Burma: First Look

I cannot get my recent trip to Burma out of my mind. I want to savor everything I saw, everything I did, and keep this wonderful, tragic country close to my heart. The wonderful Burmese people manage to live in a country run by brutal and controlling dictators (over 40 generals) because they have HOPE. Please take a few minutes to refresh your memory about Burma (renamed "Myanmar" by the military government) in this article by Canadian Friends of Burma.

Our hotel in Rangoon. 

We were surprised that our hotel in Rangoon wasn't the one listed on our itinerary. We were told that the original hotel was purchased by a son-in-law of one of the generals and therefore was blacklisted by the American Embassy.

Street in downtown Rangoon.

This is one of my favorite photos—an old British colonial building reflected in a modern structure that is most likely a shopping mall funded by the Chinese. The sidewalks are broken and uneven making it very difficult to walk and look at the same time. Vendors selling food and supplies cover most of the sidewalk anyway.

Apartment dwellings. Many do not have elevators.

Read about Burma before arriving. Books sold are well worn and controversial books are banned,

Phones for the average Burmese resident.

Typist for hire: letters home or help with endless government forms?

And yet, we see these satellite dishes on some apartments.

Only the very wealthy could afford these satellite dishes and the hefty government fees that would accompany their installation. People can go to tea shops that have these dishes and listen to international stations—the best from Thailand where signals are good. On the street in Mandalay I met a poor but dignified elderly gentlemen. He asked,

"Where are you from?"

"California, you know of California?"

"Yes. Obama."

"You've heard of President Obama!"

"Yes, He number one."

I was amazed. I could not remember the name of their head general (Than Shwe) and had a really hard time pronouncing the name of The Opposition Lady (Aung San Suu Kyi) and I realized that he might know more about America than I know about Burma. I'm working on that. But this isn't the end of the story. I repeated the conversation to my husband when we got on the bus. A fellow traveler remarked that "We don't all feel that way". She missed the point but isn't it nice that Americans feel free to speak their mind?

Moat around the last Royal Palace of the Last Burmese monarch, Mandalay. Now a military compound.

 Mandalay is considered the economic and cultural heart of Burma. The Chinese can buy Burmese citizenship and the influx of Chinese into Mandalay (30-40%) has pushed the Burmese population to the outskirts of the city.

Rangoon. Young worker sandblasts alabaster statues all day with no mask. Working conditions are heart-breaking.

Bagan. General's House (I surmised) in the midst of thousands of sacred stupas. The palace and grounds are vast.

The area of Bagan was my favorite in Burma. Nestled on the banks of the Irrawaddy River this complex of thousands of stupas built from the 11th to 13th century are unlike anything I've ever seen. UNESCO was prepared to designate the area as a World Heritage Site but the military junta was randomly carrying on restorations with no regard for authenticity and the golf courses, major highways, and modern structures (see photo above) must have been the final straw. These stupas are falling apart and much of the beautiful artwork is not being preserved.

Walking to the noon meal. Mandalay.

Universities were shut down most of the 1990's because of fear of another uprising. To prevent students from congregating, the government has dispersed the existing institutions and departments that make up Yangon University into separate learning institutions scattered throughout the city. The university is also closed at irregular intervals by the government. Monasteries are still able to manage educating younger girls and boys.
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