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MAJESTIC MYANMAR
As told through the lens of Erwin Lim
My photographer buddies, Dan Douglas Ong, Harley Yunam, Mike Jo, Glenn Soco and I, went on a ten-day journey to Myanmar last February. The three highlights of that trip were the ancient cities of Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake.
At Bagan we were shooting at sunrise and sunset, with the temple ruins as our backdrop and foreground, and took a hot air balloon ride over more than 2,000 temples and stupas scattered across the plains of Bagan (there were originally around 4,000). I just can't describe the feeling of being up there surrounded by temple ruins over a couple of hundred years old. You hear nothing except the sound of your own camera snapping! We were shooting everything we could focus our lenses on - magnificent landscapes, portraits of locals, kids, monks, beggars, vendors, wildlife, and more. I cannot recall a dull moment in Bagan.
Mandalay was our next destination, where we visited a lot of old monasteries. Monks were our favorite subjects to photograph. U-Bien Bridge, a 1.2 km long wooden bridge built in 1782 with over 1,700 huge Teak pillars, was memorable and especially beautiful to shoot at sunset.
After Mandalay, we flew to Heho, our jump-off point to Inle Lake. We traveled to Pindaya then to Nyaung Shwe where we stayed in a lake-view chalet at Inle Princess Resort. Inle Lake is known for its unique Leg-rowers. It was also here where we had a grand time shooting the Padaung Tribe, known for the heavy brass rings around their necks and arms.
Myanmar is a photographer’s haven. The photos you see here are but a glimpse of the wonders to behold there.
2467- One of the brick temples we passed by along the dusty road to Bagan. The golden-yellow light is just perfect!
HEADER PHOTO:
Sunrise over Bagan on the very first day of our journey. This was the typical morning scene weíd wake up to.
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| This was at an old wooden monastery we passed by on our way to Inle Lake. We were only supposed to drop by for ten minutes, but we ended up staying for more than an hour clicking our shutters! |
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Young monks in Shwezigon Pagoda check out their images in my camera. |
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Taken in Bagan with the five of us who went on the trip. |
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A canoe journey along the banks of Inle Lake, where the village people live in stilt houses. |
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The whole group at the temple ruins of Shwe Inn Dain Pagoda in southern Shan State built around 273 - 232 BC. We felt like we went into a time warp and found ourselves in the middle of a scene from Indiana Jones. |
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One of the brick temples we passed by along the dusty road to Bagan. The golden yellow light is just perfect! |
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| FROM LEFT: This was at an old wooden monastery we passed by on our way to Inle Lake. We were only supposed to drop by for ten minutes, but we ended up staying for more than an hour clicking our shutters!;
A young monk running around Myatheintan Pagoda in Mingun, Mandalay. |
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| FROM LEFT: A silhouette of a monk at sunset as we were passing by U-Bein Bridge in the ancient city of Amarapura near Mandalay; Dan poses with two local kids who modeled for us during our first sunrise shoot in Bagan. We called them Big Boy and Little Boy because we could hardly pronounce their names! |
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July Issue
Majestic Myanmar
As told through the lens of Erwin Lim...
read more... |
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