Train Trip Around Yangon

One of the best ways to mix with locals in Myanmar is to take a local transport trip. My first experience of this kind was on Yangon’s circular train that takes a trip arround the old capital’s suburbs.

Although there is one train every hour in the morning we arrived early to get the most out of locals daily lives. Yangon train station is so rich with people that we actually missed the first train (also because we were on the wrong platform) while getting along with them.

Smiling Kid
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L
35mm - 1/200s - f3.2 - ISO 200

Mother and baby in Yangon train station
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L
35mm - 1/1000s - f2.8 - ISO 200

The people that we met looked really poor, many of them wre barefoot and some looked like they lived there at the station. Others were wandering arround the rails trying to find waste that could be useful for them. What continued to amaze me was their constant smiles, which even the authority forces embarked.

Smiling authority
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/1000s - f2.8 - ISO 200

Thanaka child
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L
35mm - 1/125s - f2.8 - ISO 200

What you see on their cute faces is Thanaka, a cosmetic paste made from ground bark. It is very popular in Myanmar and had been used by children and women for over 2000 years as a sunscreen and skin smoother.

The trip itself is a long one, taking almost 3h and stopping constantly to pick up and drop the locals. When the train is not crowded one is free to wander arround and I even sat on the entrance stairs to have a better look outside, since it has no doors! Somehow everyone must spend their time the best way they can, and a few guys liked to pop their heads out and enjoy the view (I did it too).

Train hide & seek
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
142mm - 1/1250s - f2.8 - ISO 800

Child enjoying the view
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L
16mm - 1/40s - f10 - ISO 200

When the train starts to get crowded, foreigners are advised to sit by the carriage policeman. These guys wear their usual daily clothes and look like everyone else, chatting  and chewing betel. On busier stations they wear their policeman shirt and eventually their belt with handcuffs and go out (sometimes through the window) to check that everything goes smoothly. The following are the two policeman that sit next to me.

Watching policeman
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
115mm - 1/160s - f2.8 - ISO 200

Relaxing policeman
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L
16mm - 1/25s - f13 - ISO 200

Along the trip the diversity was wide and the subjects kept as interesting, so here is a couple of photos from people waiting for their trains to arrive.

Man and woman in the rain waiting for the train
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
200mm - 1/500s - f2.8 - ISO 200

Old beggar on the train station
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f2.8 II IS L
102mm - 1/1250s - f2.8 - ISO 200

The next post will be focused on the impressive Shwedagon Paya, so keep watching this space =)

Posted on Sunday, September 11th, 2011 at 9:00 pm. Filed under: Culture, Myanmar, People Tags: burma, myanmar, people, portrait, train, yangon RSS 2.0 feed.