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Day four started with me, V, T, and Mr. Win tin driving towards the monastery that Mr. Win Tin’s family visits. We were treated to snacks of a spicy dish that included pickled tea leaves and a drink that looked like stringy cola but tasted absolutely amazing. I can’t say I’ve ever eaten anything quite like those tea leaves but I hope I do again someday.  Mr. Win Tin noticed I liked them and kept on bringing me more of them to eat. After eating more pickled tea leaves and drinking more of that oddly textured but delicious drink, we all went to meet with the head monk of the monastery before heading to our next destination.

The next stop was at a tailor shop that V and T shop at. The shop looked rather small outside but was surprisingly large once inside. The main room was full of handmade dresses, shirts, pillows, and many other things, all elegant and beautiful. The second room was the workshop where the women made their creations and where they modified clothes for customers. The two women who work in the store were so amazing. They not only made beautiful creations, but were also amazing people. I bought several shirts for myself and several things for my family before we were all on our way to the Floating Pagoda.

The drive to the pagoda took us out of Yangon, over the Yangon river, past rickety roadside huts, old buildings, newly built apartments, and the odd cow. The villages were full of people on scooters buzzing about, old cars and trucks struggling onward to wherever they were going and held together with string and a prayer, people walking, and dogs milling about. We stopped for some water at a roadside store/shack that had Korean snacks for sale along with other international snacks. We noticed that small temporary stalls were being built all along the roadside and were being stock with water melons. Mr. Win Tin told us that these stalls were being built by vendors for an upcoming festival that was to be happening near by. We eventually arrived at a small waterside village that contained restaurants, gift shops, and shops that had nothing but dried fish parts for sale. The floating pagoda was a boat ride across from this village. We boarded the rickety boat, took off our shoes, and sat in a shade. After a short and bumpy boat ride, we disembarked from the boat and set foot on the floating pagoda.

The floating pagoda is not actually floating on the water at all but was built into the middle of the river. There were groups of people near the boats, throwing balls of puffed rice into the muddy and fast river for fish to eat. Mr. Win Tin bought me, V, and T all fish food, and we were soon throwing balls of rice into the river for the fish. The Yangon river is fast flowing and muddy, making it near impossible to see anything moving in the water. The only time you could catch a glimpse of the large catfish like fish was when it came up for food. Luckily the fish had huge appetites, giving me lots of chances to try and get a picture of them. Sadly, the picture below was the best picture I could get of the fish.

We then headed up to the Pagoda. Nothing I will write will really accurately describe how amazing the pagoda was, but I will try and do my best. The pagoda consisted of a series of buildings, each with a seemingly different purpose. Some were under construction and were covered with burlap while being worked on. The one room had a series of paintings, depicting famous Burmese myths/stories. I wonder how many of these paintings compare with stories from the Bible. In one of the main prayer chambers, there was an overly friendly cat milling about. It looked well fed compared to many of the animals I’ve seen in Myanmar. We walked around some more, coming across more beautiful paintings, decorations, and a stone tablet that contained a brief summary of Buddhism. We spent some more time walking around the pagoda ground before taking a boat back to the mainland. We hopped off the boat and went to a snack stall nearby for some fresh coconut. It was absolutely and refreshing. T and I then made our way to the fish head stores to take pictures. It is here where I will end this entry. I’ll write about the fish heads, giant Buddha, and other adventures that day. Stay tuned!