Myanmar - Land of the Unknown

*Don’t forget to read about our three-day trip in India and check out the cool pics!! More on Myanmar is on its way.

Megan’s Journal Entry:

October 25, 2005
Myanmar - Land of the Unknown

Cruising up the Yangon River towards a dock we know nothing about, the muddy waters of the delta mix with freshwater, fashioning several striations across the waters surface – muddy, less muddy, and muddier. I am reminded of a prose poem I wrote about six months ago about Vietnam. While the locale is completely distinct this paragraph seems to capture the images I have witnessed:

“When the sun rises, its light saturates the depths of the Mekong, muting the green of the fronds, the tan of the rice paddies, and the brown of the muddy water. It intensifies the exploding red of the rambutan and bursting purple of the sun-baked grapes and blushing chartreuse of the pemelo. For years now I have pushed my wooden sampan along the river, selling mangosteen, jackfruit, durian, and papaya.”

These small boats with men working long poles glide past the windows of the dining hall, carried out by the tide. Our engines and the tugs direct us up the narrow channel to something, somewhere, someplace, we have no idea. As this is Semester at Seas first visit to Myanmar it should prove to be a week of discoveries, the first not too pleasant. During the diplomatic briefing with the United States Embassy members we found out many essentials to our stay. Where to begin…as America has placed sanctions on the products of Myanmar, or Burma as outsiders address the nation, no mass-produced items can be brought back to the US. No souvenirs, no rubies, no gold jewelry, no cloth, no nothing! What a shock. Tell me again why I signed up for Local Markets today if the five hours we spend there, much of it free time, will result in no lovely purchases for friends, family and myself. Also currency cannot be exchanged legally except through the government. The current rate is about 1,200 kyat (pronounced ‘chat’) but through the government the exchange is considerably lower at only 400 kyats. Thus, students will have to use the gray market if they want local currency. Luckily many accept the dollar so Heather and I will not hassle with this. To make things even more confusing all bills should be labeled Central Bank of Myanmar and not Union of Burma Bank. No ATMS are available and traveler’s checks and credit cards are not accepted.

We also discovered quite a few things that were illegal and would result in imprisonment from the military regime – chewing gum in public, taking photos of government institutions and officials, etc.

As we pulled into the docks, a jungle greeted us surrounded completely by rice paddies. Everything is green, not just green but emerald and bright. The concrete pier has many officials in uniform and a group of boys from a school to welcome us. News crews are filming the operation, as this will be the most Americans in Myanmar in decades – since 1962.

As we left for the Local Markets expedition I must admit to feeling jaded and concerned about not only wasting my time but also not being able to purchase anything but individual art sculpted by an artisan. It was an hour drive through nothing but paddies and dense foliage to the city. The city is crowded like India but no cows, and not nearly as much filth. No horns honk discordantly every few seconds, people here are subdued and respectful.

I felt disappointed in not purchasing a sari in India although I knew deep down I would never wear it. So at the local markets I decided to have an outfit made. I figure if everyone else on this ship is purchasing items, so can I. Besides the one woman sewing the dress together will have manufactured my outfit, not mass-produced in bulk. For twenty dollars I will have a gorgeous longyis outfit from Myanmar/Burma. The fabric is silk and golden in color with small sea foam accents. The dress comes in three pieces, the longyis skirt, a top, and a shawl. It is certainly something I can see myself wearing again and again. Perhaps I shall wear this for Halloween and sign up to have my makeup applied by a girl down the hall who is fabulous with cosmetics and costuming. Some iridescence to the face could assuredly make the outfit a little more fun for the occasion and with sea foam beaded shoes from India it will be perfect. Tomorrow I pick up the completed portions when I return to the market with my City Orientation Tour.

From this market we went to the China markets, fruits and vegetables stacked everywhere. Also abundant were bagged octopus legs and other bizarre sea creatures, and baskets upon baskets of heaping dead grasshoppers. Yum!! Don’t worry Dad I do have a picture. After a quick walk through the busy side streets we returned to the bus for tea at a local shop. Upon arrival the place was not what I had in mind. Chairs and tables so low to the ground you might as well have positioned yourself on the floor were only the beginning. Tea was poured and I warily took a sip. It tasted like warm water, nothing more. And as soon as I saw one waiter reset a table nearby I decided I had taken my first and last sip. He merely dumped the extra liquid out of the cups and flipped them upside down again on the tray for the next group. How disgusting. I worried the entire hour back to the ship, feeling dirtier than the second-class train ride in India. One hundred Listerine rinses later I must say even the images of this experience still make my stomach curl.

