Myanmar: So Long and Thanks for all the Poo!

Urban Zombie · #1 Posted **Aug 13, 2013, 5:45 AM**

I ended up running around Myanmar (aka Burma) willy nilly this past December/January for nearly a month. Underneath all the dirt, grime, sweat, heat, jungle, temples, prostitutes, drug traffickers, pristine white beaches, gem mines, bugs, poop, volleyball, alcohol, monkeys, snakes, sinister back rooms and giant stray dog orgies, lies a magical land at least a century behind the rest of the world.

Be forewarned, this shit is long!

• Video Link

Thanks to those who managed to suffer through this until the end.

Danny · #2 Posted **Aug 13, 2013, 2:50 PM**

Amazing pictures and fantastic landscapes, Urban Zombie®!

Really impressive pictures. Thanks for sharing. I love all those temples with those golden domes. Myanmar looks very exotic, a magical land, as you said.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.

giallo · #3 Posted **Aug 13, 2013, 4:37 PM**

Pretty damn unbelievable. You (and others) sold me long ago on this place, but your visual evidence makes a trip down there even more compelling.

I love the light in Burma. Every photo looks like it was shot at dawn or dusk (maybe it was).

ColDayMan · #4 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 1:06 AM**

Wowzers.

franktko · #5 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 1:22 AM**

Great pictures! Do you know what's the deal with the white cream on the cheeks?

Urbanguy · #6 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 3:55 AM**

Fascinating set! Those temples look quite amazing.

KevinFromTexas · #7 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 7:23 AM**

Well now there's something you don't see every day. Good stuff!

Reverberation · #8 Posted **Aug 15, 2013, 7:56 PM**

Very cool! I read somewhere that a while back, the military junta there declared that all drivers were to drive on the right side of the road. But, given the large number of cars imported from Japan, it didn't bode well for passing and as a result the number of traffic fatalities skyrocketed.

Dr Awesomesauce · #9 Posted **Aug 17, 2013, 2:15 AM**

Buddy of mine recently returned from Burma. He's travelled extensively throughout the subcontinent and South East Asia but he'd never seen anything quite so filthy. It's not a very nice thing to say but there you go - I done did it.

Great tour.

R@ptor · #10 Posted **Aug 22, 2013, 1:04 PM**

Fantastic set with lots of great images!

Looks like you travelled around Myanmar during the same time I was there

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Buddy of mine recently returned from Burma. He's travelled extensively throughout the subcontinent and South East Asia but he'd never seen anything quite so filthy.

There is no such thing as a really clean country in the developing world, but Myanmar is far from being the filthiest! If he already thinks Myanmar is filthy but does he about India or Bangladesh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverberation

I read somewhere that a while back, the military junta there declared that all drivers were to drive on the right side of the road. But, given the large number of cars imported from Japan, it didn't bode well for passing and as a result the number of traffic fatalities skyrocketed.

While it is true that Myanmar is the only country in the world where they drive right-hand vehicles on the right side of the road, the rule was actually already introduced in 1970. So the recent increase in traffic fatalities is simply a result of an increasing number of cars on the road.

Urban Zombie · #11 Posted **Sep 13, 2013, 8:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by R@ptor

Fantastic set with lots of great images!

Looks like you travelled around Myanmar during the same time I was there

Haha, those are some pretty random odds. Did you enjoy it?

Quote:

There is no such thing as a really clean country in the developing world, but Myanmar is far from being the filthiest! If he already thinks Myanmar is filthy but does he about India or Bangladesh?

Yeah, I really didn't find it much dirtier than a lot of places in China. Strange that anyone who's travelled the subcontinent would find Myanmar the dirtiest place on Earth.

Anyway, thanks to those who checked this out and responded. I know Myanmar is a far cry from an urban enthusiast's wet dream.

Surrealplaces · #12 Posted **Sep 13, 2013, 8:34 PM**

Awesome pics! Who cares if it's not an urbanists wet dream, the pics are more interesting.

Bedhead · #13 Posted **Sep 15, 2013, 1:41 PM**

Superb, loved every shot

ChiTownCity · #14 Posted **Sep 15, 2013, 6:26 PM**

Loved every bit of it.

First thought: Not Long Enough!

Okayyou · #15 Posted **Sep 18, 2013, 4:01 PM**

I was in Myanmar in April which happened to be the hottest time of year. 105 F in Bagan, ugh.. I also managed to get really sick, giardia? Vomiting most of my time in Inle.

Cool shots. Love the one of Shwedagon at night.

mSeattle · #16 Posted **Sep 18, 2013, 6:05 PM**

That's quite a place and experience. Excellent photos.

IMBY · #17 Posted **Nov 9, 2013, 7:41 AM**

Oh, if it only weren't so far away! At 63, I complain about a 2-hour flight today, and let's see: a 16-hour flight, alone, from L.A. to Bangkok!

Now would be the time to see it, as so many Asian cities modernize way too quickly, destroying all the more interesting elements, and I can only imagine how quickly this country/city will modernize.