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Published: November 14th 2009
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Sule Pagoda
Sule Pagoda and downtown Yangon Yangon 2nd Time Around. 3rd Nov 2009
Flew back to Yangon (we now know you pronounce it Yan-go) from Bagan. Plane landed at Mandalay, Heho and then Yangon. Average flight times 25mins each!!! Bit like a bus really. At Heho everyone got off except us and a monk, then it filled up again. Yangon International airport is very new and plush but the domestic terminal is something else!!!!! Like a rugby scrum in a shed!! They obviously don't need to impress anyone there then!
In downtown Yangon we stayed at Okinawa Guest House. We've spoiled ourselves a bit by staying in nice hotels and while Okinawa was clean and tidy it was a bit surreal with the rooms being a bit like ship's cabins and if you wanted to sit anywhere it was in the street outside. However,everyone was really pleasant and we did get to talk to more people ….....like you do in guest houses.
We probably could have done with going in and straight out of Yangon this time but we made the most of it and saw a few other things we hadn't seen before. At least the Scott market was open this time.
Yangon
Street scene We also trekked miles to another Pagoda but having got there, declined to pay the government $3 each to go in and photographed it from the outside. It was down on the river so we saw a bit of river traffic and people coming and going across in sort of longtailed boats.
A monk with 2 little ones stopped for a chat and asked us to take their pictures. The little ones were so cute but really naughty!!! One was downright wicked. The other looked like an angel but wanted his photograph taken pretending to shoot a gun! What is Buddhism coming to?????
David made friends with a young 13 yr old lad called Kyawlin, who wanted to practice his English so hung out around the guesthouse when he could. Seems he was one of 8 children but had just got a place at a UNICEF school where he got not only a free education but clothes and food as well. Must look at supporting that when we get home. Onward then to Bangkok for an overnighter before we move on to Bali for the next leg of our journey and Ann's BIG BIRTHDAY …..... (if anyone tells
you I am 60 tell them it's a lie!!!!!! ANN ).
My thoughts on Myanmar
We thought long and hard about whether or not we should come to Myanmar. There is no way in the world that we wanted to support a government that treats it's people the way it does, being a military dictatorship which keeps all the wealth and power to the few elite and their families. Also, being a long term admirer of '
The Lady' Aung Sang Su Kyi I/we abhor the way she is treated. However, having read all we could and looked at blogs from people who had been to Myanmar very recently, we decided to go and try our best to support the
people and do what we could to avoid supporting the government.
Of course we would be naive to believe that none of what we spent went into the coffers of the generals and the army but without actually refusing to pay things such as entrance fees, wherever possible the money we did spend went into the pockets of those who depend on tourism to make a living. We stayed in small hotels, ate in local restaurants
Young monk
Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth and used as many different taxis, horses and carts and boat drivers as we could manage. Even where we had to pay our $5 or $10 entrance fees we were often assured by the locals that the money did go to support, say the Shwedagon Temple or to repair the temples at Bagan........ I do hope so!
So we did have an amazing time and saw some wonderful sights. While the cars and the infrastructure particularly in Yangon were old and decaying (right hand drive cars driving on the right, falling apart and lacking basics such as door handles and windows even), you were most likely to break your neck by falling into a sewer or tripping over the most uneven pavements I have ever seen in my life, and while it is a third world country though shouldn't be, we did not see anything like the poverty we witnessed in say India.
Myanmar is generally quite clean and the people are the most stoic and friendly people I have ever met, they just get on with life and seem to make the best of things. We saw very little evidence of police or the military
Yangon Lady
Street seller in Yangon and certainly never felt we were being watched or followed other than by people who wanted to sell us things or simply to make contact and practice their English....... monks, children, taxi drivers, sellers......everyone really. Other than in the buddhism, women seem to have equal status with men, children are adored and most people love English football (Man Utd being the favourite team of all) which they watch avidly and live. Mobile phones are cheap to buy but cost $1000 for a contract and internet access is quite accessible in the cities though certain sites like BBC and hotmail are difficult though not impossible to access. Roads are poor but air travel relatively cheap, well of course for foreignors it is.
The real shame is that the country is so geared up for tourism but for all the obvious reasons, tourists aren't coming. How on earth are these people (none of whom are responsible for the regime they have to live under) to make a living without them/us. We met very few Brits and the tourists who were there were mainly German, Italian and Spanish and Russian
While we were there 'The Lady' was allowed a visit from
Oh No!!
Bang you're dead an American envoy, which must be some good news at least. I also believe that she and many of the pro-democracy leaders believe that now is the time to encourage tourism once again. Nothing much has been achieved by sanctions and income from tourism is of little interest to the generals who take all their money and wealth from the country's natural resources which they are mostly selling to the Chinese. Also, India and Thailand.
Am I glad we went? Certainly. Should you go? Yes. Be careful where you stay and how you travel (definitely not government owned establishments). Spread your money around as much as you can and be generous with your time as well as your cash to those who need it and support the lovely, lovely Myanmari people.
Ann xxx
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