burma, myanmar, whatever you want to call it...has fascinated us for awhile.
up until a few years ago, the country was ruled by a military junta with absolute power, and they committed some pretty serious human rights crimes (they also renamed the country myanmar).
the beauty of burma is that it is still untouched by the western world in many places.
it's a third world country that has been closed to the world for many years. there is no mcdonald's, no starbucks, no kfc.
my mom stayed with sage so we could go on our first adventure without her. burma was not a place i was willing to bring our girl. we had planned to travel north where the country is truly untouched, but time only allowed for us to stay in yangon.
i have to come back someday to do this.
never have i seen such poverty at the foot of a beautiful building, or across from a fenced-in mansion. the british influence is still very apparent in the architecture of the yangon buildings.
yet, never have i met such happy people. from our research, and from our conversations with local burmese, i know that many people are hurting under the current government. but, you wouldn't know it by their smiles...the father teaching the son to grind sugar cane on the sidewalk, the little boy in star pajamas holding his mom's hand, the teenager using a bucket of dirty water to shower outside of a shack.
i love that traveling lends a peek into another world.
we knew burma would be hot, but it was HOT. about 100 degrees F hot. it didn't feel as humid as singapore, but the heat, dust, and dirt were overwhelming sometimes.
we stayed at a cute, overpriced hotel called the savoy. and besides our fascination with all things burma, this getaway was about being together.
it was a dream to lay by the pool and read, to take a dip when it got too hot.
it's a third world country that has been closed to the world for many years. there is no mcdonald's, no starbucks, no kfc.
my mom stayed with sage so we could go on our first adventure without her. burma was not a place i was willing to bring our girl. we had planned to travel north where the country is truly untouched, but time only allowed for us to stay in yangon.
i have to come back someday to do this.
never have i seen such poverty at the foot of a beautiful building, or across from a fenced-in mansion. the british influence is still very apparent in the architecture of the yangon buildings.
yet, never have i met such happy people. from our research, and from our conversations with local burmese, i know that many people are hurting under the current government. but, you wouldn't know it by their smiles...the father teaching the son to grind sugar cane on the sidewalk, the little boy in star pajamas holding his mom's hand, the teenager using a bucket of dirty water to shower outside of a shack.
i love that traveling lends a peek into another world.
we knew burma would be hot, but it was HOT. about 100 degrees F hot. it didn't feel as humid as singapore, but the heat, dust, and dirt were overwhelming sometimes.
we stayed at a cute, overpriced hotel called the savoy. and besides our fascination with all things burma, this getaway was about being together.
it was a dream to lay by the pool and read, to take a dip when it got too hot.
this is all too common: huge, gaping holes in the sidewalk. well, everywhere actually. watch where you step.
don't eat the street food.
we decided to walk 25 minutes from our hotel to an art exhibition, but it was so hot, we had to stop in a little grocery store for some air con. this was the "deli" area. appetizing, no?
see the whitish coating on the woman's cheeks? that's thanaka--the beauty secret of myanmar. women rub the organic paste on their cheeks and face daily to block the sun, cool the skin, and control oiliness.
our singaporean friend curated an art exhibition at the institut francais, so we went to check it out in the heat of the day. the burmese artist, NCS, paints on old photographs. his pieces have lots of hidden meaning, and speak to myanmar's rocky past and present.
cars have suddenly swarmed yangon in the past few years since the restriction on vehicles has been lifted. this means lots of traffic jams!
i was cracking up at this guy. the bus's brakes must have been faulty, because every time it would stop, this guy would jump out and put a wooden block behind the wheel. the traffic's moving again? hurry, pick it up and hop back on that bus!
we ate at monsoon twice. it's the most delicious menu of laotion, cambodian, vietnamese, thai, and burmese cuisine.
on top of monsoon is an artisan giftshop. all the proceeds go to charity. i could've bought the whole store! i was trying to convince nate that sage needs that huge purple-spotted giraffe in her future room.
be careful...don't let your goods drop in the sewage below, or pray that concrete doesn't crumble beneath your stool.
we shopped at the big market. burma is famous for their lacquer ware. nate was pretty proud of the lacquer toothpick holder and rose wood cooking spoon he picked out.
and then we were hot and delirious. it was a gift to happen upon a taxi with air con.
the definition of juxtaposition.
Wow-- love these beautiful pictures! Did you eat lots of tea leaves salad? Or is that just on the menu at Americanized Burmese places? It's our new current obsession!
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