The guide books are wrong about Myanmar<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Peter Burgess<\/p>\n
YANGON (JP): We have all read the mocking comparisons in the
\nguide books. The flight from Bangkok to Yangon takes one hour and
\nfifty years. The time difference between Bangkok and Yangon is
\nhalf an hour and half a century.<\/p>\n
Those gibes may have been true in the past, but will soon be
\nfit only for the dustbin along with the out-of-date guide books
\nthey are printed in. Yangon's modernization is picking up speed.
\nIf you intend to see it as it was, you had better start planning
\nyour trip soon.<\/p>\n
Several airlines now serve Yangon. Bangladesh Airways (visa
\nplus airfare Bangkok-Yangon return US$180), Royal Thai Airways
\n(same arrangement for $220), and Singapore Airlines (same for
\n$240). Yangonese were recently saying that visa regulations may
\nsoon be further relaxed or even dropped altogether (visa on
\narrival), at least for ASEAN nationals, after a suggestion by
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
After reading in the guide books about all the red tape
\ninvolved in entering the country and then filling out three
\ndifferent forms during the flight, one cannot be blamed for
\nhaving butterflies upon arrival. Those butterflies soon vanish
\nthough.<\/p>\n
Passing through Immigration takes no more time than in Bangkok
\n(and the Entry Card seems to have been copied directly from the
\nThai one). The animal act immortalized in Pico Iyer's Video Night
\nin Katmandu and Other Stories from the Not-So-Far East is now a
\ntale of the past.<\/p>\n
Cameras do not have to be declared. Any electronic goods being
\nbrought in are supposed to be declared, but my Walkman was not
\neven looked at on arrival or departure. Bags are not inspected on
\narrival or departure without \"reasonable suspicion\" one is
\ncarrying something forbidden or undeclared. It is surprising that
\nelectronic goods need to be declared at all as a wide range is
\navailable all over Yangon at prices comparable to Malaysian
\nprices and cheaper than Thai or Indonesian prices.<\/p>\n
Few computers are in evidence, though, whether due to a lack
\nof need for them of a lack of training in using them. When
\nreconfirming my return ticket, the airline office clerk wrote all
\nthe information down on a piece of paper instead of typing it
\ndirectly into a computer.<\/p>\n
On arrival in Yangon one must purchase $300 of Foreign
\nExchange Certificates (FECs) which retain their US dollar
\npurchasing power, are usable at any good-sized establishment, and
\nalso are readily exchanged on the flourishing black market. Any
\nunspent FECs above the $300 minimum are readily exchanged back
\ninto US dollars upon departure.<\/p>\n
Unless one has booked into a good hotel prior to arrival and
\nare therefore being met by the hotel car, swarms of taxi drivers
\nbuzz around the exit to the terminal. There is great competition
\nto get tourists into the cab in order to negotiate FEC\/foreign
\ncurrency exchange deals, purchase anything that could be resold
\nat a profit and possibly get kickbacks from hotel\/guest house
\nmanagement. There are also some touts around the hotels and guest
\nhouses, and some of them can be very insistent, even badgering.<\/p>\n
The guide books tell you to bring bottles of Johnny Walker Red
\nLabel and cartons of 555 cigarettes. In the old days they were to
\nbribe the Immigration officials but that is unnecessary now. The
\nofficials now just filch $2 on the FEC exchange as a
\n\"commission\".<\/p>\n
Information<\/p>\n
The staff at the government run tourist agency, Myanmar Travel
\nand Tours want to be helpful, but they have only a few brochures
\nand information about the services they are trying to sell. They
\nhave little information about future transportation and disavow
\nknowledge of alternative transportation.<\/p>\n
For example, they will sell a plane ticket from Yangon Bagan
\n(Pagan)for $92 or a non-air conditioned train ticket for $27, but
\nhave little information about bus service connecting the Thazi
\ntrain station with Bagan, several hours away. They also deny all
\nknowledge of a private company called Rainbow Express at 96-98
\nPansuran St. in Yangon running air-conditioned buses twice a day
\nwith video and refreshments from Yangon to Mandalay via Thazi for
\n950 Myanmarese kyats (about $9 at the black market exchange
\nrate).<\/p>\n
It is obvious the government is having a hard time competing
\nin the free market economic transformation it began.<\/p>\n
Friendly<\/p>\n
The average people are so warm and friendly and genuinely
\nhappy to see tourists. So many people stop one to chat a bit, to
\ntouch the outside world. One small boy came up and tugged at my
\npant leg. When I looked down and said, \"Hello, how are you?\", he
\nscreamed in delight and started jumping up and down. He was so
\npleased and excited I thought he might pee his pants.<\/p>\n
Finding your way around town can sometimes be a bit confusing.
\nThe street names and numbers have been changed over the years,
\noften more than once, and a map may show one name or number, but
\nthat might not be the one that appears on the street sign or shop
\nfront.<\/p>\n
But no matter. Because of the friendliness of the people,
\nthere is a foolproof method of finding your way around. Just
\nstand on a busy sidewalk with a map in your hand looking puzzled
\nand in five or ten seconds someone will ask \"What can I do for
\nyou?\" This is not the start of a come-along to a silk store or
\ngems outlet as it would be in some other places. The people are
\nsimply being friendly, being themselves, and they mean \"Can I
\nhelp you find your way?\"<\/p>\n
There is a law that forbids Myanmarese associating with
\nforeigners, but it is seldom enforced. Nonetheless, a tour-guide
\nlicense from the government is a way for Myanmarese to legally
\nassociate with aliens. A Yangon Institute of Technology student
\ntold me \"There aren't too many jobs around in my field. With the
\n(tour guide) license I can get a job, improve my languages
\n(English and Japanese), and who knows what might turn up.\"<\/p>\n
Greetings are exchanged differently from both Thailand and
\nIndonesia. The younger person or the person of lesser status bows
\ntheir head and eyes slightly while keeping the arms relaxed by
\ntheir side. There is no waiving as in Thailand. People know about
\nshaking hands with westerners, but do not bring their hands to
\ntheir chests after shaking as the Javanese do.<\/p>\n
Most of the Indians and Chinese who have stayed on seem quite
\nintegrated into Myanmarese national culture though. One Chinese
\nteacher of English proudly told me that \"We (Chinese) speak
\nMyanmarese even at home\".<\/p>\n
Pleasant<\/p>\n
Sunday in Yangon is particularly pleasant. Unlike Bangkok or
\nJakarta where Sunday is just another shopping day, people in
\nYangon get dressed up and walk about, meet their friends, chat,
\ngo for coffee, feed the pigeons near Sule Pagoda and so on. Many
\npavement booksellers line the streets selling photocopies of
\nbooks, used originals and some new ones. Reading, along with
\nchatting and drinking coffee or tea, seems to be the major
\nMyanmarese pastime.<\/p>\n
People are unbelievably considerate. If you are taking a
\npicture, they will not walk in front of you. Most Myanmarese love
\nto have their picture taken, and some even ask you to take it
\nwithout trying to wheedle a fee afterwards, either.<\/p>\n
Yangon, the city, is just as photogenic as the people. It is a
\ncity of trees, green spaces, temples and old colonial buildings.
\nWhen looking out from Shwedagon Pagoda over Yangon, all one can
\nsee is the green of trees with the occasional golden or white
\nchedi spire sticking out. A few buildings are being torn down to
\nmake way for new developments, but hopefully developers will be
\npersuaded to retain the city's flavor and renovate rather than
\nwreck the old buildings.<\/p>\n
Accommodation<\/p>\n
There are many guest houses and small hotels opening up that
\nare not listed in the guide books. The ones licensed to accept
\nforeigners have considerably higher rates, due in no small part
\nto the 60 percent in taxes on revenues the license holders must
\npay.<\/p>\n
The top of the line is the fully refurbished Strand Hotel, a
\nrelic of the Raj, at $200 a night. The Central Hotel and the
\nSofitel Hotel are both under construction. There are several
\nhotels in the $40-$100 range, one particularly pleasant being the
\nBaiyoke Kandawgyi Hotel on the Royal Lakes, where rates start at
\n$60 a night and has some enchanting cottages on a small peninsula
\njutting into the lake.<\/p>\n
There are air-conditioned guest houses in the $12-$18 range.
\nAn especially friendly and congenial one being the Pyin Oo Lwin
\nGuest-House, conveniently located on Mahabandoola Garden Street
\njust down from the sule Pagoda and City Hall. Cheaper are the
\nYMCA\/YWCA and the unlicensed guest houses. Several of these are
\nlocated along Shwebontha Streets near the Aung San Market.<\/p>\n
Staying in unlicensed guest houses and changing money on the
\nblack market is not terribly risky, but should be done with a bit
\nof care. One tourist who recently accepted an offer to change
\nmoney on the street found himself in the grip of an undercover
\npoliceman. Pleading entrapment afterwards is probably less wise
\nthan exercising a degree of caution beforehand.
\nrequests accompanied by smiles usually remedy any situation.<\/p>\n
There are many pleasurable little surprises not listed in the
\nguide books that can be found by just asking the locals and hotel
\nstaff for information. For example, there is great ice cream,
\nwith chopped dates, nuts and raisins mixed in for 20 kyats (18
\ncents) a glass at the Chit Saya Bakery and Coffee Shop between
\n22nd and 23rd on Mahabandoola Street.<\/p>\n
Food<\/p>\n
For good Myanmarese food the guide books send you far from the
\ncity center to the expensive Karaweik Restaurant on the Royal
\nLakes directly across the lake from the Kandawgyi Hotel.
