http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2099079-myanmar74/

Downtown Yangon is a dilapidated mixture of broken sidewalks, crumbling colonial era buildings and food vendors. Merchant Street is particularly crowded with vendors selling anything from spicy cherries to savory crepe-like pancakes filled with goodness. Burmese food is neither Indian nor Thai, but a delicious flavor palate of its own. The city is an amalgamation of British, Burmese, Chinese and Indian influences, known for its colonial architecture, which although decaying and beyond appreciation, remains an almost unique example of a 19th century British colonial capital.

The sprawling street market covered everything from food to clothing to household goods or to art, each sold for a few dollar bills, mostly spread on the ground or on makeshift crates.

New high-rise buildings were constructed from the 1990s (and some are eerily unoccupied and left as ghost skyscrapers as seen along Upper Pansodan Rd) as the government began to allow private investment. Meanwhile, former government buildings such as the massive Secretariat Building, have been left to rot as the capital is shifted to Naypyidaw. Yangon continues to be a city of the past, as evidenced by its longyi-wearing, betel nut chewing pedestrians, with their friendly or even familial attitude towards strangers, its street vendors, and its pungent smells.

The betel (Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties.

Paan is a stimulating and psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and/or cured tobacco. Paan is chewed and finally spat out or swallowed.

Paan has many variations. Slaked lime (chunnam) paste is commonly added to bind the leaves.

In Myanmar the betel nuts are chopped into small pieces and mixed with spices. Often people in the street spit bright red gobs of betel nut juice.

Myanmar is a rural and agrarian country, with traditions and customs deeply rooted. This notion of forecasting the future on Celestial Beings traveling in space riding on animals seems a strange but charming custom. The Celestial Beings come to visit the abode of humans annually during the Thingyan or the Myanmar New Year time. By tradition every Myanmar household places small jars of Eugenia leaves and flowers in front of their houses to welcome this august visitor.

The unrest in Myanmar during the first decade of the 21st Century has been widely monitored by journalists reporting on human rights violations; slavery, prostitution and drug trafficking earned Myanmar the dubious title of Southeast Asia’s Columbia. Despite this strife, respect for tradition has never been stronger in this ancient nation. The people of Myanmar place a great deal of importance on the folkways, rituals and belief systems of their ancestors, finding peace and comfort in timeless traditions. In every temple they do offerings of bananas, coconuts and Eugenia sprigs to Lord Buddha.

Thanaka

Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm). In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during their nuclear phase of development. As growth continues, the endosperm mature into their cellular phase and deposit into the rind of the coconut meat. Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics

Coconuts for drinking are served fresh, chilled or packaged in many places. They are often sold by street vendors who cut them open with machetes or similar implements in front of customers. Coconut water can also be found in ordinary cans, tetra paks, or plastic bottles (sometimes with coconut pulp or coconut jelly included)

In recent years, coconut water has been marketed as a natural energy or sports drink due to its high potassium and mineral content.

Beans Sprouts that are type of the tender edible shoots of germinated beans. The sprouted beans are more nutritious than the original beans and they require much less cooking time and, therefore, fuel.

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu & InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound Yatanarbon - A damsel's wish