Myanmar and the kissy noise

"Don't go to Myanmar. The government is corrupt. By traveling there, you'll give the government your money. The whole country is oppressed!" This is what we were told, and more, before we visited the country 47 million Burmese call home. You can't properly write a blog about Myanmar without talking about its recent history and history isn't everyone's favourite bedtime subject, so I'll try to keep it brief.

English colonial rule in Burma officially ended in 1948 after a fearless general Aung San almost single-handedly recruited and commandeered a Japanese trained Burmese independence army. Sadly, this national hero saw none of independent rule as he was gunned down along with 6 of his cabinet members by dissident party members just months before Independence came into effect. Following this, two coup d'etats ushered in fairly self-serving governments which were known mainly for their economic mismanagement. In 1988, the ruling government declared martial law to crush political protests and demands for democracy.

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years. The National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats. However, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) refused to relinquish power. Instead they put her, the daughter of the national hero Aung San, under house arrest. She has now spent 10 of the last 16 years under house arrest. This woman has dedicated her life to democracy in Myanmar and is the only Nobel Peace prize winner ever to receive her award while under house arrest. For her 62nd birthday the military junta gave her an extension of her arrest for another 12 months. Recent attempts from the UN, ASEAN, International Red Cross and others to have political prisoners released have been flatly ignored.

Government run television airs happy farmers claiming there is no forced labour in their village, while the newspapers run articles denying the ridiculous accusations that the SLORC is guilty of the human rights violations. Put plainly, the country is stifled by a poorly organized barbaric government that puts money in their pocket before it gives the most basic of services to its people.

That being said, there are lots of ways to enjoy traveling in Myanmar, meet locals and give your tourist money directly to them. Guidebooks list government run business with an exclamation mark and offer plenty of alternatives including privately owned airlines. We weighed the pros and cons and, if you're reading this blog, you already know how it turned out.

We have been traveling now for almost 11 months, so we were counting down the days before we got to meet 4 of our friends from Montreal. Dave, Jonathan, Jon and Etienne somehow coordinated their lives to meet up with us for a Myanmar adventure of sorts. It went a little something like this...

After meeting up with the boys in Yangon, we strolled our way across town to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda. If you were to imagine the largest golden buddhist temple, then add 10 or so smaller temples surounding it in a sort of Disney Land fashion, you'd have a bit of an idea. It's by far the most glamourous of temples we've seen to date and, from what we observed, it's very well cared for. While we were there, mopping teams of 30 people cleaned the tile floors by pushing a 45 foot mop on cue from their mop drill sergeant. Not your every day occurrance.

After eating in a few restaurants we realized that a now familiar sound kept being used to call the waiter's attention. It's the kissy noise you'd normally use to call your cat or dog. Given its usual Western usage, I was hesitant to make the noise at first. But when I realized that it's like an instant effortless 1-way pager to the closest waiter and they consider it completely normal, I used it en masse. I thought it was fantastic! Maybe I'll try to bring that culture to North American restaurants... or... maybe not.

We decided to take the bus up to Mandalay knowing it would only be a "short" 14 hour ride. As we quickly learned, travel by road frequently involves road side repairs. We stopped to help another bus change a tire using some make shift tools and a flashlight. Three quick hours later we were back on the road.

In Mandalay, we saw the theatrical group "The Moustache Brothers". They can only be described as comic stuntmen. In a country ruled by a harsh military junta, these comedians openly ridicule and chide their government using skits and English hand held signs. In 1996, two family members, U Lu Zaw and Par Par Lay were sentenced to seven years hard labour for voicing their right for freedom of speech against a corrupt governmnet. It was inspiring to see people who risk so much despite being burned in the past.

It's a little known fact that more tourists shave their head in Mandalay than any other major city in central Myanmar. In the short time we were there, Jon, Dave and Etienne all shaved their heads. We even met the famous Burmese actor, Duay, took his photo, and chatted with him at length. He tolerated our fussing over him surprisingly well. It was only after he left the shop that the barber told us he's not even an actor. Just a local guy in for a cut and thought he'd pull a fast one. Nicely done!

There are certain advantages to traveling in a group. Often you can save money by hiring a shared private taxi. The idea behind this is that you are more comfortable and you get to your destination faster than by bus. Jon negotiated the price like a seasoned vet and we were ready for the easy 6-7 hour ride down to Inle Lake.

