Sout East Asia
Justiceiro
Registered Users Posts: 1,177 Major grins
I've posted a few of these on here before, but never in travelogue format. I am currently putting together a "book" on mypublisher for some gifts come christmastime, and have newly aquired inkscape skills I want to show off, so I hope you all enjoy!
My Company sent me to Zhuhai for business, and as it was my first trip to asia (and I love nothing more than a free plane ticket) my wife and I decided to tack on our vacation to the business trip, and see a bit of the world.
This is the itenarary of our trip (behold the power of inkscape!):
The flight departed from lovely Newark, NJ, Queen of American Cities. I was expecting a huge 747 for a direct Newark to Hong Kong flight, but was sadly dissapointed;outside the gate window we saw the same long haul domestic carrier with the same economy sized seats.
So I put my decidedly business class sized posterior into my tiny seat, and prepared for a 16 hour flight over the north pole.
The flight itself had a few cool moments, such as the eternal sunrise/sunset at the top of the world.
And a chance to take a few photographs of Siberia. Frozen rivers and, at one point, some kind of small city (by the time I grabbed my gear from the overhead rack it was gone), according to the GPS on the plane it seemed amazing that people could live this far north, but apparently they do.
Part I- Hong Kong
The first thing I did when I got to Hong Kong was try and find a cheap place to stay- my company put me up in the Kowloon Holiday Inn while I was actually there on business, but even though it was a decent hotel (just as you would expect a Holiday Inn to be) it was crazy expensive- about $250 a night at that time, although I think its normally cheaper.
So we found Singh's Guest House. The Guest House is in a building called Chunking Mansions on Nathan Road (Kowloon's Main Drag). Not exactly the "dee-luxe apartment in the sky" that the Jeffersons were talking about.
It's about 20 stories, the first two of wich are given over to a bazaar. The other 18 floors have hotels, restaurants, apartments, and even some light industry factories.
There a a series of "mansions" like this up and down Nathan Road, The Chunking, Miramar, and so on.
The Chunking Mansions are served by one rather dodgy elevator, once the doors close everybody shifts their weight around until its evenly distributed, then the lift can move.
Once we arrived at the 12th floor (iirc), this was the room that awaited us- it was literally no bigger than the bed, but it did have its own toliet and shower. Actually, the shower head was right over the toilet, so you closed the bathroom door, and took a shower while sitting on "the throne." Singh's Royal Guest House, indeed.
All this can be yours for only $40 per night. My parents had been to Hong Kong in the early 80's, back then it was cheap. Now it is insanely expensive.
Safety is not a big concern in China, as we noticed when we looked out our window and saw a guy doing some sort of building repair, 10 stories above the street. Notice the lack of safety harness.
So my first thought was, how do we get out of here if there is a fire. Certainly NOT the elevator. We would have to descend labyrinthine hallways like this:
So the wife and I mapped out an escape route. Which is wierd (I spend a lot of time in hotels, but don't usually think about hotel fires), because, the next morning when we emerged to go and assault Hong Kong, this is what we saw:
The next "Mansion" over was, in fact, on fire.
So, enough of the roughing it stories, lets see whats out there in Hong Kong:
The Subway in HK is celan, fast efficient, and cheap, albeit a little crowded.
One can also go between Kowloon and Hong Kong (and the other islands) by using the Star Ferry, old British diesels that look liek they were converted from steam.
At the end of Nathan Road is Victoria Harbour, which seperates Kowloon and the New Territories from Hong Kong (the island). during the day doezens of ships pass to and fro, including some old style junks.
Night Shots are great, especially if the water is calm
Star Ferry Again
The Hong Kong Skyline from Kowloon
Almost all of the buildings in HK are skyscrapers. They have the population of New York City, but 20% of the buildable area. But you can find a few traditional buildings nestled amongst the towers.
Hong Kong contains all sorts of cultures and peoples, from British, to Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and of course, Chinese.
Nathan Rd. Mosque
Morning Prayers at Victoria Harbor
HK also boasts a number of taoist temples, this is one dedicated to healing and medical arts:
There are also Buddhists in HK. The Chin Lon monestary is typical of chinese Buddhist structures; the ones we saw later in Indochina were much different.
Overall, however, HK seems to be something different than simply "chinese." It's an odd fusion of east and west, that's true, but the "east" in that fusion is the entire east, from India, to China, to the Phillipines, all of whom have significant populations in the city. And the "westerness" of the city is more than just patina, HK is profoundly different from mainland China. Perhaps this is why the Central Government has decreed that they will maintain their own currency, language laws, and border controls for the next 50 years. China will need a lot of time to catch up.
Overall, HK is strikingly modern, modern in a way that makes our own modernity look a little shabby. Nevertheless, amidst the modernity traditional elements of chinese culture persists, such as an overwhelming belief in joss (luck).
Outside the betting parlour in Central
The Legislative Building and the Bank of China Building
We could only spend a few days in Hong Kong, for a number of reasons. The first was cost. HK is exceedingly expensive. The second was that we really wanted to check out Macau, which is a 45 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong. Macau was really the last colony in China, with the Portuguese pulling down their flag 2 years after the British in Hong Kong (a carefully orchestrated snub that nobody noticed but the Portuguese and the Chinese)
On the ferry to Macau
So, later today, Part II- A perola do Oriente, Macau
My Company sent me to Zhuhai for business, and as it was my first trip to asia (and I love nothing more than a free plane ticket) my wife and I decided to tack on our vacation to the business trip, and see a bit of the world.
This is the itenarary of our trip (behold the power of inkscape!):
The flight departed from lovely Newark, NJ, Queen of American Cities. I was expecting a huge 747 for a direct Newark to Hong Kong flight, but was sadly dissapointed;outside the gate window we saw the same long haul domestic carrier with the same economy sized seats.
So I put my decidedly business class sized posterior into my tiny seat, and prepared for a 16 hour flight over the north pole.
The flight itself had a few cool moments, such as the eternal sunrise/sunset at the top of the world.
And a chance to take a few photographs of Siberia. Frozen rivers and, at one point, some kind of small city (by the time I grabbed my gear from the overhead rack it was gone), according to the GPS on the plane it seemed amazing that people could live this far north, but apparently they do.
Part I- Hong Kong
The first thing I did when I got to Hong Kong was try and find a cheap place to stay- my company put me up in the Kowloon Holiday Inn while I was actually there on business, but even though it was a decent hotel (just as you would expect a Holiday Inn to be) it was crazy expensive- about $250 a night at that time, although I think its normally cheaper.
So we found Singh's Guest House. The Guest House is in a building called Chunking Mansions on Nathan Road (Kowloon's Main Drag). Not exactly the "dee-luxe apartment in the sky" that the Jeffersons were talking about.
It's about 20 stories, the first two of wich are given over to a bazaar. The other 18 floors have hotels, restaurants, apartments, and even some light industry factories.
There a a series of "mansions" like this up and down Nathan Road, The Chunking, Miramar, and so on.
The Chunking Mansions are served by one rather dodgy elevator, once the doors close everybody shifts their weight around until its evenly distributed, then the lift can move.
Once we arrived at the 12th floor (iirc), this was the room that awaited us- it was literally no bigger than the bed, but it did have its own toliet and shower. Actually, the shower head was right over the toilet, so you closed the bathroom door, and took a shower while sitting on "the throne." Singh's Royal Guest House, indeed.
All this can be yours for only $40 per night. My parents had been to Hong Kong in the early 80's, back then it was cheap. Now it is insanely expensive.
Safety is not a big concern in China, as we noticed when we looked out our window and saw a guy doing some sort of building repair, 10 stories above the street. Notice the lack of safety harness.
So my first thought was, how do we get out of here if there is a fire. Certainly NOT the elevator. We would have to descend labyrinthine hallways like this:
So the wife and I mapped out an escape route. Which is wierd (I spend a lot of time in hotels, but don't usually think about hotel fires), because, the next morning when we emerged to go and assault Hong Kong, this is what we saw:
The next "Mansion" over was, in fact, on fire.
So, enough of the roughing it stories, lets see whats out there in Hong Kong:
The Subway in HK is celan, fast efficient, and cheap, albeit a little crowded.
One can also go between Kowloon and Hong Kong (and the other islands) by using the Star Ferry, old British diesels that look liek they were converted from steam.
At the end of Nathan Road is Victoria Harbour, which seperates Kowloon and the New Territories from Hong Kong (the island). during the day doezens of ships pass to and fro, including some old style junks.
Night Shots are great, especially if the water is calm
Star Ferry Again
The Hong Kong Skyline from Kowloon
Almost all of the buildings in HK are skyscrapers. They have the population of New York City, but 20% of the buildable area. But you can find a few traditional buildings nestled amongst the towers.
Hong Kong contains all sorts of cultures and peoples, from British, to Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and of course, Chinese.
Nathan Rd. Mosque
Morning Prayers at Victoria Harbor
HK also boasts a number of taoist temples, this is one dedicated to healing and medical arts:
There are also Buddhists in HK. The Chin Lon monestary is typical of chinese Buddhist structures; the ones we saw later in Indochina were much different.
