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Published: March 27th 2008
Most people around the world have seen the pictures and read about the situation in Burma. Last September in the midst of a peaceful protest by Burmese monks, there was a extreme response by the military government and the protest marches were harshly brought to an end. Since then many of the monasteries have been closed and severe restrictions have been placed on the monks. The main reason for the protests was that the regime raised the price of fuel by 500% over night. Myanmar, as it is called by the ruling junta, is one of the poorest countries in the world. This increase in fuel prices has devastated the local population. Since mostly only the military have private cars, everyone else is dependent on buses and trains for transit. Many bus companies couldn’t afford to buy gas or they raised the cost of a ticket so high that many people couldn’t go to work. Yangon, formally known as Rangoon, is only allocated six hours of electricity a day, most people use generators during the rest of the day to supply a meager amount of power. Since the generators run on petrol, most residents cannot afford the fuel to run them
anymore. We never saw a gas station while we were there. Fuel is sold in two liter plastic jugs on the street corners. Two years ago, on the advice of an astrologer, the Generals moved the entire federal government from Yangon to the middle of the country. That is where all of the electricity is funneled as well as most of the water supply. Europe and the United States have imposed stiff embargoes on the country’s exports but most of the Asian countries still trade heavily with Burma. Their teak is highly prized as well as their rubies and other gemstones. Until the 1960s, 80% of Burma was covered in teak forests. In just forty years that percentage has been halved. Teak is a very slow growing tree, so it will be difficult to make up the deficit between the rate of clear cutting and planting new growth. However, Burma’s biggest exports are opium and methamphetamines. There is also human trafficking in underage laborers and sex workers. All of the above information I have read in various newspapers, so it is common knowledge. A passenger from the ship told us that their tour guide said that if anything she told
them was repeated on the internet it could be dangerous for her. There was a great deal of discussion aboard the ship as to whether we should be going into Burma at all. Some passengers did not leave the ship for the three days we were in port. However, we asked our Burmese friend what he felt was best and he implored us to visit his country. The tourist trade has dropped dramatically since September and it is putting even more of an economic burden on these poor people. The money received from tourism is miniscule compared to what the government gets in sales of natural gas and other resources to neighboring countries. So that is all I will say about the political situation in this beleaguered country.
Soon after arrival we took the shuttle into town and hooked up one of our passengers for some sightseeing. Marc wanted to see some of the old hotels. We walked though jumbled backstreets where on one block all the shops were rebuilding small motors, the next block every merchant was selling light fixtures, the next was fish mongering stalls. Like other third world countries, most of the commerce is conducted
on the streets. The only difference here is the presence of generators sitting outside every shop. So when a merchant would see us approaching they would fire up the noisy machine in hopes that we would buy a rebuilt engine or a fish head. I wanted to carry a sign telling them not to waste their precious fuel on us—as we were not in the market for these particular items. We visited the Strand Hotel, which is one of the old colonial masterpieces built by the British long ago. Its glory is somewhat faded with age, but it was nice sitting in the wood paneled bar and contemplating the state of the world. We went to the former Governor’s Residence, which has been converted into a lovely hotel, for drinks and a Burmese dinner. Our table was on the lawn set amidst ponds, candles and bamboo umbrella. It was a lovely tropical evening and it seemed like we were in a different country. We took a taxi back to the port. The driver spoke English quite well as he had been a seaman for a number of years and thus traveled through the world on container ships. We drove by
the Shwedagon Pagoda which is the holiest site in all of Burma. The huge gold covered stupa and hundreds of smaller pagoda glowed under the spotlights. The Pagoda must have its own private power line or one very large generator to be able to display Rangoon’s most beautiful attraction. Rudyard Kipling called the Shwedagon “A beautiful winking wonder.” Surely it still is.
