Myanmar (Burma) - The land that time forgot

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Unfortunately we had to fly into Myanmar with Myanmar Airlines - the government airline - as there were no land borders which we were allowed to cross to gain entry. Having previously filled in all the visa documentation at the embassy in Bangkok (where it certainly wouldn’t be wise to state your profession as ‘journalist’, as you probably wouldn’t be allowed in) and filling in a few more forms on the plane, we landed in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) - a city in the middle of the country and the former capital. The airport was somewhat disorganised; it took about 20 minutes to get through the queues but once our documentation and paperwork were checked; we were in!!

Daylight is the traveler’s friend when coming into a country like this, but on this occasion we couldn’t get an early flight. Thankfully I had managed to book a guest house online the night before and had asked for a pickup from the airport. We found our contact easy enough and we were whisked into to the city in a well broken 1980’s van. We were instantly struck by the decrepit cars all about and the lack of anything that looked new. Where we stayed in Yangon looked like an earthquake had just hit it! The buildings, roads and pavements were all pretty much dilapidated. The guesthouse was reasonable though for the area it was located in, and it wasn’t long before we were settled.

Shortly after we arrived we took a wander about some of the nearby streets. It was somewhat dangerous walking around, as the pavements in the city were like they had been hit by a bomb. There were craters everywhere and street lightening was non-existent in parts. This is no place for anyone incapacitated or unable to navigate rough terrain, as we guessed that a government claim for an injury wouldn’t get too far here! Myanmar must be the land of the genuine smile. The people here light up when they see a foreigner, and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in a local shop trying to exchange one U.S. dollar for local money to buy a bottle of water, while surrounded with great excitement and giggling.

Some background…

Myanmar was a former British colony for over 60 years, being incorporated as part of the Indian Empire and renamed Burma. It was administered as a province of India until the early part of the 20th century when it became a separate, self governing colony. Myanmar independence from the Commonwealth was finally attained in 1948. In the early part of the 21st century the government changed the name back to its original namesake - Myanmar.

A country famous for both its teak wood; (supplying 66%!o(MISSING)f the world delivery), and precious stones such as ruby. But sadly, also famous for being an authoritarian dictatorship sponsored by a military junta. General Ne Win dominated the government from 1962 to 1988; first as military ruler, then as self appointed president, and later as political kingpin. This has proved something of a yard stick which was to define the future.

In the late 1980’s the long suffering Burmese people took to the streets in protest against their poor living standards, insisting Ne Win be ousted. Ne win eventually moved aside, only to be replaced with another one of his buffoons. The military meanwhile instigated martial law, cracking down on any democracy protests and killing over 300 people. The NLP (National League for Democracy), a newly formed opposition group, was under the charismatic leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was to become a future Nobel Laureate peace prize winner. She, like so may others, was arrested and detained under house arrest in 1989. The government also tried to appease the people and quell the rioting by announcing a move from socialism to a free market capitalist economy.

In 1990, feeling it had dealt with any possible opposition, the military junta held elections which they lost hands down. The junta refused to allow the NLP party into power, and raided offices and arrested opposition leaders. Some outsiders believe it was a ruse to get more of the opposition out into the open where they could be easily crushed. Even though she was freed for certain periods over the years and has since gained widespread international recognition for her plight, the current leader Aung San Suu Kyi still remains under house arrest today. Although we would have liked to have seen her house and where she is effectively being held prisoner, even asking a taxi driver to drive by her house is something which is strictly forbidden and can implicate both of you.

Myanmar, with a Population of over 50 million, is currently run as a strict military dictatorship, and woe betide those who criticize the head honcho’s, or who dare voice their opinion. There is no judicial system per-say, and criticism of the government will likely mean the width of a prison wall between you and the rest of society, as many others have found out in the past.

Myanmar is certainly the most underdeveloped country in South East Asia, but is at a crossroads socially, economically and politically. The government is hopefully about to gets its comeuppance, as a new window of opportunity has opened up for its people, and the junta is pressurized to reinvent itself. They have agreed to hold “free” elections in 2010, after defaulting on a similar promise in 2008 when a severe cyclone hit the country. The numbers killed are unknown, but outsider estimates put the number over eighty thousand.

Today many of the people are impoverished & subjugated. The governmental political elite have blindly followed social isolation policies through the use of forced labour of their own people, to build roads and infrastructure, as well as using people as human mine detectors (a heinous crime) in armed engagements with minority ethic groups. Both of these activities have attracted widespread condemnation from human rights campaigners and nations from around the globe. There is currently a trade embargo with the U.S. and Tony Blair has called for total tourist boycott of the country since 2005.

