O'Neal-Freemans in Malaysia: Aug 27, 2011

Mandalay, Burma: Bagaya Monastery and small, barely alive school

Horse-drawn carriage ride to the Bagaya Monastery. Click HERE for a video of the kids riding in the carriage.

Our fearless buggy driver, a savvy, scrappy boy, not that much older than Griffin

Bagaya Monastery, filled with ornate wood carvings

The over 200-year-old Bagaya monastery is in the former royal capital of Ava and has intricately carved wooden details.

A child in the small monastery school for young children, run by one old, lethargic monk. His lethargy seems to be contagious because all his students slept anywhere they could crash, while one student would take a turn for some one-on-one tutorial squatting in front of the teacher who would lean back, barely whispering corrections back to the student, under his breath.

Another tired student. God, school seems boring and exhausting here.

The tortured, squatting student in front of his monk instructor.

The monk instructor, who sat up smartly in his chair the moment I pulled my camera out. Before and after I took my picture, he slumped back into his chair, barely interacting with the student. Click HERE for a video of the Buddhist monk instructing the squatting student, where the student just does rote repetition of the instructor's words.

Mahar monastery, where the queen housed her monk lover, visiting him in a concubial room regularly.

The queen designed the hallways so the monk could walk counterclockwise in a meditative circle. Now, only young teens meet in the hallways to hide and make out.

Another Mandalay temple, one of the ancient royal cities

The ferry boat we took to the Bagaya monastery and temples

A boy bathing at the ferry dock

The entire family bathed at the dock. Click HERE for a video of the way Burmese families bathe together at the Irrawaddy River.

Typical Burmese woman using a motorbike to deliver goods.

Boat on the Irrawaddy River

One of the usual bikes, used for schoolchildren to get to and from school, with their lunch riding the handlebars.

Outside Mandalay, Burma: Amarapura's oldest, Longest Pedestrian Bridge in Mandalay

U Bein 1.2 kilometer Pedestrian Bridge over Lake Taungthaman

Famously made of teak wood scavenged from the royal palace which had been abandoned in Inwa when the royal capital was moved to the city of Amarapura

There are a couple duck farms on the bridge, herded along the islands and over the water, to return home to their pen at the end of the day, or to be sold at market

Duck Farm

We walked all 1.2 kilometers of the bridge

Duck feeding

Boats on the lake, using a cross-over rowing technique

A local girl walked the entire bridge with us, leaving us wondering if she wanted money, as many poor kids do, but, in the end, it was just a pleasant chat with her practicing her English and observing her same-age American peers with curiosity.

June 15, 2011

Mandalay, Burma: One of many monasteries for over 10,000 monks -- Lunch time!

You get fed twice a day as a monk, once early in the morning and lunchtime, then no more food allowed after lunch. A guide who had been a monk for 8 years said he and the other monks could tell who was sneaking food after the food curfew, by listening for which monk was farting.