The guide books are wrong about Myanmar
Text and photos by Peter Burgess
YANGON (JP): We have all read the mocking comparisons in the guide books. The flight from Bangkok to Yangon takes one hour and fifty years. The time difference between Bangkok and Yangon is half an hour and half a century.
Those gibes may have been true in the past, but will soon be fit only for the dustbin along with the out-of-date guide books they are printed in. Yangon's modernization is picking up speed. If you intend to see it as it was, you had better start planning your trip soon.
Several airlines now serve Yangon. Bangladesh Airways (visa plus airfare Bangkok-Yangon return US$180), Royal Thai Airways (same arrangement for $220), and Singapore Airlines (same for $240). Yangonese were recently saying that visa regulations may soon be further relaxed or even dropped altogether (visa on arrival), at least for ASEAN nationals, after a suggestion by Singapore.
After reading in the guide books about all the red tape involved in entering the country and then filling out three different forms during the flight, one cannot be blamed for having butterflies upon arrival. Those butterflies soon vanish though.
Passing through Immigration takes no more time than in Bangkok (and the Entry Card seems to have been copied directly from the Thai one). The animal act immortalized in Pico Iyer's Video Night in Katmandu and Other Stories from the Not-So-Far East is now a tale of the past.
Cameras do not have to be declared. Any electronic goods being brought in are supposed to be declared, but my Walkman was not even looked at on arrival or departure. Bags are not inspected on arrival or departure without "reasonable suspicion" one is carrying something forbidden or undeclared. It is surprising that electronic goods need to be declared at all as a wide range is available all over Yangon at prices comparable to Malaysian prices and cheaper than Thai or Indonesian prices.
Few computers are in evidence, though, whether due to a lack of need for them of a lack of training in using them. When reconfirming my return ticket, the airline office clerk wrote all the information down on a piece of paper instead of typing it directly into a computer.
On arrival in Yangon one must purchase $300 of Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) which retain their US dollar purchasing power, are usable at any good-sized establishment, and also are readily exchanged on the flourishing black market. Any unspent FECs above the $300 minimum are readily exchanged back into US dollars upon departure.
Unless one has booked into a good hotel prior to arrival and are therefore being met by the hotel car, swarms of taxi drivers buzz around the exit to the terminal. There is great competition to get tourists into the cab in order to negotiate FEC/foreign currency exchange deals, purchase anything that could be resold at a profit and possibly get kickbacks from hotel/guest house management. There are also some touts around the hotels and guest houses, and some of them can be very insistent, even badgering.
The guide books tell you to bring bottles of Johnny Walker Red Label and cartons of 555 cigarettes. In the old days they were to bribe the Immigration officials but that is unnecessary now. The officials now just filch $2 on the FEC exchange as a "commission".
Information
The staff at the government run tourist agency, Myanmar Travel and Tours want to be helpful, but they have only a few brochures and information about the services they are trying to sell. They have little information about future transportation and disavow knowledge of alternative transportation.
For example, they will sell a plane ticket from Yangon Bagan (Pagan)for $92 or a non-air conditioned train ticket for $27, but have little information about bus service connecting the Thazi train station with Bagan, several hours away. They also deny all knowledge of a private company called Rainbow Express at 96-98 Pansuran St. in Yangon running air-conditioned buses twice a day with video and refreshments from Yangon to Mandalay via Thazi for 950 Myanmarese kyats (about $9 at the black market exchange rate).
It is obvious the government is having a hard time competing in the free market economic transformation it began.
Friendly
The average people are so warm and friendly and genuinely happy to see tourists. So many people stop one to chat a bit, to touch the outside world. One small boy came up and tugged at my pant leg. When I looked down and said, "Hello, how are you?", he screamed in delight and started jumping up and down. He was so pleased and excited I thought he might pee his pants.
Finding your way around town can sometimes be a bit confusing. The street names and numbers have been changed over the years, often more than once, and a map may show one name or number, but that might not be the one that appears on the street sign or shop front.
