We each paid 5,000 kats (less than $6) for the round-trip journey. Being out on the river was a nice change of pace. Our boat had fewer than 20 people but it was large enough to carry far more. The upper level deck was open and the lower level had plastic, lawn chairs. It is probably good that they do not overcrowd the wooden vessels as ours didn't provide many luxury appointments, such as say ... life jackets! It took nearly an hour to go the 11 kilometers upstream.
We pulled up to the steep bank and walked a plank onto the dusty shoreline. Ahead of us lay the village and its sites. We had three hours to do as we pleased before the departure back to Mandalay at 1:00 pm. A proposed itinerary was on a sign once in the village. There were several pagodas that were interesting but the village is especially known for the colossal mistake that wasn't. King Bodawpata in the 1800s planned on making the world's largest pagoda. Now sits just the immense ruins of its base. (This is a story I will definitely follow up on when I have robust Internet and a bit of free time.). The world's second largest bell is now housed in a building made especially for it and not in the King's ruined scheme.
I am standing in the doorway to this side right under the crack.
We walked around unguided in both a monastery and an old folks' home. The weather was perfect and the sky azure. We ate lunch before getting back on the boat for the trip back.
Later, we had a bit of Net time in our lobby and I uploaded a few entries that had been languishing on my tablet. We just got back from dinner of chapthi and chicken from a street Indian food vendor. We have a list of final things we want to do in Mandalay tomorrow. We've decided to spend one more night and head back to Rangoon a few days early.