When I initially arrived in Yangon / Rangoon, I wanted to fly up Bhamo - one of the bigger towns north of Burma. I also considered exploring Myitkyinã - a town further north of Bhamo.

My Lonely Planet guide indicated that the only border crossing into China was to the east of Bhamo. My initial plans to Burma also included exploration of western China. However, I was disappointed by the military turning me back, despite the fact that my Lonely Planet guide said I could cross into China at Ruili.

I decided instead to fly to Mandalay, not only because it was cheap to do so, but it saved me a 20-hour bus ride there from Yangon.



I heard about a song for sailors.

“To be a real sailor, the sailor would have to have been to Mandalay way upriver”

I quite liked Mandalay.


The photo below, is of Mandalay Hill.
During World War II (20 March 1945), the British and the Japanese fought one another to gain control of the position on this hill.



The photo to the left is taken from the hill itself facing east - as you can see, it has an aerial view of the whole city, and puts any oncoming enemies at a disadvantage. Control of Mandalay was important during the war, as the soldiers were able to set up artillery and attack anyone approaching the fortress.

This hill was of big strategic importance.

The building you see near the shrine is a monument to the British regiment who managed to take control of this hill from the Japanese.

At the eastern part of the delta, a lot of logging takes place. There was a train line built that used to cart all the trees/wood for export to Thailand.



The moat around the fortress is man-made.
Although man-made, comes from the local river.

The original fortress was burnt to the ground.
The whole fortress covered an area of 2.5 x 2.5 km







The design of Mandalay was quite colonial, and surprisingly, most of the streets were at 90º to one another.

Overall, I found Mandalay the most expensive city to travel to in Burma.

No matter what one does in Mandalay, be it explore Mandalay Hill or the city itself, the locals always had “special” foreigner prices. It really annoyed me.

I tried to use local currency as much as possible. However, FEC (Foreign Exchange Currency) was more valuable and worth more to the locals. FEC is also used in China, and one tries to use local currency as much as possible. Any item you buy has 2 prices - and obviously it is cheaper to use local currency than to use FEC.

I must admit, even Mandalay Hill was not that nice for the price I paid to explore it. It was also expensive just to go into the fortress.

Surprisingly, I could not find maps of the area that was not more that 40 years old.

Politics . . .


There is a lot of politics going on in Burma that an outsider should not get involved in - Burma is one of those countries where political opinions are best kept to oneself.

In Burma, use of the Internet and mobile phones is illegal. This is the government's way of controlling the information entering the country. Even access to equipment such as laptops is illegal - the country is so poor that many could not afford such a piece of equipment.

I saw many young women queueing for their rations. They were standing so close together that I thought they were lesbians! *laugh* The girls stand close together so another person cannot jump the queue by pushing in.










The girls here are very young, some have barely reached puberty and are doing some very hard work.





There is a lot of critique by Amnesty International, of Burma's use of young girls to provide maintenance for the roads.

Medicine . . .

My girlfriend, Arumi, tells me one sees the wares of a 'Medicine Man' quite often throughout Asia.

Whether they sit by the roadside, or whether they own a shop in a building, one will see very similar items being sold around Asia.

The “pellets” you see here are in fact different types of roots such as ginger or some unknown vegetable, that have been sun or air dried.



You will see the antlers of various animals such as deer or even rhino. There are also skulls from different animals - some of these animals may be endangered species, but somehow you will see them being sold in these markets.




These skulls are definitely not being used as “trophies” around the house!

The Burmese, like many Asians, believe in using very 'natural' remedies to cure common ailments.




A Medicine Man may not necessarily be a “doctor” according to western standards - that means he may not have a university degree.

However, a Medicine Man, may be what we know as “witch-doctors”. Some of the remedies they know are very natural and useful.

Unfortunately, not all of these remedies work. Around Asia, you will see shops or Medicine Man selling items like tigers' paws and skulls, or ground ivory tusks. Many of these are sold as cures or enhancements for the sex life.

In Burma, there is virtually no wildlife left.





You will even find that even tobacco is sold naturally.

Not in cigarette form, but in leaf form! The laws in Burma are not quite the same as they are here. Marijuana is also sold very freely.




