Your seems to me very much soft, cool and kind person. I was born and brought up there now live in western country, used to be very good in Myanmar now worst in Asia.

The temperatures here have consistently been up in that range. It was 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) yesterday as well. A cool day here is when the temperature reaches 101 degrees. That's pretty crazy. This poor Canadian is melting. 😃

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I've heard in the past that the Canadian accent is a bit easier for many people to understand than a British or even an American accent. And in my case, years of teaching English and working in recording studios for ESL publications probably trained me to try to speak a bit more clearly. It's in my blood now. 😎

Lol.....I'm surprised you weren't lambasted by Brits for that comment. I always love when I speak to someone from England and they remind me I speak Anerican and not English.....and they're right lol

Thank you. Yes, it is nice to see more people interested in the videos I'm making. I'm still bumbling along with this video-making process and trying to find my "voice" so to speak. Hopefully, the videos will get better, and more people will enjoy them as time goes on. 😃

Thank you. It was interesting to see how quiet the Yangon River was compared to the river in Dhaka. The river and all the boats was my favorite part of visiting Dhaka. So I was glad to see that there were at least some boats on the Yangon River.

@@PlanetDoug Thank you sir

It's a common practice in countries around the world, and there are a bunch of ways of looking at it. You can argue that it is discriminatory or even racist. But local policy-makers might argue that tourists are rich and should pay more than the locals. But these days, that is far from true. Malaysia, for example, has a very strong economy and lots of people there have far more money than I do, but I have to pay much higher entrance fees at the Bird Park and other attractions in the country. And they apply a tourist tax at all the hotels - even budget hotels. Myanmar just struck me as a bit unusual. The higher ticket prices for foreigners in Malaysia is at tourist attractions. But in Yangon, foreigners have to pay to visit the pagodas, and these are active places of worship. It feels a bit strange to visit a Buddhist temple filled with hundreds of devout Buddhists, but I have to buy a ticket to go inside. This small boat in Yangon was also quite strange because it has nothing to do with tourism. It is just a part of the local transportation network. And even when I rode on that large ferry across the river, I had to go to a special tourist office and buy a much more expensive ticket. In a way, it's like a tourist riding the subway in New York city, but they have to pay ten times more than locals. It doesn't make sense. But, of course, I still pay the extra fee, and I don't get upset about it. It's just part of life, and the experience is worth it to me.

