Hot, hot, hot Myanmar

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Hi Everybody!
I thought that Iwas going to have to drag Walt to Myanmar (Burma.) He talked to some Australians last week who told him it was off limits for them to go there. He decided to call the American Embassy in Bangkok to check on the status for U.S. Citizens. They told him it was fine to go. One reason that he was worried was that CNN did a special on one of the leader's daughter's weddings. A guest wore a hidden camera and took pictures of the incredible wealth of the family. The bride had on more and larger diamonds than any movie star, the Queen of England, or Princess Diana. One necklace had probably several hundred diamonds of many carats. Walt was afraid that the leader might retaliate against U.S. citizens out of anger over the report.
Most visitors don't know much about Myanmar. Its closed doors have kept it out of world affairs so long that it has almost become a forgotten country. It is the first communist country that I have visited. We have been to several countries that previously were under communist rule. Myanmar controls the internet so citizens cannot always access sites. Many have learned how to find portholes in certain browsers. People in Myanmar are hesitant to talk to you. They remark, "Spies are everywhere." They all want to leave but have little in the way of resources. One hotel employee told me that he makes $50 a month. They see that learning English is a way for them to move up the social ladder, improve their jobs, etc.
The best money that we have spent on the trip was with the company that took care of our visa in Myanmar. Their representative met us at the airport, ushered us through passport control, immigration, customs, etc.
About half of the native men wear a longyi, or sarong. Both men and women wear a very strange looking make up called thanaka. It is made from a tree bark and is light beige in color. They paint circle, triangles,and stripes on their faces. I asked a couple of girls if I could take their pictures and they wouldn't let me. Finally, a Muslim shop girl let me take hers after I spent a bunch of money with her. I am going to put it on the blog. You will have to look carefully for the make up because it is light in color.
We spent all of our time in Yangoon. It was in the 90's and very humid. The pollution from the exhaust of vehicles is hard to take. It makes you want to cough repeatedly. One interesting thing about this city, Yangoon, is that there are no motor scooters. The government doesn't allow them. Only the military can drive them inside the city. There are also no carts or tuk tuks. Many of the vehicles are very old. I don't know how they have kept them running. Being in Yangoon was like walking back in time. We saw a man cutting grass with a scythe. At the airport, the lines were long because they did all of the work by long hand. I had forgotten how much computers speed things up.
Our hotel was another story. It was great! They had a red carpet rolled out when we got there waiting for the prime minister of Laos. They even decorated one of the elevators for him. I will try to put a picture of that on the blog too. One strange thing happened last night. Walt left our room to go downstairs. A man stepped out about 20 feet ahead of him and walked down the hallway. The man did not turn to go into the elevator. Later, Walt decided to go downstairs again and exactly the same thing happened. It was strange that the man was on our end of the hall in the same place. We wondered if they were watching us????
The Buddhist pagodas are beautiful in Yangoon. They are covered with gold leaf and are very large. The gold leaf is made in Burma.
We found great buys here. We did not see another American but met a nice Canadian. The hotel staff told us that they couldn't remember the last time they had talked to an American. I am sure that some have come but they must have stayed in a different hotel.
We also met a super girl that works with the Myanmar Compassionate Project. She had sad stories about the Myanmar refugees that have excaped only to be held in camps in Thailand. She visits one that has 60,000 refugees in it.
I forget to mention how beautiful the plants, flowers, and fruits are. We have a great selection daily of fruits that I have never seen in the states. They are all delicious! I will miss them.
Take care,
Everette

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Comments

[Sam]

Interesting Info
I am loving all of this. Thanks, Everette. Yes, you will be terribly spoiled! sam

[Melissa]

Spies
I've never been to Burma, but have read much about it. The military junta commits many egregious crimes against its people, and are also extremely paranoid. Foreigners, especially Americans, are always followed. And the country's citizens place themselves in grave danger if they tell foreigners anything negative about the country.

[Everette]

Burma
Melissa, we believe everything that you said. It was a little uncomfortable being there.

[sannee maung]

thank you
thank you