Shwe-Kyaung-Pyi Nat

Lovely Nat carved into one of the doors at Shwe-Kyaung-Pyi pagoda (see Shwe-Kyaung-Pyi) in Mandalay. Love the wings. Looks like he's scolding us about something. 

[NOTE: For those who might be interested, I have recently uploaded a PDF of the rattan book, Systematics, Ecology, and Management of Rattans in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam: The Biological Bases of Sustainable Use, to the Bibliography page. The file is about 25 MB].

Shwe-Kyaung-Pyi

The Shwe-Kyaung-pyi, or Shwenandaw, monastery is one of the most significant and beautiful of Mandalay's historic buildings. Originally part of the Royal Palace, in 1878 King Thibaw had the structured dismantled and moved outside as he feared that the spirits of his deceased father (King Mindon) were haunting it. The Royal Palace was completely destroyed by allied bombing at the end of World War II, King Thibaw's superstitions effectively saving the only representative of original 19th century Burmese teak architecture. 

Image above shows the main altar in the monastery. The wood carving is exquisite, and everything, including the massive teak pillars, is gilded with gold leaf. This is an amazing place.