Memories of Myanmar Part 1

This is a trip  has left a strong and memorable impression on me.  The people by in large were wonderful to be and interact with on a daily basis.  The underlying oppression that has been apart of this culture for many, many years was constantly felt. I did not experience any confrontation with the authorities but from reading the books before I arrived and even while I was there I kept on the alert to be cautious of who I was taking with and the location we were in having our conversation.  Many of the people were willing to talk and I worked hard to stay away from politics and stay more with their life style.  They live a very simple life with a strong commitment to practicing their religious beliefs.  They will spend their money on gold lief to put on a Buddha or a pagoda rather than buy food for themselves.  

These first pictures are from a night visit up to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon.  It is the largest temple, pagoda, Buddha, monastery complex that I have ever experienced.  I spent two hours up there and still didn't begin to see all of it.  

 

 

Yes, that it a crescent moon you seeing  at the top of the pagoda.

Monks who have just put away their cell phones.

Now for the many faces of the beautiful Burmese people in all their many varied daily vocations.   A street lined with men of all ages sitting a sewing machines waiting for someone with a need for an item to be repaired.

Women selling fish of the day, endless fruit stalls,  T shirts with Western logos,  Monks and holy men meditating and mumbling prayers.

Or the face of the old gentleman selling a tray of  hardware items.

So many people living a very different life that the one I experience at home in Frederick, Maryland.  I can't help but wonder how they are able to make it from day to day.  The ones I call the professional beggars are the only ones that I hear complaining and I choose not to photograph them. 

Here us my very favorite photo of the trip.  One I never expected to get, but in a rare moment while walking around a monastery grounds I caught this moment in time as these monks where shaving each others heads.  I can  identify with what they were doing but I  have to take care of this on my own.

  A rare moment in this trip to talk with an older woman born of an American father and Burmese mother who spoke very good English.   Her name was Cherry and she was in need of getting her bicycle repaired.  This didn't come out until we were well into a tea break. I thought to call her bluff by offering to go with her to the bike shop and get the tires for her.  She wasn't prepared for this move and reluctantly gave in to my insistence  After a bit of drama and confusion in a bike shop and with a repairman, I was satisfied to leave with the possibility that Cherry would once again be on the road.

Interestingly enough, Cherry teaches kick boxing to the young girls in Mandalay.      

Then there are the endless proud faces of parents and grandparents with children unaware of the world they have been born into.  But they  have the possibility of change and hope for a different future.

Modes of transportation very considerable no matter what part of the country or city that I happened to be in.  Horns and horse feet were usually the sounds that greeted me in the mornings.  Particularly in Bagan where the horse drawn carriages were frequent forms of movement both for the tourists and the locals as they moved their families and equipment around the city.

 Pick up trucks were frequent sights to be seen piled this full and high on the road moving every combination of items that a family or groups might possess.  And to add to the problems of moving, the roads were in such poor conditions that breakdowns such as this were a common sight.

Color is alive and well in this country.  Whether is is in all the gold on the pagodas,  bright patterned umbrellas, or the  colorful yards of material that both men and women wear as local custom.  Silk as in all of southeast Asia, and is sold in all the markets but not visable on the street.

 

This is the end of Part 1 Only 21 of over 600 pictures of a country that I look forward to returning to very soon.  I have just seen the new movie "The Lady" on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi.  I highly recommend the movie for bringing home the story of what this woman has gone through in her life and the fearful conditions that the junta has managed to keep in place for so long.  I don't know when it is to open in the Western world.