I took a closer look at the map of Myanmar after this trip, and I saw that there is a large oceanside region to the southwest of Yangon, and I think Dalla is the jumping off point for all the people going from that area to Yangon and then back again. Good question about the tracks. I'm pretty sure there aren't any trams running today. Maybe there were in the past. But I think the most logical answer is that they're just regular train tracks serving the dock area and the large ships loading and unloading. Perhaps they aren't used anymore at all. You can see the sign for the foreigner prices briefly, but I go by it too fast to be able to read it. It just said something like "Foreigner Price - 2,000 kyats one way" and "4,000 kyats - both ways". Yes, it looked painful when that young guy fell while tying up the boat. When we returned to the other side, he did the same work, but he didn't slip and fall that time. 🙂 I don't know the exact species of bird, but I'm pretty sure they are a type of seagull. I've always liked seagulls. When I was young, the book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" made a BIG impression on me, and I've loved seagulls ever since. I wasn't worried about my own safety on that boat. I practically grew up in rivers and lakes and swimming pools, so I'm very comfortable in the water and can swim very well. But I was a bit worried about my cameras and smartphones and other expensive equipment. I certainly wouldn't have been happy if the boat tipped over and I lost all of that. Yes, that horse ate it all. I'm always surprised when animals eat stuff like that. Makes me realize that they aren't as smart as we sometimes think they are. They often have no idea what is food and what isn't. They'll often eat things that can really harm them. I can imagine that netting like that could cause some serious problems in the horse's digestive system. I guess it smelled or tasted good somehow. I wanted to ride on a regular boat with local people on my return trip, but it wasn't possible. So I didn't even try. As soon as I showed up, they indicated that I should get on the private boat by myself. I suppose if I wanted to, I could have just climbed on a regular boat and seen what happened. I'd still pay the foreigner price of 5,000 kyats but ride on a regular boat. Maybe they would have let me. But I don't usually like to cause trouble. I try to smile and laugh and just be friendly and not cause a scene. As someone else pointed out in the comments, the special treatment is probably meant to make me more comfortable. I'm paying more, so I should get a private boat. They think that is what I would want. If I tried to ride on a regular boat, they might not understand why. So I just do what I'm told usually even if I don't understand the system. You're right that when I said the local people were shy that I was contradicting myself. To be honest, I don't really believe that they're shy. I kind of said that just to be nice. I actually talked a lot about this earlier in that video, but I deleted it because I didn't want to be critical or negative. I was just surprised at how unfriendly the boat drivers and the boat helpers were. When I took river boats in Dhaka in Bangladesh, I also had to pay a special foreigner price and take a private boat, but the boat drivers were smiling and laughing and really friendly with me. Everywhere I went in Dhaka (and in Indonesia), people called out greetings and wanted to chat with me and would bring me tea. But in Yangon, people are just not interested in me as a person. They actually remind me of people from Thailand. People in Thailand are also generally not interested. And that's fine. They have their own lives and their own friends, and they don't care about some dumb tourist like me. And the people in Myanmar appear to have a similar quality. They're interested in me as a source of money, but that's about all. So, really, I don't think they're actually shy. I think they're confident and independent and just aren't as outgoing and friendly as people from some other countries I've visited recently. I think in my earlier comments, I was referring specifically to how people treated me in restaurants and other public stores and businesses. In those situations, I was surprised at how the people in Myanmar weren't afraid of talking to me. The waiter would come right up to me and bring me to a table and take my order and they were very helpful. In other countries, people might be nervous and they wouldn't have the self-confidence to deal with me. The waiters and waitresses would often run away and giggle and be too afraid to talk to me. But in Yangon, waiters come right up to me. They are self-confident that way. But that self-confidence also seems to mean that there is less friendliness on the streets. The boat driver wasn't shy. He was willing to take my 5,000 kyats and bring me across the river. But it was a business transaction for him. He had no interest in being friendly with me. He was just doing his job I think.

@@PlanetDoug Thanks for the reply. I looking back this comment after some readings. There was actually trams running in Yangon in 2016 but it only lasted for 6 months. The trams is kept near Wa Dan Street. Maybe you can take a look if it's still there. With number of viewers on your videos, I understand your discomfort of talking with critical views. Any chance to get that kind of rambling like in your blog before? It might be impossible to keep updating your blog like before. Some insight in community tab could be a good place for each video posting.

@@PlanetDoug it is a tram track left by British . Burma used to have tram until 1945 or 50 around that time.

The tracks are still being used, the train that service the docks but not super regular. Dala is Land of the thieves and was known as the cursed land where only sketchy people live and tons of scams. Most locals are not interested and this is only common at dala and not the entire country. Mostly people are uninterested with tourists and not looking to rip them off. Of course dual pricing is officially practised in the country.

Thanks! I was recording with 2 cameras at the same time. So some of the clips are from the GoPro Hero 7 Black and some of them are from a mirrorless camera - the Panasonic G85. Most of the time when the camera was pointing at me - at my face - that clip is from the Panasonic. And a lot of the shots pointing away from me (ahead of me as I was walking along) are from the GoPro. And then I just mixed them together. It was just something I wanted to try out. I mounted the GoPro on top of the Panasonic and I started recording on both of them at the same time. The audio, however, is almost 100% from a lavalier mic attached to the Panasonic. Even when the video is from the GoPro, I used the audio from the Panasonic. The audio from the GoPro is so much worse, and it would have sounded really weird to switch back and forth from one to the other. I hope to attach an external mic to the GoPro eventually, but I don't have the audio adapter for the GoPro yet.

