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Burma Daze - Travels in Burma in 2006

Mayanmar's people

22 August 2006

A new Myanmar will not be made by government policy, slogans, or control. It will be made by its people. They know there is a world outside Myanmar and they know that there is prosperity to be had. There are satellite dishes in the most remote of towns. There are internet cafes in  Yangon. You can even read this website there!

They are an industrious, friendly people who retain a deep faith. And here are a few of them:

A fading light?

20 August 2006

The New Light of Myanmar is the country's state run English language newspaper. At last a newspaper that is even more of a government mouthpiece than The Straits Times!

On page 1 of each edition the NLoM proudly recites the nations four political, four economic and four social objectives. They are worth restating here:

Four political objectives:

Stability of the State, community peace and tranquility, prevalence of law and order.
National reconsolidation
Emergence of a new enduring State constitution
Building of a new modern developed nation in accord with the new State Constitution.

Four economic objectives:

Development of agriculture as the base and all round development of other sectors of the economy as well.
Proper evolution of the market-oriented economic system.
Development of the economy inviting participation in terms of technical know-how and investments from sources inside the country and outside.
The imitative to shape the national economy must be kept in the hands of the State and national peoples.

Four social objectives:

Uplift of the morale and morality of the nation.
Uplift of national prestige and integrity and preservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage and national character.
Uplift of dynamism of national spirit.
Uplift of health, fitness and education standards of the entire nation.

Not the clearest of mission statements. Lacking measurable targets and in parts highly contradictory!
 

Taking to the water - Inle Lake

20 August 2006

I feared the worst as I arrived at Helo airport. But in fact Inle Lake is bewitching; and a different world, even from Bagan.

It was the journey here that gave me doubts. The flights were fine; Air Bagan again and a 20 minute hop to Mandalay, 25 minutes on the ground and 30 minutes to Helo.

Helo is a small and a grotty little airport. There are few visitors compared to Bagan, and taxis are few; bizarrely they park 100 yards from the fenced off terminal. And they wanted US$20 to take me to the pier at Nyaunggshwe; that became US$16; but still expensive.

The roads are somewhere between poor and terrible; there are more people here than in Bagan but much more obvious hardship. Rain and cloud do not help but the villages are poor.

Then when you get to Nyaungshwe you have to negotiate your boat to the hotel if you are staying on the lake. The boat is a powered longboat/canoe; powered by a noisy lawnmower engine ! And my resort at Golden Island 1 was an hour on the lake; and it was wet; we hit a big rain squall mid lake. It is also cool; you are almost 3,000 feet above sea level.

But after drying off and some food and hot tea I went out on my boat to explore. The lake is unusual; there is no clear shoreline; the water gets shallower; the reeds and grasses get thicker and more tangled and then you find land. But the lake sustains and supports a remarkable lifestyle with some 17 villages on stilts. Underneath the rooms is each family's canoe and the way that they get to work; the kids to school; that they take to do their shopping at the market; that they use to visit the temple and to even visit their neighbour.

There are small workshops for silk weaving, and weaving lotus thread, there is a blacksmith (no one has told them that all the knives that they make for tourists cannot be taken on planes!) and the local cheroot producer. Here approximately 20 women work from 8am until 6pm making around 1,000 cheroots each in a day; for this astonishingly monotonous task they get the princely sum of Kyat 700 for each 1,000 they make (about US 60 cents a day). The only relief to the day appears to be the visit of curious non-smoking tourists who ask too many questions!

We paddled (my driver paddled - I sat there like royalty) through the watery "streets" of Nam Pan village. People smiled and waved. The kids shouted hallos. We paddled past the local stilted school. Like kids anywhere theirs was a happy noise.  And as the late afternoon sun came out and the colours softened the lake was at its most serene.

But make no mistake, it is a hard, hard life here. I guess if you are born into it there is a lifestyle and customs that you learn and adapt to. Many would argue that this old traditional way of life should be preserved. But people deserve more chances; at least a choice of modernisation or the old ways. The trouble is the whole place feels like one of those western style culture parks much loved in Europe and the USA which I used to visit as a kid. People dress up and act out life as it might have been centuries ago. They recreate the past. And then they go home. Here the past is still the present.

