Myanmar 2015: Day 49 - Boat Ride Back to Sittwe

Taking advantage of another lovely morning and a little extra time, I walked over to the Shitaung Temple, very near our hotel, where the morning light was softening everything, even the temple stone.

The sounds were also softened.

I couldn't resist getting more pics of the Hindu deity carvings.

Back at the hotel we had breakfast and were shuttled down to the jetty, where we again boarded our own boat for the 5+ hour ride to Sittwe.

First sight, still in the jetty channel, was a bamboo log raft.

There wasn't much new along the way, although we did get some good views of guys with their crab pots...

and there was a boat being towed that was bearing the flag for the winner of the Water Festival boat races.

We arrived at Sittwe and after checking in and a brief rest we went out for some of the local sights:

A mansion that a generous man donated for a Buddhist learning center, including food and lodging for students with limited means...

a revered Buddha image, made up of hundreds of small images...

and the most prominent pagoda...

with a golden interior.

We were sure to get back to our hotel for the second biggest show in Sittwe, the big shift change, i.e. the rousting of the roosting fruit bats (across from our hotel) by the would-be roosting crows.

The bats were huge and furry...