I traveled to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, early last year with Eagle Projects International. It was an amazing experience traveling through a country that was only open to westerners in the recent past. It is a country that is very devoted to their Buddhist beliefs and you see that when you come across a Buddhist temple or monk seemingly around every corner. Eagle Projects was doing medical clinics in the northern part of the country that is largely small villages that are like stepping back in time. It was amazing watching people use oxen to plow their fields, using an iron heated with coals or sewing on machines that were probably close to 100 years old.
I spent the first few days of my trip in the villages documenting the team’s work with the medical clinics. I then flew to Mandalay in the center of the country and traveled via car with a driver from there. The highlight of my time traveling through the countryside was our time spent around Bagan. There are over 2,000 Bhuddist temples and stupas in a fairly small area, some of them dating as much as 800 years old. It was incredible to see in person and something that I will never forget.
One of the other highlights of the trip was exploring the capital city of Yangon. Shwedagon Pagodo is the most sacred site to the Bhuddist in Myanmar and almost every surface is covered with gold leaf. It is quite a sight to see and I really enjoyed photographing it at dusk when the gold contrasted against the deep blue sky.
Myanmar is a country I will never forget and definitely a highlight in my travels. I would highly recommend getting their to help the people and to experience the country before it is taken over by western tourism. – McCory
