Yangon nightfall (II)
Under the unforgiving light of bare bulbs or in the glow of mobile phone screens, the street life of Yangon continues after night falls.
Under the unforgiving light of bare bulbs or in the glow of mobile phone screens, the street life of Yangon continues after night falls.
A final – for now – few pictures from Pazundaung market in Yangon. The city is full of markets, big and small, from improvised local street markets to grand old colonial constructions. Pazundaung is somewhere in between these two extremes, a thriving local market on the banks of the heavily polluted Pazundaung Creek.
A few more pictures from Yangon’s Pazundaung market.
Pazundaung market has become one of my favourite locations for photography in Yangon over the last few months. It’s mainly known for its fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, but you can also find clothing, household goods, spices and, due to its riverside location, rope and fishing nets.
The street markets of south-east Asia in general, and currently of Yangon in particular, are a seemingly – hopefully – endless source of photographic inspiration for me. These pictures were taken towards the end of last year in a couple of different markets in downtown Yangon, where shoppers can find fresh fruit, veg, fish, flesh and fowl (and a few other things which don’t alliterate).
Ha Giang City was the start and end point of my motorbike trip through the province of the same name in April/May this year. The city wouldn’t be at the top of anyone’s list as a destination in itself, but on both of my visits, I’ve enjoyed a final motorbike-free day wandering around the city, ruminating on the trip just completed. As I mentioned in my previous post, I think that the urban side of this largely rural, mountainous province is sometimes overlooked, so I thought I’d share a few pictures from the city, specifically the market. IÂ can never resist a good market, as you may have noticed.
This is the final set of pictures from my trip to Indonesia earlier this year. The trip actually ended about four months ago, but it’s taken me a long time to sort through, process and publish the pictures. In my defence, I’ve had other things to think about, like packing up my life and moving to a new country. The month-long trip began in the megacity of Jakarta, on the island of Java, after which I went on to the much more laid-back cities of Jogja and Solo, taking in the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan along the way, before heading on to Bromo and Ijen in the volcanic east. Finally, I spent a relaxing week in and around Ubud, on the island of Bali. Despite all this travelling, there’s so much of Indonesia that I didn’t see; I would have liked to have visited the Gili Islands and Borneo, but even with a month to spend, there just wan’t enough time. But I don’t really have any regrets about not getting everywhere. I tend to travel quite slowly. My thinking is always that I’d rather spend more time in fewer places than travel through lots of places in a rush. Even with my relatively limited itinerary of just Java and Bali, I experienced a huge variety of sights, landscapes, cultures, food, architecture and sensations.
Although I visited Jogja near the beginning of the trip, I saved these pictures until last, as it was one of my favourite places. While the volcanoes of Bromo and Ijen were quite challenging locations for me as a photographer, Jogja offered me plenty of chances to do what I like best, photograph people in their everyday lives, on the streets and in the markets. It’s good to step outside of your comfort zone sometimes, and I’m certainly glad to have visited those volcanic areas in east Java, but there’s also something to be said for sticking to what you’re good at (and hopefully getting better at it). So here are a dozen more pictures from Pasar Beringharjo, Jogja’s central market.
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My trip to Indonesia included visits to live volcanoes and ancient temples, but I think I took more pictures in this market in Jogja than anywhere else. In this series, you will find fruit, nuts, chillies and curious-looking sweets (at least I think they’re sweets in the last few pictures; someone please correct me if I’m wrong).
[On another note, I’ve now been living in Yangon for just over three weeks. It’s been a busy time, what with starting work, finding a place to live and generally getting my bearings. I’ll no doubt write a lot more about Yangon at a later date, but for now, I’ll just say that life here here is shaping up nicely, and the whole settling in process has gone remarkably smoothly. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures too, in between teaching and apartment-hunting, but I’m not going to post any here just yet, as I still have a bit of a backlog to clear from earlier in the year; these Indonesia pictures were taken back in May and June. I’m not even allowing myself to look at the pictures I’ve taken in Yangon yet; they’re hidden away in a dark corner of my hard drive, away from my Lightroom library. But if you’re interested in a visual comparison of Yangon and Hanoi, the homepage of this site is currently showing a slideshow of pictures from the two cities. These are the photographs that were included in the Hanoi/Yangon exhibition I had this time last year (Hanoi is in black and white, Yangon in colour).]
Pasar Beringharjo – in Jogja, Java – is one of those big, sprawling south-east Asian urban markets that seem to sell almost everything. This post focuses on the ladies – and occasional rogue gentleman – selling fabric, dresses, shirts, bags and headscarves.
There’s something about markets in south-east Asia. I just love taking photographs in them. Pasar Beringharjo, the central market in Jogja, on the island of Java, is now one of my favourites. There’s a lot more available there than just onions and garlic, but the clothes and fruit and veg and nuts and bolts and bits and bobs will just have to wait for later posts.