Pre-trip Planning

Myanmar - Burma - The Golden Land

I've been looking forward to this trip for several years. After finally returning to Cambodia a few years back to visit awesome Angkor Wat, I became aware of the perhaps even more intriguing land of Myanmar. Actually I had visited Burma (as it was called back then) in the early 70's, having landed my C-130 at Rangoon Airport. But we were on a diplomatic mission and while the guys in "civvies" went off to have their "high level talks" we were left on the ramp to babysit our aircraft. So, no sightseeing for us. Well, it's going to be different this time. I'm going to be the guy in civvies, loaded down with camera gear and off to see the sites and meet the people.

Preparations for this trip started almost a year ago when I contacted Nathan Horton, Photog Extraordinaire and all around good guy. (see the trip itinerary on his website at http://www.nathanhortonphotography.com/488520/myanmar-burma/) He is the one who took me to Angkor Wat and all over Cambodia and I am ecstatic to be traveling with him again. So I made my deposit and booked my flight to Mandalay (Qatar airlines via Doha and Bangkok). Because of the international dateline I lose almost two days en route, departing on the night of Nov 19th and arriving Mandalay the afternoon of the 21st. On the return I worked in a couple of days in Bangkok to do some shopping. Gotta bring home some trinkets for the natives you know! Of course, first, I have to have permission to go to Myanmar. No, I'm not talking about a kitchen pass! I need a visa to enter the country. As it turns out, this is not that difficult. I could apply on line. But all that gets me is a letter which is exchanged for a visa upon entry. The letter is only good for three months so I had to make the airline reservations, etc. without knowing if they would actually let me into the country. No sweat GI, got the letter just as advertised.

So as it's getting closer to departure now, I had my shot records scrubbed and found I needed polio and tetanus boosters, a typhoid shot and some malaria pills to go. Geez and I thought if I had enough gin and tonics I would be okay! Then it was on to the internet to learn about the "do's and don'ts" of travel in Myanmar. Being it is a primarily Buddhist country like Cambodia and Thailand, which I have spent a lot of time in, I was pretty familiar with the basics, Don't touch anyone's head, even kids, which we are prone to doing here in the US. Don't point with your feet or (Buddha forbid) touch anyone with your feet. Shoes are removed going into temples, wear conservative clothing, etc. Greenbacks (US Dollars) are accepted by larger institutions in larger cities but mostly I expect to be using the Myanmar Kyat (roughly 1,000 Kyat to the Dollar). ATMs are just starting to appear so I found some maps on line that show their locations in larger towns. Man, what would we do without that wonderful invention, the internet. Thanks Al! 

Also, I started to search the WWW for images of the places I would be likely to see on this trip. Not so much to copy or try to reproduce the photos of others as to see what impact different angles, perspectives, times of day, etc. would have. Fortunately the Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute was having an exhibit of Steve McCurry's photography, much of which was taken in Myanmar. I found particularly interesting the totally different "feel" of his photograph of the Mingun Temple as compared to those on the internet which had been posted by amateur photogs. They tended to try to show the entire structure, where as McCurry isolated just the entrance with a couple of monks approaching the temple. His version is much more dramatic and better conveys an impression of the enormity of this incompleted shrine. This convinced me to take along at least one fairly long telephoto lens.

While this is a photography workshop and I hope to come back with some great pictures, I am anxious to experience the people and their culture, which of course includes their food. I expect it will be somewhat similar to that which I have enjoyed in Thailand and Cambodia in recent years. But I think I will pass on any offerings of tarantulas this time!

Notoriously, I am a last minute packer and I tend to take way too much stuff (clothing). I will try to take fewer clothes this time but will probably still be packing the night before departure. One thing that will be packed early however is my Scottevest. This thing looks like a fly fisherman's vest except it has many more concealed pockets and allows me to pack about 8 more kilos of goodies (passport, wallet, iPad, iPhone, ear buds, books and magazines, small point and shoot camera, and loads of other sundries) to make the flight more comfortable. Another great thing is I can peel this off at security, take off my belt and shoes and throw it all on the conveyor and I'm ready to be sterilized and man-handled by TSA!