Design & craft shopping in Myanmar

inle heritage shop

Inle heritage shop, Inle Lake

 

When I was in Myanmar, I was genuinely surprised by its diverse craft industry. Aside from traditional crafts, we were quite delighted to have come across some contemporary craft/design brands as well. My favourite shop of the trip was an accidental find in Inle Lake… We had hired a boat and helmsman for the day, and he kept taking us to the touristy factories despite us asking him not to. Luckily, the beautiful architecture of Inle heritage captured my attention and so we demanded him to stop and let us explore; and we eventually spent hours there because of its tranquil and relaxing setting.

 

inle heritage

inle heritage shop

inle heritage

Inle heritage

Inle Heritage’s architecture, restaurant and U Saung’s room

 

While we were there, we found out that Inle Heritage is a not-for-profit organisation that preserves the cultural and natural wealth of the Inle region. Built from reclaimed wood and modelled on the former home of Inle Heritage’s founder, Inthar Heritage House contains a traditional restaurant, an area that hosts exhibitions of local artists’ works, recreation of U Saung’s room, a gift shop, and a cat village. The compound also houses a boutique hotel comprises six bungalows, a vocational centre, and an organic garden.

 

inle heritage shop

inle heritage shop

inle heritage shop  inle heritage shop

 

The gift shop sells many wonderful and well-curated locally made products, souvenir and fashion. The revenue from the shop is split between the craft producer and funding Inle Heritage’s work. Although the products here are more expensive than the ones on sale at the markets, the quality is higher and more unique.

 

inle lake market

inle lake market  burmese textiles

A souvenir and food market in Inle lake

 

In Yangon, there are two shops that also focus on locally made crafts and designs: Hla Day and Pomelo. Hla Day (1st Floor, 81 Pansodan Street) is a social enterprise that works with 40 producer groups including Myanmar artisans, disadvantaged groups and small local businesses to design, develop and sell quality handmade products. Every product is sourced and made locally and using local materials. Sustainability and supporting the local communities is important the organisation’s ethos.

 

hla days   hla days

hla days

hla days

hla days

Hla Day

 

Pomelo89 Thein Phyu Street) is another fair trade shop that offers quality and contemporary hand-made products. They work with local disadvantaged groups to produce and sell designed crafts in order to support their families and scale up their businesses.

 

pomelo yangon

pomelo yangon  pomelo yangon

pomelo yangon

pomelo

Pomelo shop

 

Another good place to buy locally made crafts and products is the Bogyoke Aung San Market. With more than 2000 shops, it is best to do a bit of research and locate the shops you are interested in before heading there, otherwise, it is easy to get lost in the maze-like market.

 

Bogyoke Aung San Market

Bogyoke Aung San Market

Bogyoke Aung San Market

Bogyoke Aung San Market

Bogyoke Aung San Market   Bogyoke Aung San Market

mooneymoon

Bogyoke Aung San Market

 

If you are coffee drinker, then make sure you drop by the Mooney Moon coffee shop (Rm-210, West Wing) in between your shopping. The coffee is very good here, and you can even buy some beans to bring back home. Alternatively, there is a quieter and friendly shop upstairs called Coffee Melody that offers good organic coffee as well.

 

Yangoods

Yangoods

Yangoods

Yangoods

 

Yangoods (No.89 Front wing) is an accessories and souvenir brand known for its nostalgic sepia portraits and images of old Burma. Their style somewhat reminds me of vintage Bollywood posters. At the shop, you can find stationery, clocks, bags and home furnishings etc, but the prices here are higher than other local souvenir shops. The shop also has two other shop locations that can be found on their website.

 

yo ya may

yo ya may

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ya ya ma  chin chili

chin chili

Yo Ya May & Chin Chili

 

On the first floor of the market (facing the main road), there are two Ethnographic textiles shops that specialise in traditional chin textiles. Yo Ya May (1st fl, front block, Bogyoke Aung San Market) is a wonderful shop that sells colourful woven cushion covers, wall hangings, purses, and bags etc. The prices are reasonable and the staff are friendly. Further down is a smaller shop called Chin Chili, which sells similar products.

Dacco (13/F, Upper Front) is another traditional handicraft shop that sells high quality handmade products like plastic baskets, textiles, jewellery, sandals, candles and clothing. The shop also has a flagship store at Room 5, No.12 Parami Road, 10 Quarter, Mayangone Township.

