Myanmar: Weeks 23 to 27
After leaving Cambodia, my blogging consistency ceased. I will also no longer give the pretense that I am writing in the present. About 50% of my blog posts thus far have been written well after the actual week occurred.
I have broken up our time in Myanmar into two posts, both about 4 weeks long.
In Myanmar, I worked for a mini-grid startup company called Micropower International. In the first 3 weeks of my work, it was just the CEO and I sitting at the same desk in a small office room. He sat at on end of the desk facing one-way, and I sat on the other end of the desk facing the other way. It worked surprisingly well.
Natasha was conducting her own independent research which proved particularly rewarding for her. Over our two months here, she conducted interviews with different organizations, joined me on some of my village surveys, which I will describe in the second post, and did her own field work in the south of Myanmar, which I will also describe in the second post.
Nithya, Natasha's best friend, was also working in Yangon at the time. We shared an apartment together and got to spend plenty of time together.
[caption id="attachment_2775" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
A view from the stairwell outside our apartment.[/caption]
We lived a five-minute walk away from Myanmar Plaza, one of the more upscale shopping malls in Yangon. While Tasha and I are not "mall people", we found ourselves there fairly often, especially me. The food-court was just a little too convenient and I can't resist some good pho...
Next to Myanmar Plaza is a large reservoir which had a nice western view at sunset. I would often take longer walks along the bank.
[caption id="attachment_2793" align="alignnone" width="11982"]
This is a panorama near the end of the walk. The big building on the left is Myanmar plaza.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2794" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I never visited the main tourist attraction in Yangon, Shwedagon. Shwedagon is the biggest Buddhist temple in Myanmar.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2789" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One weekend, we attended an art exhibition at the main colonial building in Yangon shown above. The building was the headquarters for the British during their colonization of Myanmar.[/caption]
The video below shows the entrance to the exhibition.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3Iw1Q_Dpo&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2791" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
I liked some of the pieces in the exhibition like this one, though Natasha and Nithya weren't too keen on the artist.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2790" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
The long, deserted hallways gave the building an eerie feel. I can't imagine what life was like inside the building during the colonization.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2787" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One of our roommates left in the first few weeks of our arrival. We got along well, so we were sad to see him go! Another of our roommates bought him a rainbow cake.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2788" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
After eating, I made some art myself! Can you guess what it is?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2786" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
The next morning we had a pancake breakfast to wish him well.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2776" align="alignnone" width="11732"]
A panorama of our room.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2785" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Another pagoda in downtown Yangon.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2792" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
A government building in Yangon.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2784" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
And an informal rock concert across the street from the building above.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2783" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Natasha and Nithya enjoy some tea leaf salad - one of the main dishes in Myanmar. It is made of fermented tea leaves, fried garlic and lentils, peanuts, garlic, chili, and sometimes tomatoes and cabbage.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2782" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
You often drink tea with the tea leaf salad. The salad was our favorite dish![/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2781" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
A view of downtown Yangon.[/caption]
Here is a random video I took while walking around downtown.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2vnKoeHhEY&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2780" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
Yakun was a tea and coffee shop that we frequented while in Myanmar. They are based in Singapore and have treats from around Southeast Asia like kaya toast, which is toast with kaya jam on it. Kaya jam is made from coconuts and is really yummy.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2779" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Sunset along the reservoir near our apartment.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2778" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
More pancakes! The green jar on the right is Kaya.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2777" align="alignnone" width="13630"]
Another panorama of the reservoir.[/caption]
During the end of January, Natasha's friend Sierra visited us from Hong Kong over Chinese New Year. We visited Bagan, the site of the Burman empire around 1100 AD. The Burman empire was at its peak around the same time as the Khmer empire, which we visited while leaving Cambodia. It is interesting to see how Bagan was different from Angkor and how it reflected cultural differences between the people.
We took a night bus on Thursday night to arrive Friday morning in Bagan for sunrise.
