We are still at the Kuthodaw Paya. The Kuthodaw Paya is a Buddhist stupa. The stupa is 188 feet tall. If you recall, a temple can be entered and has Buddha statues inside but a stupa cannot be entered, it has a solid center.

1. The Kuthodaw Paya is in the first photo and the stairway that you can see in the photo is only a stairway to the upper portion of the stupa and it doesn’t go inside it.

2. The Kuthodaw Paya is just to the right side of this photo. The stairs to the upper Kuthodaw are guarded by mythical creatures. You can also see a few marble inscription buildings in this photo.

3. There are Buddha alters/temples on all four sides of the Kuthodaw Paya, beyond each Paya stairway. The Buddha statue that you see was carved out of one solid piece of marble.

4. I wandered off the beaten path in the shrine and came upon what I would assume is the ‘maintenance shed’. The crew must have had the day off.

5. As we were leaving the Kuthodaw, Vicky purchased a lotus blossom from a vendor. This is what a working mother looks like in Burma.