I might get a hat someday, but it's unlikely. I've never found hats to be very comfortable. And I do have sunglasses. I even had them with me on this boat and ferry trip. I just never put them on. I wear them when I'm cycling, but I always feel a bit weird wearing them in a city - like there is a barrier between me and the people around me. I always end up taking them off because it feels rude to talk to someone with these big, dark sunglasses on my face. Plus, they get in the way when I'm operating the camera and they get so sweaty with all the sweat dripping off my face. 😎🤣

@@PlanetDoug Have not seen a new video from you lately?

I planned on going to other parts of the country, but I got a bit sick, so I had to stay in Yangon and rest. But I'm feeling better now, and I hope to visit some other places soon. Of course, I have to at least see Mandalay and Bagan while I am here. 😃

When u visit mandalay plz don’t forget to go to Shwe nandaw Kyaung

It's a possibility. The other day, I was looking at inexpensive flights out of Kuala Lumpur, and there appear to be a number of them going to India and Sri Lanka. I was thinking about flying to Sri Lanka (a place I've never been) and then going from there into India. I went to India once before, but I didn't go as a tourist. I went there long ago on a kind of student exchange. India is such a big country, though. There are so many amazing places and so many different regions, it would be difficult to decide where to go. 🙂

I know exactly what you mean. I guess that's human nature. We're never happy. 🙂 It's practically a way of life in Canada. We can spend all winter shivering in the cold and wishing summer would come. But as soon as the hot summer sun arrives, we wish it was nice and cold winter again.

I never did find out what the regular fare is for regular people. I asked a couple of people on the other side, but all they would tell me is the foreigner price of 5,000 kyats. 🙂

I appreciate the intention. 🙂 It just struck me as kind of funny that the special treatment is often the opposite of what we actually want. That was particularly true of the trip on the small boat. I guess they want to make me more comfortable by giving me a private boat. But I actually felt very weird and awkward and uncomfortable riding across on my private boat. I wanted to just get on a regular boat and exchange a smile or two with the other passengers. But I wasn't allowed to do that. 😄

I got the impression that those children weren't being very nice. They followed me around and made kissing sounds with their lips and did some other very weird things. But, of course, I had no idea what they were saying. I didn't know that they were swearing. 🙂 If it IS something really bad, I can still delete that portion. I'd just need to know the exact time codes to know which part to remove - start point and end point.

As a local burmese, I can understand what you want to say. I have met many situations like that while I am young. In fact, those things are just reflections of their surroundings and most importantly their parents who struggle with their daily lives and don't have enough time to teach kids appropriate manners. So, what can we say... Didn't mean to annoy you but if you really wish to cut off, 23:48-23:51 :)

He is saying the F word in burmese. How these kids... :')

I couldn't understand the kids, of course, but apparently they were saying some bad things as they followed me around. I did recognize one word: "bule". At least I think they were saying bule. I heard that word a lot in Sumatra, and it meant "foreigner" in Indonesian. Perhaps they use the same word in Myanmar.

Hi Doug, “bule” was actually “oole” which meant Uncle in Burmese. As for the profanity, I personally felt ashamed as a yangonite. Anyway, keep up man. Great videos! Just subbed this morning.

That's interesting. It makes me wonder if the two words "oole" and "bule" have a similar origin, since they sound so much alike.

​@@PlanetDoug "oole" mean is called ''Uncle'', "bule"mean is called '' Who''

At least he seemed to recover quickly. And he didn't fall into the water and get trapped between the boat and the dock. So that was good. But he sure seemed to hit pretty hard. He probably woke up with a couple of bruises the next morning.

Personally, I have no patience for bargaining. It seems like such a waste of time and energy. 😄 So if I don't like the price, I just walk away and buy whatever it is somewhere else, or I don't buy it at all. That's actually one of the reasons I walk and cycle everywhere - so I can avoid the hassle of having to bargain with tuktuk and taxi drivers, etc. In this case, however, I don't think there is any chance of bargaining. It's a set price for foreigners established by the government or tourism department. You can either pay that price and ride the ferry or boat or don't pay it and don't ride on the boat. It's not a price that can be changed. That's definitely true of the big ferry. The official ticket they issue is for foreigners only and has the official price printed on it. For the small boat, there is no ticket issued, but I think it is just as official.

