Yangon, and the truths about contemporary Myanmar

From Mumbai we took a flight to Yangon, Myanmar. We had been swallowed up by our planning of India that we hadn’t done much research or planning and we didn’t quite know what to expect. We read one thing, someone told us another, we would just have to see for ourselves. As Rudyard Kipling once wrote that Burma was “quite unlike any place you know about.”

What we had heard was that since the tourist ban had been lifted fairly recently we should expect a place with little modern technology or infrastructure for tourists. We had been told that we needed to bring very crisp, flat American dollar bills, with not a single crease or fold as there were no ATMs and no acceptance of credit cards. We were also told that we would be hard pressed to find any internet or wi-fi and that even upon arrival, immigration would be a hassle as our visa/passport processing would all be done by hand because they the small airport still didn’t have computers. We found all of this FALSE!

When we arrived, we found a fairly modern-ish airport, much more than Kathmandu in Nepal or Addis Ababa in Ethiopia (a stop over when heading to Kenya). We stood in proper lines at immigration and the system, while not super fast, was efficient. They had computers, even a camera to which they recorded your image. Many countries, though not the US, were able to submit for a Visa on arrival. We were out of there in 30 mins.

As we waited in line at immigration Aaron and I plotted scenarios of how we were going to get money. We had brought some US dollars with us, but not enough money to support us our entire time here. However, I was concerned because I had placed my US money in my wallet and so they were now crinkled and even some ripped. I was nervous. But as we walked into the baggage claim area we found an ATM. How could this be?  Every book, blog and article had explained this did not exist. And so suspicions, we thought this ATM probably didn’t take foreign cards. We decided to go for it. I pushed my card in and a message appeared to try later. Uh oh, here we go. This ATM probably won’t work…But after a few minutes we waited and Aaron used his card. Out popped Kyats of bright colors. I used my card again, and presto it worked. We took out about $250 US, which was so much that it barely fit my wallet, as the highest note in Myanmar is 5000 kyats, about US $6 and this ATM dispensed only 1000 notes. I was concerned that this may be our last sighting of an ATM for a while, that too would not be the case. We would locate dozens throughout Yangon, especially at the temples.

We stepped outside and our hostel would pick us up. We were on our way, in our voyage into Myanmar.

Myanmar First Impressions
My first impressions were the people of Myanmar. There was a definite look to them. The girls, even some men wore longees. Longees are basically a sheet with the ends sewn together that is wrapped around the body, falling at the ankle. Secondly, the light yellow designs they sport all over their faces. It took me some time and some courage to ask, what it was but I was told it is for both sunscreen and a sign of beauty, a kind of makeup. These designs would vary from circles to thick bands and from just dabs on cheeks to all over the face. Finally, and I don’t want to offend anyone here, but the teeth! Close to every person who smiled at you, you couldn’t help but notice their red teeth. At first it was hard to get used to. Honestly I was a bit horrified as it looked like blood to me, filling their mouth and tainting their teeth. The red teeth are caused by the act of chewing betel, a plant/leaf that is often filled with tobacco that left them stained. It’s used as a mild stimulant (probably very addictive), and it is chewed and spit up on the street, restaurant floor, out of windows, etc, staining the sidewalks. It is everywhere and most everyone from children to elderly, men and women chew it.

Sunscreen/makeup on children, women and some men

Smiles blood red from the betle plant

The City of Yangon
The People:
Yangon, formally Rangoon, literally translates to “end of strife.” It is the former capital of Burma, now called Myanmar, and there are loads of historical strife that this city and country has faced and is still recovering from. Strife came particularly, in modern times. In the late 80 and 90s, thousands of citizens were killed in political protests against the Burmese government. It was clear to us that there is still tension, but what we saw was much more subtle acts of speaking out against the government. Throughout our journey through Myanmar, most every guesthouse, restaurant, shop window had a picture of Aung San Suu Kyi, the face of democracy and daughter of the founder of the Burmese army and negotiator for Burma’s independence from Britain, then assassinated that very year. Her face was everywhere you went.

I found the people of Myanmar the kindest and warmest we had met. They seemed genuinely happy, sincere and kind. They are my favorite people throughout this trip, though now in Lao, I may have a tie.

Friendly faces on a street market

Sweet girls

Us with monks

The City

Yangon was more modern than I had expected. I knew it was the largest city in Myanmar. But did not expect to see commercial buildings and high-rise apartments, most however in decay. There was also much traffic. However, the charm of the city laid on the sidewalks. Markets, “cafes” and tea houses were everywhere. No need to go inside a restaurant, just pull up a plastic stool and point to something you wanted. The stools and tables were hysterical at first. It was like sitting in a kindergarten class. But it became the norm. We ate street food and would pull up for a cold Myanmar beer. The city was dead by 9pm. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. Certainly no backpacker bars. Aaron and I found a fancy hotel, The Strand, where the expensive drinks are still only $4-6 and played games of pool to keep from going back to our hostel too early.

Traffic cirlces the Sule Pagoda

Typical decaying building

Streets are lined with these peculiar phone line set ups

Narrow streets throughout the city

Typical street filled with apartments and cafes

A side street cafe – kids stools!

More cafes, tiny stools are the norm

Street food, lots of options

And market stands

Street food, everywhere

Street buffet

Buddhism 
The city was filled with monks and gold temples, known as stupas and pagodas. Gold was a major theme of these pagodas. Bright gold pagodas that top the city and at night shine bright, well until the power goes out, which is a regular every day occurrence. The shortage can last 20 mins or up to 3 hours. These pagodas would also house dozens, if not hundreds of buddhas. Often the buddhas would we decorated with electronic “halos” which to me resembled a bit of a Las Vegas slot machine. Also, we also found that in Myanmar, it was important to know the day of week of your birth which signifies your Burmese Zodiac Animal. Myself, born Friday, am a Guinea Pig and Aaron, born Sunday, a Garuda (mythical bird, Hindu/Buddhist bird diety). My Burmese zodiac sign says I am creative, a wandering spirit and sensitive to others. Aaron is generous, inspirational and seeks out challenges. Okay, there are some connections here…

Walking around with monks, no big deal

Shwedagon Pagoda; the top attraction

Buddhism, Vegas themed

More of the LED lights, seemed tacky to me

More…Shwedagon Temple Pagaoda

Me praising Monday by pouring water on the buddah. (Mistakenly thinking Monday was my birth week day)

More of the Shwedagon Temple Pagaoda, we have so many good pics!

Just after sunset

Lit at night

The Food
Street food was everywhere. Smells of grilled fish, fresh vegetables, fried spring rolls, pork buns and noodle soups filled the air. You felt hungry, even when full. I loved all of the fish soups. However the more traditional Burmese food, we weren’t too fond of. It was served family style, assorted bowls of bitter greens and meat which you would stuff in cabbage leaves or add to bowls of rice.

Amazing fish in noodles dish

The soups…yum!

Myanmar soups were much spicer than our Indian food experiences

Example of a traditional meal; family style as always

It was just the start of our two weeks in Myanmar and the country would continue to surprise me, as even my few expectations would prove to be wrong.

Aung myin par say – Cheers! Having a Myanmar at a sidewalk cafe.