Reclining BuddhaThe 560-foot long Reclining Buddha at Win Sein Taw Ya. Mon State, Myanmar (Burma). I was awake a lot during the night, still recovering from jet lag. I had breakfast at the hotel, then at 8:00 met my motorcycle driver.

We drove 45 minutes out to Win Sein Taw Ya, a huge reclining Buddha. It was very disappointing. It felt like a construction site because they were still working on it. The smell of concrete dust was in the air. I only took a couple of pix…

Back in town, we stopped at 3 pagodas on the hill in the center of the city. None were very impressive. The views were good, though, and let me see the lay of the land. It was hot, and I tried to find some shade. No pix there in the midday sun…

I am coming to the conclusion that the only time for photos is before 9 am or after 4 pm. The light is too harsh and the temperature is too hot to be creative during the day…

Heading HomeBoats cross the mouth of the Thanlwin River at sunset. Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar (Burma). At around 5 I walked down the Strand Road. The sun was still strong, but lower in the sky. I sat at the Grandmother/Grandfather Restaurant and watched the sunset. I took a few pix, but nothing great. I had some fried calamari there, and then walked down to the food vendors for part 2 of dinner. I had a variety of barbecued items on skewers.