Overall, however, HK seems to be something different than simply "chinese." It's an odd fusion of east and west, that's true, but the "east" in that fusion is the entire east, from India, to China, to the Phillipines, all of whom have significant populations in the city. And the "westerness" of the city is more than just patina, HK is profoundly different from mainland China. Perhaps this is why the Central Government has decreed that they will maintain their own currency, language laws, and border controls for the next 50 years. China will need a lot of time to catch up.
Overall, HK is strikingly modern, modern in a way that makes our own modernity look a little shabby. Nevertheless, amidst the modernity traditional elements of chinese culture persists, such as an overwhelming belief in joss (luck).
Outside the betting parlour in Central
The Legislative Building and the Bank of China Building
We could only spend a few days in Hong Kong, for a number of reasons. The first was cost. HK is exceedingly expensive. The second was that we really wanted to check out Macau, which is a 45 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong. Macau was really the last colony in China, with the Portuguese pulling down their flag 2 years after the British in Hong Kong (a carefully orchestrated snub that nobody noticed but the Portuguese and the Chinese)
On the ferry to Macau
So, later today, Part II- A perola do Oriente, Macau
Cave ab homine unius libri
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Macau is, similar to Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It consists of three islands; Maca, Taipa, and Coloane.
Also like Hong Kong, Macau began its life as an Entrepot, a spot where foreigners could recieve chinese merchants and trade goods between Europe and China. It's existence, however, far predates that of Hong Kong. It was first established as a Portuguese trading depot in 1553, almost 300 years before the English established themselves in Hong Kong. Even today, Macau is a busy port.
The Inner Harbor (Porto Interior) looking towards Guangdong Province
in 1557 , in exchange for a leasehold and for combating piracy in the region, the Ming Dynasty recognized Macau as "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration."
In 1974, Portugal experienced a revolution that ended five decades of fascist rule, and began liberating its extensive colonial empire, including Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Cape Verde, and East Timor. The government of Portugal offered to hand Macau over to the PRC at this time, but the PRC declined, waiting for a "more appropriate moment."
Everybody needs lawyers
In 1987 a treaty was established calling for the handover of Macau to China in 1999, a full two years after the cession of Hong Kong. Many feel that this was done to slight the english, whose aquisition of Hong Kong was significantly more coercive than the Portuguese aquisition of Macau. Thus on December 20th, 1999, over 450 years of Portuguese rule came to an end, and China's "last colony" was returned.
Avenue of Prince Henry, the Navegator
Like HK, Macau maintains its own currency, the Pataca, which is issued by the bank of China and the Banco Nacional Ultramarino. It is also officially bilingual, with street signs bearing both Portuguese and Chinese script. (as above). Unlike Hong Kong, it was never democratic, so it does not have the lively independent political opposition that HK does, however, unlike the Untied Kingdom, before the handover Portugal gave everyone born in Macau Portuguese citizenship (regardless of ethnicity or language skills), with an absolute right to reside and work in Portugal, and by extension, anywhere in the EU. Strangely, that means that Macanese can work in England, But Hong Kong residents can't.
Canon at the Fortaleza do Monte
The city is much smaller than HK, with about 400,000 residents. Aproximately 1200 Portuguese still live there, working in business and municipal administration (some of them work at the border control). In addition, there are about 20-25,000 Macanese, ethnically chinese but culturally portuguese. My wife (who is Portuguese) and I were on a bus standing next to two teenaged chinese girls who were discussing the cute boys in their class- in portuguese. Very odd.
ARCHITECTURE IN MACAU
Additionally, the city (though it does have some modern buildings) is far less fast-paced than HK in terms of architectural change and general life. Most of the cities late medieval/early modern architecture is still preserved.
Senate Square (Largo do Senado)
The central parts of the city have the calcada style of streets and pavements (as seen) above- and were it not for the inhabitants and the street signs, one could just as easily be in Lisbon or the Algarve.
Entrance to the Loyal Senate
Chamber of the Loyal Senate, The center of Portuguese power in Asia from 1630-1999
The Senate Square is the center of town, with the "Loyal Senate" building at the south side. The senate was given the official apellation "Loyal" due to the fact that it was the only Portuguese territory that refused to recognize the authority of the Spanish kings during their occupation of the Portuguese throne from 1580 to 1640. Mostly they were able to do this because they were very far from Spain.
Farmacia Popular
The most famous landmark of the city are the ruins of the Church of St. Paul, established by the Jesuits in the late 1500s, it was destroyed by a fire and a typhoon in 1835.
Ruinas de Sao Paulo
It is the most popular spot for tourists in Macau, most of whom are Chinese (very few westerners get beyond the casinos near the port).
Photographers at St. Pauls
St. Paul's is a popular spot to get married, for both catholic chinese (about 10% of the population) and non-catholic chinese.
The city has a number of largos, small squares built throughout neigborhoods, and winding side streets.
Theater of Dom Pedro the 5th
Away from the center, the architecture is less grand, but the whole island is generally clean and safe. In fact, as the cartoon below illustrates, spitting on the street will get you a 600 pataca fine.
Quinquilharia (Junk Shop) Long Seng Hou
Macau has a number of churches and religious institutions beyond St. Paul's and several times a year one can see processions on various saint's days.
Holy Water, St. Lawrence Church
Exterior, St. Lawrence
In addition to Christian Churches, Macau has a number of Buddhist and Taoist temples- the most famous of which is the Ah Ma temple on the south side of Macau Island.
Worshipper lighting incense at the Ah Ma Temple
Kun Iam (God of War) Temple on Almirante Sergio street
Not all the architecture on Macau is old. There is quite a lot of modern construction that has been or is being built. Unlike Hong Kong, however, Macau has done a better job of integrating the new into the old, rather than simply building over it, as can be seen with the new Macau/Zhuhai land border crossing post.
The most visible modern landmark is the Torre de Macau, one of the tallest freestanding structures in the area. You can bungee jump off of it, if you are so inclined.
Dragon boats from past year's races
This was the site of the premiere of Bruce Lee's first film
Macanese Culture
The descendants of luso-chinese relationships, as well as "pure" chinese who were drawn into the portuguese cultural sphere due to the long duration of Portuguese rule, are not as numerous as their counterparts in Hong Kong. Portugal never had more than a few thousand administrators and soldiers in Macau at any given time. Nevertheless, a significant mestiço community did develop, with its own customs, food, and language (a cantonese-portuguese creole called patuá.) Though the Macanese community remains vibrant in modern Macau, the use of Patua is declining as most of the young Macanese are educated in Mandarin and standard Portuguese. Even the use of Portuguese is declining, as more and more young people opt to learn english.
One of the most interesting places to see the fusion of Chinese and Portuguese societies are the cemeteries of Macau.
Here rests Maria Benjamina Chiang Lok
Some of the architecture at the Cemetério São Miguel Arcanjo is quite beautiful.
the food is generally good, as well. If you go to Macau, you must try Frango Africano (African Chicken), a dish originally brought from Mozambique and spiced up with some chinese Flava. Very nice. Sometimes, however, the food and language can surprise you. a Pasteleria in Portugal, for example, is a bakery shop were you can get sweet cakes, pie, etc. A Pasteleria in macau is a shop that sells meat jerkey. At least, I think that's what it is.
After a fine day on Macau Island, my wife and I headed down to Coloane to relax, and blow a years worth of Sheraton points for a night at the Westin Macau.
Coloane Island
The Westin Macau is a resort composed of a hundred rooms or so, all of which face the sea, situated on remote Hac Sa Bay.
Coloane Island is the southernmost of the three islands that make up the Macau SAR. It is mostly nature preserve, with a small settlement on the Hac Sa bay called (not surprisingly) Coloane village.
Coloane Village Square at Night
Coloane Village has, I would imagine, only a few hundred inhabitants, and is very reminiscent of the fishing villages of the Algarve that my wife's mother's family comes from. The inhabitants here are mostly Macanese, and one can here Portuguese spoken frequently. It's also home to one of the Island's finest Luso-Chinese restaurants; Espaço Lisboa. the Chef is a fellow named António- he first came to Macau in 1972 when he was stationed there as part of his military service. After returning to Portugal for a year or two he moved back, and has been there ever since.
António is very likely to sit down and have dinner with you (the place has, I think, only 5 or 6 tables); particularly if you speak Portuguese. This is true all over the island. If you are lusophone, the community will instantly help you out. The day we were leaving I struck up a conversation with a Portuga at a bus stop, and he immediately offered to have us over for dinner. It's that kind of scene- very small and cozy (for the westerners). In fact, if you wander of the main track, which essentially consists of the Largo do Senado, Templo Ah-Ma, and the Casino Lisboa you are very likely only to see locals.
Macau is ofted overshadowed by its neighbor to the east, Hong Kong. But I actually found Macau to be a much more pleasant place to visit. There is quite a lot to do, from Casinos (such as the famous Casino Lisboa)
to small market shopping, to relaxing on the other islands. Generally, Macau gets a bad rap, due to the fact that Hong Kong people view it simply as a "place to gamble," but in reality I found it to be far more relaxed and pleasent than Hong Kong. So after a few days here, we headed out to the brand new airport to jump on our "Air Asia" (the Asian version of Jet Blue) flight to Bangkok. I'll post on that subject tomorrow.
