Last Day in Myanmar

With the workshop completed, we had a full day Sunday before our late night flight to Seoul and then home.  Five of us were on the same flight out, so we spent the day seeing some things we missed on the tour.  Our first stop was the National Museum.

The museum has so much potential to be a showcase for Burmese history.  They have great artifacts on display from the jewel encrusted throne of the last king of Burma, to ceremonial regalia and scale models of the royal compound.  With all these interesting items, what's missing is great displays for them.  The lighting is poor and the explanation cards could be better.

Our next stop was at the Rangoon House of Tea modeled after a tea house that might have been around during the colonial period.  The food was excellent and it was filled with both Westerners and locals.  I would highly recommend it.

Asia is in love with foot massages.  These can range from a nice rubdown to a vigorous pressure point affair.  The place we went to would fit right in at home with nice, plush recliners and hot tea served during your treatment.  It starts with a nice soak in a wooden tub floating with rose petals. You then move on to massaging and slapping (making a pretty humorous noise) of the legs and feet. The whole process takes around 1 1/2 hours and usually involves a nap during the treatment.  What a nice way to end a wonderful trip.

Next: Tieing up a few loose ends

A few loose ends

There are several things I failed to mention in my previous posts that are essential in understanding Myanmar.  Here are a few:

-The women wear a white substance made from a tree called thanaka.  It is used both as a skin softener and a lightener/sunscreen.  It's also used on the children.

-During British rule, vehicles drove on the left side of the road.  During military rule this was switched to the right side.  However, most cars still have the steering wheel on the right side which makes for an even more adventurous ride.  New cars will be brought in with left hand drive steering in the future.

-The Shan cuisine which was primarily what we ate is very rice and noodle heavy.

-While Myanmar is a poor country, it is also quite safe.

-Plastic furniture (think kids' furniture) rules the street side vendors

-Each family strives to erect at least one shrine to the Buddha which explains why you find them everywhere.

-Motorcycles are banned in Yagon which helps to contribute to the crazy traffic.

-The new government was installed while we were there. Hopefully, their new found democracy will lead them back to a prosperity they haven't seen since before British rule.

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Final Day in Bagan

Another 5:30 a.m. morning took us to a pagoda with stairs that led to a top level where we could witness the rising sun and the balloons floating by the shrines.  There were lots of people gathered there for the same purpose and at times small conflicts arose while each person was staking out their territory.  The balloons floated by in the distance with shrines poking their heads through the haze.  It was well worth the shortened night of sleep.

We returned to the hotel for a quick breakfast before walking to a nearby shrine where Liza and Ira with the help of a local set up a shoot for us.  Candles were placed at the base of the sitting Buddha.  They had arranged two novice monks to serve as our models this morning.  Light filtered in the door giving us just enough illumination to take some very nice photos.

We gathered for our last critique right after we dined on pizza from the hotel's wood fired pizza oven. It’s hard to believe our trip is almost over.  A scheduled sunset shoot was scrapped in favor of some free time to see the town.  Some headed to the river to see how the locals work and play.

Our small group rented electric bikes to go with a local to see his village and the craftsmen that make the wares sold around the shrines.  His family’s specialty is sand painting.  Several craftsmen were stationed at tables with paintings in various stages of completion.  The designs come from both temple designs and books they copy from. 

Next we walked down the street to a bamboo facility.  Long bamboo sticks that are harvested in the surrounding hills were stacked in racks waiting to be cut into long strips.  These strips can then be woven into mats, wall coverings and lacquer boxes.  We hopped on our bikes to go a short distance to watch lacquer items being created.  The best lacquer takes six months to be completed, with 14 layers of lacquer applied in one week intervals.  Other items such as ground bones and mineral dust is mixed into lacquer at certain stages to make it strong.  In addition to using bamboo, some of the items are made with wood or even woven horsehair (a quite difficult material to weave).  Cheaper versions are also available but the quality differences are easily spotted.

We biked down to the river to see the fishermen and the boats that lined the shore.  Boats leave from here to take passengers on a several hour journey to Mandalay.  The river is used to bath in, as a washing facility and also fishing grounds.  We returned to our hotel tired and ready to eat, pack and hit the sack.  Unfortunately, the festival across the hotel was in its final evening which meant loud music that stretched well past midnight.  The front desk provided ear plugs if the noise was too much, but I somehow slept through most of it needing to catch up from our 5:30 a.m. morning calls.

