Saturday, 24 July 2010

Change of scene

Life is chaotic at the moment and the more chaotic and unpredictable my everyday life the more I crave peace and simplicity. Translated into real, (digital "real")  life this means that my blog now has a makeover and my recent digital scrapbooking layouts are also simpler and cleaner. If my life ever really became less stressful I'd probably start scrapping like one of those amazing Brazilian scrappers.

Anyway back to my new blog photo which is immediately identifiable if you have ever travelled to this country. It was taken in Myanmar last December. For those who don't know where I am talking about, Myanmar is also known in the west as Burma. But please do not use the name Burma, although this is what our leaders like to use to refer to the country. I think they do this as they believe using the official term Myanmar gives some sort of acknowledgement to the corrupt military regime. This is wrong!

Burma is the name that was given to the country by Britain when they were the rulers and it refers to the largest ethnic group the Burmans. This group however is only one of many ethnic groups so the name effectively disenfranchises everyone else. The people in Myanmar always refer to their country as Myanmar. It may not be perfect but that is the name.

The photo was taken in the backwaters behind Sittwe travelling to Mrau Oo.  The boat trip can take anything from 3 to 7 hours depending on tides but it is no difficulty as the scenery is just wonderful with glimpses into the daily life of the local people. Our boat on the way up had a roof deck with a few deck chairs where we lounged. Here are some more photos.








Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

4 comments:

Mari said...

Beautiful pictures! You did a great job with them. Looks like an amazing trip.

Esther Andrews said...

lol at the comment about Brazillian scrappers! I know exactly what you mean. Beautiful photos of Myanmar. How lovely to see it from the peaceful village perspective instead of hearing about the junta perspective and corruption!

Tina O'Flynn said...

Carolyn, I just love to visit the corners of the world through your lense. Your pictures and commentary/journaling are so interesting. No, I haven't been to Myanmar but would love to go!
Tina

Carol said...

Simply stunning photographs. I'm in awe at your photography skills.