As cities around the world are slowly starting to ease their lockdowns, so has life started to return to Yangon. Having spent most of the last several months cooped up alone in the apartment, there is a well-developed itch to spend more time outdoors. Case loads in Yangon have been low and life has been rushing to “normal” for several weeks. Traffic feels like it’s almost back to its usual chaotic self, street vendors have taken back their corners, construction workers are back to laying bricks.

An upside to having my routine disrupted is that it rendered time for reflection of what it is I enjoy and don’t enjoy spending time on. Photography being one of the former, I rushed myself out for an aimless wander … for the first in a loooong time. I first thought I’d challenge myself to try something new and stick to shooting only in black and white. But it turns out I had missed colour more than I thought – a black and white wonder around town will have to wait for another day.

There was little deliberation about where to go on my first outing outside of the regular shopping trips – downtown, no question. Maybe it’s the lockdown effect but even after 4 years of living here, a few hours of an afternoon sun interrupting the monsoon rains are still just as exciting. On days like today, it’s hard not to feel that downtown Yangon is just magic. It’d take more than than a short blog to muster a description worth the city’s energy. You’d have to content with what comes out of the back of the camera.

Stay safe and take care of others, wherever you are!

P.S. I’ve been testing a vintage 50 mm Minolta lens. If you find some pics out of focus, it’s because I’m still feeling my way around its focus ring 🙂

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