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