Sights like this abound in Burma. So

few tourists visit the places where

AMA goes that every tour is a new

discovery.

This sweet-looking boy was selling hats at a temple and became very interested in watching me take photos. So I took his. The hats were really nice and were made from bamboo and only cost USD1. I bought one.

Bagan is an amazing place. Hundreds of ancient temples stretch to the horizon in every direction. I'm riding right down the middle. You can't see me in this thumbnail so you will have to enlarge it for a better view..

Another view of the temple spires of Bagan. These temples were once covered with gold and precious gems, until Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes sacked the place in the 12th century and carried off all the riches.

More riding through Bagan. A.M.A spends two days here to soak in the sights.

More riding around Bagan. I shared this temple with a goat herder and his flock. There were no other people..

Many of the Bagan temples are still being used. Here a man is praying to a well-preserved and striking Buddha statue.

The finest rubies, "pigeon-bloods", come from Burma. This open-air market has table-tops of rubies for sale. Outside are cutting & polishing shops using foot-powered wheels.

In the countryside, the most common form of transportation is bullock cart. Alongside all the roads are two, deep tracks worn down by centuries of use.

These canopied pick-up trucks take the place of buses outside the city. It is absolutely amazing to see how many people they carry.

In Burma, everyone smokes cheroots. This photo was taken at Kawthaung, the southernmost tip of Burma, a trip highlight for most of our participants.

Above Kawthaung starts the Merguis, 800 mostly uninhabited islands strewn across the Andaman Sea. The only footprints are the ones you leave.

I've come across this political billboard in several different places. This one is for tourists. Next to it is the same but written in Burmese. Read it for an interesting insight.

A mother asked me if I could take a photo of her little girl. She posed as stiff as the Buddha behind her and waited, patiently, for several minutes, while I set up my camera gear.

I passed this interesting group of stupas in the countryside and stopped for a photo. Inside every stupa is a relic of a dead monk or other notable.

These giant lions are called cinthes and guard the temples. These are gigantic ones and they come in all sizes.

After a boat trip up the Irawaddy River I was confronted with getting my bike onto land over this extremely flimsy pier. I didn't think it possible.

The floating market at Inle Lake is a very lively affair and a great place to spend a morning sightseeing.

An entire community lives, floating, on Inle Lake. They all row their boats with one leg. It looks very awkward in photos but in practice it works fine and is very efficient. 

Monks at this Inle temple, out of boredom, started teaching cats to jump through hoops. It has nothing to do with Buddhism, but is sure brings in money contributions from the curious.