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20D :clap
Canon
18-55
85 1.8 :wink
Tamron
28-75 2.8
Sigma
70-300 DG APO Macro
30 1.4:thumb
Our ultimate destination was Burma (Myanmar) and the only way in or out of Burma is to fly into Rangoon from Bangkok with Thai Airways or with Myanmar International (not recommended). So Bangkok was the next leg of our trip.
We flew out of Macau with Air Asia, a very reasonable flight at less than $200 round trip, after about 3 and one half hours we arrived at Bangkok Airport, to the hottest climate I had ever experienced; about 40 degrees celsius and 90 percent humidity.
Photography inside the airport was strongly discouraged and, given the ubiquity of sings informing me that I would be put to death for smuggling drugs, I heeded the "suggestions."
Upon emergin into the night, we caught a taxi for the 25km ride into the center of the city.
Upon leaving the hotel the next morning to walk around the city, the first thing we stumbled upon was a religious ceremony in a small curbside open air shrine.
Thailand is Buddhist, and very devout at that. The Buddhism of Thailand also seems to be of a totally different nature than that of China (at least as far as the temple architecture goes) and I am lead to undersand that the follow the therevada tradition rather than the mahayana. I'm not sure about doctrinal differences, but it seems to me to be a more "old-school" sort of buddhism.
Also, whereas Chinese Buddhists are fat and generally happy, Thai buddhas are rather thin and ascetic looking. I'm not sure what this means.
We wanted to go to a place called Wat Pho, which is the home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha. So we hired a "tuk-tuk," the thai version of the gypsy cab, whose driver immediately attempted to take us to, of all places, a carpet shop. I would have expected this in Turkey, but have never considered Thailand a prime source of carpets. Needless to say, we declined. So the driver drove us a ways, and dropped us off to see the "sleeping Buddha."
This was the temple at which we arrived. It was actually quite difficult to get properly exposed photos, as the "whiteness" of the marble tended to drive the 20d's autoexposure system to distraction. As I had had this camera approximately 2 weeks at this time, I am afraid I was not up to the challenge.
The temple was quite nice, but I was a bit underimpressed at Thailand's greatest Wat.
Auto-Exposute gone wild
It was here that we encountered our first Buddhist Monks.
I continued to be amazed at a number of things; first, the lack of tourists at the famous Wat Pho, two- the fact that, though very nice, it certainly seemed to lack the presence of a "national cathedral," and three- if this was the biggest reclining buddha in Thailand, then the others must be very small indeed.
The architecture was very cool, particularly the roof gables.
This was a monestary attached to the wat.
Also, I discovered the great reverance accorded to Monks by the surprising tomb of Nob Buhvadi. His mummified corpse was on display in a glass alcove, along with the following sign:
So, we left "Wat Pho" and began looking for the Grand Palace which was supposed to be next door. We failed to find it. After about an hour of attempting to navigate with the map, we realized that in fact we were no where near Wat Pho. The tuk-tuk driver, seeing that there would be no carpet sale today, had dropped us off at a conveniently nearby Wat with a reclining Buddha. To this day, we have no idea what temple we were wandering through- we call it "Wat Feaux." So we headed toward the river, and took a ferry to the center.
the Chao Phraya river is heavily trafficed, with a lot of goods transported by water (travelling by road is nearly impossible in Bangkok traffic).
We were literally an hour and a half away from the Grand Palace. At this point the unpleasant bit of Thailand surfaced- our encounter with the con-man/tuk-tuk driver was unfortunately not an unusual one. I had heard that Buddhists had a reputation for sterling honesty, but apparently this did was not able to overcome the temptation for a few to blatently lie to tourists.
For the two days we were in Bangkok, whenever we attempted to take anything other than a standard taxi, or attempted to enter a landmark, we were assailed by folks who, inexplicably, attempted to sell us carpets (apparently some tourists think they have flown to Istanbul). Also, we were repeatedly assured that [enter appropriate temple] was closed due to a Buddhist holiday. Even when we were directly in front of the Grand Palace and dozens of westerners were streaming through the gates. If you go to Bangkok, ignore these people.
The Grand Palace
The Grand Palace was indeed grand, and heavily laden with Gold. It contains dozens of chedi, both large and small.
There are also countless statues and figurines, some gilt and others mosaiced with bright tiles and jewels.
The Central Stupa at the Grand Palace Temple Complex
Right Across from the Grand Palace is the real Wat Pho. It is very beautiful, and choked with people. There are also quite a few monks around.
Monks employing the latest digital cameras while pursuing Nibbana
Wat Pho in the distance, with Cannon from the Military Academy
Wat Pho contains an enormous sleeping Buddha, so we were clearl in the right place.
The Royal Palace complex (including Wat Pho) is a hive of activity, being an active palace and a center of religious activity.
Two Monks arranging their clothing
We realley haf very little time in Bangkok, which was a pity, as it is a fascinating place. Difficult to navigate, a little more like the middle east in terms of scamminess (suprisingly, this was totally absent in Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macau), bu overall a place deserving of a lot of time to see.
So we went back to the Airport the nex morning, and caught our flight to Rangoon, the great unknown.
I'll leave you with a photo from my favorite monument, the Bangkok temple of the municipal penis. Every city of note in Thailand has a symbolic phallus, with its own temple. Unfortunately, the picture I have of the actual municipal "object" I have yet to upload to smugmug. I will post it here as soon as that is corrected.
Here is a temple inhabitant engaged (I assume) in sacred ritual transvestitism. You have left the judeo-christian world far, far behind.
Next up- Burma.
Justiceiro, this is a fantastic travelogue! Thank you for spending so much time describing what you saw and your impressions. This is a wonderful primer for anyone thinking about mimicking your trip.
I can't wait to read about Myanmar.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Thanks for taking a look! I've always been a frustrated travel writer! I have to upload a lot of the Burma photos, and I am out of town on business, so I will add the Burma section on Saturday.
And I had to do a double-take when I saw this chap's wedding outfit:
Really looking forward to seeing the Burma leg of your journey!
We elected to fly from Bangkok to Rangoon (the capitol of Burma at the time of our visit) for a number of reasons. The first is that land crossings are extremely unreliable as the border regions tend to erupt in civil war and rebellion from time to time and the only sure way of actually getting into the country is to fly. The second is that Royal Thai Air is infinitely preferable to Myanmar International Airways. It falls out of the sky far less frequently.
Here is the plate I made for a page of my Asia Photo Book
A rose by any other name...
Throughout the Burma section of the travelogue you may find yourself confronting a problem with names. The fact of the matter is that Burma is ruled by a military junta of the worst type- not that they are as bloodthirsty and maniacally evil as, say, Saddam Hussein (they really aren't efficient enough for that) but they are definitely nasty folks, and they have three overarching characteristics:
1- they are intensely paranoid, and are convinced that they are about to be attacked by the United States due to their overwhelming oil wealth. This demonstrates that they have overinflated estimates of the current American regime's geographical knowledge (you have to know where a country is before you attack it, after all) and a rather unrealistic idea of what constitutes "oil wealth," or, really "wealth" at all.
2- they are totally f---ing mad. As in insane. Nuts. Whackjobs. Most major policy changes in Burma (this is not a joke) are made due to the predictions of the ruling generals' astrologers.
For example Ne Win, the recently retired dictator, was told that his lucky number was nine by his astrologer; and that the country would become rich if they adopted this number is areas related to the economy. So general Win withdrew all the currency in circulation (the local money is the kyat) and replaced it with notes divisible by nine. You could get Kyat in denominations of 9, 18, 45, 90, 900, etc. But there were not "1" or "2" kyat notes available. That lasted for about 18 months, but apparently the resulting economic chaos did not weaken the belief of the Junta in astrology. Just 2 days after I left Burma they moved the capitol from Rangoon, a city of 4 million, to Pyinmana, a deserted hill station in the middle of nowhere, 400 km from Rangoon in the center of the country. Civil servants were given a few days notice before they had to move. Why? The astrologers said if they didn't move the capitol, the regime woudl collapse. So off they went.
3-They are a controlling bunch of morans. Really not nice folks- in the border provinces they pretty much engage in cultural semi-genocide with impunity. Thus you have folks who fight the central government like two cigar smoking 8 year old Baptist twins who are believed to have magical powers (again, not a joke). These two guys represented a faction of the Karen ethnic group in the world's longest running civil war- 58 years. The Burmese army are known as the Tatmadaw, and engage in regular internal repression, ethnic cleansing, and the like. They also fund themselves off the heroin trade. Lovely folks- they are the ones driving the nice new cars while the rest of the population tries to keep the 1940s era US Army jeeps running.
The upshot of this is that the government is positively Orwellian. Not suprprising, as Orwell himself lived in Burma for years, and most Burmese consider 1984 as an allegory of Burma, and not of Stalinism. The regime loves to change names, and had a whole slew of them in 1989.
