The are young girls who are staying with the nuns (probably to get an education, or maybe because their parents can’t support them). Like the monks, they go out to collect donations and food every day.
Note the diesel generator in the distance. Many buildings have them for when the power cuts out, which can happen several times a day. Between that, and the removable concrete caps for the drains that most side walks have, and the businesses (phone stores, food vendors with tables, nut vendors, betel nut venders…) on the side streets, it’s often easier to walk in the roads, especially on the smaller streets.
There’s a bit of sunlight in this photo, but it comes and goes. It’s the beginning of rainy season, which means that every day comes with occasional drizzle and periodic downpours (and we’re talking “the heavens open up and throw out the bathwater” downpours) that may last anywhere from five minutes to half an hour. Combine that with the drains and everything else, and obviously the street and sidewalks can get ripe.
Most everyone wears flip-flops or sandals. You take them off when you enter a residence (and then promptly rinse your feet in the bathroom).… Continue reading “Yangon: Nuns, Streets, and Shoes”
I’m Kee Hinckley (he/his). That’s my wife 
