Burmese Brainstorming

What can I remember?

When I logged onto my computer and the BBC homepage alerted me to the unrest in Burma, I was immediately transported to one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had as a traveller. To think that only four months before, I had been walking down the streets in Yangon, watching the monks in their scarlet robes, chatting and smiling and getting on with life. It was an unplanned visit, and yet made the greatest impact on me of all the countries I visited in Asia. For all of the senses, Burma is overwhelming. I can still taste the fishpaste in my chicken curry.

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As I walked up to the Airasia check-in at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, I spotted Ornella in line ahead of me. She had remained in Borneo an extra ten days, while I had quickly dashed to Bangkok and down to the Thai islands for a five-day diving session in Koh Tao. Donald and Marina’s suggestion that we travel with them to Burma had proven irresistible, especially after the amazing testimonials of fellow guests, Tom and Lorna. Donald and Marina own Singgahsana Lodge, the incredible guest house where Ornella and I met. Because of their hospitality, their staff and wonderful mix of guests, we extended our stay in Kuching, a city on the western end of Sarawak, the larger of Malaysia’s two provinces in northern Borneo. Chinese Malaysians, childless and adventurous, their enthusiasm for Burma, and their knowledge of the area made their invitation impossible to refuse. After a week of extraordinary sightseeing, drinking with them in their lodge, being taken out for meals, and introduced to everyone in their social circle, Ornella and I booked our tickets to Yangon for the first of June. I would be missing the infamous full moon party on Koh Phangan, but there was something more appealing about eleven days in one of the least-visited countries in Asia.

There were, of course, issues of sanctions and instability. Is it ethical to visit a country where you don’t wish to support the government? Donald and Marina had thrice visited Burma, and had a very straight-forward attitude about it. Don’t support the government. Stay in family-run guest houses, ride with privately-owned buses and airlines, and try as hard as you can to avoid paying the taxes and fees to the government. Be informed. The people in Burma are incredible, and most don’t support the military dictatorship. Speak to who you can, but be careful.

Sometimes there is so much to take in that you have to close your eyes to compute. Vivid swatches of clothing and merchandise, lush vegetation, flashes of golden pagodas. The smell of monsoon rains evaporating from dusty pavements. Bougainvillea. Men and women alike dressed in the traditional longhi — sarong-like skirts wrapped from the sides and tied in a large knot in the middle. Occasional readjustments revealed to a scandalised Ornella that in fact, no, not all men wear undergarments underneath. As we walked through the Bogyoke Market, certain things became apparent. No visible cellular phones. Decades-old cars, with crumbling paint, and missing parts. Rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, motorbike taxis. Sellers of mysterious and brightly-coloured fruits, rambutan and litchi, longan and mangosteen. Piles of mechanical junk: wires and brackets and bolts and screws and hinges. And the odd incongruous western touch: a poster of Britney Spears; an ‘N Sync backpack; a sesame street colouring book in a pile of otherwise illegible tomes.

Burma. Myanmar. What do I call it? This is a question that I desperately wanted answered, and from a local. I understood that Burma was the name used by the British to describe this country. So my post-colonial tendencies would point to the use of the country’s new name. Except… well, Myanmar is tied up with the terror of the current military regime, a dictatorship filled with spies and political imprisonments. After asking around and reading a little, I thought I had figured it out. The largest ethnic group in the country is the Bamar, from whence the name Burma originates. Calling the country Myanmar and the people Burmese was a reasonable compromise. Although, Burma still resonates more positively with me than Myanmar.

On our first night in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) we were taken out for dinner by some friends of Donald and Marina. A university professor and botanist, our host proved truly informative. I walked away from the evening with a comment of his branded into my consciousness. “Politics is dirty business. Enjoy the country. The people want you here.”

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To be continued… (I need to do a little brainstorming and focus my ideas)