Our last stop before an amazing dinner at The Canadian was the big temple in Mae Sot. Not far from the border, it's actually a Burmese-style temple, and not a Thai one. Many (but not all) of the monks wore crimson Burmese robes instead of the saffron-colored robes of the Thai monks, and the architecture was definitely Burmese, not Thai.
Being so close to the border, a lot of culture spills over. It seems that this temple may have served some of the Burmese refugee community in Mae Sot. The temple was really beautiful, shiny and golden, and elaborately decorated.
One interesting thing about Burmese Buddhist statues are that they have skin color instead of being uniformly golden like in Thai temples. Though both variants of Theravada Buddhism, the style is noticably different.
In a place of honor near the center of the temple compound was a mini recreation of the Schwedagon Pagoda. Seeing this made me think about planning a return trip to Burma. I don't know what it is, but there is something about how difficult and mysterious the country is that appeals to me. Something about it being closed off to foreigners for so long that makes me really curious about what else the country has to offer, and how I should try to see it before the tourists arrive en masse,
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