As interesting as they are to us

[The_Traveler]

Often, I would turn and see people looking at us, my friend and I, when we traveled. We were older than most travelers in these places and usually out of the normal tourist paths.

If we sat anywhere for a while and made an attempt not to talk to each other, we went end up with a local person, often a youth or child, trying out their English.

We turned down a back street in a small mountain town in central Myanmar and

ended up at a tea shop. The chairs were fine for the slender, small Burmese but a bit cramped for us. After a long while, the proprietress came over, we asked for tea. She brought tea and sort of cookies and absolutely refused to accept payment for anything.

When we got up to leave, she came out to say goodbye,

 

[FITBMX]

I really like that second one.
I bet you felt like a giant. LOL

 

[The_Traveler]

The guy in the picture was a big eater and carried around a big belly He attracted quite a few looks.
I stay in decent shape but am still much bulkier than most SouthEast Asians who are small framed.
They are demons for hard work and its pretty impressive to see small guys toting sacks of rice that weigh as much as they do.

 

[Granddad]

The guy in the picture was a big eater and carried around a big belly He attracted quite a few looks.
I stay in decent shape but am still much bulkier than most SouthEast Asians who are small framed.
They are demons for hard work and its pretty impressive to see small guys toting sacks of rice that weigh as much as they do.

Even after 7 years in the Hong Kong police I was always amazed when I went on raids in the dock areas and saw whip thin 5'4" stevadores loading barges. Not an ounce of fat on them and muscles like steel. At 6'2" and 180lbs and fit as I've ever been (those were the days! ) I'd have struggled to lift one of the loads they carried 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

[The_Traveler]

[
Even after 7 years in the Hong Kong police I was always amazed when I went on raids in the dock areas and saw whip thin 5'4" stevadores loading barges. Not an ounce of fat on them and muscles like steel. At 6'2" and 180lbs and fit as I've ever been (those were the days! ) I'd have struggled to lift one of the loads they carried 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

IRRAWADDY RIVER AND RIVER TRAVEL IN MYANMAR | Facts and Details

The Irriwady River is the main transport method in Myanmar. These boats hold large numbers of passengers and many tons of cargo which generally must be off-loaded to lighters and then carried up the muddy bank.

The side effects of the convenient river is that the road system is underdeveloped and horrible. Even diesel fuel is carried upstream as far as Mandalay, pipes dragged across a wide sand beach and then pumped up into barrels sitting on trucks. This life depends on a struggling class of strong people.

This lagoon is clearly visible on Google Earth. The barges clustered near the wide sand beach.