Alas, when we reached the port gate, the guards would not let the taxi take us the last mile back to the ship. So we three musketeers started our trek through the port. We soon had four local men following us for unknown reasons. This port is a particularly unattractive place since it is an industrial facility and filled with miles of teak log piles and thousands of containers. About halfway back to the ship our “escorts” started yelling at us and waving for us to move to the other side of the road. We weren’t sure what they were yelling at first and then when I realized they were saying “snakes, snakes” I made my way across the road at a lively pace. Apparently the snakes live in the wood piles and we happened to be
walking right next to a bunch of logs. I had an immediate image of a 25’ Burmese Python slithering out of the teak. But actually it was so dark, that I probably wouldn’t have seen a snake unless I stepped on it. The nice thing was that our escorts turned and sped off the other way. Maybe that was why they had been following us—to warn us of the snakes. Our next encounter was with some water buffalo who we managed to spook by taking pictures of them. Fortunately they went the same way as our escorts. So we finally made it to the ship and guess what…the gangway had been pulled up. With the changing of the tide, the crew had to re-adjust the entry level so we stood on the pier for a good long while before the gangway was reassembled and we could get back on the ship. We headed directly to the Observation Lounge and got a window seat overlooking our scenic hike and had a glass of wine, relieved that we had made it through the traffic, the potholed streets, the road blocks, the security checkpoints, the wildlife and were back in the lap of
luxury. It was surely the most unusual St Paddy’s Day we have ever experienced in our lives.
The next day we had arranged with our Burmese friend, Win, to go on an all day sightseeing tour. He and a driver met us at the ship and away we went to explore. We took friends from the ship with us. They had never been to Burma and were anxious to see what this country had to offer. Our first stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. This was our third visit to this sacred place and we could have spent the whole day there. Everyone must go shoeless and sockless and be covered from shoulder to ankle. Win told us that as a kid his family would usually spend all day at the pagoda as it is a social as well as religious venue. They would bring a lunch and sit in one of the temples and alternately pray and eat while the kids played. Some people sleep there, some just people watch and those like us just stare in awe at this 2000 year old beauty. The top spire of the pagoda is covered with 83,000 gems with the biggest being
a diamond orb which is 76 carats. That is one big rock. It is thought that several strands of Buddha’s hair are enshrined in the Stupa. We came across two Burmese men dressed in white, sitting in the lotus position with their prayer beads and staring at the sun. Win told us that this is a common, if unhealthy, practice especially in India. They sit from sunrise to sunset only drinking water and never looking away from the sun. One of the men looked like he was blind in one eye and probably would lose his vision in the other if he continued this form of prayer.
Next we stopped at the Reclining Buddha shrine, said to be one of the largest in Asia. Then we went to Scotts Market for a bit of shopping. Burmese jade is supposed to be some of the finest in the world. So I bought some jade charms for our passengers along with some gift bags. We drove around Inya Lake where the US Embassy is located and had lunch at the hotel there. Nobel Peace Laureate and democracy advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has lived under house arrest for most of
the last 17 years, resides near the lake.
Our guide took us to his parent’s home, which we felt was quite an honor as that is not something that is often done. We met the mother and saw how they lived. They used to have a one burner ring for cooking but now propane is too expensive, so they have resorted to cooking with coal. Apparently the power was on, because they were able to turn on a small fan to move the hot air. Even though they live in the city, they have their own well which draws fresh water from 600’ underground. Thus they don’t have to worry about water shortages. We then picked up Win’s wife Yu and drove to the ship. They were mesmerized by the vessel and all its seeming opulence. We gave them gifts, took them on a tour of our floating home and had cocktails before they had to hurry back to town.
We are so glad we got to spend the day with our Burmese friends and we can only hope for the best for them, their families and their country. It was a bittersweet cruise down the river as
we thought about the tremendous challenges facing these wonderful, kind and gentle people.
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roberta atkins
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Sometimes we forget just how lucky we are to be living in America. Hard to imagine the hardships that others take as an everyday occurance. Will keep up with you via internet while in Australia. Love, Roberta