers of the Angkor Thom temple known as Bayon. There are 216 of the large faces on the exterior.

Trees taking over Ta Prohm. The person in the back is there for perspective. This is how most of the temples of Angkor were when the French 'rediscovered' them in the early 1900's. Ta Prohm was also used as a filming location for the Tomb Raider film.

The pinkish stone of Banteay Srei. It is considered by many to be a crown jewel of Angkorian art because of how much of the carving has survived almost 1100 years. It is sometimes called the Citadel of Women, partly for the color and partly because it is built to a smaller scale. Gabe and I would have to crawl to get inside (if you were allowed to do so that is).

A few pictures from our brief visit to Laos. We were told it would be like Thailand "twenty years ago" and I think that was apt. A little more relaxed than Thailand, but also more expensive.

Patuxai, an Arc de Triomphe replica, in the capital city of Vientiane. Also referred to as the "vertical runway" because it was wholly built with cement donated by the US for the purpose of building a new airport.

A carved wooden guardian on the second floor of a six story pagoda we climbed to get an overview of the capital city.

The view from atop Phu Si in Luang Prabang, looking due East.

Sabbath Buddha, as designated by the seven naga looking over his shoulders, found on the slopes of Phu Si in Luang Prabang.

Sunset during our overnight stay in Pak Beng village as part of the Mekong river slow boat trip (boats pictured).