The Golden Land, Myanmar, beckons to tourists

By Cebe Tadjoedin

There is no doubt that one of Myanmar's greatest figures is Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, whose house arrest by the Myanmarese government boosted her image and the Myanmarese people's struggle for freedom. Freelance writer Cebe Tadjoedin, a contributor to The Jakarta Post, visited Myanmar last month. Like many, she too was interested in Aung San Suu Kyi and was thrilled by the opportunity to see her and to hear her talk to her people. The following two articles and another one on Page 9 are Cebe Tadjoedin's reports about Myanmar, its pagodas, people and Aung San Suu Kyi.

MYANMAR (JP): A video taped message presented at the Fourth International Beijing Conference in September 1995, featured the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar.

I knew little of Myanmar, formerly called Burma, the country currently led by General Than Shwe, which has been plagued by civil unrest after more than a decade of freedom. I attended the Beijing conference and the video tape triggered my interest, but I never thought I would ever be able to visit the country.

Thrilled at the unexpected suggestion of a friend that I join her for a visit there, it took me only a few seconds to accept the golden opportunity to see the Golden Land, or what the Burmese call Shwe Pyadaw.

I was excited and anxious as I left Singapore. The media coverage of the situation in Myanmar had not been very reassuring, nor had my 1993 guidebook. My heart beat a little faster when I disembarked at Yangon Airport, stepping from the cool safety of Silk Air onto the hot bus that took us to the arrival hall.

There, the efficient immigration and customs officers took us by surprise. In less than 15 minutes my passport and visa were checked, and US$300 was smoothly changed into 300 FCH, the official banknote which can be exchanged for 120 kyats at a bank. Each visitor must spend at least 300 FCH in Myanmar.

The luggage arrived quickly on a well functioning, albeit cracking conveyor. Porters were ready to assist with my bags, and while I expected a strict baggage search, the customs officers showed no interest whatsoever in my modest luggage.

Myanmar will launch its "Visit Myanmar Year" on Nov. 18, 1996. It is expected to bring in about 500,000 tourists. According to Unicef's Situation Analysis Report 1995 on Children and Women in Myanmar, tourist numbers increased from 8,965 in 1992 to 21,614 in 1993. And foreign exchange earnings increased from US$16.4 million to $20.8 million, or by 26.5 percent, in the same period.

The Myanmar government appears serious about promoting tourism. Hotel construction and other tourist facilities are in full swing. According to the tourist information office, there are currently 222 hotel projects underway, with investment from Singapore, Thailand and Japan. Major tourist attractions include pagodas, the indigenous population, natural resources, and, of course, gems.

Homestays, with facilities similar to those of four-star hotels, are springing up. Their added value is in their personalized service fit for royalty. We stayed at the 7-Mile Inn, a spacious six-room house converted into a hotel, which is now frequented by businessmen and oil company staff. An adjacent building is being constructed to accommodate long-staying guests who wish to do their own cooking.

Once limited to two weeks, visas are now good for four weeks. In Indonesia, a visa to Myanmar costs Rp 24,000 ($10.43) and can be obtained within a day.

To provide visitors with the best of information, three-month courses have been initiated to produce licensed guides. Information on historical sites and details about pagodas, as well as foreign language training are all in the curriculum, the basis of which is the state's doctrine. Tuition is 3,000 kyats a month, equivalent to about $250, an incredible sum for a people who earn an average of $8 a month. The additional cost of learning materials and room and board amounts to another $250 a month, making the courses accessible to only the very rich.

Travel agents are doing their best to accommodate the special needs of tourists, with smaller agents providing a personal touch to their service.

Aung San Suu Kyi's release from a six-year house arrest in July 1995, triggered the interest of foreign investors, who earlier had reservations about entering Myanmar.

Singapore is the largest investor, followed by Thailand. Hong Kong and the United Kingdom tie at third. Ranked by capital, the UK is the top investor, followed by Singapore and then France -- which has only one company in Myanmar.

Indonesia, which does not appear in the October 1995 Report of the Myanmar Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, has a cigarette company, Sampoerna, producing A-Mild cigarettes. Eighty percent of production is exported to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and 20 percent is pegged for local consumption.

