I took countless photos of people from Myanmar – from children, field workers, monks, people on the streets of Yangon – everywhere you point the camera there is an interesting face. The only other place where I could literally not stop from taking photos of people was India. Myanmar is just as fascinating.
This is the beginning of a short series of photos I took in Myanmar, especially portraits of people.
I am not the greatest bird fan – but how could I say no to visiting the largest open aviary in the world? All thoughts of birds crapping on me, the standard afternoon rain did not even count. So – in Kuala Lumpur I had to visit this park. And of course take lots of pictures.
This happened almost one week ago – I am already that late in posting photos and stories.
I do have a post in work regarding the joys f an open-water diving course – but that is in the future.
Now – enjoy these bird pictures.
After 3 days spent in Kuala Lumpur, a daytrip to Melakka, countless bubble teas and lots of pictures taken it is time to move on.
Tonight I have a train ticket to Tanah Merah – and then a ferry from Kuala Besut to the Perhentian Islands. Right now I am in an Internet Cafe, trying to get a bit up to date with the blog writing. Fortunately I have uploaded a few photos to Picasa, but still a lot are only on my netbook.
Kuala Lumpur is far more pleasant to walk and do some sightseeing than Bangkok. That is the first thing I noticed.The second – the combination of skyscrapers (Petronas towers are just some of them), large parks and small green patches, different street food and a better hostel made me really enjoy Kuala Lumpur. Some of the better photos – or at least more interesting – unfortunately will come later.
For now – these are some pictures I took in the first evening here.
One of the things to see in Bangkok, and a very pleasant introduction to Thai art, is a visit to Jim Thompson museum. The ex-OSS (what is today known as CIA) turned entrepreneur and who revived the Thai silk manufacturing was also a passionate art collector. And what better setting for sculptures, glassware and traditional furniture than a group of traditional Thai houses in the middle of Bangkok? Even if a visiting a museum is not high on the to-do list in Bangkok – this one is a very refreshing and pleasant experience.
Burma – a place with a name that conjures magic images. From Schwedagon Paya to Bagan, Mandalay and Rangoon, Myanmar has a lot to offer. As Rudyard Kipling said – “this is Burma – and it will be quite unlike any land you know about”. So – expectations are high, camera ready – and visa in the passport. And this post is all about getting the elusive Myanmar visa.
Why elusive? Because there are no embassies in a lot of countries – for Romanians a trip to Belgrade is necessary. Or getting it i Bangkok (like I did). Putting the wrong profession in the application form can lead to denial. And as the word of mouth at the hostel goes – having a too darlk or too light photo can also cause problems.
Doing a Google search also show a labyrinth of information – a lot of website devoted to electronic visas (if there is such thing), offering visa services, and only 2 or 3 blog posts that state how to get the actual visa.
My luck started when I discovered that the hostel is in walking (Asian, but still) distance from the embassy. So – one trip on Monday with: passport, 2 photos (3.5×4.5cm), and the first hotel address from Lonely Planet. i think that hotel gets a lot of virtual tourists. At the embassy I had to pay 5 baht for a passport copy,and 820 baht for the actual visa. For 200 baht more you can pick the visa next day, and some people payed 1300 baht for same day service. Same day service is available only if you queue at 9am. People who came at 1pm could only ask for a second day service.
The visa pick-up service is from 3:30pm (not 1pm as it is on the embassy placque – however on the paper slip it is clearly written 3:30pm). Pick-up took no more than 20 minutes, the double queue to get the visa form and the order number took 40 minutes. Pretty quick and efficient.
So – in short – it was an easy and painless experience, and no need to use weird tout services. There is also a photo center nearby in case of lost / forgotten photos, and some good food options nearby if you want to hangout and wait to pick the passport same day.
I hope this might prove useful for people who intent to get this visa and are scared by the online information floating around.
Cannot wait to actually visit the country!
Ayuthaya – the old Thai capital – is just 1h30 by train from Bangkok. So after a morning spent at the Myanmar embassy applying for the visa I decided to spend the rest of the day doing a short trip to Ayuthaya. So off to the train station – which fortunatelly is just 2 MRT stations from where I have the hostel.
The train ride costs a whooping 15 baht (the metro costs 18, and a beer starts at 60 baht), and riding the 3rd class is an experience in itself (good one, just to be clear).
Once in Ayuthaya I discovered that seeing most of the temples can be done either with a tuk tuk ride,or by renting a bike, as the distances are too much for simply walking. So after 2 or 3 years of no riding I decided to test the old saying that “biking once learned is never forgotten.”. True saying by the way…
The downside to the bike ride is that I took very few photos – meaning less than 100 – but being able to visit most of the temples, the floating market, and a few out of the way areas was absolutely great.
I definitively intend to repeat the experience in other cities.
Another photo from Sri Lanka, again with a boat at sunset.
I see a pattern here: depressing autumn outside – and I start dreaming about holidays.
Sri Lanka is famous for it’s tea plantations. In the central highlands in Sri Lanka there are huge hill slopes covered in tea bushes, and seeing women going to pick the tea leaves is a common sight. Some of these plantations have shops, and eagerly serve you a cup of tea (as a cup of good, nicely prepared tea can lead to some purchasing).
Of course – this is a nice photo opportunity, which I couldn’t miss.
I realized I hadn’t posted any photo from Sri Lanka – which is a shame as it is a very interesting and fascinating country. As I process more photos from that trip – with highlights as the ascension on Adam’s Peak in the middle of the night or tea-picking women – I will post a full photo gallery the following days.
