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bustak · 22-03-2008, 12:14 AM

Last month I took a 5 hour bus trip to a town on the Thai-Burma border called Mae Sot. I had some business to tend to, so afterwards I decided to head 25 minutes west in to Burma for a few hours. My gf (now ex) came with, she has never been outside of Thailand, so she was game too.

Well as we got through customs I had my passport stamped & the ex had her ID stamped we walked along the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge. As we were walking along this bridge we were greeted by a Burmese man in his mid 50's (he's the cat w/ the green hat in the 2nd picture), who smelled of whiskey & had rotten teeth from chewing that red seed crap. He spoke pretty good English & didn't seem overly-mad.

He was telling us to be careful of the government & what to & not to take pictures of. As soon as we got in to Burma we thought he was going to bounce, but we were wrong, he kept on following us! We would dip into stores, walked in zig zags, & he was still on our tails. So I offered him some money to go away, around 40 baht, & he refused. He said we'd be safer if he stayed with us. Well my friend was getting really scared, then all of the sudden a guy from the Burmese Customs office came along & grabbed him & took him off to god knows where! Well to say the least we kept on seeing that government official through out the day.

I thought there would be a lot of foreigners in this area of Burma, but I was WRONG. For the 4 hours we spent there, we only saw 1 older English couple. The ex, who's Thai was getting a lot of stares, because it was obvious she wasn't Burmese, so I was getting CRAZY stares for being a westerner!

Some of the people were really aggressive & weirded out by our presence, my friend wanted to leave after the 1st 30 minutes.

I was able to buy a few hours out of her to stay in Burma, so in that time I took pictures even more furious than usual, because I knew time was limited. As you can tell most of the pictures are in 3 separate locations: along a busy street, in a market, & along Friendship Bridge. Burma was such a interesting place, that even in that small section of Earth I was able to point the camera [at] some incredible/interesting stuff.

rawlins · 22-03-2008, 12:57 AM

Good pictures again.... You capture some good characters - does anybody ever get cheesed off at you taking their photo or do you always ask permission first?

I fancy a trip to Yangoon some time.... Have to tick Burma off my list... Too lazy to get visas sorted out though... Some day.

bustak · 22-03-2008, 01:10 AM

If I don't ask for permission, people usually don't realize I snapped their photo.

A lot of the people who are looking [at] me in these shots are looking at me for being a white guy in Burma, not snapping a "from the hip shot."

Propagator · 22-03-2008, 04:34 AM

Great pics again - the machinery won't let me give you another green yet.

Mid · 22-03-2008, 09:23 AM

^ x2

keep 'em coming

thanxs

buad hai · 22-03-2008, 09:25 AM

Damn fine photos. Really well done.

Begbie · 22-03-2008, 01:14 PM

What's the story here ?

natalie8 · 22-03-2008, 01:22 PM

None of your pics show for me. I've been able to see other pics on this forum. What's up?

dirtydog · 22-03-2008, 01:27 PM

work for me.

bustak · 22-03-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natalie8

None of your pics show for me. I've been able to see other pics on this forum. What's up?

Natalie are you really in Dubai? If so flickr is banned there.

The pictures I'm posting are from my flickr account. Sorry about that.

bustak · 22-03-2008, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Begbie

What's the story here ?

The "lady" on the right is my ex-gf.

Seriously a couple of Burmese lb's started calling out to me when I walked by, so I took a hip shot of these 2. This one turned out bad, because I was carrying my gf's bag [at] the time, so I had to adjust it a lot in PS.

natalie8 · 23-03-2008, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bustak

Quote:

Originally Posted by natalie8

None of your pics show for me. I've been able to see other pics on this forum. What's up?

Natalie are you really in Dubai? If so flickr is banned there.

The pictures I'm posting are from my flickr account. Sorry about that.

I am. that's a major drag. I have a Flickr acc't. I guess I won't be able to see my pics? I should try it. If that's the case, can we figure out a way for you to send your pics to me? Of all the threads with pics, yours is the one I really want to see. I've never travelld in Burma, but my mother and stepfather have a few times. They have Burmese friends who have warned them about similar things and I really want to see a pictorial experience. :-(

natalie8 · 23-03-2008, 12:37 PM

I just tried it and no go.

bustak · 23-03-2008, 12:39 PM

^ PM me your e-mail address, I can send you these. I have them in my gmail account.

What are you doing in Dubai? Making a bunch of cash teaching English?

natalie8 · 23-03-2008, 12:43 PM

Thanks, bustak. I'll PM you in a minute. I'm not teaching here, I'm looking for a job in my previous field, which is sales / marketing. There are loads of jobs available, so I pretty much have my pick of the crop.

unkleblacky · 24-03-2008, 10:46 AM

qulaity pic, the one of the toy soldier is my favourite

one of those ladyboys looks like shes got green ears growing out of the top her head hehe, is that a side effect from all those hormone pills???

bustak · 24-03-2008, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkleblacky

one of those ladyboys looks like shes got green ears growing out of the top her head hehe, is that a side effect from all those hormone pills???

555555555555, I didn't notice that, funny!

thai-papa-jim · 24-03-2008, 09:36 PM

Great photos. Thanks for outting them up.

No - I hadn't noticed the green ears until unkleblacky pointed them out.

Pansodan · 11-04-2008, 06:23 PM

bustak- great pics, more of that

Sputnik · 14-08-2008, 03:25 PM

The guy making the lunge towards you....was he p1ssed about having his mug shot taken ?? Good pics BTW.