[caption id="attachment_2755" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Sunrise overlooking a temple[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2757" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
There is the sun and some hot air balloons![/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2756" align="alignnone" width="4000"]
Dustin was feeling a little grumpy after sleeping on a bus all night.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2761" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Thought it was worth it![/caption]
In the town nearby the ruins, they let you rent electric scooters, so we enjoyed two days of scootering around the ruins. It was nice having the autonomy to explore.
[caption id="attachment_2799" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One of the main temples, though I forget the name.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2798" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
A statue of Buddha. Bagan is basically hundreds of temples that contain statues of Buddha. That's basically Bagan in a nutshell.[/caption]
The have goats too.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BUkRY2GOk&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2797" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
Atop one of the temples with a few more in the distance.[/caption]
Here is a video of the temples.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgLBqGs8Wq4&w=560&h=315]
And another.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJQw1vZN0M&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2795" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
We also visited a water pump. Did you expect anything different from me?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2796" align="alignnone" width="13556"]
The pump was in the background of this picture. They were watering crops along the river bank.[/caption]
We also took a cooking class while in Bagan to learn to cook Myanmar food.
[caption id="attachment_2767" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Some of our ingredients.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2773" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Sierra, Natasha, and me learning how to write Myanmar numbers from our cooking teacher.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2772" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
I'm stirring the pot.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2771" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
All of our dishes, which include chicken, pork, and fish curries as well as a veggie dish.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2770" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
A close up of the stoves and the simmering pot.[/caption]
Cookingclass-20170128
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq29c1fSPb4&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2774" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
The meal when everything was finished! It was really yummy :)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2766" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
More temples[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2765" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
And some more.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2763" align="alignnone" width="4000"]
All with Buddha statues in them.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2801" align="alignnone" width="2576"]
Some selfies waiting for sunset atop one of the temples.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2802" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
And the sunset.[/caption]
Hopefully, soon I will share photos from our second month in Myanmar, though I may choose to post pictures from our time in Tanzania and Uganda first since we are already in Uganda.
I have broken up our time in Myanmar into two posts, both about 4 weeks long.
In Myanmar, I worked for a mini-grid startup company called Micropower International. In the first 3 weeks of my work, it was just the CEO and I sitting at the same desk in a small office room. He sat at on end of the desk facing one-way, and I sat on the other end of the desk facing the other way. It worked surprisingly well.
Natasha was conducting her own independent research which proved particularly rewarding for her. Over our two months here, she conducted interviews with different organizations, joined me on some of my village surveys, which I will describe in the second post, and did her own field work in the south of Myanmar, which I will also describe in the second post.
Nithya, Natasha's best friend, was also working in Yangon at the time. We shared an apartment together and got to spend plenty of time together.
[caption id="attachment_2775" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
A view from the stairwell outside our apartment.[/caption]We lived a five-minute walk away from Myanmar Plaza, one of the more upscale shopping malls in Yangon. While Tasha and I are not "mall people", we found ourselves there fairly often, especially me. The food-court was just a little too convenient and I can't resist some good pho...
Next to Myanmar Plaza is a large reservoir which had a nice western view at sunset. I would often take longer walks along the bank.
