Myanmar is a relatively a new
democracy, as per Western standards of nation-building. Just came out of
military dictatorship, this nation is grappling with the entry of investments,
economic zones and entry of tourists.
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| What's in the news? |
The first time I read about Myanmar,
formerly known as Burma, is Amy Tan’s novel, Saving the Fish from Drowning way
back in 2008. That novel used a ghost perspective looking at the American
tourists travelling from China to Myanmar. The tourists were kidnapped by Karen
people of Myanmar as one of the American teenagers was the prophesied savior
who will lead them to victory. While the tourists did not know they are even
abducted but thought it was part of a great jungle adventure! The novel is half
spoof and fairy tale and an irony of sorts, how can you save the fish from
drowning? It’s like taking out of the fish because you’re afraid for it to get
drown in deep water. And it also talked about the uneasy political situation in
Burma, including the debates on changing its name.
Anyway, I got hooked with that novel
that I gave it to my younger sister as her reading assignment. And it all came
back to me when my colleagues told me about Myanmar and its recent ‘reopening’
to the world after the military junta was ‘overthrown’.
Myanmar is a former British colony and
an extension of the Indian province, were problematic British soldiers and ambitious
Indian professionals have been tasked to serve. The country has a long history
of struggle for its independence from foreign colonizers up to the military
rule after.
You might also wonder, what is the correct name, Myanmar or Burma? Before, it
was politically incorrect to use the name Myanmar. The U.S. government refused
to use Myanmar as it does not acknowledge the name change made in 1989 by the
country's military junta.
The
military rulers had changed several other mispronounced name places from the
British colonial period such as “Mergui” as Myeik, “Rangoon” as Yangon,
“Pegu” as Bago.
The
name change to Myanmar was recognized by the United Nations and by countries
such as France and Japan, but not by the United States and the United Kingdom. With
some political reforms made by their former President Thein Sein, it was only with
President Obama’s administration that the US started to use Myanmar.
Their
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi also uses 'Burma' in English but in her
statements published in Burmese she has used 'Myanmar' instead of
'Bamar'."
One of our
fellow traveler asked our guide what is the politically correct one to use. Myo, our guide said, Myanmar have 135 officially recognizes ethnic groups.
Burma (Bamar), is only one of it and is considered the largest ethnic group.
Renaming this ethnically diverse country means inclusivity. Myanmar, is a
Burmese word of Myanma meaning “swift and strong.”
Now back to our trip.
So when you visit here, it is a must I
daresay you take the Free Yangon Walk Tour by Beyond Borders that happens every Monday and Wednesday at 4PM. The walk starts at Maha
Bandula Park in front of the City Hall and Sule Pagoda. You will learn a lot of
inside stories you have to read only in history books and I know you have no
time for that.
Sule Pagoda, a 48 meter (152 feet) high golden dome was used by the British as the
nucleus of their grid pattern for the city when it was rebuilt in the 1880s.
The pagoda's peculiarity is its octagonal- shaped pagoda. which retains its
shape as it tapers to the spire.
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| Sule Pagoda at night |
This is one of the
most notable landmarks and a historical
area for demonstrations and large gatherings. Sule Pagoda, for one is the
gathering point for the 1988 Uprising or the 8-8-88 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests and the 2007
Saffron Revolution, protests against Myanmar's
military dictatorship led by the monks.
The day we arrived is the day of our
walking tour too. February 27, Wednesday. It was an auspicious day too as we
witnessed the huge gathering of people in support for the amendments of the
2008 Constitution.
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| Crowd supporting the call for the 2008 Constitution amendment at Maha Bandula Park, infront of the City Hall |
Their 2008 Constitution was made
during the military junta and it states that he Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) retain significant control
of the government. 25% of seats in the Parliament are reserved for serving military officers. The
ministries of home, border affairs and defense have to be headed by a serving
military officer. The military also appoints one of the country's two vice
presidents. The Commander in Chief of the army has powers that could even rival
that of the President and with absolute power on state emergencies.
Looks
like a good retirement plan for the army!
There
is a call to amend the said Constitution however, the benchmark to pass the
amendment is also extremely high! It requires more than 75 per cent of all
representatives in the national parliament, as well as more than half the votes
at a national referendum. This leaves no doubt that the military controls the
current constitutional amendment process, given that it occupies 25 per cent of
the seats in parliament. The provision on amending the Constitution must be
amended foremost to ensure that this is no longer the case.
