COUNTRIES

People working at a jetty near Old Bagan. I think they were looking for semi-precious stones

Cooking breakfast

Men sit around and watch women working nearby

Women take care of all the hard work

We decided to cross Ayeyarwady River and check our villages on the other side

When water levels are low, vegetables are planted in fertile soil

There are many fields along the river

Irrigation is key during the dry season

It's all about teamwork

A typical house in the first village we visited

In the countryside life has not changed much for centuries

They are very good at balancing objects on top of their heads

Sometimes those objects looked quite big and heavy

It has nothing to do with this picture, but did you know there are no ATMs in Myanmar?

A young boy took us to this monastery. We were given green tea to drink and betel nut to chew

We saw a group of people working in the field, so we joined in for about an hour

I picked chili peppers with this girl. She was very fast!

Afterwards, chillies are left to dry in the sun

A small lizard we saw hiding in the grass

Some women and children still use this type of sandals. Younger kids walk barefoot

This game seemed to draw all the village kids until Ela and I turned up

Another fact about Myanmar - it's military spending is estimated at around 50% of GDP

Back at the river, where we had to look for a boat to take us across to Bagan

Good bye from the kids. Begging was a problem, thanks to irresponsible tourists giving away sweets to everybody