Exploring Mandalay
The morning after arriving we paid a visit to the train station to get our train tickets back to Yangon.
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House with shop on typical Mandalay street.
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The street is your living room if you live in Mandalay.
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The fish skewer guy was very enthusiastic!
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Street sweeper on his way to work.
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The produce all looked good and fresh.
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Buddhist nuns are a common sight in Mandalay.
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I like that they don't seem to mind having their photos made. They seem to enjoy it.
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You see people carrying all sorts of things on bikes and scooters.
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"Beer stations" are the closest thing to bars in Myanmar. There's not much nightlife.
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You need a strong neck to live here.
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Mandalay is a busy place! There is a lot of life on the street.
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I didn't know a tri-shaw could hold so much stuff!
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King Galon Gold Leaf Workshop is one of about 70 gold-pounders in Mandalay. The gold is mostly bought by the faithful to be applied to temples.
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A gold pounder works while men prepare more gold for him.
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The gold is pounded in three stages of thirty minutes each.
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In each stage the gold becomes progressively thinner.
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This coconut is a timer. There is a small hole in it and it slowly fills with water, it takes about an hour. When it sinks the pounders get to take a 15 minute break.
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Stage 1. The gold is pounded for thirty minutes.
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Stage 2. The gold is restacked and pounded for an additional thirty minutes.
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Stage 3. The pouned gold leaf is cut into uniform squares and packaged for sale. 7000 Kyat is about $7 US.
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Much of this gold comes from dredges on the Irrawaddy River. Unfortunately, the dredging is quite harmful to the river and the life in it.
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This man is preparing a stack of gold leaf for further pounding.
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I guess being high on betel nut helps you do this kind of work all day.
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The guide explains the gold pounding process.
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Lady packaging the finished gold leaf product.
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This is a sad sight. People capture wild and exotic birds and sell them on the street. It is "good luck" to buy the birds and set them free.
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