 

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Japanese-designed wooden crafts that are made in Myanmar

 

Interestingly, there is a shop on the 1st floor that sells crafted wood designs that are similar to the products that we sell from Japan. It turns out that these products are produced by a non-profit Japanese organisation called Asia Crafts link. All their products are designed in Japan but made in Myanmar using local materials, craftsmen and skills. The products are much cheaper than the Japanese made ones (I am being honest here) without compromising on the quality, hence I couldn’t resist making some items here.

 

river gallery

river gallery

river gallery  river gallery

Art works and products by contemporary artists from Myanmar are on sale at River Gallery (Chindwin Chambers, 33/35, 37th and 38th Street)

 

burmese coffee  burmese souvenir

burmese souvenir

burmese souvenir  burmese souvenir

burmese souvenir

burmese souvenir  burmese basket

burmese silver jewellery  burmese souvenir

Souvenir from Myanmar

 

Other interesting shops and brands in Myanmar:

Amazing Grace (26/A Maggin St, Corner of Min Ye Kyaw Swar St., Ward 14, Yangon) – a local social enterprise making handmade jewellery and other fashion accessories using environmentally sustainable and ethical methods.

Helping Hands (92b Ngar Htat Gyi Pagoda St, Yangon) – a social business restoring old, Burmese, teak furniture. Employing over 50 people, skilled artisans work along side ex-street children, training them in the art and skill of furniture restoration.

Paloma Ya Ya – an ethical clothing brand inspired by Myanmar and its neighbouring countries. All items are made with handwoven fabrics and natural fibres in Myanmar.

 

 

Burmese crafts: bamboo & textiles weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

Bamboo factory

 

Bamboo is a material that is widely available and used in Myanmar. The sustainable and versatile material is used to build houses, scaffolding, make woven walls, furniture and basketry etc.

We visited a bamboo factory in Mandalay, and it was interesting to see how the hollow and tall bamboo shoots can be transformed into thin strips to be woven into all kinds of products using quite primitive tools.

 

burmese bamboo weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

Visiting a bamboo factory in Mandalay

 

burmese bamboo weaving

burmese bamboo weaving

Bamboo furniture, homeware, baskets and footballs are sold in the streets

 

bamboo house Burma

bamboo house Burma

bamboo toilet Burma  bamboo hut toilet Burma

1st & 2nd rows: A house made of bamboo; Last row: An eco toilet hut made of wood and bamboo

 

burmese brooms  burmese mat

burmese carpet

Top left: Brooms made of bamboo and grass; Top right and bottom: woven coloured mats

 

After the visit to the bamboo factory, we visited Thein Nyo silk weaving workshop in Amarapura. Since Amarapura is a former royal city, hence it has a long silk-weaving heritage. Patterned longyis, scarves, cushion covers, handbags and other textile goods are made and sold in the shop next to the workshop.

 

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory  burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

Thein Nyo silk weaving workshop in Amarapura

 

Around Inle Lake, the ancient craft of lotus weaving has survived and we were immensely fascinated by this unique material. We visited a workshop and watched the demonstration of how a weaver skillfully drew out thin and delicate lotus fibres from the cut stems. Amazing.

 

inle lake weaving factory

inle lake weaving factory

burmese weaving factory  burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory  burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

inle lake weaving factory

inle lake weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving factory  burmese weaving factory

Lotus and silk workshop around Inle Lake

 

Lotus is a plant notably related to Buddhism, thus the robes made of lotus were offered to Buddhist monks in the old days. Since this weaving technique is fairly time-consuming, most of the products on sale now are mixed with silk, making them more affordable than items made from pure lotus.

However, due to lack of government support and infrastructure, it is extremely difficult for these products to be exported out of Myanmar, and so they are sold mostly to tourists.

 

burmese weaving factory

burmese weaving

Padong tribal (long-neck) woman weaving around Inle Lake

 

burmese embroidery

burmese embroidery

Tapestry and embroidery workshop in Mandalay

 

During this trip, I was quite astonished by the variety of traditional arts and crafts that have been preserved in Myanmar. It is a shame that most of the beautifully crafted products are not available outside of Myanmar. Since Myanmar is changing rapidly, I hope that the traditional craft industry can survive and flourish one day like Thailand and Vietnam.

