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Experience of a Lifetime – Myanmar – Part 3

Cheng — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:35:20 +0000

Mandalay

MandalayHil

From Kalaw I would move on to Mandalay, where I have the most interesting encounter with a trishaw driver, Mr Win Tin. Mr Win Tin offered to drive me around Mandalay. I told him I would get him to give me a ride down to U Bein Bridge in the afternoon if he was still around when I came back after a walk around the town. I walked away thinking that he would not be waiting at the same spot after a span of a few hours since he could ferry other tourists around. Guess what! Mr Win Tin was still there when I walked back in the afternoon. He had no customer from morning to almost 3 pm in the afternoon. Life certainly is not easy in Myanmar! Anyway I struck adeal with him to bring me to U Bein Bridge to watch the sunset for 3,000 Kyats.

Along the way, I found out that Mr Win Tin was in his forties and rented a trishaw everyday. He could speak English well and was knowledgeable. He appreciated independent travellers as they would contribute directly to the locals’ earnings as compared to tourists who signed up with the government tour agencies. The best sunset that I saw during the trip was at U Bein Bridge and I really thanked Mr Win Tin for bringing me there.

Final Destination
My final leg in Myanmar was to Bagan where I stayed in Nyaung U. I rented a one-speed China made, Hero brand bicycle from the hotel for 500 Kyats. One would immediately start to feel the spirit of Old Bagan .
There are simply too many great pagodas in Bagan. A few magnificent ones are Thanibyinnyu Pahto, Gawdawpalin Pahto and Ananda Paht. It was a pity that the staircases leading up to the second and third levels terraces of these pagodas were barricaded. After two hours of walking and cycling I felt tired and took a rest at a local restaurant. I spent some time sitting and chatting with the restaurant owners. One of their family friends (named Zaw Zaw) was an artist and started to join in the chat. With evening approaching, I left the restaurant to find a good spot to capture the sunset.

With my map I navigated to some unknown pagoda where I did get my shots. Then came the challenging part- cycling in the dark. It was different cycling in the dark. You could feel some insects bumping into your face while you were cycling on the dirt track. The main road was better but there were no lamp posts to light the path. I was cycling slowly and at times vehicles behind shone the path for me with their head lights.

Temple at Old Bagan

The next day I decided to venture further by going to New Bagan which was several kilometres away from Old Bagan. In 1990, the residents in Old Bagan were given one week notice to move from Old Bagan to New Bagan. New Bagan was just plots of peanut fields then. New Bagan was quieter, though there were some guesthouses there. I did more pagoda visiting and in a twist of fate, I saw Zaw Zaw, the artist I met the day before at the restaurant. He was selling his art pieces there and warmly invited me for a cup of tea afterwards.

Something interesting happened that night. There was a stage show going on which was similar to our lunar seventh month Ge-tai show. They have drama, songs and dance. The only difference was that the show can last from 9 pm to 6 am in the morning. In between they just blasted music from the loudspeakers. Obviously I did not sleep a wink that night as I could hear the music from my room loud and clear. Lesson learnt-Bring ear plugs!

When it was time to leave Myanmar, I realised that the beauty of this country is in the people and its beautiful scenery. Never mind the political situation, I would recommend you to visit Myanmar and experience it yourself.

Photos from Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3

Cheng — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:19:16 +0000

I have been using the LX3 for the past 3 weeks and pretty happy with its performance. Its small form factor allow me to have it on me all the time during my recent trip to Japan.

I experimented with the various mode like the iA, Scene, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority. I found the ISO3200 settings useful in low night environment which I encountered a few times in my trip.

Here are just a few photos taken during my trip. (Post processing done includes a Level adjustments and image resizing)

Japan Maple Leaves

Hell Valley at Night

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Cheng — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:39:08 +0000

Singapore Botanic Gardens(SBG) is always a good place for budding photographers. Today I would like to share a photograph of the Bandstand. Extract from the SBGwebsite : “A bandstand was erected in the early 1860s as a focal point of the original landscape design of Singapore Botanic Gardens. The present octagonal structure was built in 1930 and staged early evening performances by military bands for many years. Though no longer used for music, the Bandstand continues to be one of the best-known features of the Gardens.”

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Bandstand

Taken on bright day with a blue sky, I add on a circular polarizer to enhance the saturation of both the blue sky and green foilage.

Going Green

Cheng — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:08:02 +0000

Visiting parks in Singapore been a regular activity for me after I took up photography. Despite visiting them regularly I do not find a lack of subjects to shoot. Places like Pulau Ubin, Labrador Parks and Singapore Botanic Gardens are worth visiting often, especially in terms of economic crisis. Go there , breathe in deep and have a good day !

Spiral of Life

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Museum of Islamic Art

Cheng — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:23:59 +0000

The Museum of Islamic Ar in Doha, Qatar is designed by IM Pei open to the public recently. It is located along the Al Corniche, next to Doha Port.

I only had the chance to look at it from the outside as it is open to the public from 10am to 5pm. It look beautiful at night. Here is a photo I took.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Singapore International Photography Festival

Temple Celebration

Cheng — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:30:01 +0000

Depsite recent media reports that the number of Taoists has declined, folk Taoism events can still be seen often in the heartlands.

Often, the event is to celebrate one of the Taoist deity birthday. One of the key highlights is know as ‘Yew kheng’ or a street procession. The procession is like a mini street parade. Mediums in trance, lion dance, lion dance, devotees carrying sedan chairs are all part of it.

Here are a few photos to share :

The tanki is particitating in the 'yew kheng'

Sedan Chair (koi) bearers jumped over a stove of burning charcoal

Holy Whip to drive away all evil forces

Got shadow

Cheng — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:02:02 +0000

i love shadow photos.

Shadow House

Vesak 3 steps one bow

Shadow Boxing

Enter the Dragon

Cheng — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:54:36 +0000

Dragon Dance

Taken during a temple night procession, I used rear curtain sync flash. This?allows the photograph?to exhibit fluidity and movements within the 2 dimensions.

Take your Time 2 – Rear Curtain Sync

12 Lotus

Cheng — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:57:48 +0000

The roots of a lotus grow in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the beautiful flower lies above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Often mistaken with the water lily plant, the obvious difference is that the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the water surface.

Here is a montage of 12 lotus photographs. Enjoy them and learn to be like a lotus.

No related posts.

Remembering the people of Myanmar

Cheng — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:07:30 +0000

While the country is trying to recover from the impact of cyclone Nargis, let us remember the resilience of the people of Myanmar aka Burma. Donations can be made via the Singapore Red Cross. Details at http://www.redcross.org.sg/

Myanmar School Kids

A Myanmar craftsman enjoying his smoke.

A Child Worker resting

A novice monk