stupafied

Today I wandered around lesser temples. This is an offshot of the temple next door, which doesn't allow photos. The art style resembled fleur di lys from Renaissance Italy, hundreds of years later.

 There are hundreds of small temples like this. And lots of rules:

The stupas are solid. Some of them are brick. The valued ceilings with a lotus flower at the center are amazing.

We drove to the monastery and Cho showed me the caves where monks go in the summer to cool off.

Just gorgeous

I like the hobbit houses too.

A team of oxen rode by just as I was taking a photo. Pam was in the middle of it.

 Forgotten.

 This building is in scaffolding from the 2016 earthquake.

You can see the grass growing in the cracks.

We had a special treat for lunch: Phyo, our adorable Bagan guide, invited us to her village for a home-cooked lunch.

We were honored and dug into long bean salad, tea leaf salad, watercress with mushrooms, fish cakes in curry, chicken curry, and Burmese salsa.

Here's the cook herself.

 It was fun to meet her mom and younger brother too. The village is quite large with roughly 1000 people. 25 years ago as Bagan was being developed for tourism, locals in old Bagan were forced to move to New Bagan

 General Aung San. He was assassinated shortly before Burma declared indeendene.

Several people including my driver mentioned Barack Obama's visit to The Lady (Aung San Suu Kyi). General Aung Sang.  is revered throughout the country, almost as much as his daughter.

My eyes are closing. So much more to explore toorrow.