After ten days in Burma we had come to expect the unexpected. We began our trip to the Inle Princess Resort in a noisy diesel-driven long boat. It was along the way that we saw our first leg-rowers. Yes, they really do row with their leg. It’s a balancing act you have to see to…
Author: thedude
Farewell Mandalay, Hello Heho
As we say goodbye to Mandalay, we begin what will be our best days in Burma.
U Bein Bridge
Later that day we took an emotionally draining walk half way across the U Bein Bridge. Along the way the sites ranged from beautiful to bizarre. We might have walked back too, but opting for a boat ride instead meant we would not have to see the heart-breaking sights again. Once in the boat, we…
Mahamuni Pagoda
I’ll change the title of this entry as soon as my guide replies to my e-mail asking him where we were when we shot these. At least I remember why we came. It was to see an unusual Buddha. At this temple and elsewhere, it’s customary for worshipers to purchase a small piece of gold…
World’s Largest Book
Yet another of ancient Burma’s mind-boggling sights on the grounds of the Kuthodaw Pagoda, this “book” consists of 729 stupas – each containing a single two-sided page from the massive PΔli Canon. Wikipedia has a nice shot from Mandalay Hill, which gives you a better idea of the size of this “book”.
Shwe Nan Daw Monastery
After a boat ride back from Mingun and a delicious Thai lunch with our wonderful guide, we visited an ancient monastery – every square inch of it carved by hand. This most beautiful teak wood building, was erected inside the Palace at Mandalay by king Mindon, the founder of Mandalay. After he died in 1878,…
Our Number One Travel Tip
You can avoid the throngs of children and the trinkets they they have for sale by taking advantage of the local transportation. Here we avoid the onslaught by taking a peaceful, but bumpy ride on an oxcart back to our boat.
Mya Thein Tan
I swear that I saw this lovely temple referred to as the “whipped cream temple” somewhere. You can see why. This was one of my favorite temples. Nearby, we stopped to have a look at the Massive Mingun Bell. Weighing in at 90 tons, it is the world’s largest cast bronze bell.
Mingun in the Morning
On the morning of our ninth day in Burma, we took another slow boat ride up the Irrawaddy. This time, our destination was the huge, unfinished Mingun Pahtodawgyi. If it had been finished, it would have easily been the largest pagoda in Burma – nearly 500 feet tall! In its ruined state, it’s merely the…
Even in Burma, Obama is The Man
This well-dressed man ran up to us and asked if we were American. When we said yes, he held up this newspaper and nearly shouted, “Obama! I love this man! I’m going to frame this picture and hang it on my wall!” We were greeted with this sort of excitement about our president-elect everywhere we…
OK – Back to Burma
Now that the Christmas carnage is over, I can finally share another of those “Man, it’s a small world!” moments that happened to us while in Burma. On the eighth day of our trip, we told our guide that we were too tired to go out that night. We said we’d just stay in and…
Burmese Santa Claus
The very last thing we thought we’d be bringing home from Burma is Christmas cards! We bought these from one of the many children who descended on us at every tourist stop. Anyway, I’m glad we bought them – they are so unusual. π
Syun Oo Pone Nya Shin Temple
This beautiful temple is on Sagaing Hill, has a great view of the Irrawaddy River and a fantastic tile floor. We loved the colors and the geometric patterns. The shot was made by stitching eight images together. The view encompasses a bit more than 180 degrees.
Syun Oo Pone Nya Shin
This is not my favorite Buddha, but the light is nice, and you can see the LED halo better than on most of my shots.
Kaung Mhu Daw Pagoda
This was shot inside one of the five prayer halls flanking the pagoda. I have some nice shots of the pagoda itself which I will publish in a day or two. I think this one needs to stand alone. You can’t see it well in the gallery shot, but like many of the Buddha’s we…
Silk Weaving in Amurapura
On day 8, we saw how colorful silk fabrics are assembled one thread at a time at Thein Nyo Silk Weaving. The very detailed work is slow and repetitious, taking up to a month or more to finish a single piece of fabric. Workers are paid by the piece so sisters sometimes team up to…
Day 8 – Mandalay
We flew from Bagan to Mandalay, checked in to the Sedona Mandalay, (our least favorite hotel on the trip) and immediately headed to a monastery in Amurapura to get a glimpse of monk life. While there, we were told that we would not be able to visit parts of the monastery, because there was a…
Bagan, Myanmar – Take III
While Kelly indulged in yet another spa treatment, Tum and I went back to the temples to shoot some more. We weren’t alone. A hundred or more people came to watch the sunset. Later, we arrived back at the Thiripytsaya just in time to see this.
Shwezigon Pagoda
One of the most revered temples in Bagan, its recently restored dome sparkled against the deep blue sky. Too bad the bottom half was obscured for further restoration work.
Sunset Cruise on the Irrawaddy
We finally closed out day six of our jam-packed adventure on a private boat. We cruised lazily upstream for a few miles, and floated back with the engine off as the sun set. Beautiful.
Bagan Lacquer Factory
It’s hard to believe we did all of these things in just one day. We’re STILL on day 6 of the trip. We visited another Buddha in a cramped temple at the Manu Ha compound, where the closed-in feeling of the place evokes the stress of captivity at the hand of a brutal Burmese king….
Ananda Temple
The outside of the temple is beautiful, but it’s what’s inside that really shines – four spectacular gilded wooden Buddhas. (These shots are all high-resolution vertical panoramas. Look for large copies of these printed on metallic paper in thedude’s loft soon!)
Bagan Panorama
I did not do nearly as much of this sort of thing as I had hoped to. I had grand plans about producing some of the highest resolution images of Burma in existence. Well, the blistering pace of our trip made it impossible to stand in one spot long enough to create any Gigapan’s at…
Landing a Balloon is Not a Strict Science
When we left off, we were floating peacefully above the Bagan plain watching the first of the two balloons land as planned in a field below us. We were too high to land, so our pilot, Ian, sized up the situation and decided to shoot for a sandy spot on an island in the middle…
Bagan – Take II
At sunrise on our sixth day in Burma, (That’s right – we’re only half way through our amazing trip, folks.) we boarded a hot-air balloon and got a different view of the temples in the Bagan area. Our guide explains that it’s well known when the 1,500+ temples were built, but that it’s not clear…
Ancient Bagan – Take One
We raced to the ruins by horse cart, but arrived at the best viewpoint two minutes after the light had faded. I immediately made plans to return under better lighting conditions, and continued snapping anyway. There’s plenty to shoot. If nothing else, there are always children. There are more adorable children in Burma than there…
Say Bagan Thiripytsaya Sakura
We spent just one night at Mount Popa. We both wish we had stayed longer, but we were not disappointed with our next stop – the lovely Bagan Thiripytsaya Sakura Hotel. Our room at the hotel has great views of the Irrawaddy River – Myanmar’s mightiest. There is also a huge inviting pool, and a…
Mount Popa
We wound up later than day at in a spectacular bungalow at the Popa Mountain Resort. The resort is perched on the side of the mountain overlooking Popa Taungkalat – a 2,400 foot tall volcanic plug with a Buddhist monastery on top. We decided against climbing the 777 steps to the top, and instead got…
Bagan and a Country Farm
We said farewell to the Governor’s Residence and took a short flight on Yangon Airways to the Bagan airport, where we were greeted once again by smiling faces. (On a related note, I just saw this story on FriskoDude’s blog. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our travel planner William for booking us…
Scott’s Market
Also known these days as Bogyoke Aung San Market, the bustling market in the heart of Yangon offers something for every kind of nut.