Our last seven days were planned for Myanmar (formerly Burma). Not really sure what we were getting ourselves in for, with tourist taxes/visas on a city basis and quite on the pricy side, we said we would just see the most of what we could and probably never be back in this country again.
We landed to Asia at its most raw. Concrete houses, western clothing and coffee shops are the exception. Myanmar is like all other Asian countries before tourism and Western commercialisation took a hold of them. That’s what we thought anyway – there were some surprises though! First stop, Yangon, formely Rangoon!
The first thing we noticed was all the men wearing skirts. A longyi is the official name of it. It’s not for religious reasons or anything but rather just because that’s what they are accustomed to wearing. Boiling hot and everyone is wearing them down to their toes. They are typically plaid style and we saw some of them hiking them up when they were playing a bit of football on the street together. Also, the yellow cream everyone had smeared across their faces. Like war paint it looked. Men, women, babies all wearing it. Not rubbed in, some a bit more than others, some with the appearance of cracking. Asking our taxi man, it is officially called Tanaka and the locals consider it the best form of anti-acne and smooth skin insurance! I purchased some for myself of course :D:D
We headed first for some Myanmar munch in the Rangoon Tea House. Reading that Myanmar is low on hygiene purposes and general differences in cooking standards etc, we decided on a Westernised version of Myanmar food. What a treat!
We ordered the typical dishes and they were all wonderful! Tea leaf salad, Malay fish curry and Monghi. Tea leaf salad is delicious! Basically green tea leaves soaked in oil and water served on a bed of shreded cabbage, peanuts, roasted broad beans and tomatoes. So random but delicious. It’s on every menu in Myanmar so was good to try the censored version firstly!
Same for Monghi. Offered everywhere, I had read it can range from extra fishy to spiciness off the radar. It basically is a bothy soup made from four types of fish. Some onions or veg in it then too and noodles. The fish curry was mild enough but that’s standard for Myanmar. Tomato based and not as saucy. More of a dry curry. The Rangoon Tea house was supposed to be for the more opulent. But we got everything still for 9 euro!
The price wasn’t surprising though considering the extent of poverty evident everywhere. However, despite the people not having much, the streets are clean and there doesn’t seem to be as much chaos and rubbish as say poor areas in India. So Myanmar was off to a flying start!
We hopped on the Circle Line for a glance at the local life. The train was built by the Brits over one hundred and fifty years ago and it’s a miracle the thing still runs at all. Like a battered washing machine chugging along at a pace of 4 km/hr, we stayed on for a few stops anyway. It’s really old style. No steps up to it to get on. You just jump on and jump off. No announcements. Just get off when you like. The stops are merely just on the train line. No big signs or gates of entry/exit points. It’s gas!
We looped back downtown and got some pictures at the Sula Paya temple complex. More famous for its geographical positioning right in the middle of the grid system which the Brits introduced.
Yangon is brilliantly planned. All streets following a chronological numbering and link perfectly (28th goes to 29th street, goes to 30th street, being linked perpendicularly by 82nd, 83rd street etc etc). So the Sula Paya is the focal point to which all the streets link together. But of course the Sula Paya is a spectacular temple also. It’s gold chedi stretches into the skyline from far afield. It’s surrounded by Yangon’s busiest roundabout obviously but within the temple complex, there are the beautiful Buddha statues, gold everything and ornate everything. A nice place to admire.
We just walked along the main streets then, as far as the old home of the British ministry. And of course where the Myanmar government sat prior to moving it all to their newly formed capital in central Myanmar. The British ruled Myanmar from the late 1880s to the late 1940s.
Despite the building being empty and gated off today, it still sits as a massive structure amidst the poor of Yangon city. Painted a brilliant red, it stands out but there’s a haunting feel to the place I thought. It was where Aung San (leader who brought the country to Independence and the father of infamous Aung San Tsung Si, the current leader of the country) was shot dead along with other great leaders just as Independence was coming for Myanmar (1948). I think with the struggle for freedom and against corruption and a military government rule, the place is associated with gloom and more difficult times. Yes, the Brits gave Myanmar up and the country was “free” from 1948 however it had a lot of catching up to do and so many differing views on how the country should be run, from the early 1960s to very recent times, the country has really been at war with itself – Maybe when a few more years have passed, the building will be opened up and become more of a tourist spot.