Here is a handy chart with the old and new names:
Old Name New Name
Burma / Myanmar
Rangoon/ Yangon
Akyab / Sittwe
Pagan / Bagan
Irrawaddy River/ Ayeyerwaddy River
Amherst / Kyaikami
Mandalay / Mandalay (strangely enough)
I use the old name for the simple reason that I think the current rulers of Burma are jackholes, and most of the Burmese used those names while talking to me, as long as there were no uniforms around. Also, the old names are cooler. Rangoon is far cooler than Yangon- Yangon sounds liek Tsingtao beers flater, staler cousin bottled in X'ian province that even the locals won't drink. Rangoon sounds like Shangri-La. And I love Crab Rangoon.
So, on to Rangoon, your introduction to Burma.
Rangoon has about 4 million people, and they are mostly to be found milling around the market at area around 33rd street and Anawrahta.
33rd Street, from our hotel
The airport is an interesting experience. Signs extolling the desire of the Burmese people to march behind the Tatmdaw towards "new light" are everywhere. I assume Minitrue puts them there.
You will have the oportunity to change money there. ONLY CHANGE ENOUGH TO GET A TAXI! Like $20 or something. A taxi and a bit of walking around money. There are two reasons to do this, the first is that the money changed at the airport goes to the reprehensible pack of dogs that call themselves a government there, whereas in town you can allow some hard currency to get intot he hands of regular folks. Also, they screw you on the rate (at the airport it was $475 kyat to the dollar, on the street around $1250). By the way, trading on the street is perfectly legal, so only rooks trade their money at the airport. Since the largest bill in circulation is 1000 kyat, a $20 bill will get you, literally, a fistful of cash. More on money later, it's an important issue for travellers.
Our hotel, air-conditioned ( a must as it is 42 celsius, during the cold season) ran us about $20 a night. This is the most expensive place we stayed in Burma. Beautyland II on 33rd street- a lovely place with breakfast available run by an older Burmese gentlemen with impeccable manners and lovely oxbridge accented English. A real gentleman. I recommend it. they will even do your laundry for you.
Infrastructre is, uh, "developing"
The entire country's electricity is provided by one hydroelectric dam built by the British, but most of it goes to Rangoon, so power should be on- most of the time. The infrastructure leaves something to be desired.
Rangoon is a fascinating place. I suppose it is as close as you can get today to what a city was like under the Raj. The cars are a little more modern, but the culture is not nearly as westernized as in a place like Thailand. For example, in Thailand about 10% of the people wear traditional dress, and they do so almsot exclusively out in the country. You are not going to see a dude in a skirt like this in Bangkok.
The Author goes Native
In Bangkok the dudes in skirts are up to quite different stuff than they are in Burma.
In Burma, about 10% of men wear pants, the rest wear lyongi (the tube like skirt), and the pants wearers are typically Tatmadaw or traffic cops. Fabrics and goods are often made locally. Western brands don't exist (due to sanctions) no Coke, no Pepsi, no Levis, no Marlboros. Naomi Klein's "No Logo" paradise. That's not to say that things like KFC don't get parodied, they do.
We are far more likely to invade Burma at the behest of KFC than Chevron
Nor do I wish to believe that folks ought to run around with bones in their noses in order to be "authentic." Interesting that some westerners attempts to preserve "authenticity" tends to result in denying folks potable drinking water and basic sanitation. It may be cue during your two week visit, but their infant mortality rates last all year long. Wearing Levi's don't make you an american. but I do believe that folks often get rid of better local traditions, particularly in handicraft, in order to replace them with crappier "modern" goods and modes. (look how Wonderbread killed off the American bakery, for example). This doesn't happen so much here. Not becuase Burmese are more virtuous, they are just poorer. Actually, they do seem more virtuous- more on that in a lter section entitled "thoughts on Burmese society."
Downtown Rangoon has some lovely buildings, such as the Town Hall.
Most of the cool stuff in Downtown Rangoon is centered around the Maha Bandoola Road and a traffic circle that contains the Sule Paya.
Maha Bandoola Rd. and Sule Paya
The sule Paya is the central religious monument in downtown Rangoon, the first "indochinese" Budhist place we saw. It's quite different from, say, the Chin Lin monestary in Hong Kong.
The spires of the Sule Paya
Skinny Therevadan Buddha- not fat like Chinese Buddhas, will not give you "joss"
Buddha with LED lights
The Payas are quite different than western structures such as churches or mosques. The spire are usualy solid, and often contain a relic. The "worshipping" is done at open air shrines around the spires, not in them.
Around the Sule Paya are other religious institutions representing some facets of Burma's varied cultural life, like the Judson Memorial Baptist Church.
A significant number of Burmese are baptists (although a rather Burmese sort of Baptists) particularly Karen and Shan peoples. The Baptist Church began in Burma in 1813 when missionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson, having been kicked out of India proper, moved to Rangoon in 1813, more than a decade before the arrival of the British. The pair were orginally from Malden, Massachusetts, so their Baptist practices were likely a tad different from those of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Also, Rangoon has a significant Indian population which arrived during the time period that Burma was a British possession. They generally fulfilled roles as merchants, shopkeepers, traders, and moneylenders- religiously most of the Indians are Muslim, but unlike most of the Muslim "Indians" in the US, who are primarily Urdu speakers from India proper or Pakistan, these Indians came from East Bengal. Thus, though religiously removed from Burmese, they share some cultural affinities (Bangladesh is right next door), and their version of Islam is rather more mild and easygoing than their coreligionists in Pakistan.
Shi'ite Mosque, Rangoon
Many of the Indians, particularly thos of Tamil descent, are Hindu. Near the Bogyoke Aung San Market (formerly the Scott Market) stands a temple in the Tamil style devoted to the worship of the goddess Kali.
All over Burma there seemed to be no problem entering temples or most other religious establishments (although monestaries are not really accesible, particularly for the ladies), but I felt a bit out of place inside the Kali temple. It wasn't just my spurious but inescapable association of Kali with ritual murder and the thugee cult, and the fact that the priest looked, well, a bit intimidating. Additionally, it appeared as if we had wandered in during the commision of a religious ceremony, and I certainly did not want to intrude, so my photo taking opportunities were somewhat limited.
Nearby Maha Bandoola road is the Bogyoke Aung San Market. This is named after the countries "founding father" Bogyoke Aung San, who became radicalized while a student at Rangoon University, then fought with the Japanese against the British, then with the British against the Japanese. He rose to the top of the anti-colonial party, and was assasinated a few months before the official recognition of Burmese independence in 1947. He left behind a son, who works as an engineer in the USA, and a daughter Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently the most visible opponent of the military regime that used to venerate Aung San. Today the Tatmadaw is attempting to slowly erase the memory of Aung San in order to declaw his daughter (who gains great face from such a notable father),but the street signs are too numerous and the Market too famous- they can't very well go back to calling it a British name, can they?
Scott Market has just about every sort of thing available- foodstuffs (like the aforementioned American chicken), jewels- Burma's second largest exprort after heroin, and amazing handicrafts and textiles, such as these parasols.
To give you some idea of the quality of these goods, my wife bought a pair of sandals in a doorway/shop right next to these parasols- $5, a princely sum in Burma. She simply was too hot to wear her shoes, and expected these sandals to fall apart rather quickly (they are rather simple, though beautiful things). She wore them continuously through thousands of kilometers of hofing it in Burma, through puddles, heat, mud, etc, and they still to this day look as good as when she bought them. During the summer months, they are all she wears. In contrast, the shoes I bought before going to turkey (rather decent US tennis Shoes) had to be tossed after two weeks because they fell apart from wear. Burmese handicrafts are quite different than their "Pier 1" American counterparts. They are designed to be used, and are used, and are very very tough. These parasols are not decoration- they are tools, and the vast majority of customers are Burmese.
Grasshoppers, a tasty mid-day snack
Across the street from Scott Market is another, bigger market that has less "luxury goods" more textiles and food. If something is steaming hot, you can generally eat it. I ate a unch of stuff, and was OK. However, given that there are no water purification plants one ought to stick to bottled water, and given that electricity is intermittent, Ice Cream woudl be a bad idea. actually, I don't recall seeing ice cream, but I wouldn't go near it. Other than that, the food is good, and safe (when hot!), not to spicy, and quite cheap. Try the 999 Shan Noodle shop at 130 34th street for some lovely Shan State style cuisine. Also, Along 33rd and 34 street at night there are several street tea shops, that is to say, Tea shops set up tables and little chairs in the street itself. Ocasionally one can find a place selling Bengali style sweets as well as tea, in the same manner. Liek I said, I ate everything, and had no problems, as long as it was fresh- it seems to be more traveller friendly than, say, Mexico City.
Little girl with traditional Burmese makeup at Scott Market
Burma is moving up the list of places I'd like to visit - and your account just made it climb that little bit faster.
I have a lot more to add, but I fear it takes quite a bit of time. Next we shall see Mandalay, Burmese Trains, Riverboats, and Bagan.