Next: Our final hours in Myanmar

Every Loves a Balloon

Ballooning over the ancient pagodas is a very popular tourist activity which is not to be missed.  World War II era buses with wood lined ceilings pick up tourists from their hotels predawn to take them to the take-off locations.  We used Balloons Over Bagan which uses pilots that have been trained in western countries, ours was from England, that travel the ride balloon circuit(Australia, Africa, England) and locals for crew they employ year round to insure they have a well-trained employees. 

After our safety talk, we watched the field of balloons as they were inflated using large fans at first and four propane burners later right before standing them up.  These are big ride balloons holding 400,000 cubic feet of air and 16 riders plus the pilot.  They run during the dry season when the winds are predictable. 

We took off and floated over the ancient city while the sun rose in the east.  The pagodas and temples took on a special glow with the early morning light.  There’s a limit to the number of balloons that are given a license to fly over the heart of the city and today there were 21 afloat.  If you have never taken a ride I highly recommend it.  The silence is only broken by the firing of the burners giving a sense of peace.  Locals up early to start their day wave and welcome the riders.  

After the main part of the city is crossed over, the pilot starts looking for a place to land.  We ended up landing on a sandbar in the Irrawaddy River.  Waiting for our crew to arrive we watched the local activities of tending to the fields.  Irrigation consists of a man with two watering cans attached by a stick that is dipped in the river then carried to the fields to sprinkle them.  Workers weeded the rows of plants.  We shared a champagne toast celebrating the flight before returning to our hotel.

Our 4^th class started right after noon.  The level of photography had increased notably from our first class.  The critique sessions last a little over an hour with additional time spent on instruction.  These trips are not meant to teach you how to use your camera but focus on finding the right composition, lighting, and moments.

We boarded a bus mid-afternoon traveling to Mount Poppa.  The temple sits atop a mountain and can be reached by climbing 777 steps.  About half of our group took the challenge, climbing to the top while the rest of us roamed the little village.  There are hundreds of semi-wild monkeys that inhabit the area and many of them perch on the walls waiting for possible food handouts.  Women sell little paper wrapped tubes of nuts to hand out to them.  Apparently they are quite aggressive, stealing anything loose such as sunglasses, beer, souvenirs, etc.  We had willing models for photos so we had more options for our critique.

We next headed to a resort for a drink and also to set-up for a sunset shoot of the temple in the distance.  As the sun dropped, the lights shone on the temple giving it a golden glow.  Sitting alone on the top of the mountain it made for a very nice shot.  We packed up our gear to make the 2 1/2 hour trek back to our hotel.

Tomorrow: Our last early morning

City of Pagodas

Today is a travel day for us over to Old Bagan, the City of Pagodas.  In previous centuries it is thought this city held over 10,000 pagodas and temples.  3,000 remain intact with another 2,000 underground ruins.  These are not the shining, gold plated pagodas of Yangon with Vegas lights behind the Buddhas, but ones in various conditions made of stone and brick and whatever building materials they had available.  A few still have their golden tops but most reflect the century in which they were built with a much more ancient feel.

After checking into our beautiful resort (complete with infinity pool, open air restaurant and spa), we walked across the street to a market and festival.  Temporary housing had been erected for the month long festival and the living conditions appear to be very basic.  The people were friendly and are happy to have their pictures taken.  Down one of the permanent thorough fares, shops and their keepers entice tourists to buy the sand paintings and lacquer goods the region is known for.  We stopped to watch a youth creating a sand painting with both paint and the sand that is applied to it.  They depict various symbols of Myanmar life, Buddha feet, the Burmese zodiac and other scenes. 

Late afternoon we headed out as a group to visit the Ananda Temple which is known for being symmetrical with Buddha images on all four sides.  There was a mixture of tourists and natives there to pray.  At each of these temples and pagodas you must remove your shoes before entering the shrines.  They are all left in one central area and are still there upon your return undisturbed. 

Our evening shoot was at the Shwe San Daw Phaya Temple.  Busloads of tourists arrive every night to climb the steep stairs of the temple to watch the sunset.  Several levels held the onlookers waiting for the sun to descend into the earth.  As soon as it had disappeared beyond the horizon, they left in droves to return to their hotels.  We stayed until asked to leave so we could photograph the surrounding shrines as they began to glow from the night lighting shining on them.  It was truly a magical evening.