But no matter. Because of the friendliness of the people, there is a foolproof method of finding your way around. Just stand on a busy sidewalk with a map in your hand looking puzzled and in five or ten seconds someone will ask "What can I do for you?" This is not the start of a come-along to a silk store or gems outlet as it would be in some other places. The people are simply being friendly, being themselves, and they mean "Can I help you find your way?"
There is a law that forbids Myanmarese associating with foreigners, but it is seldom enforced. Nonetheless, a tour-guide license from the government is a way for Myanmarese to legally associate with aliens. A Yangon Institute of Technology student told me "There aren't too many jobs around in my field. With the (tour guide) license I can get a job, improve my languages (English and Japanese), and who knows what might turn up."
Greetings are exchanged differently from both Thailand and Indonesia. The younger person or the person of lesser status bows their head and eyes slightly while keeping the arms relaxed by their side. There is no waiving as in Thailand. People know about shaking hands with westerners, but do not bring their hands to their chests after shaking as the Javanese do.
Most of the Indians and Chinese who have stayed on seem quite integrated into Myanmarese national culture though. One Chinese teacher of English proudly told me that "We (Chinese) speak Myanmarese even at home".
Pleasant
Sunday in Yangon is particularly pleasant. Unlike Bangkok or Jakarta where Sunday is just another shopping day, people in Yangon get dressed up and walk about, meet their friends, chat, go for coffee, feed the pigeons near Sule Pagoda and so on. Many pavement booksellers line the streets selling photocopies of books, used originals and some new ones. Reading, along with chatting and drinking coffee or tea, seems to be the major Myanmarese pastime.
People are unbelievably considerate. If you are taking a picture, they will not walk in front of you. Most Myanmarese love to have their picture taken, and some even ask you to take it without trying to wheedle a fee afterwards, either.
Yangon, the city, is just as photogenic as the people. It is a city of trees, green spaces, temples and old colonial buildings. When looking out from Shwedagon Pagoda over Yangon, all one can see is the green of trees with the occasional golden or white chedi spire sticking out. A few buildings are being torn down to make way for new developments, but hopefully developers will be persuaded to retain the city's flavor and renovate rather than wreck the old buildings.
Accommodation
There are many guest houses and small hotels opening up that are not listed in the guide books. The ones licensed to accept foreigners have considerably higher rates, due in no small part to the 60 percent in taxes on revenues the license holders must pay.
The top of the line is the fully refurbished Strand Hotel, a relic of the Raj, at $200 a night. The Central Hotel and the Sofitel Hotel are both under construction. There are several hotels in the $40-$100 range, one particularly pleasant being the Baiyoke Kandawgyi Hotel on the Royal Lakes, where rates start at $60 a night and has some enchanting cottages on a small peninsula jutting into the lake.
There are air-conditioned guest houses in the $12-$18 range. An especially friendly and congenial one being the Pyin Oo Lwin Guest-House, conveniently located on Mahabandoola Garden Street just down from the sule Pagoda and City Hall. Cheaper are the YMCA/YWCA and the unlicensed guest houses. Several of these are located along Shwebontha Streets near the Aung San Market.
Staying in unlicensed guest houses and changing money on the black market is not terribly risky, but should be done with a bit of care. One tourist who recently accepted an offer to change money on the street found himself in the grip of an undercover policeman. Pleading entrapment afterwards is probably less wise than exercising a degree of caution beforehand. requests accompanied by smiles usually remedy any situation.
There are many pleasurable little surprises not listed in the guide books that can be found by just asking the locals and hotel staff for information. For example, there is great ice cream, with chopped dates, nuts and raisins mixed in for 20 kyats (18 cents) a glass at the Chit Saya Bakery and Coffee Shop between 22nd and 23rd on Mahabandoola Street.