My Gallery
Cloth Market across the street from Bogyoke Market- buy your Longyi here
Seamstresses will sew your Longyi to fit you, very necessary if you have a huge western booty.
Part IVb- The Rest of Rangoon and Shwedagon Paya
The first day, after navigating the airport and getting down to the hotel, we spent most of our time in the downtown region of Rangoon. I feel it is now an appropriate time to discuss money, our misadventures with the American Embassy, and general strangeness.
Money
As Burma is under international financial sanctions, you will find no ATMs, money dispensing machines of any kind, banks with which you are familiar, nor places where you can use credit cards. Thus you will have to bring enough cash to satisfy all your needs for whatever length of time you wish to stay.
The local currency is the Kyat (pronounced "Jat.") it looks like this:
Colorful, and almost valueless. The largest note in circulation is the 1000 kyat note. Notes go as far down as 5 kyat, but you are unlikely to see one of these in your own hands, and if by chance you do they are likely to be worn beyond recognition. You can occasionally find fresh 5 kyat notes as offerings at a temple, but it seems the foreigner surcharge prevents anything from costing 5 kyat for the likes of us. That's not so bad, as the exchange rate for the kyat hovers at about 1175-1250 for one US dollar, so 5 kyat is worth about 4 tenths of a penney. I have heard that there is a subdivision of the kyat (kind of like a penney), perhaps a kyatlet, but I think these coins may be mythical.
Don't bother with Euros or other currencies, Burma is probably the last place on earth where they only take dollars. There used to be things called FEC (foreign exchange currency) where 1 FEC equalled 1 USD, but you can now trade with actual dollars; so FECs are still technically valid, but I have never seen one.
You must have particular types of dollars, however. We entered Burma with about $1300 in cash, confident that for 10 days this would be enough. But the Burmese will only accept bills that are pristine in condition. Bills must look like this (minus the specimen marking):
There can be no doodling, no writing, no creases of any kind (except maybe a slight fold), no holes, and no marks whatsoever, or no one will take your money. So what? This makes things more difficult than you might think. Ever had your $20 checked at a convenience store for conterfeitness? Like this:
Then your dollar is no good. You would be surprised, look in your wallet right now. How many of your "good" dollars are actually pristine. And I mean pristine, I'm not speaking for effect.
We went through our currency with a fine toothed comb (and so did the Burmese) and found that we had about $700 that we could actually use, for 10 days. Needless to say, we panicked.
Unnecessarily, as it turned out. Costs in Burma break down something like this:
Hotel in Rangoon: $20-$25
Hotel in Mandalay or Bagan: $15
Horse Cart and Driver for one day in Bagan: $6
Bicycle Rental for one day in Bagan: $2
Train Ticket, Rangoon-Mandalay: $35
Boat passage, Mandalay-Bagan: $35-40
Airplane Ticket, Bagan-Rangoon; $80
Meal from a street vendor in Rangoon: $0.25
Meal at a ridiculously overpriced restaurant in Bagan: $5
Bottle of Myanmar Whiskey (not Whiskey, but good): $3
1 lb. Bag of the finest Shan State Tea ever: $2
Taxi inside Rangoon: $3-4
At the end of our trip, we had enough to fly back to the capitol and extend our stay in Bagan, but we didn't know this at the beginning of our trip.
Where can we change American Money for American Money, I thought? Obviously, the American Embassy. It's at the end of Maha Bandoola road near the Maha Bandoola Gardens, which contain very little and cost $5 to enter (baksheesh). Screw that, we'll have to see the peace monument next time.
I have no pictures of the embassy because there are huge signs advertising that taking pictures near there will result in very bad consequences. The Tatmadaw is very serious about this stuff, so we took heed.
The embassy is almost deserted, because we don't like the Tatmadaw and they don't like us, in fact, we haven't had an ambassador there for several years. We have a "charges d'affaires." The guards talked to the Marine (ooh rah! What's it like to be the only marine in Burma?) and they summoned after about an hour, two very perplexed state department officials. (it was a saturday in Rangoon, after all).
There are, all in all, very few tourists in Burma. The most I ever saw in one place was on the IFC (Irrawaddy Flotilla Company) weekly steamer from Mandalay to Bagan, that was about 30. I beleive that was at least half of all the foreigners in the country. There were NO Americans there, as the state dept. has gnarly (but totally bogus) travel warnings on the place. Actually, the locals were perfectly friendly and there is zero crime. I don't know if this is because they are natural buddhalike, or if the punishment for crimes is just stupidly extreme. Either way, it makes for a pleasant journey.
Unfortunately, the State folks couldn't help us, they had very little US cash either. Also, it took about 20 minutes just to convey the concept. (you want to chang dollars, for dollars?!) But they talked to us in the street for about two hours because they were desperate to talk to another American, none of which they had seen in about 6 months or so. So we gabbed, and then we went on our way, none the richer.
I can't knock the state dept. however. They generally help a brother out whilst abroad.
A total digression, but once I was in Poland and I had to perform some bodily functions, and in great haste. I had NO change on me and Europeans, barbarians that they are, generally charge you for the priviledge of easing the most basic exigencies of human existence. So I ran to the US consulate in Krakow, waved my passport, and demanded access to the facilities.
The marine asked me "do you have an appointment?"
I said, "No, but this is American soil, and if you don't let me in I am going to American soil myself."
They stepped up to the plate, so to speak. What's this got to do with Burma? Nothing. I just love the US state Dept; and you have to admit, it's a good story.
Less Talking, More Pictures.
Pre-War Achitecture
It is obviosu that Rangoon was once quite Grand, but everything now is sort of worn and tawdry. Or maybe it was always worn and tawdry- this is the sort of climate where, when you stop for a street light, moss begins to grow on you immediately. It's very hot and very wet.
There is one very cool place you can go that feels as though the Raj never died- that's the Strand Hotel.
The Strand was built in in the early 1900s by the Sarkies Bros., and was once counted among the triumvirate of classic Asian British Hotels; The Strand in Rangoon, The Peninsula in Hong Kong, and Raffles in Singapore.
The whole place is teak and brass, and the staff dress just as they did at the turn of the century. Check out the cover of Orwell's "Burmese Days" for a period photo. It's pretty much the same.
A night at the strand costs $450, or about the average Burman's earnings for 10,000 years or so. It's a stupid place to actually sleep. But they do have High Tea.
Ever wanted to feel like a Sahib? This is it.
Davis Sahib sips his Tea and observes that Barbarians start East of Calais
Is it wrong to revel in your first-worldness so completely? Probably, but an extra donation to medecins san frontieres will likely salve your conscience, and it's an experience you ought not miss. Particularly since, once the Tatmadaw takes a hike and the Burmese can start doing thier own thing, Burma will really move. See Budapest in 1990, vs. Budapest now. You used to be able to buy a castle for less than a house in the States. Now a beer costs $8.
You can have the traditional English High Tea, with scones and heavy cream, or the Burmese version. If there are two of you, you can have both. It's much easier to sit back and discuss shooting an elephant with the English Tea, but the Burmese is actually better.
High Tea at the Strand
The cost is $15 per person. Pure larceny, but a small payback for colonialism, I think. The burmese version of the High Tea contains a salad made from tea leaves. It is outstanding.
SHWEDAGON PAYA
Day two in Rangoon our objective was to see the great Shwedagon Pagoda, or Paya, on the outskirts of town. This is the greatest Theravadan Buddhist structure in all of Asia, far outstripping even Wat Pho or Wat Phra Kaew in Thailand. The central spire was likely begun in the 6th Century AD by the Mon, precursors of the Burmese. Legend holds that it contains 8 hairs of the Gautama Buddha. The buddha apparently shed hair and teeth all over Asia- much like the shocking seven foreskins of Jesus that used to grace medieval monestaries in Europe.
South Entrance to the Shwedagon Paya
The Central Spire is 98 meters tall. The top of the spire (hti) is tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies. The whole thing is capped with a 76 carat diamond. Wow.
The Main Spire, with jewel encrusted Hti
Buddhas and Bodisatvas
It is easy to forget that, before the coming of the British, Burma was the superpower in Indochina- Thailand took its place as the rest of the region was colonized, but Burma was actually far richer for far longer, and The Shwedagon reflects that.
Here is what Rudyard Kipling had to say about it in the 1800s:
'There’s the old Shway Dagon’ (pronounced Dagone, not like the god in the Scriptures), said my companion. ‘Confound it!’ But it was not a thing to be sworn at. It explained in the first place why we took Rangoon, and in the second why we pushed on to see what more of rich or rare the land held. Up till that sight my uninstructed eyes could not see that the land differed much in appearance from the Sunderbuns, but the golden dome said: ‘This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about.’ ‘It’s a famous old shrine o’ sorts,’ said my companion, ‘and now the Tounghoo-Mandalay line is open, pilgrims are flocking down by the thousand to see it. It lost its big gold top—’thing that they call a ’htee—in an earthquake: that’s why it’s all hidden by bamboo-work for a third of its height. You should see it when it’s all uncovered. They’re regilding it now."
