Gold Leaf - one of Mandalay's many handicrafts |
King Galon Gold Leaf Workshop |
Gold leaf is made by pounding small sheets of gold between two blocks with a heavy hammer |
Each speck of gold is pounded for 30 minutes |
...it seems like they would have come up with a machine for this by now... |
A natural leaf plated with gold leaf |
Buddha footprint of gold leaf |
A ribbon of micro-thin gold leaf waves at the slightest disturbance in the air |
"Gold leaf is less than 0.00008 millimetres thick - which is only about 300 atoms thick" |
I'm surprised this fashion trend hasn't taken off in the Gulf |
Dennis gilded in 22K gold leaf |
Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicraft |
Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicraft, Mandalay |
Burmese woodcarving at Soe Moe shop in Mandalay |
Dust-covered Buddhas at Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicrafts |
Yard of Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicrafts |
Embroidery workshop at Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicrafts, Mandalay |
Myanmar embroidery |
Soe Moe Myanmar Traditional Handicrafts |
Buddha at Soe Moe |
...the salesman discreetly handed his cheroot to Buddha |
Large handicraft shop - Soe Moe, Mandalay |
Monks sculptures of various sizes |
Bronze sculpture at Soe Moe |
While nice, the bronze sculptures were easily an order of magnitude more expensive than wood |
Tribal art of Myanmar |
Hand-made Burmese puppets |
...those attracted my attention...Burmese sphinxes |
Burmese twin-bodied sphinx |
$100...a bitch to carry home...but I'll worry about that later... |
Soe Moe shipped it to the hotel in Yangon to await our departure |
Shopping in Mandalay |
Woodcarvings at Soe Moe |
Traditional houses remain in pockets in Mandalay |
Stone carvers district of southern Mandalay |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
High quality life-sized stone Buddhas |
If you're in the market for an excellent stone Buddha at a very reasonable price, check out Mandalay |
Mandalay Buddhas in various states of completion |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Young stone carver at work |
Young Mandalay stone carver covered in dust |
...I wonder when they stopped using hammer and chisel... |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Putting the finishing touches on a stone elephant, Mandalay |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Some Buddhas awaiting their faces - probably the junior carvers do the body |
Mandalay stone carver at work |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Amazing bargains to be had...but a killer on the luggage |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
...annoyed guide is dragging me away... |
Stone carvers district, Mandalay |
Very young woodcarver at work in the arcade leading to Mahamuni Paya |
...I believe the guide mentioned something about these boys being from India originally... |
Mahamuni Paya woodcarvers |
Not all Mandalay handicrafts are so serious - coconut monkeys at Mandalay Hill |
Myanmar - Shop 'til you Drop! |
A sample of what I brought back from Myanmar |
Nat puppet from the Mustache Brothers in Mandalay |
Dennis the puppeteer |
Wooden Chinthe |
Burmese puppets at the Mandalay Hill Resort |