billrider2013

I had decided to go to Burma when I was still in India. My Balmain host visited the country in 2012 and highly recommended it.

He visited in 2012, not that long after Aung San Suu Kyi had been released from of house arrest in 2010. Rumor has it that when she heard that my Balmain host was planning to visit her beautiful country, she asked to put back into house arrest, with additional guards, until it had been confirmed that he had left the country.

Change of Name

Of course Burma is now known as Myanmar and Rangoon is now known as Yangon. The changes were made in 1989.

I note that Mandalay is still known as Mandalay. It is such as evocative name, there is little wonder that they have not changed it.

Slow Trip from the Airport

After clearing immigration and customs I withdraw some local (Kyit) from the ATM. The AUD rate is about 1,000 to 1. The 10,000 (AUD 10) notes are plastic.

I went to the official taxis desk and book at taxis to my hostel.

The first thing I noticed was that the taxis was right hand drive, but the cars drive on the right. I gleaned from the driver that taxis was a used car that was imported from Japan. Given that Burma was under British rule, I would have assumed that they used to drive on the left.

A check on the internet tells me that they changed from from on the left to the right in 1970. This bizarre in that most of the cars are right hand drive.

The airport is only 30 klms from the old city area where I was headed. The trip was painfully slow. The traffic congestion was amazing.

The Hostel

My hostel is located in the old colonial area not for from the river.

It has just been opened and has a very high rating on the on-line booking site I use. It is clear that the owners have done their homework on what their customers need. The key things are in place: lights, power, clean bathrooms and toilets, secure lockers and good advice from the staff.

Dodgy Meal and Beers

It was after 11.00 p.m. by the time that I had checked into the hostel. I was a bit hungry. The staff suggested that I get some food in a nearby street. The only place I could find was a ‘street vendor’. I am not averse to eating ‘street’ food in places like Bangkok and KL. This placed looked OK.

The food was tasty but very fatty. I woofed it down and headed into a nearby bar for a Myanmar Lager. It was very cold and went down well.

I headed back to the hostel. At about 2.00 a.m. it was clear that the meal did not agree with me. I made extensive and prolong use for the bathroom and toilet facilities.

The Election

The timing on my arrival in Rangoon coincided with elections in the country. These were to be the first ‘free’ elections since the opening up of the country in 2008.

The country has been ruled by the Military since independence in 1947 and the assassination of General Aung San . His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi was only two at the time. She later spent time in the UK she studied at Oxford University, married a British bloke and had two sons.

In 1988 she returned Burma and participated in elections that were held in that year. Her party won the elections, however the military did not accept the result. Aung San Suu Kyi was put into house arrest. This lasted until 1995 when she was released.

She was placed back into house arrest in 2000. This lasted until 2002 but was effectively put back into house arrest a year later.

She was finally given her freedom at the end on 2010.

After considerable international pressure, the Military finally agreed to hold ‘free’ elections this year.

The so called ‘free’ elections were made a bit difficult for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy (NLD). The Military drafted, the constitution in their favour and against the NLD and Suu Kyi. This is incudes the automatic allocation of 25% of seats to the Military and the banning of anyone with a foreign husband or foreign children from being President. Suu Kyi’s children are British.

The result of the election was a resounding win for Suu Kyi and the NDL. Albeit counting was not completed on the Friday, the day after my arrival, it was clear that the NDL had received over 70% of the vote. The next day the Military President conceded defeat.

No Public Displays of Joy

I had expected to see public displays of joy over the election result. As far as I could see, there were none.

The locals that I spoke to seemed to be pleased that the NLD had won, but didn’t seem to understand my surprise that there wasn’t any obvious public celebration. I guess that after years of hardline Military rule, they are reticent to show their joy that the regime has been overthrown.

Walking The Old City

In the morning, I walked through the old part of the city to the railway station. I had been thinking on taking the train north to Mandalay.
The old part of the city is a bit run down. Even so, it would be real pity if it was ever knocked down, as has happened in places like Singapore and KL.

It wasn’t possible to buy a train ticket as the ticket office was closed.

Deciding not to Take the Train

I decided to have lunch in the Shangri Lia Hotel. While having lunch I got into conversation with a German couple. They told me about their journey from Mandalay south to Yangon. They had said that had thought about taking the train, but it involved too much ‘back tracking’.

I took advantage of the very good internat in the hotel to book my flight from Mandalay to Bangkok inn two week’s time.

Planning the Trip North

Back at the hostel I took further advice on how to book transport and accommodation on my journey north. The staff directed me to a travel agent.

The agent seemed to know what he was doing. I am not sure how much commisiom I am paying, but it is good to know that it is all sorted.

The Pagoda

Next day I went to the Shedwagon Pagoda. It is pretty spectacular.

The Strand

I had lunch at the Strand Hotel which is next to the Australian embassy . This is like a mini Raffles in Singapore. It is straight out of Graham Greene novel.

News from Paris

By this time news was coming in regarding the terrible tragedy in Paris.

Kandawagi Lake

In the evening of the next day I went to Kandawgyi Lake. I has a replica of a Burmese barge. You can have a meal in restaurant in the barge at great expense. Even just looking around the barge cost USD35. I gave that a miss.

Heading North

My next leg is an overnight bus to Inle Lake.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHskkNw1wR