Back in 2008, John J. Rambo crossed into Burma via Thailand’s northern jungles. I don’t remember what he wanted; however, I do remember explosions and inflammatory confrontations with the military.

It turns out if Rambo had only waited a few years, he could’ve saved a load on both jungle gear and bullets by taking advantage of amazing new AirAsia connections that run between Yangon and Bangkok six times daily.

I traveled to Burma over the holidays with Elle, both of our older siblings, and a friend. Collectively, we didn’t have much of a plan. Then again we didn’t one. Burma’s military government has more or less softened its harsh rule in recent years. And in 2010, the National League for Democracy headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi lifted its recommended tourism boycott. For us, the chance to be among the first wave of new travelers was enough to put the country at the top of our vacation wish-lists even though we had no idea what to expect.

Southeast Asia being a tangle of strange names on the other side of the world, you may be wondering which of those vague shapes actually is Burma/Myanmar (I certainly didn’t know before living in SE Asia). Feel free to quiz yourself using the map below. You can check your answer here.

myanmar map

On to the photos. Here is part one of two:

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Urban Living in Burma’s largest city, Yangon.

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Burmese children wearing thanaka. The paste comes from ground bark which is worn by both women and children  for cosmetic reasons and sun protection. Burmese often apply the paste with functional disinterest; however, more often than not, thanaka is  applied in the shapes of leaves or neat, circular designs.

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Yangon train station in the late afternoon.

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Early morning at Bagan. Local kings commissioned the building of over 10,000 temples here up until 1287. Now, the Buddhist remnants sit scattered across Burma’s dry, central plain. Burma’s largest river, the Irrawaddy, rolls gently southward in the background.

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Bagan has far more temples than tourists, meaning there’s plenty of chances to find yourself at a stupa quietly alone.

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Sellin’ that produce

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Inspired by regional trends in pop culture, these five friends appear to be in a boy band. However, they are having trouble getting that proper “v” shape necessary for their promo photos. Cat in the back—re: “the mysterious one”—is on the chopping block for replacement.

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Farming with a view.

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The gilded stupa at Tan kyi Paya. We crossed the Irrawaddy in the late afternoon and climbed up to the hilltop paya in order to catch views of Bagan at sunset. Countless cooking fires meant we couldn’t see much of the plain below; however, the temple itself was serenely beautiful.

Burma Photos, Part II: getting villagey is coming next week.

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