Long Lost Burma

Right now I am sitting in my hostel in Kuala Lumpur enjoying the fast, dependable internet connection. I spent about 2 weeks in Burma and then flew here to Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Tomorrow I'm flying to Jakarta, Indonesia.

The internet in Burma didn't work well enough to let me post on my blog. This is the post I wrote after my first week, and in a couple days I'll post the one for my second week. Enjoy.

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I’ve been in Burma for one week and there are so many things I could talk about. I flew from Bangkok into Rangoon, what used to be the capital until the government created a new capital a few years ago. After 3 days in Rangoon I took a bus to the country’s ancient capital of Mandalay.

First, a little bit about the political situation, because I find it very interesting:

Burma’s government is well-known for making such poor decisions its almost funny – except when you consider the basic human rights it denies most of its people (and especially the ethnic minorities). As the hotel owner in Rangoon told me, Burma used to have the strongest economy in Southeast Asia until the British conceded colonial rule in the 1960’s.

Then a military dictatorship took over, and has retained power to this day. The government has done such a bad job running the country that it is now one of the poorest countries in the world. This is pretty incredible considering Burma is rich in natural resources: oil, gas, gold, rubies, and teak wood among others.

Rangoon

In Rangoon there are lots of buildings left over from British colonial rule. The buildings are beautiful and covered in moss and stains. It looks like they have never been cleaned or maintained.

It amazes me how people in the least developed countries are often the nicest. When I walk down the streets people wave and say hello just because I’m a foreigner.

The other day I took a motorcycle tour with a guy named Mr. Lin. When we stopped for snacks, I bought him a snack and some water. I tried the snack he was eating and really liked it. So the next day, he went out and bought the ingredients for the snack and gave them to me as a gift so that I can make the snack myself. Other people have given me various gifts as well.  This is from some of the poorest people in the world. Crazy!

Rangoon’s big attraction is the Shwedagon Pagoda. Burma has thousands upon thousands of pagodas, but this one is the most revered and most beautiful.

The pagoda is covered in real gold leafing. At the very top of the pagoda there is a massive diamond the size of a fist. The pagoda is believed to be over 2,000 years old, and has been added to many times by Kings and Queens over the years. It was originally built because someone coming back from India had brought a few strands of Buddha’s hairs with him. The hairs are supposed to be deep in the middle of the Pagoda.

I thought it was cool that some monks were climbing the sides of it at dusk.

Mandalay

Mandalay is the site of the country’s ancient capital city before the British came. There is a lot of history around here, but the remaining ruins are only a couple of hundred years old. Nevertheless I toured around (on horse and cart) and visited the old buildings.

The people, both in the cities and the countryside, are traditional in their dress. Men wear longyi’s (long skirts) and women wear yellow face paint. Most people get around on scooters or really old bicycles. And in the countryside people farm without any modern machinery at all. This creates an interesting atmosphere in which to experience the ruins.

As in Rangoon, Mandalay has lots of monks and many pagodas. I went to see the monks lining up for lunch.

Mandalay has the most popular Buddha statue in Burma. When I visited it, Burmese people were swarming the place and praying to the statue. Men are allowed to go up to the statue and apply a gold leaf patch to the statue.

The Buddha statue is thick with gold from the layers of leafing added by the worshippers.

On my last night in Mandalay I went to see the Moustache Brothers comedy show. The Moustache Brothers are the only ones I’ve heard speak openly and plainly about the government. They talked about the current state of the Burmese government and showed us some traditional costumes and dances.

Both of the brothers have been to jail for their comedy shows. In the picture below you can see the brother on the left, Par Par Lay, who is famous for having spent 7 years in jail during one of his arrests.

I’ve been nursing a cold for the last two days, but hopefully I will be good by tomorrow. I just arrived in Bagan to see the temples.