Lotus Fruit . . .


Quite often in Asia, you may see lily pads floating on the water. In fairy-tales, you hear about frogs sitting on a lily pad.

You will be amazed to associate that this fruit here, comes from the flowers/plant growing out of the water near the lily pads.

The yellow seeds come from the flower itself. The seeds are used often in many Asian desserts, and said to promote better blood circulation.

While, the root of the lotus plant is also a delicacy. It is white when cooked, and has a crunchy texture, similar to that of the water chestnut. Mainly used in savoury meals, although used as a dessert as well.

Personally, I think it is too much hassle retrieving the fruit! *smile*

Created: 31 Oct 2001

Schwedagon was a holy place with extremely large and beautiful temples.

To get to Schwedagon, you had to travel up very long escalators. I took this photo because these escalators were the only escalators I had seen during my whole trip in Burma. As Schwedagon is a very religious place for the locals, I guess to travel up these escalators give the sense of travelling to a higher and holier place.



The temples at Schwedagon were really impressive.






I was told that collectively, these temples were built with 39 tonnes of pure gold.








At the end of the day, the locals all contributed in cleaning the place. They clean all the tiles and are very organised.







Here is the 'Big Stuba'. All that gold...

Up close, the temples are a glorious sight. Especially at night!

Can you see those lights at the base of the Big Stuba? Each is a 'mini temple', illuminating a Buddha.






You can really see the magnificence of these temples!



There are lots of rules or procedures about the way one prays to the Buddhas - very complicated to an outsider!

I saw a couple of the buddhists pour water onto the statue of the Buddha. Depending on the day of the week a buddhist is born, the individual would pour the respective number of bowls for the day of the week. A buddhist believes that by doing this, it would bring them luck.

At Schwedagon, I noticed there were hardly any tourists, mostly locals paying homage.

Can you see how intricate the carvings are in the foreground?












The monks rung this bell to announce prayer times.

It brought luck to ring the bell.
For example, if you were born on the 1st day of the week, you rung it once to bring good luck. If you were born on the 6th day of the week, you rung it 6 times etc.

Burma/Myanmar surprised me in many ways. I would have liked to see more of Burma than I did, but due to military restrictions, I only had access to certain parts of Burma and was not able to see any of the indigenous people along the border as I had initially planned.Burma is a very poor country. It was difficult to travel... travelling 100 kilometres could sometimes take up to 6 hours.

One of the most beautiful places in Burma, I thought, was Bagan.

I took many photos in Burma, and tried to order them in the following pages:

• I spent some days in Yangon, which had a heavy colonial influence.
• Schwedagon was another place full of temples, a place laden with pure gold.
• Whilst travelling, I could not help notice how influenced the people were by religion, and Burma's politics is one thing an outsider should not get involved in.
• I was fascinated by what the Burmese used for medicine. They also had some rather interesting local fruit.
• Mandalay also had an interesting colonial battle history. Whilst there, I watched the “Mandalay Marionettes”.
• With the restrictions up north, I did not get to see much. But you would not believe how the Burmese play volleyball!
• Finally, at Mt Popa, I went there to see a local monastry, and saw a lot of wild monkeys there.

Yangon ( Rangoon ) . . .




This is the city-centre of Rangoon. Rangoon is the capital city of Burma.

It is actually a pretty big city if you compare it with other parts of Burma on a map.

Most of the buildings are from the old colonial period when the British occupied Burma. Unfortunately they have not been very well-maintained.

Can you see the green bits on the clocktower?





If you are thinking it is vegetation growing on it, you are right! There is quite a bit growing on most of the buildings in the city.







There were so many pigeons!

I managed to catch a pictures of a pigeon flying mid-air - can you see the blurred grey thing near the tree in the middle of the photo?



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Created: 22 Sept 2001

I took part in a photo competition in November 2001, using one of the photos I had taken during my trip to Mt Cook in January 2001. This photo was of Kevin, the alpine guide from my group in the technical climbing course.

The following photo and comments appeared on the Planet Fear website, in the Front Line Photography Competition - not long after I was notified that I was one of 20 winners, and I was even more surprised to find out that I had come third!

