This Was Myanmar. 2019. Before the Coup. (Extended Cut)

Updated description. This was back in 2019, when i spent 14 days in Myanmar, being escorted around by my sister, who was in the Peace Corps at the time.
The world changed rapidly in the last few years. But it was particularly unkind to Myanmar. Since 2019, Covid ravaged the country and many of the people featured in this video, who were Peace Corps counterparts for my sister, died. Her school was turned into a hospital and all the teachers were deputized into 'nurses'.
On top of that, in 2021, the coup and civil war began. The entire country has been impacted, and some of the places I travelled to have been destroyed. Many of the young people in this video have been forced into military service, killed on the front lines, or jailed for protesting. Yet another generation in Myanmar has been destroyed for profit and power.
Myanmar was always a complicated place where violence was recent and present, but the last few years may have been the most damaging since WW2. Nevertheless, I hope to be able to return someday.
In the extended cut, there is extra footage of 'Thadingyut' A holiday in celebration of the end of the Rainy Season. There is also some footage of my sister's school, and a tiny compilation of the 4 days I spent marooned out on Koh Ngai Island, in Thailand. I had only $35 in Thai Baht in my pocket when I arrived on that island, the island was completely deserted because it was the rainy season, and I had to barter my way off the island on a supply boat, since I couldn't afford to take the passenger boat. It was an all time experience
/ lifeofhyphen
Filmed with a Canon 80d
Music: alt-J, Taro.