 

burmese lace weaving  burmese lace weaving

burmese lace weaving

Lace artisans and lace merchandise sold around Inle Lake

 

Burmese crafts: The art of carving

burmese wood carving

burmese carving

burmese wood carving

burmese wood carving  burmese carving

burmese carving

 

Carving has endured a long history in Myanmar. Exquisite wood carvings can still seen at some ancient monasteries and pagodas. Teak is commonly used as it is a native species in the rain forests of South East Asia.

In Mandalay, we visited a wood carving workshop where we saw artisans carving large teak panels featuring the Buddha and other ornamental symbols related to Buddhism.

Yet not far from the wood carving workshop lies an entire road of marble carving workshops. This road is called Kyauk Sitt Thin (which literally means ‘Stone Carving Road’). It turns out that Mandalay is particularly well known for its marble stone sculptures.

 

burmese marble carving

burmese marble carving

marble carving

burmese marble carving

burmese marble carving

burmese marble carving  burmese marble carving

burmese marble carving

burmese marble carving

Marble carving workshops in Mandalay

 

The Burmese word for marble is ‘Sagyin’, which also is the name of a village about 21 miles to the north of Mandalay. The village is located near Sagyin Hill, a mountain range consists of 7 hills with large quantities of marble. And not far from the hills is Mogok, which is known as the Valley of Rubies.

The marble from Sagyin Hill varies in colour from pure white to bluish grey. Traditionally, stone carving used to be carved solely by hand using chisels, but now power tools are being used instead. The once handcrafted trade has now become a mass production industry that exports globally.

We saw many young apprentices (who don’t get paid in their first year of learning) working there without masks, which is quite alarming. And oddly, most of the Buddha statues we saw along the road look almost identical (with some variations in sizes), so no particular workshop stood out for us.

 

burmese sculptures

burmese sculptures

burmese sculptures

burmese sculptures

burmese sculptures

The making of bronze statues at a workshop in Mandalay

 

After seeing marble carving, we then proceeded to another nearby bronze statue workshop. A traditional lost-wax-method is used to produce these statues. First, a clay-based mold is made, then it is covered with a thin layer of wax, which enables the carving process to take place. Afterwards, a second clay frame is molded around the wax statue. Molten bronze is then poured in between the two molds, melting the wax and filling the gap. When the clay mold is cooled and removed, the bronze statue inside becomes a replica of the original wax statue. The statue is then polished by hand or power tools to make it look smooth and shiny.

 

burmese carving

burmese puppets

burmese puppets  burmese puppets

burmese coconut carving

The art of carving can be seen everywhere including traditional carved puppets and even coconuts!

 

To be contined…

Burmese crafts: papier mâché , lacquerware & pottery

burmese papier mâché maker

burmese papier mâché maker  burmese papier mâché maker

Stumbled upon a papier mâché maker’s home in New Bagan

 

Before my trip to Myanmar, I had no idea that a myriad of traditional crafts are being produced in different parts of the country. Apparently, every region uses local materials to produce in a specific craft that is unique to that area; hence, every region has its own a niche market (a good idea to employ in our increasingly homogeneous Western society).

Our first stop was Bagan, and the most unexpected surprise happened when we stumbled upon a papier mâché maker’s house near our hotel. My travel companion spotted the back of a life-sized papier mâché in the courtyard of the craftsman’s house, which evoked our curiosity… eventually the craftsman noticed us (two suspicious tourists peeking outside his house) and invited us in. Although the craftsman spoke little English, he was keen to show us his fantastic creations. He even climbed into the life-sized papier mâché to show us the interior of it. He told us that these papier mâchés are being employed at Buddhist festivals like Thingyan (Burmese New Year Festival), where other papier mâché toys and masks are being sold.

 

burmese pottery maker

burmese pottery maker

Small lacquer jars made by a local artisan in New Bagan

 

Bagan is the official home of lacquerware in Myanmar, so lacquerware can be seen in shops around the Bagan area. After our stop at the papier mâché maker’s house, we met one of his neighbour, who is a lacquerware artisan and she creates tiny lacquer jars and napkin rings at her house.

Since the small village is away from the touristy area, the villagers were all very friendly and hospitable. It was particularly encouraging to see different craftsmen living side by side and working for themselves rather than in a factory setting.

 

burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer  burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer  burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer

burmese lacquer

A lacquerware workshop in Bagan

 

Two days later, we were taken to a lacquerware workshop in Bagan (as part of our tour), where we observed different artisans working on larger and finer pieces catered for tourists.

