Yes! It’s another golden pagoda. I think this one is really lovely, but it may fall short of true Burmese elegance in that it manages the transition from the square temple below to the round golden bell of the stupa above a bit awkwardly. But then, it’s the first one (I believe) that made the attempt–somewhere around year 1100AD, and all later stupas were developed from this model, though perhaps with a more graceful segue through octagonal phases.

Within, at least one Buddha is of a human scale and all golden, with an inviting smile.

So… what explains why this particular temple has the best collection of nats–pre-Buddhist spirits–that we’ve seen anywhere?

This includes a lovely, ancient statue of Thagyamin, king of the nats. (At least, I think this is him!)