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Published: November 1st 2005
Myanmar (Burma) was definitely one of the counties on this trip that I was most excited to visit. Not because I was anxious to experience a culture I had read so much about, but because I was going to experience a culture I knew nothing about. I wasn’t the only one that felt this way. As we sailed into Yangon, there was no one on the ship who had set foot on Burmese soil with the exception of our American interport lecturer, and even he did not know what to expect. This was not the first time Semester at Sea had visited a country under the control of a military regime, but it was the first time Semester at Sea had been to Burma. Excitement and hesitation filled the air the night before our arrival as we were told what we could and could not do while in the country. No asking anyone about the government, no taking pictures of the military officials, don’t look a monk in the eyes, don’t sit higher than a Buddhist statue at a Pagoda, don’t send emails with pictures attached, don’t expect to find internet access, and if you do, you will be unable to log onto web-based email and all search engines like google and yahoo. The list went on. Then there was the list of US emposed restrictions on citizens visiting the country. We were not able to use credit cards and were only supposed to purchase original artwork and educational items. Basically, don’t let your presence be known while in the country, and don’t bring any of the country out with you. Despite all of this, I was still excited.
The first day in port I did the local markets tour. The actual city of Yangon was an hour bus ride from where the ship was docked. Upon arriving and stepping off the air conditioned bus we all immediately started sweating. It was the hottest place I’d been so far, and inside Scott Market the air was stale and hot and from every angle there were more vendors selling yards upon yards of fabric and thousands of jewelry pieces. Christine and I were tired, hot, and not in the mood to shop, though we did manage to buy 25 postcards for a dollar and I purchased two oil paintings. In the streets were more vendors selling foods. Many cooked noodles and meat in front of you, and much of the fried foods looked appealing, but I knew no amount of pepto would ease my stomach into appreciating the local cusine. Instead I settled on just taking a photo of the baskets of prepared crickets, but not after first survelling the area for military personell. Next we went to Chinatown, where Christine and I sought out a grocery store to buy some noodles in a cup for the ship, the snack had become the rage and the snack bar charged $1.50. Here we could get them for around 30 cents a piece. The hardest part was paying. Christine attempted to enact her asian heritage in speaking to the shopkeeper in Chinese, but I think in the end I understood him better than she did, but that’s just Christine. We were amazed at the number of people in the stores that were waiting to help us, it was quite intimidiating, and precisely the reason I opted not to look for some lotion. We ended our first day in Yangon with a visit to a local tea house. It was so cozy and friendly. They served us some traditional Burmese snacks and our drink of choice. I had decided already that I was in love with Burma.
The next day I embarked on an independent adventure to find a Burmese film. I had learned in my class that Burmese films were not allowed to be exported, so it would be a fantastic experience to go and see one. Luckily there was a string of theaters right across from the Trader’s Hotel, where the shuttle bus dropped me off. It was an unusual experience to be able to choose between 3 or more theaters all in walking distance. It was obvious by the large signs that there were American films being shown, so I had to try a bit harder to find a Burmese movie. When I asked my tour guide one day about Burmese film he just laughed and now I know why. At the third theater I visited I asked if anyone spoke English. They took this as me wanting to see an English-speaking movie and pointed down the street and said, “Batman.” I shook my head and asked if there was a Burmese film playing. Finally a man handed me a printout of the films being shown. Listed were four American films and one very foreign looking one, with the description and title totally in Burmese. I pointed to this one and asked when it was playing. I opted to sit in the most expensive of seats, which was only 40 cents. A man then showed me to the theater. From what I observed, candy and popcorn was sold, and from what I heard, everyone had purchased some. I was seated in my own row, and the majority of the people in the theater, which was quiet a few for only 3:30 in the afternoon, sat behind me. Most of them were my age. The theater was extremely nice, complete with a majestic red velvet curtain. I wondered whether the theater had originally been a live production venue. The pre-feature advertisements were generally similar to what I had observed in the past, aside from the words on the screen at one point that read in both English and Burmese, “All citizens should salute their flag.” I thought this to be odd, but dismissed it until a blowing cartoon flag appeared on the screen and everyone around me stood up. This was extremely different than any theater experience I had ever had, but it did remind me, and obviously the people seated around me, of Myanmar’s government situation. The film itself left much to be desired. It was the first time I had seen a film in another language and had left the theater without any real grasp of the storyline. It reminded me of something that might have come out of the era of I Dream of Genie or Bewitched. I half expected at any moment for someone to just disappear. The characters were all about in their twenties, and not particularly good actors and actresses, but the audience was highly amused. One of the things that seemed so different to me was the sense of time the movie portrayed. Only at one point was it dark outside, but it felt like the story had to have taken place over many days. Also, in each scene the actors and actress were wearing different clothes. The most interesting thing about their wardrobes was that each character had a specific color of clothing they wore for the duration of the film. There was a pink girl, a red one, blue, yellow and orange. Each time they were seen again they were wearing a new outfit in their color. It was strange, but did aide me in trying to decipher who was who. Like what I had heard about Indian Films, it did have a few song and dance numbers. These did not appear to have much to do with the actual storyline however, which was confusing. All in all, it was by far the strangest cinema experience I had ever had, but very rewarding. I asked one of the tour guides to translate the title of the movie to me. I hoped this would shed some more light on the story, but he told me it meant “Very Happy,” which did not provide much description.