Although originated from China, Bagan has been producing lacquerware since the 12th/13th century. The sap used in lacquerware is called Thit-si (which means wood varnish) is collected from Melanorrhoea usitata, a tree native to South East Asia. The base of the lacquer vessels are usually made of coiled or woven bamboo strips mixed with horsehair, and later the surface is painted on the inside and outside with lacquer at least eight to sixteen different layers, then stored in a dry cellar. Since it may take a skilled craftsman six months or up to one year to produce high quality lacquerware, hence the prices of these crafts can come with hefty price tags.

 

burmese pottery maker

burmese pottery maker  burmese pottery maker

burmese pottery   burmese pottery

A village pottery maker outside of Mandalay

 

Unlike lacquerware, pottery is being produced in several areas of the country. And one of them is Nwe Nyein village near Kyauk Myaung, a riverside town along the Ayeyarwady River. Since the clay near Kyauk Myaung produces high quality pottery, therefore the area is known for its 50-gallon glazed jars. Most jars are exported, while others are primarily used for water storage. These water jars can often be seen in the streets or at Buddhist temples providing water for travelers or monks.

Although we didn’t visit this village, we did visit a village outside of Mandalay where we saw some local pottery makers producing pottery (and drying chilies) at their houses.

 

burmese terracotta water jars

burmese terracotta water jars

 

burmese lacquer

burmese pottery

Top & 2nd rows: Terracotta water jars; 3rd row: Pottery shop in Bagan; Last row: miniature pottery kits for children

 

To be continued…

Chasing sunrises & sunsets in Myanmar

bagan sunset

Sunset in Bagan

 

There are some places in this world that offer spectacular sunrises and sunsets, and Iceland is definitely one of them. Now though, I can also add Myanmar (Burma) onto this list. Apart from Iceland, I have never been able to watch sunrise and sunset daily throughout my holiday, so it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my trip.

Bagan is an ancient city in central Myanmar, and it is one of the world’s greatest archeological sites, yet it is not as famous as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. There are over 2000 Buddhist temples and ruins in the 26-sq-mile area, and the original ones were built between 1057 and 1287. The temple setting creates a perfect backdrop for sunset viewings, and it is almost on every tourist’s itinerary to watch sunrise/sunset from the top of a temple.

 

bagan sunset

bagan sunset

 

Our first sunset viewing experience on the top of an over-crowded temple was not pleasant at all, as it was a gauntlet where the tourists fought to occupy the best spots for photo opportunities. It was hardly a serene experience. Luckily, on the next day, our tour guide took us to a tourist-free secret spot where we were able to watch the sunset without tourists elbowing around us.

 

bagan sunset

bagan sunset

bagan

bagan sunset

mandalay sunrise

Sunsets in Bagan

 

Sunrises are equally spectacular in Bagan, though strangely, the colours seem to resemble sunsets in the photos! Unfortunately, my travel companion and I were unable to take the air balloon ride at sunrise since all the tours were fully booked, but we did manage to watch sunrises and sunsets from the cruise on the Irrawaddy River over the following few days.

 

sunrise bagan

bagan sunrise

Sunrise in Bagan

 

Our 5-day river cruise tour started from Bagan and ended in Mandalay, and our Mandalay tour itinerary included sunset viewing at the popular Taung Tha Man Lake where the famous U Bein Bridge is located. U Bein Bridge is the world’s longest teak footbridge, and it is a magnet for tourists and locals alike. We got onto a small rowing boat and were taken to the middle of the lake with other boats full of tourists around us. The sunset was beautiful, but the attraction felt like a tourist trap, and we were starting to feel apathetic towards these ‘picture perfect’ moments.

 

mandalay U Bein Bridge

u bein bridge  sunset at u bein bridge

mandalay U Bein Bridge

mandalay U Bein Bridge

Sunset at Taung Tha Man Lake and U Bein Bridge

 

After disembarking from our cruise boat, we spend the night in Mandalay and on the next day, headed towards Pyin Oo Lwin, a colonial hill station loved by the British as a summer retreat during the colonial days. The main attraction of the scenic hill town is the 435-acre National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden founded in 1915 by an English Forest Researcher Mr. Alex Rogers. Modelled after Kew Gardens in London, the garden features more than 480 species of flowers, shrubs and trees. This is one of my favourite sights during my trip in Myanmar, and I almost thought I was in the UK until I saw some Buddhist monks and nuns strolling around in the garden.

Before the garden closed, we climbed up the odd-looking (East meets West-style?) 12-storey Nan Myint viewing tower to enjoy a fantastic panoramic view of the area, and free of tourists too. It turned out that we were the last visitors in the garden, thus we were able to experience some tranquil sunset moments as we were leaving.

