There's Gold In Them There Museum

After the reclining Buddha Temple, we headed for the National Museum.  Trust me, even tired as we were, it was a lot more interesting than it sounds.

The first section we went in had the one remaining throne of the seven from the old Burmese kings -- the famed Lion throne.  The other thrones were destroyed in various wars with Britain (three wars total in the 1800s), and maybe other wars as well (as a crossroads place, Myanmar has had a lot of strife over the years, both externally and internally).

We walked up all five flights of stairs, covering different rooms (mercifully, Aye Aye only took us into one or two large rooms per floor, rather than cover everything).  We saw lots of amazing things -- much more interesting than the average museum.  Besides the throne (which is the piece de resistance of the museum), the other parts I remember most was the various gold/ruby inlaid royal pieces, and the various native costumes of the various tribes of Myanmar.

Oh yeah, there were also some ornately carved teak furniture -- huge pieces with jaw-dropping carvings.  (Do you ever wonder if one of those was almost finished when a craftsman said, "Whoops!" and had to start all over again.  If that happened, bummer.)

Photos were not allowed in many of the rooms, so there are just a handful.

Front of the Lion Throne

Ditto

Decorative pennants

Back of the throne