and from the dining area.
We set out again for a circuit of the wetland. Our total number of species for the two days was only 20 (not counting ordinaries), but we did get some very pleasing views in the am light...
and just enjoyed immensely the peaceful moments.
At times we were surrounded by lotus plants as far as we could see...
and there were still a few blossoms.
These little white flowers were blooming everywhere.
and there was even a pagoda in the water.
After a couple of hours of boating about, we returned to the base, packed up and headed out for Naypitaw, Myanmar's wonderful, undefinable capital.
Most of the route was "on the road to Mandalay," literally, but not your grandmother's version (assuming she was a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby fan).
It's now a very straight four-lane, that has 1/10th kilometer markers and median strip shrubs, and even some electronic speed indicators.
We checked into a hotel that was right out of Palm Springs (tho only a two-star, most are 4s and 5s by their appearance), and went to buy a bus ticket in the people's section, which happened to be across from the market for the locals where shuttle buses drop off the government staff for some down-home shopping before carting them off to staff "quarters." They're in the blue skirts and white blouses.
We also went to the Naypitaw pagoda, a replica of the Shwedagon, but 1 foot shorter.
To get there, we rode down this 16 (really) lane highway...
The guidebooks talk about the eeriness of the absence of people in the midst of all this extravagance (we were on the 16-lane at what is rush hour in Yangon - remember the traffic jams) but you have to experience it yourself to appreciate it, especially after being among the throngs we've encountered everywhere else in Myanmar. One of the oddest things for me was that it was not abandoned or rundown like so many such projects we've seen elsewhere. It seems to be a fully functioning, well-maintained place, just with very few people. Hopefully, that will change, for the better.
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