Pavilion at Shwedagon Paya
Lion's Guarding the Paya
The activity at the Paya is quite busy- be sure to come in the morning, as you must remove your shoes and the marble flooring can become blazing hot. The locals don't seem to mind. Everyone is quite friendly, and the monks can occasionally speak English. They will likely, however, avoid talking to women, as they are supposed to be renouncing desire.
Women, however, are not excluded from the temple grounds, or really discriminated against seriously. The position of women in Southeast asia is actually pretty advanced, and probably led the world (even outpacing the west) until modern times. But, given that the ladies of Burma are rather well formed, a novice seriously pursuing the extinguishing of desire would do well to give them a wide berth. In General, Burmese people are very comely; they tend towards the tall, with elegant cheekbones and beautiful skin. The climate is so wet, that after 10 days my wife remarked that her skin was as moint and smooth as it had ever been, and I noticed that the only ladies who had any wrinkles were of an extremely advanced age.
Woman with Prayer Beads
Monasteries and pagodas also act as a sort of social insurance system. Monks spend the mornings gathering food and suchlike as alms, and it is later distributed to those inside the religious establishment. The elderly can typically attach themselves as a monk or nun to a paya, and they will be fed. Thouhg Burma is, without a doubt, the poorest country I have ever seen, I saw no real destitution. No one seemed to go hungry. Additionally, the buddhist establishments educate the young, and most kids spend a year or two as a ko-yin. (more on this later).
older monk
Giant Buddha
Men and Women Worship together
A final look at the Shwe Dagon Paya.
Stay tuned, tomorrow we will take a look at the never ending train ride from Rangoon to Mandalay.
http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/
I am impressed by the work you have on this post.
You do know the name of the place, the history and you can - I don't - refer preciselly the photo and the place.
There are sites more easy to situate than others ...
You have been doing an excellent work.
I also have visited Myanmar and I think it is the most beautifull country in this area I have been to.
We have been in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Tayland and Myanmar. This one is the niciest. My wife thinks so too.
We recommend a visit. So you do, I suppose.
India is also nice. We have been only in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur the year Afganistan tested an atomic bomb.
China, we have not been to - for the moment.
We missed it because we have a mother with heath problems
Good Heath to your wife and to yourself.
I'm here all week. In fact I'm taking notes!
That's a nice touch with the extended pinky in the high tea shot at the Strand Hotel.
I absolutely recommend a visit to Burma. There are those who find ethical problems with it, but I don't. I get to see a nice place, show some folks pictures of it, put money into the hands of the civil society (as opposed to the government) and so on.
The people are absolutely wonderful. Friendliest country I have ever visited, bar Portugal, of course.:D
Nothing less than Pukka Sahib, what what?
Part V- By Rail Across the Raj; Rangoon to Mandalay
The next destination we had in mind was the mystical city of Mandalay. I'm not sure why, but the name "Mandalay" has always exercised a sort of fascination for me, even before I had ever heard of Burma. I'm relatively sure it has nothing to do with Madalay Bay in Las Vegas. (By the way, Mandalay is nowhere near the ocean.)
Perhaps it was this;
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say;
"Come you back, you British Soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there ain't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', and it's there that I would be--
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
Travelling here certainly gives one a greater appreciation of Kipling.
But first we had to get there, and that is not as easy as one might imagine.
There are several ways to move about within Burma; by Bus, Train, or Plane. The locals recommend Planes, but we were down to $700 for the next 10 days, and I find flying an excellent way to get somewhere fast, but not necessarily to enjoy one's self.
Bus, I assumed, would be quite harrowing. Most of my foreign driving experience has been limited to Portugal , which has who I thought were the craziest drivers in the world. Once I reached China I was quickly disabused of this notion. Surely the Train would be faster, safer, and more in the style of a trip backwards in time, no?
Of course, locals reacted with horror when I tried to purchase a train ticket. They stoutly recommended the bus. Even the station agent tried to dissuade me, but I was not to be dissuaded!
So we bought a 6:30 scheduled overnight on the "15 up." (all Trains in Burma are "up" or "down." Up means North. The scheduled time of travel was 14 hours, with an early morning arrival in Mandalay.
This was, sadly, not to be.
We left the hotel laden with backpacks and photo gear at 6pm. My wife is, well, rather Iberian about time. This serves her quite well in Portugal (and in Burma too as it happens) but I am a bit more reminiscint of my scots-irish ancestors when it comes to being on time. So we are running through the streets toward the train station which, along with our unpararalleled foreignness, is making of us quite a spectacle. No one does anything quickly in Burma, much less travelling from place to place. This is due to the great heat and humidity. I guess the only reason to run is if the Tatmadaw or their secret police are chasing you. So we get to the train station with ten minutes to spare, followed by the alarmed gazes of the locals.
Rangoon Central Station in the Evening (well past 6:30)
At this point I am sweatier than I have ever been in my entire life. I could describe it to you, but you would never believe how much sweat a human body can produce. Fortunately, my wife documented the event.
No, this is not the result of a swimming pool incident
My better half, being mediterranean and having spent time living in Africa as a child, was better prepared than I through both genetics and experience; nevertheless, even she was showing some signs of excessive heat.
The Train pulled out of the station around two hours after the scheduled time. Really, the only accurate thing about the schedule was that the train was indeed going "up."
The Train itself was a delight, although decrepit. The floors were of hardwood, the cooling system consisted of electrical fans that were manufactured in the 1930s, as was indeed the train car itself. This was an old British train attached to a newer Diesel Engine.
There was a sleeping car, but it appeared to be reserved for government officials and tour groups. I don't beleive that there were any tour groups on board, but getting approval for a sleeping car ticket involved countless bribes and torturous navigation of the bureaucracy, so we contented ourselves with 1st class- which in Burma means your seats have a cushion. 2nd class means you sit on a hard teak bench, and third class means you ride in the chambers between the cars. People were stacked on the train like cordwood.
Burmese girl tends to her mothers hair en route to Mandalay
We managed to fall asleep, and woke with the dawns light to an eerily beautiful landscape.
Central Burma at Dawn
The trip from Rangoon travels North through the agricultural heart of Burma, along the Sittang river, with the mountains of the Shan state visible in the distance.
The route passes through Tuangoo and Thazi, and eventually ends up in Mandalay.
Along the way, the train stops briefly at a number of small settlements, where folks come out to sell refreshments to the passengers.
Along the way we pass several small Payas, many of which are covered in gold.
It's hard to overistimate the poverty of the Burmese. It's also easy to overstate. What I mean is that the Burmese have a paucity of material goods- and very little money.
the entire 20 hour journey to mandalay, through the rice paddies and such, we saw not a single agricultural machine. All work was done with water buffalo, oxen, or human hands.
But, as I said before, they are rarely destitute because the monestary will take care of them. But they are indeed poor. I asked someone why no one stole the gold from these payas in remote and unguarded places. He looked at me as if I had asked why he didn't sprout wings and fly away- apparently the thought had never occured to him. Folks in Burma are poor, but overwhelmingly honest. At least the civilians are.
Scattered amongst the Paya are a few christian villages, with (I presume) Baptist churches.
Travel by Train is actually a rather expensive endeavor for most Burmese. The most common mode of transport is by converted pickup truck. I once counted 42 people getting off one of these things.
Mass Transit
Around lunch time the Train passed through Thuangyi. Here is a typical Burmese house of that region, not the thatched walls that allow cool breezes to pass through the structure.
We retired to the dining car to have a meal of curry and Burmese Beer.
Around 3-4 pm, the Train finally pulled into Mandalay, which will be the next leg of our travelogue.
Mandalay is actually rather a young city. It was founded in 1859 by Mindon Min, the second to last King of Burma.
The The Third Burmese Empire and the Conflict with the British
In the early 1700s a young and vigorous Burmese monarch, Alaungpaya (1711-1760), ascended the throne of what was a country much reduced from its former glory of the 9th and 14th centuries. He would found the Konbyuang dynasty, whcih would rule the Burmese state until its extinction at the hands of the British in 1886.
Under King Pagan Min and his most famous General, Mahabandoola, Burma adopted an expansionist policy in the early 1800s, annexing Arakan, and carrying thier depredations as far afield as Chittagong and Assam. This brought them to the attention of the baleful eye of the British. Their previous experience with Europeans had been with fitful conflicts with the Portuguese (they do show up everywhere, don't they) some 300 years earlier.
the Portuguese presence in Burma was certainly eventful- in the 1500s the Portuguese had contributed ot the destruction of the 2nd Burmese Empire and in 1608 a certain Jose de Brito invaded Rangoon, sacked the Shwedagon, stole a 30 ton bell, lost it in a river, and was later impaled for the enormity of his crime (sacking a paya is about the worst imaginable thing in Burma). But the pasage of time lead the Konbyuang to fail to recognize that the British were a different, more organized, and far more threatening sort of European.
After the second Anglo-Burmese war (1852) the British annexed lower Burma, including Rangoon, with its ideologically important center of the Shwedagon Paya. King Mindon Min, shortly after deposing his older brother in order to bring the hostilities to an end and avoid the Kingdom's total ruination, decided to build an entirely new city, and move his capital there from nearby Amarapura. Thus Mandalay, though a center of Buddhism (consciously made so by Mindon to make up the loss of the Shwedagon) has a paucity off "ancient" things to see. It is about as modern a city as Rangoon, and is second only to Rangoon in population.
