I needed a break from this robotic life.  Working life here is really tough.  It’s just work, nothing more than that. No outings, no socializing, no photography and I felt like my life turned sort of mind-numbing.  So I need some rehabilitation plus recreation.  HOLIDAYS!!! Yes, I must spend some of my annual leaves.  I went back home (Burma) for 12 days (from 19th – 31st MAR 2011).  After two whole years of struggle under the clause of so called metropolitan life, I finally have come to possess a peaceful life i.e. without any hitch. So, I decided to make my way to home.  Without any doubt, I was so excited.  Since early 2011, I had been busy buying presents for friends and family.  I come from big Chinese family.  I have too many cousins; it’s almost 3 soccer teams. I need to bring along some gifts for them.  Yet, my Dad has 7 siblings and Mum’s got 8.  I can’t skip my uncles and aunts too.  Besides, I was eager to buy something for my close friends also.  Finally, I have ended with the whole lot of KING SIZE luggage full of gift items.  19th MAR came, and READY, SET, GO!!!

DAYS IN YANGON

My premeditated itinerary was very simple; to spend as much time as I could with my Dad and Mum, to attend one of my best friends’ wedding and to go out for shooting IF there is any chance.  Well, I purposely had made my home trip in the late MARCH because of that wedding event.  I had ever promised Htein Htein, the bride, that I would be the cameraman on her wedding. And here her big day comes.  I “HAVE TO” be there with my camera.

It was really energizing to be home.  This is what I always feel every time I go back Yangon.  Since my college days till now, my feeling never relegated.

OUT OF TOWN

It’s quite dreary to be home without anything particular to do. I badly wanted to make a photo tour out of RANGOON, but then the timings were a bit harsh.  I have got that WEDDING on 27th MARCH.  So, I could not travel far.  I was thinking of visiting my hometown but then I know 2-day or 3-day trip wouldn’t make my uncles and aunts HAPPY.  They always want me to stay there like a week.

BAGO

So, I have called my friend Aung Kyaw Hein to arrange me with a single day trip to BAGO.  Why BAGO?  It is the nearest place for me to travel.  From RANGOON, it’s about 80 kilometers or only one hour drive to BAGO.  We made our BAGO trip on 23 MAR.  This year, weather in Burma was fairly anomalous.  Usually, weather in MARCH is scorching as it is SUMMER time.  But 2011 March was upturned.  Morning time was chilly and foggy. We left RANGOON by 5:00AM, and until 9:30 I could not shoot due to the heavy fog.  As I couldn’t make any shot, I asked Aung Kyaw Hein to stop for a coffee.  And he stopped at one ongoing resort project called “SHWE PYI”.

SHWE PYI GOLF RESORT

SHWE PYI resort is an eco-friendly golf resort located on the RANGOON – BAGO expressway.  To be more precise, it is sited outskirt of HLE GU Township of RANGOON DIVISION.  Owned by one of the Burmese private bankers, SHWE PYI resort is still under construction.   Project PHASE (1) had been launched in the mid of 2010 with a colony style wooden hotel of 10 rooms and a restaurant coffee bar.  The name “SHWE PYI” means “THE GOLDEN LAND”.  There is a giant lake in the heart of the compound and the various infrastructures are being erected at the lake surroundings.  It’s such a lovely place!!!

SHWE PYI resort is an eco-friendly golf resort located on the RANGOON – BAGO expressway…

A colony style wooden hotel of 10 rooms and a restaurant coffee bar are now serving the customers…

I wish I could make some Pre-Wedding Assignments…  It would be a BLAST indeed…

I would say this is one of my favorite shots from Bago Trip…  A very shot by Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8 ED NANO lens…  I can’t stop loving this super wide angle lens…

Special Credits: My friend, Mr.Aung Kyaw Hein, for his kind accompany and need-for-speed drive…  Also for the delicious breakfast at Lucky Seven.  I appreciate it a lot bro…

Back in February 2011, I have updated my blog with a scenic picture taken on the bank of Inya Lake under the title, “HOME COMING”.  Along with the post, I have integrated some home coming messages.  The article and the picture tickle the curiosity of my friends with this very sensitive question “WHEN will that be?”.  Many of my friends and fans shoot numerous emails to me under the same subject i.e. when I will be back and how long I am going to be in Rangoon?  Well, I do not have any accurate answer for their curious questions!

