Tea houses, Gold beaters, Stone cutters

Day 5, Mandalay

Tuesday, 27 December.

If you hear music in the street, 9 out of 10, it’s a lottery ticket vendor.

Morning tea with Mongol, my motorcycle taxi driver. First stop buddha carving, then gold beating.

 

Gold beating –

1 ounce of gold gets heated and pressed 7 times until it is 20 feet long and 3/4 inches wide.

A 3/4 inch square is pounded until it is 2 inches square.

3/4 inch square is cut again and pounded until it is 2 inches square.

 

Dinner time is the hardest time, when you have nobody to share a meal with. Nobody to share your stories with.