An outsider looking in, I don’t know
if they will get the votes considering the current composition of their
Parliament, but boy, it was such a huge crowd and palpable excitement of a
non-violent gathering. But we also saw military officers in plainclothes that
day taking pictures. Memories of my student days rallying with military intelligence
officers taking pictures came into my mind.
Which make us- the Philippines and
Myanmar like siblings! We have that same experience in terms of military rule,
dictatorship after colonization. So, it
is now surprising to see a lot of Filipino NGO workers here in Myanmar, sharing
the experience about Martial Law, community organizing and development
principles. And with our current President appointing retired generals in the
major Cabinet positions, we Filipinos are like Myanmar, militarization of the
bureaucracy! Same same but different.
The walking tour have introduced us to
the colonial buildings in downtown Yangon with British colonial era designs: Victorian, Queen Anne,
Neoclassical, Art Deco and British-Burmese. Many of these buildings are
clustered along streets laid out in a chessboard pattern centered on the Sule
Pagoda.
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| Downtown aerial view from http://yangonarchitecture.tumblr.com |
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Top: Rander House (1932) now Internal Revenue Department took over the lower floors, while the top floors were turned into apartments.
Left: Accountant General's Office and Currency Department where collections of colonial government revenue that came from opium), salt, custom duties, railways, post offices, telegraphs and major irrigation works.
Right: Sofaer’s Building designed by Isaac Sofaer, a Jewish immigrant from Baghdad, where Egyptian cigars & European luxury items were sold
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If you are interested more with the colonial buildings in Kyaktuada Township, Yangon's downtown area, check out Architectural Guide Yangon: for more in-depth history of each buildings.
We also chanced upon people preparing htamane, sticky rice along the road.
This
where the financial district thrives with smuggled
books, bookshop area in Pansodan Street. We went as far as the bridge going to
the jetty during sunset. One thing you will notice here, they have a lot of
crows!
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| Inquisitive Walking Group at Myanma Port Authority on the background |
We ended the tour at Yangon Stock Exchange, formerly the Reserve Bank of India. We parted ways with our guide Myo and our fellow travelers.
Liezl and I were famished with all the
walking! So, we went back to Maha Bandula Park to try the local food in one of
the many stalls offering noodles and fresh juices. We ate rice noodles and
sugar cane juice, ordering in halting English and sign language. The young
woman serving our noodles and her twin sister (we assumed) were amazed. They
thought we’re also Burmese. They keep on giggling at us, Asians. I told her,
we’re same same. 😊 They wore dresses and with thanaka, that paste-like powder
in their faces that served as moisturizer, make-up and sunscreen.
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| rice noodles with fresh veggies for the famished souls! |
Here’s a thing in Myanmar. You will see young men and women in all ages
wearing thanaka and their traditional clothes still. Men still wear longyi, a
tubular textile rather than pants as compared to other Asian counterparts. Polo
shirts on top and longyi, hoooow comfortable!
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| hand-painted postcards from Hla Days |
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| of course, I tried the thanaka on myself. It leaves a cooling sensation on your face! I brought one home. |
So while we in Southeast Asia are same
same, this is distinctly Myanmar- thanaka and longyi. And they are proud and
tall with it.
We walked to Hla Days, a social
enterprise store with a collection of different products across Myanmar. I
bought handmade postcards, hand-painted by differently-abled persons while
Liezl was charmed by a lovely wrap-around skirt.
Downstairs is the highly rated trip
advisor Rangoon Tea House. We went inside to look and indeed, it is full of
tourists. Liezl and I wanted to try it, but we realized we only have a few
thousand kyats (chats) left and only for taxi fare.
We hailed a cab and told him our
hotel. We are negotiating in broken English still when this delivery guy on his
bike stopped and helped us out. He told the cab driver the address in the local
language and told us the amount he is asking. 4,000 kyats. That’s around Php
138.00. We agreed immediately. And only to be told, it was already expensive!
Our grab ride from the hotel to downtown area is 2,300 kyat (Php 79.00).
Travel Tip: ask the person in charge in your hotel reception to write your Hotel’s name and address in Burmese.
So yes, fellows, it’s kinda cheap even
to our Pinoy standard cost. I will share our guesstimate costs with our no-frills chill itinerary in a separate post.
That's it for Day 1 of our Yangon adventure!