The next morning I embarked on my most anticipated trip for this entire voyage. With my Kenyan safari being cancelled, my 3 day trip to Inle Lake would be my longest overnight. We departed the ship ay 7:30am and made our way to the Shwe---- Pagoda in Yangon. We have yet to ofically determine if it is in fact on of the wonders of the world, regardless it was beautiful. Buddhism is evident in everyday life here in Burma. There are monks spotting the streets seeking alms and statues and pictures of Buddha all over. The Pagoda was a huge complex with many different altars. There were many people their paying their daily respects to Buddha. Its hard for me to describe, you’ll just have to wait to see the pictures.
We then proceeded to the Airport for our flight to Heho in the north. It was the smallest airport I had ever been to, and by far the most unsecure. We were just sort of handed tickets, with handwritten seat and flight numbers, then casually went through security. When I saw the metal detector I sighed as I knew my hip replacements might cause a problem. People in the US have a hard time grasping the concept that I have metal in my hips, how was I supposed to explain it to someone in Burmese? With my medical card in hand I stepped through, and oddly enough the buzzer did not go off. It did go off for my friend Bailey’s belly button ring…which lead us to the conclusion that security really wasn’t an issue with Burmese airlines. The flight was relatively normal and within an hour we were in Heho and on a bus for our hour long journey to Inle Lake.
When we arrived at the lake we had the first of what would be many wonderful Burmese meals. Then we boarded five person boats and headed out onto the lake. Inle Lake is approximately 40 miles long and 5 miles wide. It is lined by mountains and emodies many villages an communities. It is by far one of the coolest places I have ever been. The people literally live on the lake with entire communities built on stilts. First we went to the “Flying Cat Monestary,” where the monks have taught the cats to jump through hoops. Whenever you enter a Monastary or Pagoda you must take your shoes off. Walking on the worn wooden floors and being sourrounded by simplicity was amazing. The cats were fun to see, not quite what I had expected, but it was cool. Having two cats of my own I know training a cat to do anything is quite and accomplishment. Unfortunately during our stay it rained quite a few times, but it didn’t really seem to bother anyone very much.
Our hotel was located right on the lake and was also on stilts. My roommate and I laid in our mosquito net draped beds with the sounds of the lake putting us to sleep. It really was a poetic as it sounds. Haha. The next morning we went to the 5-day market. With such spread out communities, it makes no sense to have a market every day, so this one occurs every 5 days. I bought a ring, but that was all. Our guide had cautioned us that most of what we would find were fake antiques, and give the repetition of the goods and the standard lamenated bartering sheet all the vendors had it was pretty obvious this was a government supported endevor. After some time in the market we then took a short hike a little way up a mountain to an amazing archeological site. Inn dien is a 16th century monestary with literally hundreds of symbolic towers of stone sourrounding it. When we reached the end of the path I felt like I was in a National Geographic documentary. It was awesome.
Later we had dinner at our hotel and a dance performance by a local family. It was a great end to our time at Inle Lake, but our trip was hardly over. After arriving in Yangon around noon the following day we visited a local monastery. We got to see some of the young monks in class and then saw a display of their strength and mental concentration when they faced Semester at Sea students in a tug-of-war. It was hilarious and mind blowing that these little kids won! We then went to a family run glass factory where there were literally thousands of hand blown glass pieces piled outside waiting to be discovered. The final event of our trip was lunch at the Trader’s hotel, which was great. It was the best trip I’ve been on and something I’ll remember forever.
On my last day in port I went on the local train expedition. I expected it to be somewhat cooler, but it felt more like a ride at Disney World. Our group was put in two reserved cars at the end of the train and guarded by military personell. We were not able to interact with locals or get the true train experience at all. This was really the first time I felt like the government really cared that I was a tourist in their country and I didn’t like it. Apparently throughout our entire stay here we have been watched. The tour guides had to check in with government employees each night and give updates on the group, what we were doing and what we had talked about. Some students who traveled independently said they had some odd experiences with people showing up at random times during their trips, checking up on them and helping them get to their final destination. The government really does have eyes everywhere, it is just hard to believe.
The highlight of the train expedition was visiting an English speaking school. We had a chance to interact with the students. I had interactions in the past with people my own age, but this was the first time that I was in such a concentrated situation where people were so excited to talk to me.
All in all Myanmar was the most amazing of experiences. I am so glad that we came here and I really do want to come back. The Burmese people are just so friendly and caring. It was a reception like none I had ever experienced. I can’t imagine ever feeling alone in a country like this.
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Margaret Harvey
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Fantastic Travels
Ashley, I am enthralled with your journals. What a great adventure. Thanks so much for taking the time to send me a card. WOW1 Til later, M