On the road to Mawlamyine…and back

GETTING THERE:

The road from Myawaddy, just across the River Moei from Mae Sot, is where we enter Burma, get in ancient Toyota station wagon and head south to Mawlamyine.  The road goes over a mountain, which is one-way going south on even days and one-way going north on odd days.   The paving is episodic, the trucks are loaded beyond belief, and the hair-pin turns are terrifying…but our lovely driver, Kyaw Kyaw, just kept smiling and got us there, hot, dusty, and happy to be at the Cinderella (yes, really!) Hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the mountain, the landscape flattens out into dry paddy,  karst outcroppings, and this beautifully groomed albino horse going we have no idea where!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mawlamyine is Burma’s fourth largest city and served as the first capital of British Burma in the 19th Century; there are still quite a few graceful but crumbling old buildings left from this era.  The city  lies on the banks of the Thanlwin river, where we often walked, under big shady trees, relishing the most welcome breeze.

 

 

 

 

We searched high and low for bikes to rent with no luck, so ended up walking to work, nice at 8:30 am, blistering at 4:30 pm!

Every morning we’d meet this little guy on his way to beg for his daily bread.  Such determination and such concentration!  Never broke his stride, never looked up.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 THE WORKSHOP:

The Rahmonnya Peace Foundation a Mon umbrella organition, hosted the photo workshop, with participants coming from its member community based organizations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bee Jei, a former MY STORY photo participant in Sanghklaburi, and now working for RPF, brought lepeye, sweet Burmese tea every morning to get us going.  With 11 students, a digital projector, 2 computers, the narrow room was crowded and warm.  Even the students noticed!  Gallons of water and a fan kept us from over-heating.

When asked what kind of photos the students needed to take for their work, they all replied, ‘Large, group shots’, and documenting projects so we asked them to make a photo documentary about  a day in this training:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students had to make a shooting list and assign shots.  After looking at all the images, the photo essay was edited down to one photo from each student.  The hardest part of the assignment:  the editing!

THE CLASS FIELD TRIP:

Or how many people can you pack into a bus-truck?  Answer: More than you can possibly imagine!  13 of us stuffed into a bus-truck for the mercifully short ride to one of two large city markets.  Disgorged from the truck,  everyone took off in a different direction to make photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GROUP PHOTO:

 

PICTURES ON A WALL AND CLOSING CEREMONY:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PICTURES WE COULDN’T RESIST: