Myanmar, so near yet so far.

cloud cover over Yangon

A rainy, misty morning welcomed us to Myanmar as we landed at the Yangon International Airport. Collected by a plump taxi-driver wearing traditional longyi and a button-down shirt, we rode in his mid-80s Toyota, typical transport for Burma, for nearly one hour in morning traffic to reach the Beautyland II hotel downtown. On the way the driver pointed out many sites such as Yangon University, Shwedagon Pagoda, and former government buildings imploring us “no photo here, be careful.”

At the hotel, more men in traditional longyi skirts greeted us with big smiles and tremendous hospitality. The rooms were sparse and simple, yet expensive compared to Thai standards, but the friendliness of the all-male staff made up for this. We spent 5 nights here and the staff helped us with advice on how to avoid being cheated by the streetside money changers as well as arranging a tour of nearby historical site, Bago, and cooking us daily breakfast.

novice nuns collecting alms

One week is too short to take in all that Burma has on display, but it’s long enough to get a sense of place if you are willing to stay local. Myanmar, known by many as Burma, has been under the rule of a dictatorial military junta for many years, and even though there is an “election” coming up in November, it doesn’t seem as if the government will change hands anytime soon. Brooke and I wrestled with this problem a bit but finally decided it’s better to go than not. We were really glad that we did. Not only were the Buddhist temples astonishingly beautiful and very different from Thai temples, but the people were beautiful as well. Once they overcame their initial shyness, they were very happy to speak with us about all manners of life from learning English to traditional Burmese makeup, weather, food, American pop music and even disenchantment with the government.

English class in Yangon

Throughout the week we visited the main temples with images of the Buddha seated, standing and reclining, as well as many with neon lights flashing behind his head. We bargained for jade at the black market, sampled local food, viewed the city from the 20th floor of the Sakura Tower, enjoyed tea Burmese style with another American, splurged for high tea at the Strand Hotel (an impressive British colonial hangout), walked the uneven streets, drank the local beers, jogged around Kandawgyi Lake, visited three meditation centers, and got lost on more than one occasion. But the highlight of this trip for me was the people themselves.

At Shwedagon Paya on our second day, we met a monk. Ashin wanted to practice English with us, so we chatted for a few minutes on the steps. After telling him where we were headed next, he said he’d come along to help. So the three of us walked to a lovely lakeside restaurant, then Ashin helped us find two bookstores, and after he asked us if we would mind going to his English language school to be introduced to his classmates, friends and teachers. This was an English school like no other. Picture a large room with several benches laid out, enough to hold a few hundred students. There are 2 open walls, and attached to a third wall is a bustling tea shop filled with students hanging around before or after class. When we showed up with the monk, we were treated like royalty. The girls immediately put traditional Burmese makeup, tanaka, on Brooke’s face and wanted to know all about us. After a couple hours of introducing ourselves and exchanging email addresses with a few students, we went to one last temple for the day. This temple houses a reclining Buddha with open eyes, made of black glass, which seem to stare down anyone who walks in. Brooke found it scary, but I thought it was awesome. We ended our evening with the monk at this point, and we sent him back to his monastery in a taxi.

The next day we me with a lovely student who had attended Payap University in Chiangmai, and she and her aunt prepared were prepared to drive us around to see a few temples and meditation centers. After visiting one temple and having a nice chat, we had the unfortunate bad luck to get in a small car accident where a bus who had crept out too far into an intersection reversed into our car! At this point, we were excused by our hosts as they said it would take most of the day to sort this out. Brooke and I felt awful that this had to happen to them while they were taking us around, and we hope that the bus owner agreed to pay for the damages. We were just getting acquainted with these two lovely locals and I hope we can meet again sometime.

On Saturday, Ashin and company invited us back to the English Language School as they were celebrating the Full Moon Festival with a concert to honor their “great and wonderful teacher.” We arrived to the sight of our smiling monk friend who ushered us into the teashop and gave us tea and a light lunch. The benches had been removed from the English classroom and there were a couple hundred anxious fans waiting for the music to begin. A 16-year old English student decorated both of our faces with tanaka and another young girl showed us the proper way to eat watermelon seeds. Soon enough, the sounds of Joe Satriani, a famous American guitar player, resounded from the stage. A young bunch of talented Burmese were kicking off the show with a song by one of my favorite musicians! I would have expected Hotel California or Scorpions but never Joe Satriani. One by one guest singers joined the stage, all students or friends of students, and excited young people presented them with flowers. We were asked to do the same but kindly refused. It was like a real concert without the actual professional musicians, and they were all really good!

temple in Bago

After a couple hours at the concert, we went to visit Inya Lake, the home of famous democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for two decades. We couldn’t see her house, but Ashin assured us it was there, and we walked back and forth on the beautifully landscaped sidewalk at the lake’s edge, catching glimpses of Burmese lovers as they huddled close on benches and under umbrellas. A few eager students from another English school chatted to us and had a laugh, and many stares rested on our faces. “Look at those two foreigners walking around with the monk!” We rested with another cup of tea, and Ashin expressed his concern over the state of affairs in Burma, then we headed off in separate directions.

Brooke and I returned to Thailand with a new understanding of Burma, happy to have met such lovely people but concerned about the future. Will there be positive change in this place? I don’t claim to be a social activist and certainly understand less than many about Burma, but this trip has inspired me to think more critically about travel and its implications for the local people, and travelers’ responsibilities in the countries we visit. As well, I’ve been encouraged to interact more with the locals and to stray further afield from the tourist path. I never know what kind of people I may meet and what stories I’ll be able to tell.

quiet couple

As always, enjoy more photos here.

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