Once in Mandalay
Myanmar, Mandalay. Late in the afternoon in one of the temples, whose names are too difficult for me to remember.
I was sitting in the corner and counting my money, because I was afraid that I did not have enough. The condition of my 20 dollar bills had been questioned, while I could not get others from an ATM because there are not any in Myanmar.
Then a monk with a little novice came.
The older monk immediately became interested in the money, probably because he hadn’t had the chance to see that number of dollars before.
The little novice was admiring a shiny temple and didn’t pay any attention to me. He was standing near one of the temple’s pillars, and his eyes were becoming bigger and bigger.
I took out the camera.
The shutter sound didn’t change anything. The little boy was still staring at the temple and the only difference was that he also opened his mouth.
Beauty has an address: Oman!
Today, I’m going to tell you about Omani hospitality.
It was early Friday afternoon, when we decided to go to Al-Hamra, a small village situated in the mountains. We were going there to see the old “Yemeni style” houses, which we had read about before. We finally found them, but they were rather disappointing. That’s why we were walking the street looking for some shade and then suddenly we heard:
- Hello! How are you?
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The Mien – the Yao from Laos
The Yao people inhabit areas of the famous Golden Triangle. This is a very old ethnic group. It is said that they were living in China 4000 years ago! The most important subgroup among the Yao are the Mien, whom I had the pleasure to meet near Muang Sing, a small village in northern Laos.
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Moroccan Night on Djemaa el Fna
Paul Bowles, the writer who spent over 50 years in Morocco, said once that “without it Marrakech would be just another Moroccan city”. He was quite right, because this bustling square situated in the heart of the city, is the first place you think about, coming to Marakech.
Merry wives of Phyang
A man wearing a traditional hat is resting on one of the pillars of the monastery, three festively dressed grandmas are gossiping in one of the corners while young novices are playing with Chinese plastic guns. Hundreds of people are sitting around making the festival in the Phyang monastery very picturesque.
An old lady wearing a green hat, dark sunglasses and holding a cane in her hand seems to be the most friendly.
- Could I take a picture of you – I ask her*.
The old lady looks at me and with a mischievous smile, responds:
- No, no, I do not want to, but .. my friend likes pictures. Take a photo of her!**
I ask the mentioned old lady, but she seems to be even more amused than the previous grandma and she tells me:
- No, no, I do not want it either, but .. That friend of mine sitting on the right will want for sure! See how she has dressed herself up today!
Another friend points to another. I know that it will not be possible to take a picture this afternoon.
But surprisingly a few hours later I meet the grandmas again. They “known” me already and now the grandma in a green hat will let me take her picture. What an afternoon surprise! It was worth waiting!
*When I want to take a picture of someone, especially when I want to take someone’s portrait, I always try to ask for permission. I believe, that there is nothing worse than sneakily taking people’s pictures. Besides the lack of contact with the “model”, it usually makes the picture much worse than it could be, not to mention the fact that the person photographed in this way may feel like a monkey in a zoo. And probably nobody would want to feel this way. To sum up: I try to treat people as I would like to be treated by them.
**Of course, I do not understand what she says. I know only one word in the Ladakhi language. It is “jule” which means “good morning”, “goodbye”, “please” and “thank you “. So I do not understand exactly what she says, but I can read from her gestures;)
New in March
Today at the beginning of March some changes are waiting for you on my blog and Facebook page.
Some of you probably noticed, that a photo puzzle was announced on my Facebook page with a print of my picture as a prize for the first person, who can guess, where exactly the photo has been taken. After 15 minutes Soumya Bandyopadhyay, my Indian friend and also a photographer whom I have admired for years, gave me the right answer and was announced as the winner. As the winner he could choose his favourite print to be sent to him and Soumya has already chosen one – a picture of Djemma el Fna Square in Marrakech.
A similar puzzle will appear on my Facebook page at the beginning of every month. I hope you will have a lot of fun!
For those who weren’t lucky enough to win, I have prepared wallpapers for your desktops. They are ready for three most popular screen resolutions among the readers of my blogs – 1680×1050 and 1280×800, so everybody should find something suitable for their requirements.
The March wallpaper was suggested by Ola, one of the readers of my blog. The photo of these magnificent ricefields was taken near Sapa in the Northern Vietnam.
I’m going to prepare a new wallpaper every month, but I am wondering, if you want me to choose a photo for it by myself and have a surprise or you would like to have some influence?
I’m waiting for your feedback or photo suggestions.
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