Food
For good Myanmarese food the guide books send you far from the city center to the expensive Karaweik Restaurant on the Royal Lakes directly across the lake from the Kandawgyi Hotel. Myanmarese from all over Yangon recommend the Say Naga (Diamond Dragon) restaurant on 37th Street just off Anawrahta Street. Just a "Mom & Pop diner", but with excellent food and usually rather crowded at mealtimes.
There is excellent Indian food at the Bharat Restaurant on Mahabandoola Street. The curried goat's brains are a bit spicier than in Malaysia. Goat's brains vegetables, rice, Pepsi and coffee costs 115 kyats ($1.05).
Sidewalk coffee and tea stalls are everywhere. People sit for hours on the type of miniature stools the Javanese give their children and servants. They chat and smoke and drink their tea and chat some more.
Shopping
There are no foreign language newspapers or magazines available on a regular basis, but discarded magazines and older editions of magazines that went unsold elsewhere are available in many shops and kiosks around the city.
The Pagan Book House at 100 37 St is well stocked and has many old and out of print books. These are not cheap, as the guide books tell you, but the gentleman also sells photocopies of perennial favorites at very reasonable prices. There is a large bookstore specializing in English language books on Sule Pagoda Road across the street from the Tourist Department store, but it carries no books on Myanmar except a government magazine with information for potential investors. Asia Books at Sukhumvit Soi 17 in Bangkok has the best selection of recent books on Myanmar.
The tourist Department Store accepts only hard currency or FECs. The selection is larger than that of an average duty free shop, but much smaller than that of a Sogo Department Store. A jar of peanut butter there costs $3.20, while the same jar in Bangkok costs $3.45 and $2.15 in Malaysia.
Only one store at the Bagyoke Aung San (Scott) Market sells souvenir T-shirts, but a wide selection of postcards, clothing, and handicrafts are all available at that market. Go to the government operated Cooperative Department Store, two blocks over from St. Mary's Cathedral on Baiyoke Aung San Street, to see the variety of handicrafts there is and the absolute maximum price one should ever pay, and then go to the Aung San Market and bargain.
Cassettes and posters by Thai pop singer Bird (Tongchai McIntyre) are prominently displayed in every music store, but Western videos and cassettes are in short supply. There are tourism videos of Myanmar available at AV Media, located on the top floor of a building on Mahabandoola Garden Street across from Mahabnadoola Park for 900 kyats ($8.50), considerably cheaper than the $15 price for the same videos at the Tourist Department Store.
Malaysian made chocolates are available and well liked, but expensive. A package of Vochelle chocolate covered almonds is 400 kyats ($3.70) while the same package in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, is only RM3 ($1.15).
Economy
The economy in Yangon is obviously starting to flourish. While there are only a few large buildings going up, mostly hotels, much small scale construction and renovation is going on.
In some parts of town it seems almost every shop is putting in new cupboards, painting, installing air conditioners, installing new fixtures and so on. Looking out over a busy street one hotel manager remarked to me that "six years ago you might have seen only one or two cars on the whole street." now there are late model quality cars parked all the way along both curbs.
The name changes of Burma to Myanmar and Rangoon to Yangon make sense when they are explained instead of just sneered at. Myanmar means "union" or "united", something all the ethnic groups in Myanmar can identify with. The name Burma singled out only one group, the Burmans. Rangoon was a British invention that has no meaning for the Myanmarese. Yangon has a similar sound and means "without enemy", something in keeping with the Myanmarese cultural ideals of compromise and consensus.
Some fruits of ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar are evident. Indonesian batik has become quite popular because, I was told, people saw it on television, saw visiting Indonesians wearing it and it fits in with their own culture. One Indonesian in Yangon buying logs for a Kalimantan-Singapore company remarked, "The (batik) market has been growing rapidly since I started coming here, especially in the last couple of years."
It is clear that to see it as it was, you had better go soon. "Visit Myanmar Year 1996" could well be the perfect time while there is a balance between the old, but modernized enough to provide the creature comforts. Whenever you go, leave the guide book at home.