Currency Woes

20 August 2006

Myanmar's national currency is the kyat (pronounce "chat"). The currency is a mess.

The official exchange rate is US1 = 450 kyat,

A Yangon hotel will offer around 1,100 kyat. Moneychangers in Scott market will give you 1,300 kyat provided you exchange large denomination notes. But, the big but, many hotels and government run businesses will set their prices in US$. Then if you want to pay in kyat they will likely use an exchange rate between 1,400 and 1,500 kyat.

There are no ATMs Credit cards are not accepted as foreign banks have no presence in Myanmar. And other currencies are worthless. US$ and kyat are the only currencies that you can travel with. Pre-booking and pre-paying hotels is a good way to avoid carrying too much cash with you.

The highest denomination note is 1,000 kyat (about 75cents US). Inevitably you will end up carrying around a large wad of notes. The older 1,000 kyat notes are larger and do not fit into a standard wallet.

Government run services will want to be paid in US$. Beware of the change that they give you; they will offload their worn US$ bills. And when you try to use these bills again you will find that they reject any bill with a tear or that is well used. Preposterous, especially given the condition of their own poorly made kyat notes.

All templed out in Bayan

19 August 2006

Peace: sitting half way up Dhamma-ya-za-ka Zedi listening to nothing other than the birds. A little breeze. And air that is so clear that you can see forever. And then the Italian tour group arrived; not so peaceful.

Bagan is beyond desciption. Over 3000 temples in an area of about 42 square kilometres. It is dry and mostly sunny. A short, sharp late afternoon shower freshens up the air.

Roads; forget it. There are a few country lanes that circumvent most of the site. Other than that it is dust, dirt and mud tracks best known to the local horse and cart drivers! I joined the few cyclists. Everyone you pass smiles and/or says hallo. If you are walking the standard and genuine question is where do you come from?

Flights arrive at Nyaung U. Single travelers should probably stay there. I am in New Bagan; dead by day and worse after evening falls. Nyaung U apparently has restaurants and a night market. There are a couple of very pleasant restaurants by the river in New Bagan.  

Too many temples can be hard work. I spent 6 hours with a horse and cart on Friday (he was No 88 so it was a good cart to take. At every temple there are people trying to sell you things that you do not want. It is not overwhelming but it is a little trying. In the end it is easier to simply buy a few pieces of laquerware at different places and a shirt or two. A little redistribution does not hurt and it is better to buy a little from a number of places than everything from one vendor. The Museum of Archeology is a waste of US$5 and is a very ugly building that would do better as a railway station.

Yomping around Yangon

17 August 2006

It is exotic; the city seems very distant as I sit by the side of Kandawgyi Lake at the open air bar and restaurant listening to the sounds of the night. The smell is that exotic tropical smell that cities used to have before they became overrun by pollution. The scent is slightly smokey but it is not cigarettes. 

The ubiquitous Filipino band is singing in the background, but it is mellow. It is dark; there is little light around the lake. It is hot and humid and rain is an ever present at this time of year.

I have spent a couple of days walking around Yangon, Rangoon as was. It is a remarkable place; and I cannot work out whether I am encouraged by resilience of the people or depressed at the living conditions and oppression of this great people.

Should you visit? The answer has to be yes. Boycotts isolate a people. And they make the west look mean and petty. Travel is interaction. No one is telling me what I can and cannot say and some people have been very open with me in sharing their views on education, politics, corruption and faith. My only encouragement is to try to spend your money with local businesses and people; try to minimise the money that reaches the pockets of the military rulers. And this also means with-holding investment unless it is clear that the investment is of benefit to the people of this country. Invest, and indeed spend, with a sense of moral responsibility; not quick profit.

Isolation does not help the people or fix the problems of this land. Don't just go with a camera and snap away. Talk with those who want to talk. They will be curious to know about your life. The only catch is that English is not as widely spoken as it used to be. Education is basic. Older folk are likely to speak better English; many of the young people will only speak Burmese.

The other problem with any international sanctions is that someone will always ignore them for their own benefit (this is usually the French !!). Myanmar's trade with Singapore, China, Thailand and India remains strong. The Japanese are also active and have a large embassy in Yangon. Myanmar's oil and gas reserves are significant and China and India are both major customers. Although power supplies in Myanmar itself appear very patchy.