Tomorrow: Bagan Ballooning

A Day on Inle Lake

We had an early wake-up call for our sunrise trip out onto Inle Lake. It was quite chilly on the lake, so we had been told to layer up to keep the chill to a minimum.  We went down a very long canal to get to the main body of lake.  The lake is not huge but every inch of it is used.  It's extremely shallow which is why the fishermen use an interesting technique to paddle, wrapping it around one leg to push along the bottom. Water plants float on top of the water reminding you of the lack of depth.

Our first stop was a photo shoot with a group of three fishermen that have traded their fishing nets for the historic baskets to pose for tourists.  It really made for some great shooting.  It took on a circus like atmosphere with some of the poises they assumed.  After about 30 minutes they were paid their $10 and went off in search of the next group.

A market is held in a different village each day, rotating around the lake, where the locals buy their produce, fish and chicken.  There’s also a few vendors there selling jewelry and scarves to the tourists that come to see the market.  There was a large variety of foods available and it all looked as good if not better than what we would find in our grocery stores.  The lake is known for their tomatoes and this was in evidence here.  There were peppers of several varieties, cauliflower, many types of eggplants, oranges, tea, small bananas, the list goes on and on.  Freshly caught fish were arranged in front of the vendors who would hold up strings of still moving fish.  Chicken, both whole and in pieces, were available throughout the market.  There was a knife vendor heating the blades then polishing them on the spot.  It was obviously the place to be on this sunny morning.

Back on the long boats we headed out towards the southern part of the lake.  Along the way could see the modified hydroponic farming activities with plants lining the edges of the lake in rows with canals in between which allowed harvesting and planting.  The nutrient rich water and lake bottom makes for prime farming. 

We stopped in a lakeside village that is known for its textiles.  A weaving demonstration explained the various steps taken to first produce the thread, dye the thread and weave the fabric.  We watched them extract long threads from the lotus plant which produces a highly prized fabric that is both soft and durable.  Lotus thread is also mixed with silk threads to produce beautiful scarves, shirts, ties and longyes.  We were given the opportunity to buy and many of us took advantage of it.

We traveled back across the lake, much warmer with the mid-day sun.  We had a short break for lunch before our 3rd critique session.  Ira showed us a series of shots he had taken during our stay to show us how he works a scene looking for good light and a pleasing set-up.  It doesn’t always happen but you have to be constantly looking for opportunities.

We headed into the foothills by the village to a local winery that is producing wine using French methods.  This is primarily for tourists since it is too expensive for the locals.  The setting was beautiful and you could tell they were making a real effort to produce a nice wine.  They’re having various levels of success but we did find a red we found drinkable.  It was a beautiful sunset and you could see the field fires in the distance. 

A large group of us stopped at One Owl Grill for dinner.  Primarily Middle Eastern fare, it was wonderful and cheap and fast with cold beer which was exactly what we needed at the end of a long day.

Tomorrow: The City of Pagodas

A Day With the Elephants

Elephants have been used, and still are to a lesser degree, as work animals in the timber industry in Myanmar.  There’s a movement to eliminate this practice and measures have been taken already to restrict their use.  This creates a problem with what to do with the retired elephants.  Today, we spent the day at an elephant reserve that has taken in several of these displaced animals.

We took a bus into the mountains to reach the reserve.  It gave us a chance to see all the farming activities along the way.  This is the end of the sugar cane season so they are both harvesting and burning the fields.  Smoke hung in the air burning our lungs.  They also have fires in all the houses to cook over and heat the homes when the temperature drops at night.

We were given an introduction to the activities that occur at the reserve.  They currently have 6 elephants they care for, 5 adults and 1 small one that was orphaned.  Along with the elephants come their handlers that were also displaced when the elephants were taken out of service. They have houses in a small gathering and it is growing. 

Elephants are huge animals and it takes a lot of fuel to keep them going.  Our first encounter with them was as food providers to two of them.  Today we were feeding them cut-up pumpkin and banana stalks.  They never seemed to grow full, constantly looking for their next mouthful.  They would take several pieces in their trunks before eating them. They also allowed us to place the food directly into their mouths.  The pumpkin was the more popular food but the banana stalk provides water to them which is why it’s part of the food mix.

