Myanmar has been in the news lately for the genocide of the Rohingya people. When I visited in 2014, I had heard similar news, but on a much smaller scale. I loved the country’s natural beauty, magnificent temples, and friendly people, and it’s heartbreaking to listen to the horrifying stories today and associate them with the place I remember.
I started off my journey solo in Mandalay before heading to Yangon to meet up with my friends. Thanks to a series of serendipitous events, I found a history teacher who drives taxis during the summer to take me around the city, and perhaps show me a few places that tourists usually don’t get to see. I absolutely loved the photos I took of people here, and couldn’t just pick out one. So here’s a few of my favorite Mandalay portraits:
Hundreds of tourists line up along the path to see young monks get their lunch at the Mahagandayon Monastery. I guess by now they are immune to the gawking, but I was still flustered when this young boy caught me red handed.
This is the kitchen at the monastery, where food was prepared in giant cauldrons in what looks like a pretty precarious cooking structure.
At the Sutaungpyei Pagoda on top of Mandalay Hill, I snuck a photo of this visiting monk taking a photo. I know it’s outdated thinking, but it’s still weird when I see people in religious robes using modern technology!
At the Mahamuni Buddha Temple where you can pay to cover Buddha’s face with gold leaves, I stumbled upon a religious procession of some sort and caught a glimpse of these beautifully dressed young ladies.
Teahouses are the place to be in Mandalay. You can find one on pretty much every street corner, get a pot of tea, some delicious Burmese snacks, smoke a cigarette, and take a break from your day.
This is my awesome tricycle driver who took me everywhere as part of my foodie tour. Whenever we stopped at a restaurant, he would take out his newspaper and see what’s going on in the world.
Of course, I had to take the opportunity to be the driver for 30 seconds. Not sure if the smile on his face is one of exasperation of amusement, but I’d like to think that he enjoyed being the passenger for once!
At the beautiful Shwenandaw Monastery, I saw a young girl scrubbing the foot path by hand, cleaning each tile with a tiny piece of cloth. The path is surrounded by a field of dirt, which is unavoidable when a visitor wants to actually walk onto the path. I wondered if she ever complained about the futility of her task, or just accepted it with resignation.
Not too far from the monastery is the Irrawaddy River, which runs north and south through the entire country and serves as its main commercial waterway. Hundreds of bamboo shacks are haphazardly constructed on the river bank, where families live their entire lives.
Along the river side road, you can see a number of people going about their daily work, many of them chopping up bamboo into little sticks. I guess this was the first time I ever thought about where my sticks on my skewers came from.
Both men and women wear longyi, which is pretty much a wrap dress. As you can see, shoes are optional even for dressed up people.
Last but not least, I leave you with these two kids, who saw me going through the shrines containing the world’s largest book in marble slabs, and invited me to take the photo for them (and didn’t ask for money, which is common in many third world countries now). Seeing their smile brings a smile to my face 🙂
Leave a Reply