Some black market trade with china takes place since there are some leaky borders which allow for the flow of some illicit goods. Until recently the freedom of information, communication, and the movement of people was very limited. Many locals are now allowed passports to travel to Asia, although to go any further a field means putting down a hefty deposit, to ensure you’ll return presumably!

Unbelievably there is an 8 day week in Myanmar; who knew? While many countries don’t follow the Gregorian calendar, I was amazed to learn that some countries don’t have a 7 day week. Wednesday here is actually two 12 hour separate days.

The topic of tourism is currently a bit controversial is Myanmar. The UN’s advice is that you shouldn’t travel to Myanmar. So, should you go? This is a question you’ll have to ask yourself if you ever plan on coming here. The UN’s logic is that ALL your tourist dollars flow directly into the hands of the dictators, and honestly if you come here and travel around in air-conditioned buses, and stay in the big westernised hotels; you’ll get the Disneyland view of the country - and yes! - a large majority of your money certainly will go to the junta. Not surprisingly, the government is heavily involved in the economy, dipping its grubby hands in where ever there are profits to be had.

Why did we go? We didn’t come here as flamboyant tourists, but as independent travelers, and spent our time staying in family-run guest houses, eating in local restaurants, which the government hasn’t got its tentacles into. We didn’t come here through any organised tour group, which many western groups will end up doing. From what we read beforehand, we believe that we are in some way helping the local people, who are generally in favour of tourists coming to visit their country, because at least for them it means some money and jobs, particularly if the visitors are mindful of where and how they spend their money.

The previous U.S. government solidified the current trade embargo with a ban of further U.S. investment (meaning no McDonalds or Starbucks in the country, or any U.S. brands for that matter). It is a ban in which many other countries actively part take. This has also meant no new cars have been imported to Myanmar in the last 20 years, and the taxi’s (if you could call them that!) that we took around the city were antique to put it politely! None of the door or window handles worked. There were no radios or mirrors. Upholstery was stripped clean - basically the vehicle was an outer shell, and on one occasion we could literally see the dusty road below, through the giants peep holes in the metallic floor as we traveled! The cars are ultra antique, but they all seem to be put to daily use as taxis or standard family vehicles; with the taxi price rising at night time seemingly due to fuel rationing.

We had a couple of TV channels in the family run guesthouse we stayed in, including the propaganda oriented / government oriented broadcast channel, and also interestingly BBC World. In Yangon we noticed that mobile phones are used to some extent by locals. Foreigners can’t buy SIM cards, unless they cough up over a $1,000 fee. International phones are not widely available (and you can bet all calls are closely monitored!). The internet is available since 2001 though it is also strictly monitored. We found that a plethora of web sites were blocked.

There were no ATM's in Myanmar; most foreign banks have pulled out long ago. The local currency (Kyat) seems to be traded with the U.S. dollar only and is non convertible outside the country. You need to come into the country with plenty of what is “perceived” as hard cash i.e. U.S. dollars in pristine condition and preferably in large $ bills (as you seemingly get a better exchange rate for the larger notes - I don’t know why this is). Any dollar notes which are old, decrepit, or pocket-worn are likely to be unconverted!! We had to pay for the guest house and bus with dollar bills, however some local restaurants and taxi’s accept local currency only.

The exchange rate is variable depending on who you’re talking to. We changed money in the guest house to be sure of what we were getting, as the touts are notorious for rigged calculators. The largest local currency note in Myanmar, 1,000 Kyat, is only worth about $1.00… so you’re left to carry around fistfuls of local cash with you. The local people obviously don’t put their money in the bank, and the local notes are withered beyond belief. How anyone accepted the ones we had I’ll just don’t know, as they were torn, glued, stapled or badly stuck together, anything just to be pawned off!

Uptown - Yangon

The following day we headed to the centre of the city on foot. There were only a smattering of independent travelers here, and I guess the majority of locals don’t see people like us walking around their city too often. Very very few westerners ever come here. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, stared and shouted to us as we walked though the central city market, which was both noisy and hectic. This can be very unnerving especially if you haven’t experienced this sort of attention or fan club behavior before. Luckily our stints in non-westernised Istanbul, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, India, Tibet and remote cities in China, had all served us well! This sort of independent travel takes time to get used to, and Myanmar is perhaps not a place which should be first on your shopping list of places to visit as a newbie traveler.