\nMyanmarese from all over Yangon recommend the Say Naga (Diamond
\nDragon) restaurant on 37th Street just off Anawrahta Street. Just
\na \"Mom & Pop diner\", but with excellent food and usually rather
\ncrowded at mealtimes.<\/p>\n
There is excellent Indian food at the Bharat Restaurant on
\nMahabandoola Street. The curried goat's brains are a bit spicier
\nthan in Malaysia. Goat's brains vegetables, rice, Pepsi and
\ncoffee costs 115 kyats ($1.05).<\/p>\n
Sidewalk coffee and tea stalls are everywhere. People sit for
\nhours on the type of miniature stools the Javanese give their
\nchildren and servants. They chat and smoke and drink their tea
\nand chat some more.<\/p>\n
Shopping<\/p>\n
There are no foreign language newspapers or magazines
\navailable on a regular basis, but discarded magazines and older
\neditions of magazines that went unsold elsewhere are available in
\nmany shops and kiosks around the city.<\/p>\n
The Pagan Book House at 100 37 St is well stocked and has many
\nold and out of print books. These are not cheap, as the guide
\nbooks tell you, but the gentleman also sells photocopies of
\nperennial favorites at very reasonable prices. There is a large
\nbookstore specializing in English language books on Sule Pagoda
\nRoad across the street from the Tourist Department store, but it
\ncarries no books on Myanmar except a government magazine with
\ninformation for potential investors. Asia Books at Sukhumvit Soi
\n17 in Bangkok has the best selection of recent books on Myanmar.<\/p>\n
The tourist Department Store accepts only hard currency or
\nFECs. The selection is larger than that of an average duty free
\nshop, but much smaller than that of a Sogo Department Store. A
\njar of peanut butter there costs $3.20, while the same jar in
\nBangkok costs $3.45 and $2.15 in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Only one store at the Bagyoke Aung San (Scott) Market sells
\nsouvenir T-shirts, but a wide selection of postcards, clothing,
\nand handicrafts are all available at that market. Go to the
\ngovernment operated Cooperative Department Store, two blocks over
\nfrom St. Mary's Cathedral on Baiyoke Aung San Street, to see the
\nvariety of handicrafts there is and the absolute maximum price
\none should ever pay, and then go to the Aung San Market and
\nbargain.<\/p>\n
Cassettes and posters by Thai pop singer Bird (Tongchai
\nMcIntyre) are prominently displayed in every music store, but
\nWestern videos and cassettes are in short supply. There are
\ntourism videos of Myanmar available at AV Media, located on the
\ntop floor of a building on Mahabandoola Garden Street across from
\nMahabnadoola Park for 900 kyats ($8.50), considerably cheaper
\nthan the $15 price for the same videos at the Tourist Department
\nStore.<\/p>\n
Malaysian made chocolates are available and well liked, but
\nexpensive. A package of Vochelle chocolate covered almonds is 400
\nkyats ($3.70) while the same package in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, is
\nonly RM3 ($1.15).<\/p>\n
Economy<\/p>\n
The economy in Yangon is obviously starting to flourish. While
\nthere are only a few large buildings going up, mostly hotels,
\nmuch small scale construction and renovation is going on.<\/p>\n
In some parts of town it seems almost every shop is putting in
\nnew cupboards, painting, installing air conditioners, installing
\nnew fixtures and so on. Looking out over a busy street one hotel
\nmanager remarked to me that \"six years ago you might have seen
\nonly one or two cars on the whole street.\" now there are late
\nmodel quality cars parked all the way along both curbs.<\/p>\n
The name changes of Burma to Myanmar and Rangoon to Yangon
\nmake sense when they are explained instead of just sneered at.
\nMyanmar means \"union\" or \"united\", something all the ethnic
\ngroups in Myanmar can identify with. The name Burma singled out
\nonly one group, the Burmans. Rangoon was a British invention that
\nhas no meaning for the Myanmarese. Yangon has a similar sound and
\nmeans \"without enemy\", something in keeping with the Myanmarese
\ncultural ideals of compromise and consensus.<\/p>\n
Some fruits of ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement with
\nMyanmar are evident. Indonesian batik has become quite popular
\nbecause, I was told, people saw it on television, saw visiting
\nIndonesians wearing it and it fits in with their own culture. One
\nIndonesian in Yangon buying logs for a Kalimantan-Singapore
\ncompany remarked, \"The (batik) market has been growing rapidly
\nsince I started coming here, especially in the last couple of
\nyears.\"<\/p>\n
It is clear that to see it as it was, you had better go soon.
\n\"Visit Myanmar Year 1996\" could well be the perfect time while
\nthere is a balance between the old, but modernized enough to
\nprovide the creature comforts. Whenever you go, leave the guide
\nbook at home.<\/p>",
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