After seeing the production of gold leafs, buddha statues, betel leaf packages with areca nuts this day in Mandalay we weren’t over with the handicraft program yet. We stopped at the Jade market on 87th street near the river. The market is more like a business center. You will find all stages of processing here.
At one end the raw stones are carried in. They get cut, inspected, sawed, inspected, cut again, polished by machine and afterwards by rubbing them on the peeled side of a bamboo stick. In the end you will find precious gem stones of marvelous colors.
The betel spitting marketeers and their hard working accomplices were quite a sight. After visiting the market we had a good stop with green tea and some nice Indian teehouse food in the Unique Mandalay Teahouse before resting in our hostel for a while.