A superb set of Martin’s Burma Photographs we gratefully received from him taken on our recent Discover Burma tour, “….quite unlike any land you know about”. Glad you enjoyed the trip Martin and thanks very much for the photos. All pics by Martin with captions and additional text from All Points East.
Rangoon’s circular train Rangoon’s circular train describes a large loop through the downtown area and inner suburbs; it’s very slow, pretty rickety, stops everywhere and only has wooden seats but is, we reckon, a fascinating and ideal introduction to the city and country. A great way to see so many scenes of local life and indeed an opportunity to meet so many of the exceptionally friendly locals!
Young Buddhist monks Not quite sure where this shot of some young monks was taken since both the crimson-robed monks and pink-clad nuns are pretty much ubiquitous right across Burma.
…….and the pink-clad nuns The nuns do provide a particularly photogenic subject and the early morning singing nuns in Kalaw were certainly a highlight. The above photo was taken as we arrived in Nyaungshwe Town.
U Bein Bridge A great shot of another favourite subject – the famous U Bein Bridge near Mandalay, (see our recent post on bridges of Southeast Asia.) The below photo, a particular favourite of ours – fantastic colours, was taken from the bridge itself looking down.
Boat at U Bein Next up is another monk photo – this time in the incredible old teak monastery at Inva ancient city, also close to Mandalay Town.
Monks at Inva Also near Mandalay, the below image was taken as we made a stop at a particularly picturesque roadside flower market. It’s often the improvised stops and spontaneous scenes between planned visits that provide many of the highlights on this, as with any Southeast Asian tour.
Flower vendor near Mandalay Old ladies with fat cigars is another recurring theme of Burma photos to the extent that in some of the more popular tourist destinations women are now posing with huge smouldering cheroots for tips though there are still plenty of opportunities for natural shots such as the above.
Farmer at work Another great natural scene was this farmer at work loading his ox cart on the road between Bagan and Mount Popa.
Palaung House near Kalaw Above an elderly Palaung gentleman in the family house visited during a half-day trek into the hills surrounding Kalaw on the Shan Plateau. We’ll leave you with another awesome photo; a mother and child with thanaka paste, the homemade Burmese cosmetic made by adding water to the ground bark of a thanaka tree and thought by Burmese to keep the skin cool, ward off insects and last but not least, make them look pretty!
Mother, child and thanaka paste Thanks again for the great photos Martin and we’ll be posting a second set very soon.
