Shinpinsarkyo Paya

Myanmar (Burma)


About 4 miles southwest of town, you'll find the Bagan-era (but renovated over the years) Shinpinsarkyo Paya (Temple 88), which is full of original woodcarvings, some painted afresh in original design. The highlight is inside a glass- and tile-filled pagoda, with two original 13th-century wood lokanat (Mahayana Bodhisattva guardian spirits).

Near the southern-entrance passageway, you'll find several rooms covered with exquisite 19th-century murals (bring a torch to peer around inside the darkened chambers). If the gates are locked, ask one of the attendants to unlock them.


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