We stopped for quick bit of Myanmar tea (well it is famous for it!). Starting to become accustomed to the excessive fussing over us, the wait staff (about 10 boys – I say boys maybe they were in their 20’s but they are all just so tiny and skinny and their faces are not hard but soft and friendly they seem like kids to me! – manned about 10 tables and it was a locals place) almost fell over each other trying to get us what we wanted! So cute like and so over staffed of course!
The tea is like Indian Masala tea, without the spices. Sweetened and delicious! Green tea in pots were served complimentary then (this is standard in all tea houses of Myanmar). The place was called Lucky Seven. One of a chain of local tea houses the locals go to which is basically like the equivalent to O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar to us.
We walked to the Independence Monument in the park and were almost a spectacle ourselves. Stopped by two people in the small little green area approaching the monument. All the locals were out just sitting around. Staring us out of it of course, but in a nice way. More observing how different we looked and to be fair, we hadnt seen very many other tourists so far, so it was understandable. Probably many of those people are only getting used to the feeling of being free on their streets. Sounds patronising but genuinely that was the impression we got from the few we spoke with; Encounter number one: A lovely old man with brilliant english, fluent, asks us where we are from. He knows an enormous amount about Europe, Ireland, England etc (always nice to hear someone knowing that Ireland is NOT the same country as England and we are a REPUBLIC!) I instantly liked him for obvious reasons!!
He had studied and worked in America and had kids there now and had come home because now he has time and wants to be around people who have time. A lovelyway of looking at things I thought. He made the excellent observation that people in our country have money but no time and people in Myanmar have no money but lots of time. He made a big proud gesture at his people in the park and said these people don’t have much but they have time. It was so nice his view of the world.
Next up was the young fella mob, the spokesman whom was a very impressive, outstandingly hospitable type. He told us he had majored in English in his last year of University and again seemed to know a lot about Ireland, England and Europe etc. His dream was to go to Australia to work he said. He was all talk about all the things to see and do in Yangon. He loved his country, his city. We took a few snaps but the staring and stalking was becoming too much so we legged it down towards the port area and just admired the few old buildings there.
It was gas to see the “Yangon Stock Exchange”! Everyone in push bikes and carrying things on their heads but yet there was a stock exchange with a digital automatic sign at the entrance telling if the markets were up or down; the guys outside dealing in pennies, the guys in the inside dealing in millions – the world is a mad place like!
We surveyed the different markets en route to our next stop. Markets selling books only, fruit only, Buddha statues only. The place was alive with buzz and the people were all so friendly and smily to us. It was lovely.
Next was the Shewdagon Pagoda, one of the main tourist attractions for Myanmar. It is an obviously religious place but also a historical place, the place where Buddhis monks protested from 15 years ago against the dictatorship – and where Aung San demanded independence from British rule in 1946 -and where Aung San Suu Kyii commenced a protest in the late 80s against the dictatorship. A truly flagship place for Myanmar that can tell so many stories!
And of course it is a beautifually serene place, just on the outskirts of downtown. A massive religious celebration and the place was mobbed when we were up there but still managed to retain serenity and spirituality.
The main stupa is huge. Gigantically gold and 64 surrounding mini stupas. We got some sneaky snaps of monks praying and parading around the site. You could have spent a few hours there, the intricacy of the different attractions to the site and the prettiness and colour, along with the quietness just made it a beautiful place to sit for a while.
We headed to the bus station shortly after, swallowing down some tasty Myanmar beers before boarding our night bus to Mandalay! We got them at one of the little hole in the wall eateries owned by one of the local families at the bus station. A mother, a granny and the two young sons ran around fetching and bringing out plates and beers to the masses. All smiles and friendliness despite the communication through sign language with us as none of them spoke any English. The people of Burma have won me over and its only been 24 hours! Onto Mandalay!
How do you pronounce your name? 