 

National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens

National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens

National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens

Tranquil sunset at National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden

 

When my travel companion and I were planning our trip, we did not intend to visit Inle Lake in the Shan State, but since it was highly recommended to us by various people, we decided to spend a few days at the second largest lake in Myanmar. The most popular way to do sightseeing in the area is to hire a local motored wooden canoe (a Burmese gondola) and a coxswain for the day, as there are many sites worth visiting around the lake.

After a long day of sightseeing around the lake, our coxswain stopped the canoe in the middle of the lake, and we watched the sun setting behind the hills without any disturbance. At last, we both agreed that it was our ‘perfect’ sunset moment during our trip.

Sunsets are the best time to unwind and appreciate the natural wonders of this world. Hence, it’s best avoid the touristy sunset-seeking spots in order to enjoy an authentic and relaxing experience.

 

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

inle lake sunset

Sunsets at Inle lake

Myanmar’s food markets & vendors

bagan food market

Bagan

 

Food markets in Asia are always vibrant, colourful and stimulating. In Myanmar, we visited several village and town food markets, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experiences. Aside from food like fish, meat, vegetables, eggs, chilies and dried herbs, we also saw some unusual stuff like the addictive betel leaves and thanaka wood (its powder is used as a natural sunscreen).

I have no doubt that the produce being sold at these markets are fresh, but the stalls’ hygiene was a concern for us and so we didn’t make any purchase aside from the Burmese-style doughnuts recommended by our guide. The fried dough was filled with freshly shredded coconut, which was surprisingly light and delicious.

 

street food vendor

street food vendor

Yummy Burmese-style fried doughnut

 

Village food market

 

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burmese food market  burmese food market

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burmese food market  burmese food market

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burmese food market  burmese food market

burmese food market

myanmar food market  garlic

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Town food market

 

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burmese food market

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burmese chillies

 

Inle Lake food market

 

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Mandalay & Yangon

 

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ice cream vendor  yangon street food vendor

yangon street food vendor

 

If you planning to visit Myanmar, then don’t forget to include a trip to the food market. Not only food markets reveal the country’s food culture, they are also fantastic places for people-watching, and they act as stimuli that can enhance our senses. Enjoy!

 

Faces of Myanmar

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A young girl in Bagan

 

When I travel, what interests me most is not the sights but the people. I enjoy take photographs of people, especially children. Myanmar is a diverse country with 135 distinct ethnic groups, so not only does the scenery changes as you travel around, but the ethnicities of the people you encounter are likely to differ too. And like most countries, the friendliest people we met were in villages and not in the touristy areas or somewhere recommended by the guidebooks.

Since 89% of the population is Buddhists, it is easy to spot monks and nuns walking along the streets or conducting alms arounds. Our visit to a nunnery was fascinating, but the joyous moment happened when we encountered a group of young nuns and monks playing at The National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens. They were incredibly cute and funny, and watching them trying to do somersaults or outdo each other was the highlight of our day.

 

Children

 

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dsc_0021-min  burmese children

burmese child

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burmese child

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burmese childen  burmese childen

burmese childen

burmese childen

burmese childen

 

Families, communities & villagers

 

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burmese family 

burmese family

burma

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dsc_0420-min  burmese people

villagers

villager

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Souvenir sellers & workers

 

burmese boy  burmese people

airport workers

burmese roof worker

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lake rower

gardener

 

Tribal groups around Inle lake

 

inle lake

inle lake fishermen

inle lake fishermen

inle lake farmers

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inle lake villager

inle lake villager

inle lake villager

long necked tribal woman  inle lake villager

inle lake villager

kayaker

burmese costume

 

Monks

 

burmese monks

burmese monks

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burmese monks

burmese monk  burmese monk

burmese monks

burmese monk

burmese monks

burmese monk  burmese monks

burmese monks

burmese monks

 

Nuns

 

burmese nuns

burmese nunsburmese nuns

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burmese monks and nuns

burmese nuns

burmese nuns

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burmese nuns

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Animals

 

animals

horse cart

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dog  burmese dogs

 

City people (& cockerel) in Mandalay & Yangon

 

burmese man

mandalay

burmese woman  burmese family

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burmese footballers

burmese girls

burmese women

burmese children

coffee melody  coffee drinks

yangon

yangon post office

yangon

yangon