Myanmar moved from a socialist economy to the free market after 1989's riots, and cut throat capitalism can been seen at work on every street corner. Flip flops are the shoe of choice for most locals. Interestingly most men wear skirts (‘sarong’ like wrap-around skirts) known locally as “longyi”, which forms part of their traditional clothing. The women wear a traditional all in one face makeup-moisturizer-sun-cream on their faces and sometimes on their arms. It’s made from the sandalwood tree and is known as ‘thanakha’. It’s Hot, hot, hot here in Myanmar, and many people use umbrellas whilst walking around to shelter from the burning sun.

The main heavyweight attraction in Yangon is the Shwedagon Paya, which is 98m high, covered in gold and legend has it that it’s over 2,500 years old. This is some spot, which lives up to the hype and worth coming to Yangon just to see it. The whole temple complex is huge, and its stunning-ness is in massive contrast to the-not-so-well-to-do surrounding area outside its walls. The touts here are junior league compared to India or Thailand, and didn’t bother us that much. Tea shops are the happening place in town; there is really no bar scene like you might think of one.

There were lots & lots of monks about the city collecting alms. Inherited from the Indian regions, Theravada Buddhism is prevalent in Myanmar, and for that matter many countries in South East Asia. All men twice in their life are expected to enter the monkhood. Merit is achieved when a family’s son takes up the robe-and-bowl. Far from begging, they were providing local people with the opportunity of making merit, thereby increasing their chances (good karma) of a better life after their next reincarnation.

We spent our time over the next couple of days taking in the other major city sites (including Sule Paya), and wandering around the hodge-podge local markets, eating out, as well as going to the cinema to see the late Michael Jackson film “This Is It”, which cost a grand total of about €0.80 cents. Oddly enough you could also buy the copied DVD on the street for less than a dollar. Shame on those hawkers…

The Golden Rock in Kyaiktiyo

Several areas within Myanmar are restricted for foreigners to travel to, due to ongoing tension with certain ethnic groups, so our options of where to go next were somewhat limited, compounded by the fact of having only a short time in the country.

We decided to take one of the roads less traveled and to go to the Kyaiktiyo area, where a major pilgrim site (The Golden Rock) for Burmese locals is located on a mountain. To get there we headed south to Kinpun a small town several hours away by bus. You’re on your own when it comes to a type of journey such as this, since it is a pretty much undiscovered place on any tourist routes. We were up and 5:15am and got an antique taxi to the bus station, a 45 minute drive outside the city. Why the city’s main bus terminal was way out there we couldn’t tell, but what we could tell when we arrived was that this wasn’t your traditional bus station!

I asked the guesthouse owner to write down in Burmese where we wanted to go before we left, so someone could at least read it if they didn’t understand us. The bus station was odd to stay the least; a large dusty square, full of old buses and old make-shift shops; hawkers everywhere selling snacks for the journey. We handed our paper note to a guy who luckily understood what we wanted. We paid our money; foreigner ticket prices are double local prices (go figure!) and we then had to wait for the bus in what resembled… well, …an old cow shed! That would be the best description of the place; with some rubbish and a few worn tractor tyres thrown in the corner; all the while hawker women came in every few minutes trying to sell us, amongst other things, large crickets to eat!! Not the delicacy I was looking for at 6:30am!

Our fan club was back again, as the people around didn’t know what to make of us! We really stood out among the natives especially after boarding the bus. They were nudging each other and couldn’t believe their eyes; talking about the two pale foreigners no doubt! The bus took off at around half seven and took about 5 hours to get to Kinpun. The journey was fairly heavy going….no air con, bad roads, chaotic driving, and no better seats to watch from than the front seats we had managed to get.

Listening to really, really loud music seems to be a popular pastime for people who travel by bus. The bus driver puts on the music, turns it up unnecessarily high, and people sing along occasionally! Even our earphones couldn’t block out the horror! Make-shift road tolls were frequent throughout the trip, which we think was in fact the government putting their hand in the cookie jar. It’s got to be seen to be believed!