@@PlanetDoug I wonder how they identify foreigner from neighboring countries? Seem like they didn't verifying any ID, just by how someone looks only.

That's an interesting question - how they identify foreigners. It's pretty clear that they just do it based on appearance. A tall white dude like me is obviously a foreigner of some type. But is someone from Thailand or Laos also considered a foreigner? Do they have to pay the foreigner price? And what if someone from a poor country in Africa showed up? Would they assume that since he is a tourist he must be rich? Or would they assume he was poor and let him pay the local price? There are all kinds of difficulties in a policy like this once you start thinking about it logically. It only works in a country where foreigners look different from local people. This system wouldn't work in Canada because everyone looks different. You can't tell just by looking at someone if they are a Canadian citizen or a visitor from another country. You'd have to ask to see their ID, and I'm pretty sure that would be illegal. No business would be allowed to charge different amounts based on checking your nationality. 😃

@@PlanetDoug unless its a heavily subsidized price for its citizens. US 6 cent for a ferry ride is not a fair market price for a ferry ride. This is evidently a heavily subsidized public transport for working class Myanmar citizens. Nothing to do with charging more to rich foreigners. You are not entitled to a subsidized pricing. Just like Singapore cars cannot buy a subsidized fuel grade in Malaysia. Same logic. Get over it. Pay your 2.6 $, enjoy cold water and enjoy the ride.

That's a good point. I had similar thoughts when I recently spent some time in Dhaka. They really needed some more bridges across the main rivers in the city. But at the same time, the lack of bridges means that there is a lot of work for boat men. If everyone suddenly starts taking buses across new bridges, there would be no work for all the men with their boats. But I guess that's an unavoidable part of progress. Things change, old jobs disappear and new ones are created.

there is a bridge under construction now being build by Japan

@@thekingminn ahh good thing to know. Im a bit disappointed though ( still it is good to see that something is being done) because personally i believe that ASEAN should play a greater role in developing this region and take it as its main agenda. There are super rich nations like the Singapore and Brunei but small and lack then raw economic power of Indonesia and Vietnam. and there are countries that are doing quite well like Malaysia the Philipines and Thailand. If everybody chip in and doing it right this ASEAN would be like the second EU - economic powerhouse and world wide influencer. Right now it is either China or the USA is our Daddy and both giants they are sort of forcing us to choose sides which is a bad thing. And not to forget India's role in the Andaman Sea which is too close for comfort. ASEAN must remain neutral. It is time to stand on our own. Sigh it is just a dream i guess. Not in my life time anyway.

@@talhahabdullah8980 I agree 100%

@@talhahabdullah8980 Good view. I remember Tun Mahathir our Malaysia Prime Minister once said that we should enrich our neighbours so they can buy our products. We shouldn't depend on loans by super power nations such as USA and China because they will interfere with our local politics. I don't know much about these things but I should do some educational reading.

For asian ....maybe this trick work hahahaha....

A friend of mine with an Asian heritage told me about how he went to all the tourist attractions in Myanmar and never paid the foreigner fee. He dressed in local clothing and he wasn't carrying around a giant camera, so everyone assumed he was local. I don't think I could get away with that. 😄

It's true that the types of things I like to do aren't for everyone. 🙂 I enjoy wandering around riversides and regular city neighborhoods - even when it is brutally hot - just to go exploring. In the past, my goal was always to take pictures, and I liked walking around and taking pictures. Now I'm trying to do something similar with video. It's often physically uncomfortable and stressful to be on your own in a new country like this, but I like the adventure of it.

Actually I am from Malaysia but now in Yangon and so much better here because life is simple and not caught in constant traffic

Citizenship is irrelevant for prices in most countries in the world. If a citizen of Myanmar (or of any country) goes to Canada as a tourist and takes a bus or train or boat or goes to a movie or goes to a museum or goes anywhere at all, they pay the same price as Canadian citizens or anyone else. The price for everything is the same for everyone. In fact, it would be illegal in Canada to ask someone what their nationality is and then charge them a special price based on the country they come from or how they look.