Another Indonesian company, Astra Petronusa, started feasibility studies in 1994, and has reportedly obtained a contract for oil exploration and exploitation in Myanmar.

The UNDP 1992/93 Report on Myanmar lists the five top donors to Myanmar in 1993 as: Japan with $64.7 million, the International Development Association with $8.4 million, UNDP with $8.5 million, OPEC with $4.4 million, and Unicef with $6.6 million.

Both Silk Air and Thai International fly between Jakarta and Yangon, with stopovers in Singapore and Bangkok respectively.

Ethnic groups

Living in an area of 676,678 square kilometers of land, Myanmar's population of 43.13 million is divided between 40 clans. Each clan belongs to one of three major ethnic groups, the Mon-Khmers, the Tibeto Burmans and the Thai Shans.

Britain granted the colony independence in 1948, after which a parliamentary system was adopted. In 1962 a military government assumed power and held it until 1974, when the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma established a one-party socialist state. Civil unrest led to a military takeover in September 1988, when the State Law and Order Restoration Council was established.

The opposition party, the National League for Democracy, is led by Aung San Suu Kyi who remains under heavy surveillance after her official release last year.

What was formerly known as Burma, is now called Myanmar. Myan means "quick" and Mar means "hard" or "strong". Rangoon is now Yangon, and the Irrawady River is now the Ayeyarwady. The people of Myanmar still relate to the old names.

With a per capita income of $200, United Nation's reports place Myanmar as one of the least developed countries of the world. The maternal mortality rate is 232 per 100,000 live births, good when compared to Indonesia's atrocious maternal mortality rate of 450 per 100,000 live births. Indonesia's average per capita income is $750.

The educated of Myanmar usually go on to higher education and 82 percent of the population is literate.

Visiting Myanmar is best from November to February, when the weather is cool. Between March and May, temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius. The vegetation and climate are similar to those of Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia, as are the people, their food and dress. What distinguishes Myanmar from other Southeast Asian countries is the amazing number of pagodas dotted across the country.

For tourists from developed countries, Myanmar's charm is in the way life is lived, almost untouched by modern development. Many will experience a nostalgic hankering for the ways things were done in past times.

Buddhism is unique in Myanmar. Ancient animistic nat worship has merged with the ethereal realms and fables of Theravada Buddhism.

A natural consequence of such a mix of beliefs is the numerous pagodas, stupas and monasteries scattered across the country. The many faces of the Buddha is evidence of Indian as well as Mongol heritage. Amazingly, many of the Buddha statues here have female features. In this context the absence of female Buddha statues is equally amazing. It is not clear whether Buddhahood is the prerogative of men only.

It is difficult to say which is more interesting, the Buddha statues or the pagodas. In Bagan in Central Myanmar, over two thousand extant Buddhist monuments and remains of different sizes and a bewildering variety of shapes lie scattered across the arid and dusty plain on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River.

The people are extremely kind, but language constraints hamper a normal flow of conversation. This is particularly true in the rural areas, where Burmese is the only language spoken. In the city, and among the intellectual elite who have been to British schools, friendliness is expressed in ready information sharing. Remarkably, both rural and city people evade or stop at once at the mention of their Nobel Peace Prize winner opposition leader. Confusion and fear seem to mix in a stony silence.

Entering Yangon was at first like coming home to Indonesia some 30 years ago, with the understanding that Yangon has a distinct English-style residential quarter. Driving in a battered van along the half empty streets lined with shady trees, is an experience which has vanished from Indonesian cities. Stately mansions marked by colonial architecture are hidden behind huge mango and frangipani trees. Bougainvillea-covered fences often line large gardens bordering almost empty roads.

For all the Yagon's rusticity, modern development has hit the capital, in fierce contrast to some age-old traditional symbols. Bald Buddhist monks walking under huge Coke billboards is a normal sight in today's Yangon. Men and women in the traditional lungyi dress and sandals entering a modern hotel is another striking sight. The Burmese almost exclusively wear their traditional garb. Western dress is rare, even among the intellectual elite.