Luckily when we did eventually arrive in Kinpun, a young guy came on the bus and asked if we wanted to stay in his guest house. We didn’t even know if this was our stop; but he informed us that it was. Jaysis that was handy - this is where touts come into their own and can really save the day. His English wasn’t great, but who cared? He had the one sentence we needed. Many guest houses in the area don’t allow foreigners stay and we didn’t fancy traipsing about in nearly 40 degree heat with two heavy backpacks looking for ones that did. We stayed in little bungalow homes, in which electricity was off during the day and only available in the evening time, and even then suffered frequent power cuts throughout night. For this part of the world, in fairness it was OK as accommodation goes; that is once you get used to sharing your room with lizards and crickets! They’re harmless, but it does take some time to get used to their presence. They’re quite big, and seeing lizards running around the walls or making high pitched sounds in the middle of the night can send a shiver down your spine, as you re-live some of those scary movies you saw as a child…

We had planned a 12km hike to the top of the mountain (1,100 meters) for the following morning. We were supposed to be up at 5:30am, but shamefully we slept in and didn’t wake up until after 7am and had to start hiking at 8:30am after a big breakfast. As we’d left it so late it was going to be very hot indeed. The temperature climbs quick here and you don’t want to be out exerting yourself in midday sun, or sun stroke and heat exhaustion could be on the cards; no matter how well you acclimatise to this sort of heat, that’s showstopper stuff.

Myanmar as a country is a living museum. The clockwork of time seems to rusted to a halt here, somewhere between the 19th and 20th century. Traditional lifestyles have endured, with skills and knowledge lost elsewhere having been retained here. The scenery along the wooded trail was stunning! No one else seemed to have the same idea of climbing up to the top as us, except the occasional monk or tribal villager who overtook us, dressed in their traditional clothes. There was also the option of getting a truck ride to the top, but we are always up for the challenge of the hard way! We walked through lots of tiny remote villages up in the hills; everyone we walked past smiled and waved at us; others were quite curious; many children didn’t know what to think. It was a beautiful day, and what a unique experience. We enjoyed local food when we stopped for a light lunch, when we had what we think was some sort of water mixed with coconut and what looked like bean sprouts (or worst case - maggots!). There is no menu up here….and the food available is usually on show (and not even covered!).

There was always a perpetual sense of never knowing what's going to happen next, as there were no signs and this was not a route chosen by many. We attracted some very strange looks the further we went. Along the path a local woman insisted on painting Nicola’s face with the traditional Myanmar make-up! However we paid our way, meaning that we had to pay lots of people along the way, all looking for donations!! We drank 7 liters of water between us over the next 5 hours, and even though we’re both fairly fit we were parched with the heat.

We finally managed to get to the top which had some splendid views. All of a sudden we were surrounded by lots of Myanmar pilgrims, most of whom had gotten a truck up to the top of the mountain on a very windy road. Upon seeing us some people, including monks, wanted to get their photos taken with us. By the time you read this, our pictures are probably proudly displayed in homes across the country… or for that matter, across many Asian countries, as this is the first time it has happened!!!

It turned out that the “ROCK” monument we had come so far to see was actually under renovation! Instead of being this magnificent sight of a giant boulder perilously positioned on the side of a cliff, we got to see something covered in bamboo! This is how the Golden Rock should look! But it didn’t matter, as it’s often the journey not the destination in traveling like this. We had food in a scenic restaurant overlooking the mountainous countryside, and later that evening jumped onboard a truck to get a lift down the mountain. This was actually misery and probably one of the more dangerous things we’ve done in a while. We were literally squeezed like sardines in the back of a truck with 50 other people, all sitting on wooden benches very tightly packed together. Unfortunately it was the only option back down besides walking, and it was soon going to get dark. There were no safety precautions, something you might expect going down mountain terrain at 45 degree angles! Luckily it was only a 20 minute journey to the bottom.

We managed to get the guest house owner to get us tickets back to Yangon for the following day; and again the bus journey was horrendous. They jam packed the bus; meaning that even the isle was full from the back of the bus right to the front door. As usual they again played some really loud music and everyone on the bus sang along gleefully at 10am in the morning. En-route we saw some of the back-breaking work that people had to carry out. We saw people painting the white line in the middle of the road, manually with a paint brush! Others in a quarry had to break huge stones with a sledge hammer in the hot sun for a living. Everyone had to get off the bus at one point, and walk 100 meters up the road past some camera’s and a group of police officers, as the government completed surveillance.

We got lunch for both of us for about 80 cents along the way, thanks to a friendly local lad who was very chatty (all though we couldn’t figure out what he was saying!) and who took it upon himself to make sure we were OK throughout the whole trip. After arriving back in Yangon bus station we got a taxi to the airport, paid a departure tax of $10 for the privilege of leaving the country, and we were on our merry way….
Overall Myanmar was incredible to see and well worth the visit.

Onwards to Cambodia ….

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Photos

Quick break!
Half way up the mountain & half way to go...

Handy English translation
Not sure if Google Translator would handle this one!

Same but different!
Same note in two different sizes! Obviously size isn't everything in Myanmar!

Ladies - take note...!
Sexism in full swing!