Mingalabar! Myawaddy, Mawlamyine & Yangon 2016

[katie23]

Pics from Strand Road, which is parallel to the river.

[katie23]

This stage was set up for some dancing & water throwing later on



First time that I've seen this brand of soft drinks

[katie23]

These boats brought people across the river



That's all for now. To be continued...

[katie23]

Hi all, I'll revive this thread with a few pics since there's been a renewed interest in Myanmar (or Burma). I've been busy with life, work, and other travels the past months. If you've viewed my Puerto Galera thread, then that's where I last traveled to, mid September.

Anyway, on with the pics of Myan maa (or that's how it was pronounced by my taxi driver). He spoke English very well - he's an electrical engineer by training but now drives a shared taxi. His daughter, who's in university and whom I met later, speaks English well too.

These are some pics of Strand Road, near the OK Hotel. Hope my net cooperates.

[katie23]

I didn't eat street food in Myanmar, since I was afraid of tummy trouble. Some noodle sellers serve the food by hand...


These ladies seem to have overdosed on thanaka (they use it for sunscreen & beautification).

[katie23]

This area was near a market, so people were arriving to sell their goods.

[katie23]

This is the boat where most of the people came from. Maybe it's similar to the boat which capsized recently. Overcrowding and poor maintenance of vehicles is an issue all over SEA, not just in Myanmar.

[katie23]

This was my 2nd day in Mawlamyine, and the 2nd day of Thingyan (Songkran) too. The taxi driver, K, and his wife, M, invited me to have breakfast with them (bcos maybe they thought I was a nice person, heh!) and also maybe bcos I was their first Filipina guest ever. K said that all his other foreign passengers were Westerners.

K picked me up from my hotel, then we went to his house to pick up his wife and kids. I thought we would eat at their house, but they brought me to a restaurant. Along the way to his house, K stopped the car (a Toyota Probox, similar in size to the Avanza) and showed me these people making dough balls.




They roll the flour (sticky rice flour) in their hands, put a cube of brown sugar inside. Roll it into a ball, then drop the balls into boiling water. Then dust with grated coconut. It's similar to a snack at home (in PI), which is called "palitaw".

[katie23]

I liked the dress of this young lady, very colorful! (not colourful, heh)

(I was taught US English, so to the UK-English snobs, just bear with it! Heh!)

[katie23]

The lady became shy later on


More people making the sticky rice balls. They made it as an offering and gave it to people (like me) for free.

[katie23]

I heard K (the driver) tell the women, Philippine blah3x, so I guess he told them where I was from. I was probably the first Filipina/o that they encountered, in that village. Myanmar is not a popular destination for tourists from the PI, partly because of the visa requirement. Since the need for a visa (for Filipinos) has been lifted recently, that may change in the near future.

Anyway, we went back to the car to pick up his family. I saw a group of monks about to go on their day.


More monks (but this was taken in another place, on the way to the resto)

[katie23]

Before going to the resto, we went to a temple. Here's the exterior.


People praying, including my host K and his family.

[katie23]

Here's the altar - very gold and glittery.


Temple halls




This wasn't in an affluent neighborhood. What amazes is that even in places where the people are poor, the places of worship are always very glittery - be it Buddhist, Christian or Muslim. Same same but different. Who was it that said "religion is the opium of the masses"? Was it Karl Marx?

[david44]

Thanks Katie great stories and pix

[katie23]

Exterior of the temple - view of the river


Many more pointy glittery stuff. Are these stupas, chedis or whatever?

[katie23]

After the temple, it was time to go to the resto for a traditional brekky. Saw a Hindu temple along the way.

[katie23]

Saw a Hindu procession too!


Some of those guys had nice butts. Heh!

[katie23]

Saw a Protestant (or Anglican) church. I liked the diversity of religions in this city.


Trucks and men wearing the longyi (traditional dress for men)

[katie23]

At last, we arrived at the resto. It was quite full for breakfast - must be popular.


These are the sticky rice balls, together with cold rice soup & fish (traditional breakfast in Mawlamyine, accdg to my host).

[katie23]

I also got to taste 2 types of noodle dishes. This one's made of egg noodles.


This one's made of rice noodles with some type of crackling; reminded me of chicharon (pork skin crackling). It doesn't look much, but I liked the taste of this better than the egg noodle dish.

[katie23]

This was my host, K and his family. Very nice people. Mawlamyine wasn't much of a city, but my visit was made memorable because of their hospitality and kindness. I hope I can visit Mawlamyine again and see them.

[katie23]

Before we left the resto, I needed to use the loo. Here's a pic for all ya pervs.

[katie23]

After brekky, my hosts brought me to a viewpoint. Passed by this along the way - Parami Motel. It's near the railway station, but far from the city center. I wouldn't recommend staying in this place - not accessible, unless you had a car or motorbike (or you'll have to take a taxi or tuktuk).

[katie23]

This is where we went to - the Viewpoint.


There were other families out for the day.

[katie23]

Great views


If you look closely, there's a bridge - that's the entrance to the city of Mawlamyine.