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Mrauk U Temples here, there, pretty much everywhere
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Mrauk U is all about temples, as far as the tourist is concerned
some shiny... |
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...some hairy
More than 150 of them in the town |
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and surrounding hills
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see all those stupas poised in the background? |
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One of the most prominent is Shite Thaung, temple of 80,000 Buddhas |
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thousands of small ones |
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and one pretty-good-sized one |
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One day I engaged Tunbo, a local man, to guide me to several temples
One was Mipharagri-gu a rather small one
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Tunbo with the caretaker of the pagoda
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The elegant way to see the temples |
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or the frugal way Tunbo and I bike to Koe Thaung |
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Graven images galore! |
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The next day Tunbo and his friend Shwe Da guided me to Shwe Taung, the highest temple in Mrauk U |
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with a grand view of the environs |
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Something more modest? |
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While on a neighborhood walk I met 38-year-old Phyu Phyu
She offered to show me more temples |
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So we set off walking |
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with her friend Ma Chay and parasol (the Burmese do not want to darken their skin) |
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along the way encountering many kids |
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Some of the temples presented only hewn stone, inside and out
Others, like this one, contained numerous works of exquisite beauty |
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including story panels |
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