It was another dawn outing near Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in Mon State, Myanmar (Burma). On the mountaintop, outside the main complex, a woman is lighting a man’s cigarette just after sunrise. The photo was taken in December 2014.
Tag: sunrise
Turkana and Samburu dance together
The annual Lake Turkana festivities see around a dozen tribes, mainly from northern Kenya, take part in cultural exchanges and traditional dances. It’s quite a fascinating couple of days and provides opportunities to see local tribes who are not normally on a safarist’s bucket list. For example, I found one local El Molo village to be just a few rudimentary huts loosely strewn together, surviving largely through fishing. A dwindling tribe, the El Molo may soon disappear through assimilation and intermarriage with other local tribes.
With the day’s festivities finished and with the onset of twilight, a few miles from the nearest village, the tribes of the Turkana and Samburu dance well into dusk on the windswept shores of Lake Turkana. Seeing the tribes enjoying each other’s company, it can sometimes be difficult to remember that cattle-stealing is causing much strife between the different tribes. But initiatives such as the Lake Turkana festival will help promote trust and understanding.
Himba boy
A cold night meant a cold start to the day in Namibia, even here right up against the Angolan border. Taking advantage of the cold before the heat arrived, I began exploring the rather small Himba village. Much there was to see with the inhabitants shaking off the night. A particular highlight was when I made eye contact with this boy wrapped in a blanket.
Buddhist monk smoking a cigar
Well before dawn, hundreds of monks, old and young, queue at Ananda Temple during the Ananda Pagoda Festival in Bagan, Myanmar. Around the temple, thousands of pilgrims have congregated and set up camp. A hive of activity, including worshipping, cooking, and shopping for trinkets, surrounds the temple. Here, a Buddhist monk smokes a cigar.
Hut at Inle Lake
The last few days in Myanmar had been good, and today it was a pre-dawn trip down to Inle Lake to photograph the Intha fisherman. It was one of those mornings with mist on the lake surface, soon to be burned-off by the heat of the sun. I saw this hut by the lake shore and enjoyed the gentleness of it all.