Sorry if I dwell overmuch on the details, let us have some pictures!
Zegye Market, Central Mandalay
Protestant Cathedral of Mandalay, from the roof of the Sabai Phyu
We got a hotel a few blocks from the Central Market, the Sabai Phyu Guesthouse. It's run by a very personable Gentleman who is more than happy to help you find things, such as longyi that will fit a westerner ("you need special fat man shop" he told me).
The guest house is relatively cheap (about $10 per person), clean, and has a lovely rooftop eating area. It is located at[SIZE=-1] #58,81st St, between 25th And 26th St. Outside you might find a game of Chinlon being played. It's like volleyball, but played with a rattan sphere and your feet only.
Notice how quickly the longyi can be converted to shorts. Really amazing garment, that.
Mandalay is more useful as a base to explore the surrounding countryside than as a city in itself. It's nice, but new. It does, however, ahve a wonderful night market, and more than it's share of religious institutions, including the entire tripitaka written on giant marble slabs.
As I said before, the monasteries educate the bulk of the youth, this applies to girls as well as boys. During their training, which includes religious precepts as well as literacy, they must live as adult monks do. Every morning they travel through the city or village with a begging bowl or tray. They do not ask for goods to be placed on them, but the local people acquire merit by doing so, and their needs are provided for. These young monks and nuns are known as ko-yin.
Young nuns in the Mandalay market gathering alms
All manner of goods are available in these markets, from handicrafts, to foodstuffs, to bicycle and engine repair shops. Unlike Weinachtsmarkt type things in the west, these markets serve as one of the primary ways that the Burmese exchange goods and services. They are vibrant, and alive.
I told you Burmese Chicks were hot
As I was walking through the market, I was curiously examining some fried locusts for sale with my typical demeanor, which is half detached irony and the other half pompousness, when I was approached by a rather distinguished looking gentleman who spoke perfect english. Better english, in fact, than certain of my relatives who shall remain unnamed. He told me that I ought to partake of the locusts, as they were only available during this short season.
When I attempted to demure, he said "Do you eat these in your country"
"No," I said, "we don't have these insects in my country."
"well, then don't tell me that you are going to come all the way to Myanmar, and miss an opportunity such as this to sample this fine dish."
Seriously, despite the fact that this gentleman was speaking the Queen's English far better even than I could, I recognize what we call in Tennessee a Triple Dog Dare when I hear one. I had to do it in order to save face. The man knew it, the crowd knew it, and they all grinned, waiting for me to force down the locust, which I inevitably did.
The Author gains enormous face
Laughing heartily, and genuinely pleased that I appeared to like the locusts, (I'm not a terrible actor) the man bought me an entire bag of these delicacies.
As I said before, there are few folks that are desitute in Burma (at least in the parts we are allowed to see); but it was then I met the closest thing to a homeless man that I saw in that country- The market crazy guy. But he was crazy only in the sense that you can be in a country with good weather where people are generally nice to you and you always have enough to eat- only mildly so. I took the opportunity to gain great merit by performing an action in accordance with the eightfold path, and give spontaneous alms to this unfortunate man in the form of a bag of fried locusts slipped[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] serriptitiously into his hand.
the Author gains great Merit
It's only now that I review this photo that I realize his shirt says "Big Johnson... every member has his place." I wonder where that came from?
As we wandered around the market, I began to feel it a bit odd that everyone was staring at me- and I mean everyone. I figured it couldn't be because of my foreign origin, Mandalay is far from a backwater and although they they don't get many visitors, they get a decent amount. Additionally, my wife was equally as foreign as me, and a great deal better looking to boot. Why weren't they staring at her?
After a while it dawned on me that it was because I was wearing shorts;
1- Burmese people find showing the legs to be a bit, well, shocking. They are actually quite conservative in these matters, and both male and female Longyi go all the way to the ankle. Bare arms are fine, bare legs- unseemly.
2- My lower legs are quite hairy, which is wierd to the burmese as they are generally not hairy in the slightest. I would imagine very few of them have to shave at all until they are quite advanced in age. My hair is also so white as to be almost invisible.
3- I am the whitest of all white men, with an albedo matched only by the surface of certain moons. As one of my friends put it, I am an outrageous example of cegenation. I don't believe that legs as pale as mine had been seen in mandalay in living memory.
This was getting rather irritating, so I decided to take my host's offer of help in finding a Fat Man Shop. So my wife and I flaged down a trishaw, and off we went. The Trishaw is sort of the Burmese version of the rickshaw or pedicab, as one might find in New York or Macau, except that here it is a serious mode of transport rather than a tourist attraction.
The Trishaw carries two passengers sitting back to back, in addition to the driver.
The trishaw driver explained, dissapointed, that our destination was only a few blocks away. He offered to take us anyway- when we declined, he said (in very good english) that he wouldn't charge us.
Now normally this is where my antenna go up. Free ride, my friend, just a little stop by my uncle's shop. anyone who has travelled anywhere from the Levant to China has heard this before. But they guy was sooo nice...
Actually, he was nice, he drove us slowly to our destination all of 400 ft. away, chatting about where we were from, etc. and then dropped us off. He chatted for a few more minutes, and he took off without payment. When I tried to give him some anyway, he absolutely refused.
I encountered this over and over again in Burma. I don't know what the root causes are- perhaps its the fact that there aren't enough tourists to support an industry or business method devoted to ripping them off, perhaps the Burmese are genuinely nicer folks than average, but all along our trip we experienced nothing but kindness from strangers.
Getting out of the City
We had set our sights on visiting two locations relatively near Mandalay- Amarapura and Mingun. so we set out to see Amarapura, the capitol that Mindon Min had abandoned in order to move to Mandalay.
Kids on bikes bid us a goodbye, and a safe return to Mandalay
Part VII- Amarapura
We caught a "minibus" a few blocks from our hotel, near the zegye market. Minibuses in Burma are actually converted pickup trucks with a covering over the bed and benches inside. On the back is a platform, as there is on the top, and iron bars are welded to the sides. The market was the beginning point of the minibus to Amarapura, and we discovered that it would cost us about $0.30 to get there. The minibus at that point being empty, we comfortably settled inside and prepared for a quick journey to amarapura.
A mini-bus, rather lightly peopled, like the one to Amarapura
As the truck began to move further and further down its route, it began to get more and more full. Soon I discovered the reason for the platforms ont he back. When women would alight, men would move towards the rear, then onto the platform, then on to the roof, and finally, start clinging to the iron bars attached to the sides. By the time we reached our destination, I counted how many people were on the pick up truck, includign myself and the driver- 42. I shudder to think what a Burmese traffic accident looks like. At one point I was standing on the back platform with the tips of my toes, my arms encompassing not one, but two other burmese men in my embrace in order to hold onto an iron bar and thus steady myself. This is how one gets about medium distances in Burma.
Amarapura showed little of the glory of what it had once been. Royal palaces were constructed of teak, and then broken apart and moved when the capital moved. Only the pagodas were permanent.
We were attempting also to find a village called Inwa, but our pidgin english directions only got us to a strange sort of fort, where we were supposed to catch some sort of ferry. We saw no ferry, but quite a bit of snaky grass. And, as snakes in Burma are no joke, And I had a skirt and sandals on, we decided to head directly towards Amarapura and give up on Inwa. Good thing that we did, becuase we almost didn't make it to the famous bridge.
Thebyedan Fortress and Snake Pit
The fort was built right before the 3rd Anglo-Burmese war, to keep the British out of Mandalay. It didn't work.
In Amarapura, a counciler to King Mindon Min had decided to put some of the teak of the royal palace to good use, and constructed U Bein's bridge (named after himself, of course). It is the world's longest teak bridge, at 1.2 kilometers.
U Bein's teak bridge
At dusk, hundreds of people cross it on their way across the river and lake at the end of the day. I was fortunate enough to be there at dusk, for some lovely shots.
Temple and Fisherman, Amarapura
The lake at Amarapura is a popular spot for fisherman, and many of them were just returning from the days work, so it was a hive of activity near the river.
These two girls are wearing traditional Burmese make-up, it is made from ground up tree bark, and serves as both moisturizer and sun screen.
Cylist crosses the Bridge
The ligth began to change dramatically within 10 minutes of arriving. I had feared we would miss sunset, and we were close. For those who wish to travel here, I would suggest leaving plenty of additional time, because there is only about 15 minutes or so of perfect light (Ahh, perfect light, what we all seek!).
Returning Fisherman
I would like to close with one of my favorite shots from Amarapura, from all Burma, and indeed from my entire Asia Trip:
Pescador e Ponte
Later this week- A trip down the Irrawaddy, Mingun, and (Jewel in the Crown) Bagan.
P.S. Could one of the mods change the title of this travelogue from "Sout East Asia" to "South East Asia"? I am afraid I am a horrible speller.
