Day 1-3: Jet Lag, Yangon, and Portrait Photos
Day 1
Arrive in Yangon early in the morning. I had to check my tripod in Taiwan as there is apparently a maximum tripod length of 25cm. Who knew? Everything went through fine though. There were no issues with visas on entry either. We exchanged some money at 1285 Khat to $100USD. With the Canadian exchange rate things work out to 1000 khat = $1 CAD.
Hopped in a taxi and head to Adam W's roommates' families house. The house is in a very well off neighbourhood. The family has a driver, watchmen and some help for cooking and cleaning. The house is huge and has a very colonial feel to it. One of the neighbours, a famous singer, owns Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, hummers, Maserati's etc.
After a quick snack, we made our way out to Shwedagon Pagoda, the most important religious site in Myanmar. Lots of Buddhas, gold, intricate details carved in and some Vegas style LEDs lighting things up. Jet lag came and went in waves. Had a nice tour guide named Michael show us around.
Got home and passed out at 930pm.
Day 2
Woke up at 5am. Walked down to Inya Lake. Did some meditation and grabbed tea on the way back home. Chai tea is a thing here, (they call it milk tea), though it is not nearly as delicious or spiced as in India.
We did some photography 101 sessions and got home for 9am. Had some breakfast and then took a 20min nap that lasted 6hours. Woke up for dinner. Head out in the evening with the intent of catching a train that goes from Yangon Central and serves the outlying areas. Got there too late and wandered around, stopping at a street tea shop/Cafe/restaurant. Sat at tables and chairs usually used by very small children. We felt like Giants. To call for the bill, people make a kissing noise. This proved interesting sitting in these tiny chairs and turning to make a kissing noise at the very young (12yrs) kid serving us. Head to Ginko's, a the beighbourhood bar and then go home. Sleeping by 12am.
Day 3
Woke up at 5am. Head to catch the train around Yangon (we made it this time!). 3 hour train ride that showed a lot more poor areas and impromptu housing. Went to visit an orphanage and play with some young (1-3yrd old) kids. Head to the bus station and make our way to Kyaikto to see a huge boulder covered in gold balancing precariously on a cliff edge now serving as a temple.
Some random thoughts
My first impression of Myanmar is nothing at all what I was expecting or read about. The borders have been open since 2011, and since that time progress here has been exponential. All the cars are brand new, automatic transmission Toyotas; cars and SUVs. Everyone has smart phones and tablets. There are ATMs (not sure how many work), wifi, supermarkets, air conditioning and very clean streets. We saw maybe 1/20 the number of stray dogs I saw in India. In the last three days we encountered 3 people begging for money; none of them were disfigured. Streets are clean and their are high rise apartments and hotels going up everywhere.
The country seems to be a mix of traditional and new: thunga (aka skirt) wearing men chewing red beetle nut tobacco while checking their Facebook. Anything you read or hear about the country more than 6 months ago is probably out of date.
I'm not sure exactly how all the wealth and money has trickled down to the "common" people. Mind you we have only been downtown, but even on the train that goes around Yangon outskirts, everyone has smart phones. We were told that a lot of military folk involved in government held on to their money and were afraid to show wealth. Since the border has opened, people have been more willing to spend money.
Military presence has been non existent. We've seen some police and security around, but nothing surprising for the area of the world.
No one seems surprised to see white people. In India/ China, people would gawk at you, presumably they've never seen a white person in the flesh. Here in Yangon, people don't even look twice. Once again I'm confused; a country with recently opened borders and yet seeing us is no big deal... Definitely not what I expected.
On a completely unrelated note I've always found portrait photography fascinating; capturing people's faces, their emotions and interactions. I decided to try doing some portraits on this trip and had one of the most uncomfortable social situations since deciding to talk to girls I find attractive. It took me 20 minutes, but I asked a young girl on the train wearing a traditional facial cream to protect against the sun for a picture. Her friends laughed and told me to go ahead (no English) and we awkwardly made it happened. The picture is average, but I will never forget the moment as the first time I asked to take a portrait.