[caption id="attachment_2793" align="alignnone" width="11982"]
This is a panorama near the end of the walk. The big building on the left is Myanmar plaza.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2794" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I never visited the main tourist attraction in Yangon, Shwedagon. Shwedagon is the biggest Buddhist temple in Myanmar.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2789" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One weekend, we attended an art exhibition at the main colonial building in Yangon shown above. The building was the headquarters for the British during their colonization of Myanmar.[/caption]The video below shows the entrance to the exhibition.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3Iw1Q_Dpo&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2791" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
I liked some of the pieces in the exhibition like this one, though Natasha and Nithya weren't too keen on the artist.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2790" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
The long, deserted hallways gave the building an eerie feel. I can't imagine what life was like inside the building during the colonization.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2787" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One of our roommates left in the first few weeks of our arrival. We got along well, so we were sad to see him go! Another of our roommates bought him a rainbow cake.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2788" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
After eating, I made some art myself! Can you guess what it is?[/caption][caption id="attachment_2786" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
The next morning we had a pancake breakfast to wish him well.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2776" align="alignnone" width="11732"]
A panorama of our room.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2785" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Another pagoda in downtown Yangon.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2792" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
A government building in Yangon.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2784" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
And an informal rock concert across the street from the building above.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2783" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Natasha and Nithya enjoy some tea leaf salad - one of the main dishes in Myanmar. It is made of fermented tea leaves, fried garlic and lentils, peanuts, garlic, chili, and sometimes tomatoes and cabbage.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2782" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
You often drink tea with the tea leaf salad. The salad was our favorite dish![/caption][caption id="attachment_2781" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
A view of downtown Yangon.[/caption]Here is a random video I took while walking around downtown.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2vnKoeHhEY&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2780" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
Yakun was a tea and coffee shop that we frequented while in Myanmar. They are based in Singapore and have treats from around Southeast Asia like kaya toast, which is toast with kaya jam on it. Kaya jam is made from coconuts and is really yummy.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2779" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Sunset along the reservoir near our apartment.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2778" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
More pancakes! The green jar on the right is Kaya.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2777" align="alignnone" width="13630"]
Another panorama of the reservoir.[/caption]During the end of January, Natasha's friend Sierra visited us from Hong Kong over Chinese New Year. We visited Bagan, the site of the Burman empire around 1100 AD. The Burman empire was at its peak around the same time as the Khmer empire, which we visited while leaving Cambodia. It is interesting to see how Bagan was different from Angkor and how it reflected cultural differences between the people.
We took a night bus on Thursday night to arrive Friday morning in Bagan for sunrise.
[caption id="attachment_2755" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Sunrise overlooking a temple[/caption][caption id="attachment_2757" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
There is the sun and some hot air balloons![/caption][caption id="attachment_2756" align="alignnone" width="4000"]
Dustin was feeling a little grumpy after sleeping on a bus all night.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2761" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Thought it was worth it![/caption]In the town nearby the ruins, they let you rent electric scooters, so we enjoyed two days of scootering around the ruins. It was nice having the autonomy to explore.
[caption id="attachment_2799" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
One of the main temples, though I forget the name.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2798" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
A statue of Buddha. Bagan is basically hundreds of temples that contain statues of Buddha. That's basically Bagan in a nutshell.[/caption]The have goats too.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BUkRY2GOk&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2797" align="alignnone" width="3024"]
Atop one of the temples with a few more in the distance.[/caption]Here is a video of the temples.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgLBqGs8Wq4&w=560&h=315]
And another.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJQw1vZN0M&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2795" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
We also visited a water pump. Did you expect anything different from me?[/caption][caption id="attachment_2796" align="alignnone" width="13556"]
The pump was in the background of this picture. They were watering crops along the river bank.[/caption]We also took a cooking class while in Bagan to learn to cook Myanmar food.
[caption id="attachment_2767" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Some of our ingredients.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2773" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
Sierra, Natasha, and me learning how to write Myanmar numbers from our cooking teacher.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2772" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
I'm stirring the pot.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2771" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
All of our dishes, which include chicken, pork, and fish curries as well as a veggie dish.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2770" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
A close up of the stoves and the simmering pot.[/caption]Cookingclass-20170128
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq29c1fSPb4&w=560&h=315]
[caption id="attachment_2774" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
The meal when everything was finished! It was really yummy :)[/caption][caption id="attachment_2766" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
More temples[/caption][caption id="attachment_2765" align="alignnone" width="6016"]
And some more.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2763" align="alignnone" width="4000"]
All with Buddha statues in them.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2801" align="alignnone" width="2576"]
Some selfies waiting for sunset atop one of the temples.[/caption][caption id="attachment_2802" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
And the sunset.[/caption]Hopefully, soon I will share photos from our second month in Myanmar, though I may choose to post pictures from our time in Tanzania and Uganda first since we are already in Uganda.