Our expectations were still high as we realized that shared private taxi in Myanmar really means flat bed pick up. Still, we were up-beat singing songs and playing games to pass the time. Until the muffler fell off. After a quick 1-hour stop to weld it back on we were on our way... until of course, we got a flat tire. In their defense, it had been at least 45 minutes since the muffler repair. They were nice enough to stop at possibly the most scenic spot on our trip to change the tire. Then, after a leisurely dinner we were on the road again, that is until we had a second flat. We were understanding about the muffler and we laughed off the first flat, but after 9 hours of sharing a flat bed with 5 other Canadians, when they told us they forgot the tire iron at the last repair site 4 hours back, we kind of got a bit grumpy. Still the Canadian politeness in us shone through. We smiled while we watched our driver walk off into the night to see if he could wake someone up to borrow a tire iron. We finally lost our patience when he walked back and realized that the tool he borrowed was the wrong size. 13 hours after we left Mandalay, we finished our "6-7 hour" shared taxi. We also agreed that the $68 dollar, 1 hour flight to Yangon would be a better bet than another shared taxi.

Inle lake was beautiful and, I would imagine, very touristed in the high season. As usual, we saw very few westerners. We even got a tour of a local monastery where preperations were being made to feed 1500 monks during their exam period. The amount of food being cooked was truly jaw dropping. We did a boat tour of the lake and saw the long neck women of the Padaung tribe. Their brass rings weigh 7 Kgs. I put it on my head just to feel the weight and was happy to have it off after only a few seconds. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We also rented bikes but to no ones surprise, Jo got a flat tire. So the boys played a game of volleyball with the locals while we got the tire fixed. The boys were sweating it out, as these locals were no chumps. They spiked the ball like pros and made the Canadians look like amateurs. All in good fun. It's not every day you get to play sports with 15 new Burmese friends.

We spent a quick couple of nights at the South West beach resort town of Chaung Tha where middle income Burmese come to play. It's monsoon season, so it rained heavily, the water was chocolate milk brown and we were just about the only tourists in town. We had a blast. We made quick friends with a French couple that has relocated to Myanmar, the Garric family. They invited the six of us to their home and treated us to a delicious meal of devilled eggs, real Italian pasta, large chunks of savory boneless pork (it's nearly impossible to get proper meat in South East Asia) and fresh crepes for dessert. We were spoiled. We even met their pet owl "Lucky" (read as lookie with a heavy french accent).

With only a couple of days left, we took the bus back to Yangon, took care of some last minute souvenir buying at the massive Aung San market and said good bye to our friends. It felt like the time just flew by. Jonathan headed back to Canada while Etienne, Jon and Dave embarked on a courageous cycling trip to Bangladesh and India. Bon courage mes amis!

Jo and I decided to head back up to Bagan, city of temples. It's a well known destination as it contains over 4000 temples and pagodas. Once again we had the feeling as though we stepped back in time. Being pulled around dirt pathways by horse and buggy, we visited temples over 1000 years old. While the temples made the trip well worthwhile, the real gem for us was a local artist who owned a shop called "Creative Arts". This particular artist,Yawn a than, many years ago read the book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (by Richard Bach - highly recommended) while he was still in school. He was so taken by this story about a bird who thinks differently, flies differently and stands out from the rest, that he changed his name to a Burmese version of Jonathan. He truly personifies the main character in that he has made a living out of exquisite bottle paintings and modern Burmese painting that stands out from any other shop. In a country where the military regime forced farmers off the land they tilled for centuries and gave them a choice of learning only wood carving, weaving or laquer work, this self taught artist followed his dreams and made a name for himself. A name that signifies idividuality, creativity and freedom of expression.

Myanmar's government is corrupt. They are lining their pockets while their citizens are deprived of essential services. Their economy is choked and their streets and sidewalks are shattered. Yet the people in this country will smile it off, do years of hard labour and even devote the better part of their free lives to confinment to stand up for a freely elected government of their choosing. As one Burmese told me, change is just a matter of time. We say, travel to Myanmar. Read about their history and meet the people who will be responsible for the freedom of her future. They will welcome you with open arms.