The comments above the photo were my comments that I had emailed to them when I sent the photo. The comments below the photo were (one of the judges) comments about my photo.

3. Rene Pallesen The attached photo was taken in New Zealand on the main range near Mount Cook. The valleys to the west are filled with clouds formed by the moisture from the forests underneath. The snow Home 14. November 2004 01:00 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bedstemor's 85th Birthday Fest 14. November 2004 01:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet bedstemor s 85th birthday fest Share 19. March 2004 12:55 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Egypt 2004 19. March 2004 12:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet egypt 2004 Share This year it was my Grandmothers 85th Birthday. As per the tradition the whole family went on a trip overseas, this time to Egypt. It was my first time to Egypt so it was a different experience. I can recommend that you take a read of the Travel Journal by clicking here! Click here to see more photos from: Egypt 2004/Slideshow/Travel Journal 19. March 2004 12:48 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Canada 2004 19. March 2004 12:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet canada 2004 Share 2004 was the year I started working for Captaris. One of the first things I did was to visit our office in Calgary to learn about our workflow product. My visit coincided with the Calgary Stampede, so lots of cowboys in town, indians and rodeos. I also too a bus ride up through the Canadian rockies through Banff, Lake Louise and up to the Columbian Ice Fields. Click here to see more photos from: Canada 2004/Slideshow 19. March 2004 12:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Anti War Demonstrations 2004 19. March 2004 12:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet anti war demonstrations 2004 Share In 2004 Australia was being drawn into the war in Iraq. A lot of Australians were opposed to the war, but the politicians wouldn't listen. On a nice sunny day several hundred thousand people gathered around Hyde park in the middle of the city to demonstrate and express their opinions against Australia entering into the war. I was of the belief that the war was a mistake in the first place and was totally unjustified, so I was decided to join the demonstrations and at the same time see if I could take a few photos. Click here to see more photos from: The 2004 Anti War demonstrations/Slideshow 27. March 2003 10:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mia is born 27. March 2003 10:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet mia is born Share Andy and Tink had their first baby...a little (and very hairy) girl names Mia. This was also one of those periods where I was checking out what it would be like to have a beard. 27. March 2003 10:50 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Granddad passes away 27. March 2003 10:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet granddad passes away Share My grandad passed away in 2003. He was getting old and was getting tired of living so he decided to end it. 27. March 2003 10:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Botany Bay 27. March 2003 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet botany bay Share With EDI I went on a field trip to visit one of the big containerships in Botany Bay. It was facinating to see the size of those ships. 27. March 2003 10:38 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Thailand 2003 27. March 2003 10:38 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet thailand Share I celebrated Christmas and New Year with my parents in Thailand. We spent the time in the Northern Part of Thailand in the Golden Triangle around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We rented a car for a couple of days and got to see a lot including all the hill tribes that still to this day live in this part of Thailand. Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow 27. March 2003 10:29 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kenneths Wedding 27. March 2003 10:29 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet kenneths wedding Share In 2003 Kenneth got married to Anica. I was asked to be the best man by Kenneth. The wedding took place at a homestead in Sofala three hours drive west of Sydney. It was a wonderful weekend surrounded by wonderful people. Click here to see more photos from: Kenneths Wedding/Slideshow 22. March 2003 12:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Old Contents 22. March 2003 12:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet old contents Share Contents . . . My photo collection is vast. Many of them are in my albums, others scanned as images here. I have tried to include the best of the best, and will keep doing so. Feel free to explore any of the links - it make take some time to peruse them all... ( We recommend viewing of the photos through MS Explorer ) AUSTRALIA - HOME Cockatoos at Home Narrabeen Beach New car My Jobs MY FAMILY Grandmother's 85th Grandmother's 80th Donkey Day Out My Brother Claus My Father 2001 New Zealand (Mt Cook) South-East Asia 2000 Chilli Festival Ecochallenge Borneo (Sabah) Sydney Olympics 1999 Thailand (Bangkok) Laos Morocco 1998 Port Macquarie Pete's Bite New Zealand (Sth Island) Denmark Created: 11 Aug 2001 Last Updated: 21-jan-05 << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts 1 2 ... 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 Older posts