This is the end of my Burma trip. I determined that 78 postings and almost 400 photos was probably over everyone’s limit. It was a great trip for us. From the standpoint of seeing and doing new things and being very active and interactive with the locals, this was one of our best trips. Our tour guide did a great job for us and never hesitated to talk to anyone or ask anyone about something that we wanted to know about or to ask if we could try to do something. That made it a very exciting and enjoyable trip for me.

I’ve included a few photos to wind up the trip. They are just some miscellaneous photos but like all my photos, they have a story. And speaking of photos, I want to thank my wife Vicky and her brother Pete for giving me their photographs to peruse along with my own, making for a better presentation of all the things we did on this trip.

1. This was near Dala on the southern bank of the Yangon River. I was about to take off with 50 pounds of plums on my shoulder. I watched many of the vendors carry these rigs and they made it look quite easy. The 50 pounds was no problem but it was much harder than I expected. That’s because I expected the two sides to sway in unison with an expectant weight shift. But somehow, the two baskets got out of sync and were not in unison. When I got one side coming and one side going in opposite directions, it was a real challenge. I felt like I was caught in the middle of a tug-of-war and my feet struggled to adjust. I never dropped anything, but I have much greater respect for the people carrying these rigs.

2. This photo has Vicky, wearing Tanaka on her face, placing some gold leaf on a Buddha statue. We did this several times and we fit right in with the locals doing it.

3. We were very active on this trip, but I wouldn’t want anyone thinking that we never got a chance to relax. Pete and Vicky are doing just that as we drifted along the Irrawaddy River.

4. Several people asked me how the Inle Lake boatman managed or learned to paddle with one leg while standing up and fishing. I don’t know but I learned that they start practicing at a very young age, as you can see in the fourth photo.

5. Every trip has to come to an end and this is my ending, from a boat on Lake Taungthaman looking at the U-Bein bridge.

Mingalabar, (which again means “Auspiciousness to you”)