Being a guy who loves giving surprises to parents, it is my strong will to keep my return date secret. It is because I just love to see the big pleasant smile on my Mom’s face when I showed up at her office by surprise.  Not to be outdone, I truly expect to see my Dad’s happy laughter whenever he sees me suddenly. His laughter is a unique emotion which raises my inspiration that I could fly, dare to dream and be anything that I want to be.

So today, I am home safely.  My best friend, Mr.Wynn Thein, picked up me from Yangon Int’l Airport.  I did witnessed mom’s smile, the one that is the sweetest in the world to me.  Needless to say, it’s absolutely blissful to see my father’s laughter.  His face has an extra layer of inexplicable magic which give me so much strength to refresh my soul.

THE PHOTO

As usual, it is a STREET LIFE or CANDID picture which shares chronicles of a place called “HOME”. It was taken on 10-Aug-2008 along the YANGON – NAY PYI TAW highway, particularly in the YA MAE THIN district.  I was on a business trip.  Our car’s radiator got over heated and we happened to stop for a while.  It was the time the SUN waves his hands to the earth.  I set out of the car to sense the cool breeze of central Burma.  And I saw a family passing by us.  It’s almost dark out and indisputably they are heading to home, a place which gives peace, affection and tenderness.  I happened to record their journey towards HOME through my lens.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, whether the weather is hot or cold, the sky of sunny or cloudy… we all NEED TO GO HOME after all.  HOME connotes destination to every human. Sweet yet joyful and ecstatic, today I am HOME SWEET HOME.

RETURNING HOME

It has been said that going home
Is something one can’t do;
For all that is remembered
Has been changed to something new.
But there are things that never change
In each and every town
Like memories that rush your heart
That will never let you down.
People tear away buildings,
Adding parking lots in their place;
But no one can take your childhood dreams
And erase them from reminisced space.
One’s hometown is never remote
No matter how far you roam,
All one needs do is to close their eyes
To walk again the streets of home.

~ By Christine B. ~

HOME connotes destination to every human…

]]> http://yelwinoo.com/souvenirs-of-landscapes/the-return-2.html/feed 6 http://yelwinoo.com/souvenirs-of-landscapes/golden-sky-golden-post.html http://yelwinoo.com/souvenirs-of-landscapes/golden-sky-golden-post.html#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:18:11 +0000 Ye Lwin Oo http://yelwinoo.com/?p=1116

Photo Information
Camera – Panasonic FX-01
Exposure Time – 1/100s
ISO Speed – 80
Focal Length – 4.6mm

SHOOTING

Sometimes, the sky is a sensationally colorful that we don’t even believe to see. This is a sky shot that I earned from MAW LA MYAING of Mon State. I did not happen to take my SLR  along this trip. What I had in my hand was a mere PANASONIC FX-01. I was feeling so charmed seeing this colorful sky after a tiring sales trip.  I coincidentally owned a multi-hued evening with this shot.

DEDICATION

You might not notice!! This post is the 50th post for me here on YELWINOO.COM. So this is GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY post for me. That’s the reason I titled it GOLDEN POST.

The scenic Maungmagan Beach, the second oldest beach found in Myanmar after Ngapali, is approximately 45-minutes drive away from Da-wei. I used to have a series of Maungmagan shots on my personal photography blog under the title, THE INTACT BEAUTY. There are also a number of hot water springs around the outskirts, about one to a few hours’ drive from Da-wei, the capital of Tenasserim division.

I captured this shot during my last trip to Da-wei in 2008 April. Time was around 13:45. That’s the moment fishing boats come back to the beach and sell the harvested seafood. The sea, the sky and the beach appeared to be a harmonious opera to me…

Photo Information
Camera – Nikon D40
Exposure Time – 1/100s
ISO Speed – 200
Focal Length – 66mm