Days of Gold in Burma: Yangon Photo Essay

In 2011, while travelling in Southeast Asia, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Burma on my travels. Unsure of what to expect, I was impressed and surprised by the kindness and overall warmth of the Burmese people towards travellers. It's hard to express just how wonderful it was, so I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Your cheeks will ache from returning so many smiles. Burmese people are some of the sweetest and most smiley people I’ve ever encountered. They smile at a glance, and show warm interest in visitors to their country. These two kiddies sat down and smiled at Inya Lake. This is the biggest lake in Yangon, and it is a hangout for middle schoolers with guitars and couples alike. For tourists, it’s a nice stop as it’s free (compared to the slightly more jazzed up Kandawgyi Lake).  Rent a bicycle for $3 a day and ride up Inya Road to have your own lake adventure.

Let Shwedagon Paya steal your heart and dance in your memories for years to come after you visit. It is the most sacred place in all of Myanmar, and it is visible from almost any vantage point in the former capital of Yangon, as it stands tall and above the rest of the city.

When entering the temple, you pay a 6,000 kyat entrance fee (roughly $6), all of which goes to the government. It’s the unfortunate price for seeing such an incredible wonder. You should mostly steer clear of government-run guesthouses and transportation during your stay in Myanmar, but this site remains an absolute must-see.

Ask if your guesthouse offers traditional Myanmar breakfasts. Pictured above is “pe nam bya”, which is Indian flat bread served with boiled garden peas with a bit of groundnut oil. This breakfast was offered free with a night’s stay at the Motherland Inn 2 in Yangon (who also conveniently offer free airport pickup too).

Hunt for lucky snakes on the street, and strike up a conversation with the vendor. Often the greatest conversations and connections you’ll develop in Yangon will be with street vendors.

The Than Zay Market will give your sinuses a kick. Get yourself to the New Bogyoke Market on Shwedagon Paya Road, and walk south to the Indian quarter. You’ll soon hear and smell the street market located where Shwedagon Paya Road meets Anawaratha Road. Enjoy free smiles and fish flopping out of their containers.

Get in the personal space of locals while riding the circle train for a dollar. The ride lasts three hours, and it is an up-close way to see how goods circulate around the city, as well as sharing smiles and tasting fresh fruits and making new friends. You can catch the train on Platform 6/7 at the central train station, and you’ll be happy to know that if you hop off the train, they’ll actually stop it and wait for you to run and jump back on.

Give yourself time in Yangon, as the pace of the city is a lot slower than you might be accustomed to. Enjoy the near lack of internet, revel in the true darkness of the night, and be astounded by the overwhelming kindness of the Burmese people.

This photo essay was originally published in the May 2011 issue of Gwangju News

inbetweens and constant things

quick moments with the hummingbirds of cocoura, colombia

the reality of travelling for an extensive period is that many of the fundamental elements of your life become fleeting.

the friends you meet are exciting and strange, but as they are near the end of their trip and you at the beginning of yours, the time your paths cross is limited.

the great hostel bed that you find, (with fluffy pillows and a heavy duvet the way you like it), is only yours for a few nights.

the souvenirs, alluring and colourful, become tokens of places and moments which we can't keep living.

the delight you find on a new island of beautiful creatures and crystal clear seas brings joy to your heart, and makes you so happy to be there, but not without a tinge of sadness that it can't last forever.

the best plate of guacamole of your life makes your tastebuds leap for lemon heaven, and though you eat the same dish for the next 4 days straight, the road is calling, and you have to leave.

in ecuador, i sit and wonder, am i not like the hummingbird? flying still for moments over one flower or branch, only to catch a glimpse of the next flower to taste.

through all the motions, the packings/unpackings/repackings, the "ciaos" and the "holas", the gazings out bus windows... through all the changes, it seems the constant elements of your life appear stronger, and more constant, than ever.

for me, the constant element i feel strongly now is my family. when i call home, i love hearing about the repairs to the roof and the cat taking his medicine. i love the constancy and routine of the life my parents live, and wonder a bit myself when i might have such constancy in my life.

Blue Wave

Tayrona National Park

Cabo San Juan, Tayrona National Park

Truck from Pablo Escobar's garage, Medellin

See more of my photos from Colombia and beyond on Instagram

big in granada

big skies

big avocados

big trees

big colours

big friendships

Just two days into Granada, Nicaragua with my beautiful travel partner Brenna, I can't help but feel we're at the beginning of something amazing, something life altering, something unforgettable, something big.

This morning over breakfast, we discussed an idea I've wondered about before. Whether you travel for a week or a month or a year, after the travels are over you feel a specific range of feelings when reviewing your photos.

It's easy to think of the pictures from early on in the trip as being less informed and lacking the worldly wisdom of later pictures - your clothes tidy and clean, your skin unworn and not yet blazed by the sun.

Around the middle of the trip, the photos are happy and care-free: the mark of a traveler truly amid the journey, thinking neither of the beginning or the end of the travels. For me, this is where I usually find my favourite travel photos.

When it comes to the final pictures of the trip, they seem to hold the knowledge, sadness, and already nostalgic feeling of a trip coming to an end. Sometimes you even stop taking pictures for days at a time.

Every trip has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And though this trip through central and south America together begins now for us, it's hardly the beginning of our journey as travelers together: we've traveled Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Burma, and South Korea together.

And it's certainly not the end.

The Languages of Angkor

It's my last day in Siem Reap, the last day of my 3-week journey through Northern Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.


The Pre Rup temple of Angkor Wat was a magnet for tourists to sit and enjoy the sunset over the other temples. I loved hearing so many languages around me all at once... Japanese, German, French, Korean, Spanish... it was like a little section of the world had all come together to watch the sunset over Cambodia for just one evening together.

I couldn't stop thinking about the shared experience of sunset, among all our different grammars and lifestyles. What brought us all to this temple, on this day?

As sure as the sun dipping into the west for another night, we all scattered back to the different places we call home to share our memories of Angkor in our own words.