Ambassadeur Everlasting
A moment of quietness
Everyone needs a moment of quietness, a moment of thought. And for this young novice that moment came, sitting in an old Chevrolet bus in Mawlamyine, Mon state. I presume he has just finshed his morning alms rounds and is heading back to the monastry.
Twin Stupas
Sunset at Ngwe Saung beach. The twin stupas that sit upon their own rocks are situated almost in the middle of the kilometers long beach. What a place to watch the sun go down with a cold Myanmar beer in hand.
Oh so sweet.....
Every day she walked from the small market along the long, long, beach of Ngwe Saung hoping to sell her fruit. The entire basket of bananas and papaya cost a grand sum of 4000 kyat, if you have seen my tip of today you would know how much this is:) $4! And oh so sweet!
The last rays
Where else to spend the last evening in Burma but at the Shwedagon pagoda. I know there are many photos here of Burma's most famous pagoda but I like this with the rays of the sun and the lines of the silhouetted flags. So hopefully there is room for one more.
Dollars- Kyat
Margo (gorke) heeft een goede tip geplaats over wat doe je als je tekort komt met je geld in Burma, lees maar........ Maar als je je geld moet wisselen van dollars naar Kyat kan je best doen in Yangon. hier heb je de beste exchange rate. Bij Bogyoke market en de Sule Pagoda kom je tegen mensen op straat, maar dat is dit altijd te vertrouwen en als je net gearrived ben je ook moe en niet op je scherpste tegen een oplichting. Bij de Central Hotel kan je als niet gast je geld op een veiig manier geld wisselen en tegen een goed exchange rate. Zorg voor dat de $$$'s nieuwe zijn (met de groot hoofd) schoon en niet met de serial nummer CB. In Januari 2010 heb ik 98000 kyats voor $100 gekregen met een kopje thee erbij, heel relaxed dus.......... Het Central Hotel staat bijna tegenover Bogyoke Market No, 335-337, Bogyoke Aung San Road
Flowers for the Buddh
The countryside surrounding Hpa An has many caves some more difficult to reach then others. We hired a tuk-tuk for the day (Kyat 20,000) to reach the most out-of -the way. This is Bayint Nyi Cave. A hundred or more steps past monkeys led to a large cave with fifty or so buddhas. With the aid of a torch we walked further into a deeper cave, maybe 500 metres to a area housing larger budhas. The bats were really noisy and the smell overwhelming at times. (ISO was very high here)
Trio of Novices
Burmese traditionally send their children to the monastery to receive a Buddhist education, learning the Pali Canon, and other aspects of Buddhism) along with a good grounding of the three Rs. Monks were the traditional teachers of the young and old alike until secular and missionary schools came into being during the British colonial administration. The Burmese word kyaung for school is derived from Hpongyi kyaung (monastery). There has been a revival of monastic schools since the 1990s with the deepening economic crisis. Children from poor families that can ill afford fees, uniforms and books have renewed the demand for a free monastic education, and ethnic minorities such as the Shan, Pa-O, Palaung, Lahu and Wa are benefitting from this revival.
Travels with my...Ele
In the category 'Bijzondere vervoermiddelen' Its not everyday you run across a groups of sadhus travelling the country with an elephant. They had camped at one of the temples for the night and were setting off for their next destination. Next time I go camping in the South of France, I'm leaving the car and trailer at home:)
The Thanaka Twins
Identical twins, with identical clothes, identical glasses and identical thanaka markings on their face waiting for the train at Yangon station. Thanaka is often now used as make-up rather than its tradional use of sun-protection.
As the egrets return
In the beautiful countryside surrounding Hpa An you will find many pagodas, one such pagoda is Kyaukkan Latt, perched on a limestone rock in the middle of a lake. In the late afternoon in the warm light and with the egrets returning to the trees to roost it is a splendid place to be.
Prayers in the Cave
The countryside surrounding Hpa An is full of limestone cliffs and houses many caves. One of the largest is Saddar Cave, this breathtakingly huge cavern contains a pagoda near the entrance with many Buddha images. Further in the cave becomes a dark and wild place with many huge stalactites, and the home of a large bat population.
Waitress in the...Sha
She served us tea in a busy tea-shop, she was the daughter of the owner, she was constantly busy running from the klitchen to the tables with tea and snacks, but when she stood for a while in the shadows, I just had to click
Bringing in the Nets
While the young man and women bring in the fishing nets the older women wait. Notice the people splashing in the water, they are not havng fun, they bang the water with their hands and sticks to chase the fish into the nets. Ngwe Saung - Bay of Bengal
Waiting for the Catch
An eldery fisherman waits on the Ngwe Saung beach for the boats and their nets to arrive. The catch was mostly shrimp, which is sun-dried to provide food durign the long monsoon period when beach fishing is not possible.
The face in the windo
Another in the Cicrle line train series. We spent the morning on the circle line train stopping in Yangon's neighbourhoods, rubbing shoulders with market goers and locals and enjoying the pomelos that were being sold at many stations.
Boefje
He sat next to me on the train with his friend, they must have been 9 or 10 years old, no shoes, tatty t-shirts. talking to each other excitedly. Where were they going? In my mind it seemed like an adventure for them and reminded me of my own sons at that age, some twenty years ago. Such a boefje!
The Maxicosi
Our daughter is pregnant ( our first kleinkind!!). Maybe I should have brought back this burmese maxiicosi for her:) Waiting for the circle line train at Insein station
The Restaurant...Carr
The circle line in Yangon does exactly that, antiquated, wooden trains circle the city in around three hours. The $2 ticket provids a good opportunity to see more of the city. We got off a few times at stops that looked interesting. Here you see a couple cooking snacks to be sold to the passengers.
The Circle Line
Travelling by train in Burma is slow and sometimes uncomfortable but renders many photo opportunities. This is the circle line train in yangon, a good way to spend a morning. The first of a short series - The circle line
The Public Telephone
There are very few landlines in people's homes in Burma and even less mobile telephones, therefore shops are kraampjes equiped with a landline for public use are seen everywhere. This young lady waits on a railway station for her customers.
The blue hour
While Hpa An lake boasts a tranquil setting in the early morning light. travelling there by bus is a different story. It may well be cheap, k1000 ($1) for 100kms, including entertainment! DVDs blast '"Burma's got Talent (NOT)" to the passengers. :) It certainly was not peaceful.
Looking ahead
Having just returned from three fanastic weeks in Burma, I look forward to sharing some photos and enjoying your uploads. Kayin state, limestone cliffs scattered with golden pagodas rising up from green paddy fields and dusty villages. Local buses were 1950 Chevrolets, wonderful. We hired a tuk tuk to take us to places we couldnt reach by bike. Half the time was spent in the countryside (Kayin) and half in town, (Mon). The pagodas and caves dotted around the Kayin countryside were beautiful and the green paddy fields make it so picturesque.
An Everlasting...Chri
Just back from london where the festivity season is in full swing, or at least around the shopping centers. It seems that Christmas is just about spending and consuming for many people. But here I post a good old-fashioned Chrsitmas wish to all RR's out there. Best wishes for the New Year and have fun on the 9th!! Elaine
The Jooti Shop
Still in Jojawar, two gentlemen buying beautifully crafted handmade jootis. Jooti or Jutti are the traditional Indian footwear popular in Northern India, especially in Punjab and Rajasthan. It also has its slightly different variations which are known as kussa or mojri.
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