Myanmar, Me and The World – Adventures
Title image: My guide, Win, took this picture of me in front of the Tayok-phi Temple in Bagan, Myanmar.
When he showed it to me, I was put in mind of a similar picture of me – always with my umbrella.
Here I am in 2016 in front of Guri Amir, the tomb of the conqueror Timur, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Thinking of these two images together, I got to noticing things in a new way as I traveled through Myanmar.
Myanmar, Me and the World: People
Hands-Free Carrying
I caught a glimpse of this woman at the market in Bagan:
She made me think of another woman in Luanda, Angola when I visited that city last year.
I remember being obsessed with the women carrying things so effortlessly on their heads. In the image, above, the woman has in her hand everyone’s most valuable possession, her phone. And nice posture!
Hot Plates
This young man in Yangon is making the wrappers for spring rolls, super fresh:
This older woman outside of Lalibela, Ethiopia is making injira, the super healthy, probiotic bread eaten with every meal:
I visited Ethiopia last summer with Phillip. It is one of the most memorable places I have been. Totally worth the trip.
Myanmar, Me and the World: Things
Fans
The banana fans hanging from the trellis at the market in a suburb of Yangon:
made me think of the fans I saw the month before in shop in Kyoto, Japan:
Hand-crafted Boats
This beauty in Inle Lake:
reminded of a another beauty I saw in 2017 in Ruatoria, New Zealand:
The Māori were absolutely awesome sailors. Imagine getting in this thing and sailing across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. Nope, I can’t imagine it!
Durian Fruit
You either love ’em or hate ’em. In any case durian has a distinct smell. Here’s a nice spiny bunch of them lolling around on the back of a truck near the market in downtown Yangon.
And here are the buildings officially known as Esplanades on the Bay, in downtown Singapore. I visited this city-state before going to Myanmar.
There are actually two of these buildings, side by side. The locals call them the Big Durians.
Dresses
This display of clothing at a riverfront shop in Bagan:
brought to mind another display I saw in Tashkent, Uzbekistan:
Myanmar, Me and The World: Lake Travel
Zipping along Inle Lake, approaching the hotel by water:
reminded me of speeding along Lake Tana, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
We were going to a monastery on an island, so accessible only by boat.
I could go on and on, but these few juxtapositions are enough. We live in a rich world of repeating patterns with infinite variations.
Categorised in: Adventure, Blog, East Asia
This post was written by Julie Tetel Andresen
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