Beautiful Burma – Rangoon
We had the chance to visit Burma (aka Myanmar) recently. Burma is a very large country, the second largest in South East Asia and with population of over 60 million people. You can discuss at length whether one should visit Burma or not, as of course, it is still a sanctioned country due to violations to the human rights (genocide, systematic rape, child labour, human trafficking etc.) and almost all things you do when visiting Burma will mean you directly, or indirectly, help fund the military of this country. After the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2011 (see link by clicking her name), the country have taken some steps towards a more open, and hopefully, a more fair place.
Anyway, we decided to travel to Burma. I did not intend to make this entry too much about politics, so for those interested, you can also read here about the ethical decision one need to take before travelling to Burma.
We stayed in Rangoon, the previous capital of Burma. The city is the largest in the country (population of 4+ million) and is still where almost “everything happens”. When you come to Burma you realize a few things:
*You have never really met a friendly person before; this is what friendly means
*Men should wear skirts all over the world, I bought one but have not dared to wear mine yet
*Traffic conditions are “special”, with the steering wheel on the right hand side but with right hand side traffic.
These are some few photos from strolling around the down town area of Rangoon. The last two photos are from a market “across the river”.
Travel theme: Transportation
I have always, since being a teenager, been very hung up by Japan in general. It always seemed to me like such an amazing country with an interesting culture and great food. In addition, I was always fascinated by the high speed train system in Japan; the Shinkansen. According to Wikipedia, Japan was the first country in the world to build a dedicated high speed train rail. I have been lucky enough to visit Japan, and I even got to travel from Tokyo to Osaka on the Shinkansen. It is amazing, during the peak hours, the line between Tokyo and Osaka have up to 13 departures per hour (16 cars and a capacity of 1332 seats per departure), and transports some 150 million passengers per year.
Transportation is this weeks Travel theme at the Where’s my Backpack blog, and the below is the Shinkansen I got to ride from Tokyo to Osaka. A great experience!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate
This weeks photo challenge is Delicate. This small guy was captured about a year ago at Koh Lanta, Thailand.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Changing Seasons
The theme of the week at the Daily Post is; Changing Seasons. This photo to me reflects the entrance of fall with all the leaf-less trees. Also, the water looks really cold in addition.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections
This weeks photo challenge from the Daily Post is Reflections. This one is taken with my Samsung Galaxy and the star of the post is Rasmus, the Chipin.
It’s a beautiful day
Lovely to come to the office and see this; been a long time since we saw some sun!
The Flying Dog
Got this pretty cool picture of our dog when hiking around last Sunday. He is a mixed breed, Chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher (chipin), and like any dog he loves to be let loose and just run around like a maniac.
