Bagan stupa plain, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. A thousand years ago, Bagan emerged as a place for rich and powerful Buddhist royals to build brick religious monuments to accrue enough merit to counter the misdeeds that made them rich and powerful. Today, it is a stunning monument to religious zeal—a huge, dusty plain…
Author: Eric, your haikuist
Adventures in Burma I: We’re Big in Yangon
downtown street in Yangon, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. Yangan is decrepit. There’s almost nothing new anywhere, and what exists is barely being maintained. Blocks of concrete housing sit with streaks of black mold replacing long-forgotten paint jobs. Sidewalks are cracked and broken, exposing sewers and drains beneath. Taxis drive with shot suspension, broken…
Back From Burma
Main Street, Burma, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. “I do not like H-A. Very sorry, do you have anothers?” We were in the tiny office of a Yangon black market money changer. Two paperback-sized stacks of thousand kyat notes lay on the table in front of us. We had agreed on a rate, walked…
Admission of Burma
Well, it’s certainly not the easiest visa process in the world, but we have gained admittance to Myanmar, catching a flight there in a few hours. Just in time for Burmese New Year in Yangon with our friend Mark. Should be off the hook! Internet is, apparently, pretty restricted. Probably none of the ubiquitous free…
Cure for the Homesick
Cure for the Homesick, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. We’ve been traveling exactly 7 weeks now. Not very much time, but it already seems kind of normal. We know a few things now, just enough to make it easier. How to deal with touts and beggars. How to find a good guesthouse in an…