British rule of Burma (as it was known) became complete in 1886. Governed as a part of British India there was a flood of Indians into the city. By 1930 most of Yangon's population was Indian and that influence remains very strong. Chinese migrants were also encouraged. The British occupiers were not popular (do we never learn from history); Buddhist monks and university students led protests and by 1937 Burma had been given some self government; at least it was separately administered from India. 

The Japanese drove British and Indian forces from Burma after 1941. The Japanese occupation was as harsh as it was elsewhere in Asia. But the war was also the end for British rule in Asia. Burma became independent on 4 January 1948. 

But the British walked away from chaos; as the country disintegrated with infighting between rebels, communists, anti-communists (Chinese KMT) and tribes in Burma who did not trust the Bamar majority. The modern history of Burma is covered well in other publications and need not be repeated here. But the foundations appear to have been there for Burma to have enjoyed the same success as say Malaysia; but something went seriously wrong.

Walking around Yangon feels a little like walking around old Georgetown in Penang or how Singapore would have been before the mid 1960s. It is very green. There are some lovely old gardened and walled homes. Except they are falling apart. The city is decrepit. Yet is is bustling. People are busy. The streets are crowded; maybe a 50% unemployment rate is a part of this. Betel nut is chewed and spat onto the streets. Durian are widely sold.

Flip flops are the footwear of choice. The traditional longyi wrapis still worn by most men. That is changing a little with the younger adults taking to jeans. 

The cars are old; the taxis are older. The newest being rejects sold from Singapore. The street lighting is poor. The hotel room lighting very dark and gloomy.

It feels like a very safe city; I do not feel threatened or endangered in any way. I am either ignored or met with questions.

The trade embargoes ensure that the foreign banks; foreign high street stores and the likes of MacDonalds and Starbucks are simply not to be found. This makes Yangon a very different place to visit.

Timeline: Burma

Chronology of some of the key events in Burmese history since independence

Added in 2008

Burma, which Britain annexed in 1852, initially as part of India, becomes independent, with nationalist leader U Nu as prime minister.

1962: A government led by U Nu, elected two years before, is overthrown in a military coup.

1988: Protests in August against political oppression and the government mishandling of the economy are brutally suppressed, leaving 3,000 people dead. The current ruling junta seizes power in the aftermath and the National League for Democracy is formed.

1989: The junta declares martial law and changes the country's name to Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, is held for "endangering the state". Others NLD leaders are arrested.

1990: The NLD wins a landslide victory in an election allowed by the junta, but the results are then ignored by the military government.

1991: Aung Suu Kyi wins the Nobel Peace prize.

1992: The reclusive Than Shwe becomes the leading general in the regime.

1995: Aung San Suu Kyi is freed from house arrest.

2000: Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest again for flouting a travel ban.

2002: Aung San Suu Kyi freed again, but later placed in "protective custody" after a pro-government mob attacked her supporters.

2006: The government moves the capital from Rangoon (which it has renamed Yangon) to Naypyidaw, a newly built city in the jungle.

August 2007: Fuel prices rise sharply after fuel subsidies are scrapped. Within days, thousands take part in rallies in Rangoon, later joined by Buddhist monks.

September 2007: The protests escalate into a broader pro-democracy demonstration. Protesters greet Aung San Suu Kyi outside her home, the first sighting of her in public since 2003.

September 24: Up to 100,000 people march in Rangoon, the biggest anti-government protest since 1988. Two days later a violent crackdown begins, with troop raiding monasteries and arresting protesters. Some demonstrators and a Japanese journalist are shot dead.

October 2007: A UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, meets both Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi, urging the regime to negotiate with opposition leaders. Later that month, talks take place but without any apparent breakthrough.

May 2008: Cyclone Nargis devastates large parts of Burma, particularly the Irrawaddy delta region, killing an estimated 130,000 people. The junta faces severe international criticism after it refuses permission for outside aid agencies to enter the country and assist the millions of people affected, a stance it later softens slightly.

Amid the global attention on the country there is speculation that Aung San Suu Kyi might be released when her house arrest order expires at midnight on May 17. However, the junta extends this shortly before the deadline.