The 25 hour boat ride ends up in Monywa, a major trade center in Sagaing Division. Monywa is also home to the exquisite Mohnyin Thambuddhei Paya (shown above), which is one of the most beautiful examples of religious architecture I've ever seen. The temple dates from 1303, and is said to contain over 500,000 statues of Buddha. The walls are lined with them. All, to my eye, seem subtly different.
A close-up of one of the walls showing the detailed work is offered below. I couldn't stop taking pictures in here. [NOTE: I made a small donation to have a Buddha placed along the wall in my name. No idea where they are going to squeeze in one more statue].
