Southern Myanmar

After a stop in Mawlamyine, where we took almost no pics (except the garbage eating goats below), we traveled with Sean and Kristen to the town of Ye. It was only recently opened up to tourists and so it was a really interesting place to visit, with the friendliest people we have ever met.

Unfortunately, giant piles of garbage dumped by the river is a reality in some places. 

An awesome crank-start tractor/truck

Us with comrades, Kristen and Sean, making local friends in Ye who are against burning coal

On our first day in Ye, we were stopped by a kid on a motorbike who invited us to come to the English center which was run by an American guy living there. Matt and I had fun helping them with the language, it reminded us of work back at home! We went back the second night to help again and one of the young girls brought Liz a gift of Thanakha. It's a cream made from a tree bark that they believe has some health benefits, and people wear it everyday to protect them from the sun and also as a kind of make up. Who wouldn't love a country that wears face paint everyday?! 

A gracious gift of Thanakha cream and bark:

Young nuns in Ye

Us with some of the students we helped, A man sorting his betel nuts, and Matt playing volleyball with some locals in Ye before getting on a long train ride.

Leaving the lovely little town of Ye, we took an overnight train back north to Yangon. Slowly chugging along, we got to see a lot of beautiful country side before the sun set. At times the train was extremely bumpy. There were a couple of moments when the train was rocking and bouncing so hard, our butts left our seats and I thought I might bounce out the window. Fortunately, that did not happen. One thing that did go through the window though was dinner coming in from a woman selling meals skillfully balanced on her head. Chicken curry, fermented tea leaf salad, and steamed rice! Yum!

Rural Myanmar from the train:

  

Back in the big city of Yangon:

Noteworthy: In most of the cars (you might notice in some of the photos) the steering column is on the right although people drive on the right side of the road here. In the 70s the government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) changed from driving on the left, to driving on the right OVERNIGHT, just to stick it to the British! I love that! Except it's pretty dangerous and bus drivers need a helper in the passenger seat for passing.

Next post: Christmas in Chaung Tha Beach featuring- our amigos from Seattle, cheeky little Chaung Tha boys, some of the cutest kids ever, and tons of friendly and welcoming people of Myanmar.

Xoxo - Happy 2015! - Matt & Liz