In addition, tourists such as myself contribute a great deal to the economies of countries such as Myanmar. We bring a lot of money into the country in foreign currency and spend it all while we are there. And we pay all the usual taxes placed on goods and services that we purchase while we are in Myanmar. Taxes and fees were applied to most things that I purchased in Myanmar, such as hotel rooms. Plus, foreign tourists are charged vastly higher prices for most things in the country compared to Myanmar citizens. We often have to pay for things that cost nothing if you are a citizen. The fee for the tourist visa itself can be substantial and all of that money goes to the government. Therefore, to say that we don't pay tax and don't contribute to the economy is not even remotely true.

Well, the ticket seller was setting him up for a scam also. Why did he give the ferry ticket to that young guy?? Many people have complained about scams in Dala and with this ferry system. They are taken on tuktuk tours and grossly overcharged or forced to buy rice for a village. Do you think this is fair too?

While I was in Yangon and Mandalay, I looked online to see if there were any animal welfare organizations operating, and I found a couple of them. I wanted to visit one of them - since I love dogs and cats so much - but I never got the chance. I also read a few newspaper articles (both in Yangon and Mandalay) about efforts to deal with the large population of stray dogs. There were attempts to implement TNR programs (Trap-Neuter-Return), but they were simply too expensive. That leaves, unfortunately, the only real option, which was to round up the stray animals and euthanize them. Certainly, the stray dogs were a big part of my experience of Myanmar. They were everywhere. Some seemed to be in relatively good health, but, of course, others were in bad condition. In my videos, I found myself calling them "Temple Dogs" "Train Station Dogs" "River Dogs" etc based on where I saw them. As I said, they were everywhere.

The whole issue of foreigner prices is an interesting one. I remember that the foreigner price was quite a bit higher at the Bird Park in KL as well. And you had personal experience with how weird that can get. It surprised me that Malaysia has a dual-pricing system. I thought they would have left that in the past. I assume the dual-price system in most countries originated at a time when local people had less money and foreign visitors were generally much wealthier. But that isn't necessarily true anymore. And how does the system work when the foreigner is from Thailand or India or Bangladesh or Laos? Or even a foreign visitor from Peru or Uganda? Where do you draw the line in terms of who to charge the higher price? Is it just white skin? That, obviously, starts to stray into touchy territory... And it's funny that it only works in countries where a foreign visitor looks very different from a local person. Such a system would be impossible in Canada, for example, because there is no way to tell just based on appearance whether a person was a Canadian citizen or a tourist from another country. You'd have to ask to see everyone's ID to establish their nationality before serving them, and I'm pretty sure that would illegal. 😃

To be fair, we have similar systems in Canada. The first example, which is easy to understand the dual pricing, is university and college tuition rates which are twice as expensive for foreigners. The second example is the Tourism tax in places like Niagara Falls region. The tax is added to your bill in restaurants and hotels...No effort is made to inform the customers about it. Although it is not illegal for business groups to support the scheme, it is not required for a person to pay it; you can legally have the waiter/host remove the charge from your bill. I prefer to pay the tax and leave no tip for the waiter. If anyone is going to get the tax repealed, it will be the service staff who lose their income to it. Segregation is racism.

@@arty2k I can understand the dual pricing for Uni’ and College fees. After all tax payers pay their taxes to benefit their own children and citizens. Tourists do impact places they visit, sometimes good but mostly bad. Most tourists, some deliberately, have no appreciation of this. As for tourism tax, so long it is not a surprise, I agree to it too. The only proviso is that the tax be used to remedy the damages done to the environment in the areas of tourist interest. Yes segregation is bad especially when you are not given the choice. Btw, Malaysia and Myanmar have not signed the ICERD (International Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination).

😂 it will not work. Don't waste your energy. I knew better. Good or bad. It is what it is. I love the way he speak and quite positive too.