Olympus OM-2n | Fuji Reala
This young monk and his assistant ran up as soon as they saw me wandering around the pagoda above his monastery. He didn't speak English but babbled at me in Rakhine in a friendly manner, telling me the name of this pagoda was Shwegutaung and pointing out a few others. Feeling terrible that I'd forgotten my digital camera as they were eager for pictures of themselves, I quickly whipped out my beautifully-photographed "Myanmar Blueprint" guidebook instead, to show them photos from around the country while they patiently corrected my pronunciation of various towns.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2n | Kodak Portra 400NC
Win Win worked at Golden Star hotel, and soon after I'd settled in she started asking me, "do you looove the sunset?" Uh, sure? Who doesn't? Well, if I "love" it so much, I should go up to Haritaung with her. Apparently she was supposed to work until 7pm but received special dispensation to take a long break with me. Maybe because I was the only guest.

For some reason, as we left the hotel, she said, "Myanmar people are very poor. Me too!" Said with a little giggle too...what did it mean?

After viewing the sunset, she asked me, "do you love mon di?" OK? She took me to a nearby noodle soup stall, where the mon di was tasty but without any spice—perhaps you have to ask for it but there wasn't enough English spoken either by the cook or by Win Win to make this clear. Grateful for the company, but also thinking about her earlier statement about being "poor," I prepared to pay for both of our meals, which probably cost 500 kyat total. But Win Win was quicker than I was...

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2n | Kodak Portra 400NC
This boat is called the Moe Cherry, owned by a pretty assy guy. This is the low-budget option for the private boat ride (available on days the government boat doesn't run). Some private boats might take only tourists, with the standard rate being $15, although I met some tourists who bargained hard to get it for $12. I bargained even harder with this guy to get it for $10, although he also tried to charge the other tourist double while filling the boat with a full crew of locals who were probably paying just a few thousand kyat.

We didn't have much interaction; maybe we would have if I'd been alone but it was easier to just converse with the other tourist.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canon A630
Always room for one more body on these trucks.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Tri-X
Food in Yangon is a bit more international, and it's international food that I love—Chinese and Indian.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Tri-X
Waiting for traffic to pass. The end of a long line of monks (ordered by height but followed up by an elder) crossing in front of one of Yangon's mosques.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Portra 800
View of the downtown landmark, Sule Pagoda, from the 5th floor lobby of Garden Guesthouse.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Portra 800
The only truly gold pagoda in the whole country...the rest are yellow paint.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Portra 800
For the life of me, I don't know how Buddhist shrines came to look Vegas style. These lit-up halo-type things behind Buddha heads were all over Shwedagon.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympus OM-2N | Kodak Portra 800
Monks in Myanmar had more material goods than I would have expected. There were a few with digital cameras, lots with radios. Later in an airport, I saw one with a huge DSLR. I was never lucky enough to find myself in conversation with some of those English-speaking monks that flocked to the white tourists, I only got the ones who didn't know a single word...otherwise I would have asked if these items were leftover from their non-monk lives, or gifts, or possibly even purchased with donated money? I was especially curious about the DSLR.

Posted on January 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)