"Thingyan" Water Festival in Myanmar

During our second week of Spring Break, we traveled to Myanmar.

During a one-night layover in Singapore, we enjoyed one of our favorite meals, Nasi Goreng Seafood Pataya and Iced Tea Tarik, at one of our favorite restaurants, Spize!

Then it was off to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
It's nice to be officially welcomed when you arrive at your hotel!

At Super 81 restaurant in Mandalay, we considered ordering the #15 salad but went with chicken curry instead.

Mandalay Hill had several pagodas that were lit up at night.

The view from the hotel allowed me to set up my traveling "studio".

Mandalay Hill at dawn.

Mandalay Hill at dusk.

I added another country to my haircut count, complete with a shave all for 1,000 kyat (one US dollar).

On Monday, Thingyan, the water festival, began.

Everywhere we went there were kids, teens, and adults dousing passersby with endless streams and buckets full of water.

At the Mahamuni temple south of Mandalay, only men are allowed to adorn the Buddha image with gold leaf.

Outside, the large, fierce lip-dragons at the Mahamuni temple stand guard 24/7.

At Taungthaman Lake, the U Bein teak bridge spans almost a mile and was full of people who were enjoying the Burmese New Year holiday.  The bridge is raised about 20 feet off the ground and there are no railings!  I took a few minutes to paint a postcard.

At the Shwedagon Pagoda complex in Yangon, various temples and pagodas create a serene environment.  I am wearing a longyi.

There are endless places to reflect and pray.

At high noon, the white, tiled floor and our bare feet had us running for shade just milliseconds after this photo was taken.  Behind us is the enormous, golden Shwedagon pagoda.

It rises up 300 feet and can be seen from all around the city of Yangon.

A view west of the Shwedagon Pagoda from Kandawgyi Lake.

At dusk, the Shwedagon Pagoda is lit up against the pink-violet sky.

This large reclining Buddha is about 30 feet high and the white skin is striking.

At our hotel, the kids from across the street did not hesitate to douse the foreigner (me) with water.

Burmese desserts:
Shwe-kyi (shway chi) - sticky rice cake
Nga pyaw chi (na pee-ya shway chi) - banana sticky rice cake
Moke ka la mae (mo-kay-ka-la-may) - sticky rice

Our last adventure was to hop on a local bus to go . . . anywhere.

Our bus ride led us to this 120-foot Buddha (Mahar Khin Thitsa Shin Statue) where I was blessed by a 68-year-old Buddhist monk on the Burmese New Year!

It was a fabulous end to our Myanmar adventure!