Next, those that wanted were given native pants to change into before we made our way to the river to meet back up with the elephants.  We both made our way into the water for bath time. The elephants laid down into water and we soaped them up with natural scrubbers then splashed the suds off.  They really enjoy their time in the water.  Because they have very few sweat glands, it’s an important way to cool them off so they go into the river at least twice a day.

Our time with the elephants over, we enjoyed a late lunch of regional cuisine which included rice, curry, little fried pastry triangles (like samosas) stuffed with chicken and finished up with a banana cake.  It was excellent.  We got back on our bus for our 2 ½ hour trip back home and most of us used the time for a nice little siesta.  On our own for the evening, we had dinner, looked through our pictures and went to bed early.

Into The Country

We had an early morning flight to Heho airport near Inle Lake.  This has become a very popular tourist destination because of its picturesque setting. 

Our hotel is on the edge of town.  The rooms are free standing structures over the water.  Over the bridge is a dirt road town lined with shops and open air restaurants.  Motorcycles rule the streets since they can purchase Chinese models for $600.  There are also lots of farm vehicles since this is a major farming region, growing sugar cane, all types of vegetables, coffee, tea, etc. 

Our group walked into town for lunch at a restaurant run by a French expat aptly named The French Touch.  The owner has also made a movie that runs nightly for free.  The food was gorgeous!

We had our second critique of the trip after lunch.  They get less and less gentle as the trip progresses.  We also get instructions on how to improve our work.

After class we had time to roam this bustling little village.  Open air shops line the streets selling food and wares.  Long boats line the canal leading to the lake and they are more than happy to take tourists for a ride.  Dogs are prevalent too since it appears they do not practice neutering.  This is the Myanmar I was expecting. There's even an open air skating rink!

We had a group dinner in the hotel.  It was served family style on traditional long oval platters.  Delicious !

Tomorrow: A walk with the elephants

Transportation - The Great Equalizer

This morning was our first class session.  First, our instructor, Ira Block, showed us examples of his photos to emphasize the importance of light, composition and finding a ‘moment’.  This being the fourth trip with him, I have watched several of these presentations but I always learn something new.  We then had our first critique session of the trip.  Each person was asked to submit 5 photos they had taken since landing that they felt was a well done image.  Ira then talks about each one and what works and doesn’t work.  He keeps in mind the skill level of the photographer, always trying to help them improve over the course of the trip.  I love looking at what others found and their perspective of the places we had visited.

We broke for lunch and a small group of us walked the short distance to The Strand Hotel, a colonial era hotel that still remains much as it was during British rule.  They are known for their afternoon high tea, but their lunch is also quite good offering both Western and native cuisine.  They also had a charming shopping arcade which we vowed to return to at the end of the trip for a little shopping expedition.

Our afternoon shoot started at the main train station.  We spent a little over an hour watching people come and go on a variety of trains that service the station.  One train, referred to as the Circle Train, will take you on a circle journey around the outskirts of the city for around $3.  Taking a little over 3 hours, the journey allows you a view into local life.  The trains attract a variety of people, from pink robed Buddhist nuns, to monks, to westernized teens to more traditionally garbed locals.  The national ‘dress’ in the long he, a long fabric skirt that is worn by both men and women with the men tying a big knot in the front and the women wearing it like a wrap skirt.  It was interesting to interact with the people on the train, many encouraging us to take their pictures.  Transportation is the great equalizer and a perfect way to get a feel for a country.

Next, we took cabs to Yangon’s Chinatown.  This seems to be a feature of every major city I’ve been to around the world.  They are usually quite vibrant with an active nightlife and serves as a social gathering spot.  Food vendors lined the streets selling beautiful fruits and vegetables much like our farmer’s markets back home.  The street food vendors were here as well selling fresh seafood (prawns the size of lobsters were particularly interesting to me) and rows of satays which seemed to prove everything is better on a stick.  Bars lined the side streets and came alive as the sun set.  All of your senses are assaulted at once from the stinky but tasty (so I’ve been told) durian fruit to the colorful food offerings to the constant honking of horns.  We gathered for Myanmar beer at one such bar to top off our evening.

Tomorrow: Out into the country