Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Prints and frames in Yangon



Sometimes I am asked about places to print and frame photographs in Yangon. I know a few places but I double checked and received some valuable recommendations from a talented photographer friend, Minzayar

Here they are, some of the best places to print and frame your photographs:

For printing go to


  • Kodak, 34th street, upper block - the best in Yangon so far!
  • Aperture, 36th street, middle block (facing Technoland)
  • Dora5, 33rd street, middle block


and for frames

Plastic & wood:

·       Aperture, 36th street, middle block (facing Technoland)

Wooden frames:
 
·       U Khin Zaw
09 514 91 50
267/47 Shwe Hinn Thar Street
North Dagon Township

or

·       Moe Makha Art
09 431 157 851
09 731 184 117
Aung Chan Thar Housing
East Shwe Gon Dine road

Thank you very much, Minzayar!

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

While in Bagan eat vegetarian...(Bagan restaurant recommendation)

...and you will surely not regret it!

We found a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Bagan...with a very affectionate name "The Moon: Be kind to animals". As you already noticed I am not a person of many words so I will only say: go once and you will return to enjoy all your meals there...and what a pity I could not convince the owner to open a branch in Yangon!

Enjoy the very "visual" drinks and food :D...after all food is also eaten with the eyes.

Start with a strawberry, mango or dragon fruit juice (depending on the season)...


 ..then enjoy a soup or salad...



...and order a curry with coconut rice if really hungry...


 ...but do not miss the delicious deserts: homemade ice-cream, fried banana with honey or pancakes!



P.S. In the high season better call in advance to reserve a table. It happened to us once that the restaurant was closed in the evening because of the busy lunch which left them without any vegetables. They are the victims of their own success :D !!!







WoY - a photography project

Versiunea în limba română mai jos: 

Windows of Yangon (WoY) is a new photography project I started today and which will run for two months, until 12 of March. Below are the first 10 windows of a total of 100 I wish to photograph in Yangon! Why windows/balconies? Because they are unique and colorful and full of life (most of them)...and because they are always eye-catching.


















WoY

"Ferestrele din Yangon" este un nou proiect fotografic pe care l-am început astăzi. Mai sus sunt 10 poze ale unor ferestre dintr-un total de 100 pe care vreau să le fotografiez! De ce ferestre/balcoane? Pentru că sunt unice, colorate și pline de viață (cele mai multe)...și pentru că îți atrag atenția.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Win Win - the dressmaker of Yangon!

traducerea în limba română mai jos:

For a women it is important to know a dressmaker in the city she lives, especially if she can find   beautiful traditional hand-woven fabrics. All the more in Yangon as there are not many good shopping opportunities for clothes!
And I believe I found, through a recommendations, what I believe to be the best dressmaker of Yangon! Her name is Win Win and she has a small tailor shop not far from the Shwe Hinthar Condo (10 min walk) .


Many years back Win Win spent a few months in Paris at the invitation of a friend and she recalls that it was a very nice time learning the language and walking the streets looking at the unique fashion items displayed in the designers' shop windows trying to imagine how all the clothes were designed, cut and sewn. Sometimes she would enter some tailors' shops and peek at the skillful designers cutting and sewing the materials. She even considered following a fashion design class during her time in Paris but she lack the means to support herself abroad. Moreover her friend told her a diploma will not make any difference as she already had enough skills. As a matter of fact she is self-taught. And she is a very talented dressmaker!
Her tailor shop is small and friendly with lots of fabrics spread around and model dresses hanging from the walls. In one closet with glass doors she has some old Chinese longyi fabrics on display, mainly of silk.


It is possible to buy them and design your own dress, skirt or jacket made.


Win Win lives with her mother and two of her sisters. One of the sisters has a small grocery shop at the front of the house and the other is a dressmaker as well. But she prefers to take care of the Myanmar customers whose preferences are mainly the traditional longyi and the matching shirt. But Win Win is not afraid of reproducing a Chanel or an Escada dress!

You can visit Win Win and her tailor shop or get in touch with her at the following contact details:

Address: 464 Damaryone (1) Street, 6 1/2 Miles, Pyay Road, Hlaing Tsp, Yangon
Phone: Win Win 09 431  933 20
Opening hours: Tu to Su from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Directions: leaving behind Pyay road, you walk straight ahead with Shwe Hinthar Condo on your left hand side and as soon as two streets open in front of you take the left one and continue for around 500 m (the street will make a slight right corner). After you pass a temple's gate on your right take the second small street to the left. You walk around 150 m and on your right you will see a small grocery shop. This is the house. The entrance is on the small alley to the right.
  

Win Win - croitoreasa Yangonului!

Pentru o femeie este important să găsească o croitoreasă în orașul în care trăiește mai ales dacă ai la dispoziție materiale tradiționale frumoase, țesute manual. Ca să nu menționez faptul că în Yangon nu sunt multe magazine de haine!

Și cred că am găsit, recomandată de prieteni, cea mai bună croitoreasă din Yangon! Numele ei este Win Win și are un atelier de croitorie nu departe de Shwe Hinthar Condo (10 min pe jos).
Cu mulți ani în urmă, Win Win a locuit câteva luni la Paris, la invitația unei prietene. Își amintește de o perioadă frumoasă învățând limba franceză și plimbându-se pe străzi admirând vitrinele creatorilor de modă și încercând să își imagineze modul în care au fost croite hainele. Câteodată intra în croitorii și trăgea cu ochiul la angajații talentați care tăiau și coseau materialele. Win Win se gândea că ar putea fi util să urmeze un curs de croitorie la Paris, dar nu avea resursele financiare. Mai mult, prietena ei i-a spus că o diplomă nu ar face o diferență deoarece avea de pe atunci o mână de aur. A învățat meseria de croitoreasă singură. Și este foarte talentată!

Atelierul ei de croitorie este mic și prietenos cu multe stofe și țesături împrăștiate peste tot și modele de rochii care atârnă pe pereți. Într-o vitrină are expuse longyi vechi chinezești, cele mai multe din mătase. Poți să cumperi unul pentru o rochie, fustă sau sacou după modelul dorit sau după un model din numeroasele reviste de modă pe care ea le are. Și crede-mă, vei cumpăra cu siguranță un vechi longyi chinezesc așa cum am făcut-o și eu.
 
Win Win trăiește cu mama și cele două surori ale sale. Una dintre ele are un mic magazin alimentar în partea din față a casei, iar cealaltă este și ea croitoreasă. Sora ei preferă clientela locală care preferă longyi-ul și bluza tradițională. Dar Win Win poate foarte bine să croiască o rochie după un model Chanel sau Escada!