Life Cycles of Burma/Myanmar

As soon as I arrived in Burma (Myanmar) I was enthralled with the bicycles on the streets. Old style trishaws with luxury double-padded seats for monks and older Burmese dames, tough industrial bikes ferrying metal, bamboo & water across town or just the casual cyclist going to the bustling morning markets through the narrow alleys of Myainigone.

It's like a forgotten age, where the cycle was the vessel of convenience, silent except for the soft melodic bell ring and no exhaust except for the breath of the rider. The trishaw riders here are a rare breed - slow, sinewy frames riding with  seemingly effortless, deliberate motion.  I wish I could emulate that elegant riding style.

Water wheels.
 I saw one of these carrying 500kgs of rice in large sacks with the rider standing upright and striding out.



The classic twin back-to-back seat edition


 

Bamboo Bicycle



Recycling Cycling - the cargo is aluminium cans



Portable market stall

 

And isn't this just priceless - or the price of crude?

A cyclist with jerry cans of fuel for motor vehicles.



 

The Mountains of Asia - Maps

 

                      From Heaven Lake to the Golden Earth

            12 months 15,000kms 5 major mountain ranges & 9 countries
A cycling odyssey from the Tien Shan range in Xinjiang, China to the last gasp of the Himalayas in Burma/Myanmar.
                                                          


A satellite image of High Asia and my planned cycling route
(click on the map to enlarge)



Geographical and political map of the region, showing the five main mountain ranges



The projected route over the Mountains of Asia

 

From Urumqi (China) to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
I will start the cycle trip at Heaven Lake, high in the Tien Shan and then ride across the broad plains of Xinjiang in the shadow of the Tien Shan range. Cross the Kazakh border at Korgas and onto Issyk Kol (lake) in Kyrgyzstan. Arriving in Bishkek late April. I'll try to explore some of the Tien Shan range in Kyrgyzstan but it may be too early with too much snow on the passes.

The Pamirs - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

From Bishkek, there are 2 options.

 #1 To Osh in Kyrgystan, then 2 high level routes with a loop through the Pamirs of Tajikistan.

#2 To Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and a low-level route to Samarkand and Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and onto the Pamirs for a high level early summer ride along the Pamir highway.

The route chosen all depends on the amount of snow still lying on the passes. Both routes cross the Chinese border at Irkestam pass and head down to Kashgar.

The Karakorams (Pakistan) and the Indian Himalayas

   more info to add here ................and beyond.


Nepal



North-East India- Assam and Arunchal Pradesh



Myanmar (Burma)

 



Burma (Myanmar) - images from the Twilight Kingdom

I've recently made two trips to Burma (Myanmar).
From Sept-Dec 2010 I was based in Yangon (Rangoon) teaching English. Here are some photos of that brief but tumultous time.

This is actually a photo I took in Iguazu, Argentina.
This is the 88-winged butterfly - a perfect symbol for the plight and hopes of the people of Burma/Myanmar.
A fragile beauty, but imbued with renewal, change & freedom.

Here are some more images from my trip to Kachin state in March. I travelled overland by train, bus and the Irrawaddy ferry. I visited Myitkyina, Bhamo, Khata and Lake Indawgyi, researching cycling and trekking routes in northern Burma for the last leg of my trans-Himalayan ride.

ActionAid Myanmar

 Action Aid is an international anti-poverty NGO working in over 40 countries, fighting  poverty and injustice and helping over 13 million of the world's poorest, most disadvantaged and vulnerable people.

Let's end poverty.....together.

www.actionaid.org/

On my long journey across the mountains of Asia, I'll be raising funds and awareness for ActionAid Myanmar. If you want to donate to this worthwhile cause, please go to my fundraising page on the link below.

www.gofundraise.com.au/page/transasia

As I travel through Asia I'll be visiting ActionAid projects in the field. Pakistan will be the first of these, mid July or so. I'll add posts to this blog detailing these visits with photos and case studies, with the aim of raising awareness of the issues of poverty and human rights in the developing world.

ActionAid Myanmar staff - a very committed and compassionate team

         Work in Action, Action at Work -

•        people, projects, programmes & power......



AAM psychosocial care in Emergency for ECCD, promoting confidence and leadership



Ayeyarwaddy delta fellows during fellowship training

 

Cash for work




Crab basket making



Fellows, village volunteers and local community, Kachin state





Project team and village youth volunters, Labutta delta region



Drying fish in the delta



Laughter and smiles - bright hopes for a new generation

  Action Aid, Myanmar & I 
Yangon  (Sept- Dec 2011) & the Ayerwaddy Delta trip (Nov 2011)
Last year I worked at ActionAid Myanmar providing English language support to some of the staff in Yangon (Rangoon). We concentrated on writing skills and, by reading the case studies and reports from the field, I was given a window into the valuable work of ActionAid. Many of the case studies from the Ayerwaddy delta portrayed the devastation and suffering caused by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 but they also depicted a proud and resilient people overcoming severe hardships. I was moved both by the tragic stories and the incredible courage of these people.

In November, I was also very fortunate to be invited on a trip to the Ayerwaddy delta with ActionAid staff, taking photographs and recording interviews. This trip was a valuable opportunity to see up close the work being undertaken by ActionAid staff in the field. All the staff I met in the delta - i.e. interns, health workers (physiotherapists), fellows and volunteers - showed intense commitment and compassion in their work and I felt very privileged to be a part of this journey of discovery and change in action.

In Pyapon, three very devoted physiotherapists were working with people with disabilities in the delta.
more photos to come.......

A 14 year old girl with spina bifida, one of many in the delta who gets regualr visits from the ActionAid physios. She had such a wonderful spirit and vitality and a very caring family.

A Karen fisherman and professional boxer who had suffered an horrific accident at sea. His leg was paralysed and he could no longer work. After some donations for a skin graft operation he was able to continue physiotherapy, resume his livelihood and take care of his family. He has been receiving beneficial care from the physios in Pyapon since he left hospital.

His wife in their simple home where poverty blew through. Their other house was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis, their only two children had died of preventable disease, and neither could pursue their livelihoods because of his accident. In the face of this suffering and loss they remained determined and hopeful.


A village volunteer and his team of workers. They had formed a disaster management committee, established a mangrove nursery and helped in the construction of a tube well. These projects were facilitated by ActionAid and a partner NGO.



Looking from their village (Mingalar) to the Bay of Bengal, the coastline has been stripped of mangroves and is now exposed to cyclones and tidal surges.



School children from Mingalar village



A fisherman from the delta, wearing a typical hat of the region.

Fishing is the main livelihood in the delta. The waterways are the roads flowing across the flat landscape and most transport between the far flung villages is by boat. The rivers are a hub of activity, colour and fluid motion.