28. July 2001 10:50
by Rene Pallesen
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There is a monastry on Mt Popa - a hill located 50km away from Bagan.
When I was there, it was a cloudy day.
I ran into a woman selling petrified wood - quite silly really, considering the place was covered with it.
They must think tourists are stupid! *laugh* I managed to pick up a couple of small pieces to take back with me.
As you can see, there are stacks of them around.
And no... this is not a tombstone.
This is actually a road sign.
You would be surprised how big some of these pieces are - this piece below was actually about a metre long and 40cm wide.
Actually what I found interesting were the toilets in Burma.
My girlfriend tells me that squatting over a toilet is quite common in Asia.
In many of the city areas, they would have toilets as we know them, and they would also have a carved hole in the ground, on which either side, one places their feet on.
Toilets in the rural area are more crude than that - a hole leading into a gaping pit.
However, what I found interesting about these toilets were that recycled running water was used to wash away any excrement. The water is first used for washing one self and then used in the toilets.
As there were a few toilet cubicles a row, sometimes you would see the excrement from a toilet uphill go beneath you! *laugh*
Very clever and environmental system, I think!
Trying to grab a snooze... *smile*
Like Schweddagon, most of this is real gold as well.
And yes, there is a monkey sitting near my head.
If you click to the next page, you will see that I have taken a series of photos of the monkeys.