We are planning to stay in this country for about two weeks and needed to fly into Yangon Airport as one of the few entry point for foreigners. We had applied for our visas online,printed them off in Bangkok and were good to go!
Yangon is the former capital city of Mynamar with a population of over 5 million people making it the largest and most important city in the country and we have two days to see some of the sights.
We are fortunate to be staying right in the middle of the city so can walk to most places. We are staying in a eight story apartment building with no elevator and we are on the eighth floor. They have encouraging signs on each level as we are puffing our way up...
The guest house is owned by a family and is well run and clean. On the outside it looks quite old, even though it was only built 30 years ago, however these eight story buildings are quite common in downtown Yangon as they provide inexpensive housing for the residents.
As we got in late we rested for awhile and then headed out to find something to eat and drink. We ended up at a large sidewalk place and ordered our first Mynamar refreshment...
A large bottle cost 1.50 and it was tasty!
Our first order of business the next morning was finding the train station and buying our ticket to our next destination. After walking around in the heat we finally found it...
Don buying our tickets, 16 dollars for two for a very long train ride...
By this time the heat was getting to us so we found a coffee shop for a cold drink. It was fancy for here as well as expensive, so the majority of customers were foreigners.
Though we had a great conversation with a young university student who was very interested in our lives and wanted us to know about the hope of his people that the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to establish a democracy. Accordingly to him the new government will officially take office on April 1, 2016 but the country's constitution will not allow her to become President as she married a non Burmese. However for the people of Mynamar she is definitely seen as their leader, more about the politics in another post.
And after all that talk we have a new Facebook friend!
We had heard about the Yangon Circular Train that goes 50 Kms around the city and to the outlying areas that serves as a major transportation vehicle for the local population, such that over 150,000 people ride it every day. So we thought it would be a good way to see some of the local way of life and we were glad we did as it was quite entertaining...
The car we hopped on was filled with flower sellers taking their product to market...
And as the train stopped more people arrived with other products...
This guy sold cigarettes as so many people smoke here!
This guy was rolling up leaves with lime, tobacco and betel nuts in them which many of the people chew. They turn to red liquid and then they spit it everywhere...
A lot of people had bags of plastics that I think may be headed for recycling which is good to see given the amount of garbage everywhere...
Also lots of vegetables...
There was time to eat...
And chat as this older lady was giving the younger one lots of advice!
And a time to sleep...
Many of the people had their faces coated with thanaka, a creamy paste made from wood bark. Myanmarese women have been using this for over 2000 years. Besides being used for cosmetic beauty it also has a cooling sensation and protection from sunburn.
A couple of more pictures of the beautiful people inside the train...
As the train travelled outside the city we saw lots of small farms. Rice is the largest crop produced here in Mynamar with farming being a big part of the economy.
The station stops had lots to see as well...
People selling lots of produce...
The houses along the way ranged from very poor...
To very grand, with high fences and razor wire...
The train was quite old and operating on a narrow gauge track which made for a slow and pleasurable journey...
It also made for great people watching...
This nun was counting her money...
This monk was studying...
And this one asking for money...
Children were playing...
These guys looked to be playing marbles, a game I haven't seen since I was a child...
These boys were on the train with their mother but had sold all their wares and got off at this station with their empty container...
Keeping the sun away...
Keeping busy, these people never stop working...
So many images of a wonderful afternoon in a simple and peaceful country!
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