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SmugMug Technical Account Manager
Travel = good. Woo, shooting!
nickwphoto
I planned the trip about 8 months in advance, so I pretty much knew where I was going to go, and read about everything I could get my hands on abotu Burma in English (which wasn't much). Over there I bought a copy of "The Burman" by Shwe Yoe (some english guy's psuedonymical book about Burmese culture from the early 1900s) and it was great. But I do occasionally hit the books again to remember stuff like dates.
May be you were followed all the time by secret agents ...
Let me tell you that driving in Portugal is nothing compared to Sry Lanca's.:):
There, it is absolutelly crazy !
You had a lot of work with this diary because you tell the History of the country.
Very good work.
Is locust sea food ?
I looked in the available diccionary and could not find the translation ...
I have not eaten that. !
But I remember that my wife had left the reading glasses home and she bought a pair in the street, which were good enought for the travel.
Great job. Good photos. Good testemony.
And ... where is the next one ?
gafanhoto = locust = thank you
I learned grasshopper for gafanhoto.
Ed
http://www.dogshome.org.au/
You are amazing ...
Nice week end.
The time had come to leave Mandalay and head towards the last of our major destinations in Burma; Bagan, a city a few hundred kilometers south west of Mandalay which also lies ion the Irrawaddy (now named the Ayeyerwady) river. The Irrawady river starts in the extreme north of Burma, in Kachin state, and flows south by southwest to its nine armed delta in the Vicinity of Rangoon, where it empties into the Andaman Sea.
It is asia's longest undammed river, at 2170 km (1350 miles) and It is navigable by steamers to Bhamo (c.650 mi/1,050 km upstream) and by launches up to Myitkyina. (1300 km).
One of the most interesting ways of travelling upon the Irrawaddy is to take an old IFC (Irrawaddy Flotilla Company) steamer The Steam boats have all been converted to diesel, but look much the same as they did before the war.
Here is the plate I did for my photo book with the logo of the IFC and a little bit of info:
November is the end of the wet season, so the river was relatively high. During the dry season it is not unkown for boats to be stranded for several days upon a sandbar, so river travel in the summer months is not recommended. (there ain't no coast guard to pull you off the bar.)
We caught a taxi from our hotel near the Market to the port. From here one can can catch ships north towards Mykitkina, or south towards Rangoon.
The Port of Mandalay
The Irrawaddy is broad, but shallow.
There are very little in the way of wharves or docks outside of Rangoon, but as most of the boats have a draft of less than three feet (one meter) loading is not a problem. A plank or gangway is simply extended to the bank, and goods and people come aboard.
The Port itself is a hive of activity, with goods beign delivered in crafts large and small, fishermen, traders, etc. But, as I said, there are no obvious docks. Of course, we were obviosu foreigners, so someone was bound to point us in the right direction eventually. When we first arrived for the boat to Mingun, I was convinced we were in the wrong place. But eventualy some folks led us to a hut, where we bought tickets, gave them
our passport numbers and info (lest we were lost at sea) and boarded a small launch to Mingun.
Burmese Woman with Turban "poling" a boat
The boats were something like this:
Short Hual Irrawaddy Launch
The Irrawaddy is relatively free of dangerous marine life.
Burmses cooling off in the river
While travelling upon the river, its interesting to not the large volume of commercial traffic- not surprising for a country where roads are few and in poor condition, and rail is (at best) unreliable.
Boat transporting Teak to the Markets in Rangoon
What's amazing, not only about the boats but about the whole country, is the prevalance of teak. They build everything out of it- boats, furnitures, buildings, its a terribly common wood here. It's strange to see a huge cargo boat go sailing past you on the river, observe the economic station of the pilots, and then think how much they could get for the boat if the sailed it all the way to New York, broke it up, and sold it for the wood. Teak in the US is dreadfully expensive, and hard to find for any price. In burma, its just wood.
Old IFC steamer (diesel conversion) docking at Mingun
Mingun
Mingun is one of a plethora of ex-royal capitals that are now sleepy villages. Currently I think it contains 1500-200 inhabitants, but was once the site of the greatest construction project in Asia- the Mingun Stupa (incomplete).
Woman washing clothes in the river, Mingun
The trip to mingun is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Mandalay, an easy day trip- tickets to and back are about 6-8 USD per person. There is no accomodation in Mingun, so one must either returnt o Mandalay, or attempt to catch a boat to Sagaing. Boats other than launches to Mandalay are few and far between, however. It's better to return to Mandalay and then catch a boat to your next destination (as we did). Mingun is inaccesible by roadso if you miss the last boat, be prepared to camp out.
The first thing one encounters after the ladies greeting the boat at the shore are the lions that gurad the entrance to the Paya complex.
the great Stupa is relatively close to the shore, just inland from the lions. On the way one encounters the architectural model that was used as a guide in construction.
The construction of this stupa was begun in 1790 by King Bodawpaya, and had it been completed, it owuld have stood at 150 meters tall, the tallest in the world. Recall that the Shwedagon is 98 meters, and the worlds tallest stupa in Ayuthaya is 127 meters (although its not nearly as nice as shwedagon). What remains today is only the base of the stupa, all that was ever completed before it was struck by a massive earthquake int he 1800s.
the remaining base of the Mingun Stupa
To get some idea of the scale, compare the size of the people in the doorway to the size of the base, and then imagine if it had been completed to the same dimensions as the model. Unfortunately, Kign Bodawpaya ignored two implacable forces; earthquakes and the British. The dream of the tallest Stupa barely outlasted King Bodawpaya.
Human figures betokent he scale of the Mingun stupa base
The stupa can be climberd, and affords an excellent view of the Irrawaddy river and the surrounding countryside.
King Bodawpaya also had a massive bell cast for the complex (this guy thought big). At 90 tons, it is the worlds largest uncracked bell, and still resonates with a clear and vibrant tone. This is likely the example of the highest level of development of traditional bronzecasting in human history. Apparently the Great Bell of Dhammazedi was bigger (300 tons) but was lost in 1608 when the Portuguese Adventurer Jose de Brito lost it in the Irrawaddy in 1608, attempting to remove it from a temple he had sacked.
King Bodawpaya's Bell at Mingun
A bit down the road from the Mingun Stupa is the Myathein Paya. Built in 1816 by Bodawpaya's succesor, King Bagyidaw, in honor of hist belvoed wife, it represents the buddhist vision of a cosmology centered around <t. Meru. The seven terraces represent the seven mountain ranges around Mt. Meru. Mt. Meru is believed to be the symbolic center of the world and the home, in Hindu mythology, of Brahma. North Korean media states that the Fruit trees on Mt. Meru bloomed at the hour of Kim Jong Il's birth, despite the fact that it was winter. The news agencies declined, however, to give a physical location for Mt. Meru. The Paya was damaged by an earthquake, but restored by King Mindon Min.
the village of Mingun does not have a large population, but is religiously important, so there are more than a few monks around. Some of thema re quite young.
Happy young Ko-Yin at Mingun
The village itself basically lives off tourists, a few of whom are western and the bulk of whome are burmese pilgrims. One can wander freely about the village, and the locals are quite friendly. There are a number of places serving cheap but good curries between the ship landing (great stupa) and the village.
Burmese Kids playing a game with rules obscure to me
Horse Cart drivers and porters waiting for work
We returned to Mandalay in order to catch the boat to Bagan the next morning. There are onyl two or three a week, so we didn't want to miss it. The boat leaves well before morning light, and it gets loaded with freight and passangers. Some folks were selling the only live monkeys I saw in Burma at the docks at 4 AM. Off point, but I love monkeys. It was tood ark for a picture, and a flash in the face of monkeys could have drastic consequences, so you will have to picture it in your head.
It got light after a few hours on the river, and the full panoply of river life became apparent. Most of the villages on the river were accesible onyl by boat, and quite small.
Riverside village somewhere between Mandalay and Bagan
Other cities are more substantial.
No idea where this is. It's in Burma.
The Irrawady at this time of year is calm and placid, as it is almot all the time. It floods, but the floods are seasonal, and relatively regular. OVerall it is a kind and benevolent member of the local ecosystem.
The Boat contained just about every tourist in Upper Burma. There must have been 20 of us. At this point it was nice to speak english to some folks other than my wife. So we hung out, photographed in the wonderful life, drank some Tiger Beer (Brand name, not actually made from tigers, bit if this were china...) and occasionally used our own private bathroom.
I don't know if I should be insulted, or the Burmese Should
The boat occasionally stopped to pick up and disgorge passengers and freight, and there were impromptu mini-markets at each one of these moments, like here in Pakoku:
The variety of river transport was amazing, from nice Tatmadaw party barges (very rare) to sial craft, diesel, I think some steam, polecraft, rowing powered vessels, everything imaginable. I will close with some boat shots:
Sail Power
Boats in Drydock
One of my favorite boat shots
Finally, around 3 pm we reached our destination, Bagan, capitol of the first great Burmese Empire, home of over 2500 abandoned or semi-abandoned religious structures; Burma's answer to Angkor Wat.
Next Post: Bagan and the conclusion of our Journey.
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