22-03-2008, 12:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
bustak Found it! Last Online: Yesterday 10:41 PM Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fiji Posts: 1,538	Some people in Burma Last month I took a 5 hour bus trip to a town on the Thai-Burma border called Mae Sot. I had some business to tend to, so afterwards I decided to head 25 minutes west in to Burma for a few hours. My gf (now ex) came with, she has never been outside of Thailand, so she was game too. Well as we got through customs I had my passport stamped & the ex had her ID stamped we walked along the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge. As we were walking along this bridge we were greeted by a Burmese man in his mid 50's (he's the cat w/ the green hat in the 2nd picture), who smelled of whiskey & had rotten teeth from chewing that red seed crap. He spoke pretty good English & didn't seem overly-mad. He was telling us to be careful of the government & what to & not to take pictures of. As soon as we got in to Burma we thought he was going to bounce, but we were wrong, he kept on following us! We would dip into stores, walked in zig zags, & he was still on our tails. So I offered him some money to go away, around 40 baht, & he refused. He said we'd be safer if he stayed with us. Well my friend was getting really scared, then all of the sudden a guy from the Burmese Customs office came along & grabbed him & took him off to god knows where! Well to say the least we kept on seeing that government official through out the day. I thought there would be a lot of foreigners in this area of Burma, but I was WRONG. For the 4 hours we spent there, we only saw 1 older English couple. The ex, who's Thai was getting a lot of stares, because it was obvious she wasn't Burmese, so I was getting CRAZY stares for being a westerner! Some of the people were really aggressive & weirded out by our presence, my friend wanted to leave after the 1st 30 minutes. I was able to buy a few hours out of her to stay in Burma, so in that time I took pictures even more furious than usual, because I knew time was limited. As you can tell most of the pictures are in 3 separate locations: along a busy street, in a market, & along Friendship Bridge. Burma was such a interesting place, that even in that small section of Earth I was able to point the camera [at] some incredible/interesting stuff. __________________ "I'm never gonna work another day in my life The gods told me to relax They said I'm gonna be fixed up right" Monster Magnet

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22-03-2008, 12:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
rawlins Cha Am Last Online: Yesterday 09:36 PM Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 734	Good pictures again.... You capture some good characters - does anybody ever get cheesed off at you taking their photo or do you always ask permission first? I fancy a trip to Yangoon some time.... Have to tick Burma off my list... Too lazy to get visas sorted out though... Some day.

22-03-2008, 01:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
bustak Found it! Last Online: Yesterday 10:41 PM Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fiji Posts: 1,538	If I don't ask for permission, people usually don't realize I snapped their photo. A lot of the people who are looking [at] me in these shots are looking at me for being a white guy in Burma, not snapping a "from the hip shot."

22-03-2008, 04:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
Propagator Old Git Last Online: 01-12-2008 08:00 PM Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Runcorn, Cheshire, UK formerly Epsom Surrey. Posts: 2,748	Great pics again - the machinery won't let me give you another green yet.

22-03-2008, 09:23 AM	#5 (permalink)
Mid Nautical Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 8,045	^ x2 keep 'em coming thanxs

22-03-2008, 09:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
buad hai Gone Fishing Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ratsima Posts: 3,733	Damn fine photos. Really well done.

22-03-2008, 01:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
Begbie Senior Member Last Online: Yesterday 08:45 PM Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lagrangian Point Posts: 5,561	What's the story here ?

22-03-2008, 01:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
natalie8 Kanchanaburi Last Online: 08-10-2008 08:06 PM Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 183	None of your pics show for me. I've been able to see other pics on this forum. What's up?

22-03-2008, 01:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 01:09 AM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Posts: 34,498	work for me.

23-03-2008, 12:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
natalie8 Kanchanaburi Last Online: 08-10-2008 08:06 PM Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 183	I just tried it and no go.

23-03-2008, 12:39 PM	#14 (permalink)
bustak Found it! Last Online: Yesterday 10:41 PM Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fiji Posts: 1,538	^ PM me your e-mail address, I can send you these. I have them in my gmail account. What are you doing in Dubai? Making a bunch of cash teaching English?

23-03-2008, 12:43 PM	#15 (permalink)
natalie8 Kanchanaburi Last Online: 08-10-2008 08:06 PM Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 183	Thanks, bustak. I'll PM you in a minute. I'm not teaching here, I'm looking for a job in my previous field, which is sales / marketing. There are loads of jobs available, so I pretty much have my pick of the crop.

24-03-2008, 10:46 AM	#16 (permalink)
unkleblacky Roi Et Last Online: Yesterday 02:29 PM Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Guernsey, United Kingdom Posts: 229	qulaity pic, the one of the toy soldier is my favourite one of those ladyboys looks like shes got green ears growing out of the top her head hehe, is that a side effect from all those hormone pills???

24-03-2008, 09:36 PM	#18 (permalink)
thai-papa-jim Chiang Mai Last Online: 02-12-2008 08:52 PM Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 10	Great photos. Thanks for outting them up. No - I hadn't noticed the green ears until unkleblacky pointed them out.

11-04-2008, 06:23 PM	#19 (permalink)
Pansodan Nai Harn Beach Last Online: 19-05-2008 02:49 PM Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 32	bustak- great pics, more of that

14-08-2008, 03:25 PM	#20 (permalink)
Sputnik Koh Chang Last Online: Yesterday 04:25 PM Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Outer Orbit Posts: 71	The guy making the lunge towards you....was he p1ssed about having his mug shot taken ?? Good pics BTW.

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