Back on the ship I ate dinner, first Bob and Betty ate with us, then Bill and Professor Strumpf, and then two other faculty members. It was a leisurely eaten meal as we all talked about the first day in Myanmar. I still think about the local markets and the behavior of the vendors that are poles apart. Here they are quiet, reserved and do not coerce you to enter their stalls to glimpse at their products. They are helpful and willing to barter a little.

We are still checking the sell/buy booklet as we have decided we would love to go to Bago for one day and see the temples. If no tickets become available we will go down the day of the trip and see if there are any open seats on the bus. As this is the procedure, many people at the desk believe we have a great chance of joining the group. Tomorrow is the City Orientation and I cannot wait to pick up our outfits. Missing everyone at home because Halloween is so near and Happy Boo Day won’t be the same.

Heather’s Journal Entry:

October 25, 2005
Myanmar On My Mind

It took much longer than I expected to arrive in port as we cruised into the Yangon River to the port terminal. Because of the tides we were forced to adjust our schedule, but we finally arrived at a little past nine. As we sailed into the milk chocolate waters of the river, small sampans glided past in the turbid water. They were everywhere, like little ants scurrying on their way. At the pier it looks as if we have docked in the jungle far from civilization. It is very green, and the rice paddies stretch on for as far as the eye can see. There is a sign hanging on a cargo container saying, “Welcome to Myanmar M.V. Explorer.” They are waiting for us, and as the gangway goes down, the immigration officials and US embassy personnel board the ship. The immigration officers will work all day checking our passports and adding visas to hand out to the students tomorrow. Our diplomatic briefing is anything but brief and certainly very disturbing. Because of US sanctions we are not allowed to bring anything from Myanmar back into the states, with the exception of hand-painted artwork and hand-carved sculptures – absolutely nothing mass-produced.

Considering that our trip today is called “Local Markets” I cannot believe that they expect us to follow this regulation, as I know that practically everyone will be buying something from here. Semester at Sea could not have a trip to the market and anticipate such temptations as bangles, laquerware, gold jewelry, precious stones, and embroidered silk to deter the shipboard community from purchasing souvenirs.

After eating lunch we head to the tour bus and depart through the overgrown streets on the broken roads past golden stupas and mammoth lions standing erect at the entrance of temples leaning precariously on the hills. As we arrive almost an hour later in Yangon, the narrow streets remind me of India with their cycle rickshaws, but there are no horns and the buildings are blackened with soot. Men and women wear longyis, a complete circlet of fabric crossed in the front and tucked into a knot-like pouch. It is very different from the way we dress, just as many stares were directed at our blue jean clad group than at the locals.

We arrive at the Bogyoke Aung San Market, a bustling center of activity. Having been to a market in every port some things become quite routine. Yet the politeness and sincerity of the people is surprising. They do not beckon you into their shop and try to unload their goods on you, nor do they flash trinkets in front of your face or call out to you as you pass. Instead they smile and say good morning. At first we are not sure what to do, but soon the group disperses and everyone is off to shop for gifts, so we follow suit and begin by looking at several bangles of beautiful jade, which we find to be rather cheap. And so they are boxed and we continue on our way, stopping to admire the array of gold bangles, but these prove too expensive with the new government regulations on gold, and so we move on to textiles. We pick out a traditional silk outfit with gold embroidery displayed on a plastic form. It is so beautiful and the woman removes the fabric to reveal that it is just yards of silk. She takes our measurements, and tomorrow we will pick up our new formal gowns. They are three pieces, a bottom, top, and wrap, the latter of which we took today. Lastly we pick out some postcards and try to pay, but the language barrier seems to be a problem at this shop. Finally we discover that four postcards are very cheap, and instead we find ourselves buying a pack of twenty postcards for one dollar, which are accepted everywhere. We have been lucky to use US currency and it makes it much easier to determine how much you have spent. I don’t even think that we know twenty people to send mail to, but perhaps we will figure something out. (Has anyone received postcards from Mauritius? On a side note, no postcards were sent from India because the quality was very poor and we had very little time. Good news is that everyone should expect one from Myanmar.)

We drove past the famous pagoda on our way to the Chinatown Market and cannot wait to get a closer look tomorrow. This market is smaller and sells mostly food products, and some of the strangest fruit you have ever seen. We decided that we had wandered far enough when we came to baskets of roasted crickets piled high in the harsh sun. Gross! I was just waiting for them to jump off the basket onto the ground.

At last we drove to the teashop, but it was not what we expected. The tea tasted like lukewarm water and the cleanliness left much to be desired. After one sip I decided that I had had enough and I am so glad that I did. Watching them clean up a table, they dumped the leftover tea into the grass and flipped the cup back over onto the tray in the center of the table without washing it. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!! Can I say it again, YUCK! Lets just say that the mouth got a good cleaning when I got back, namely a couple dozen rinses with Listerine after a couple dozen brushes.

We returned to the ship at around six o’clock for dinner, followed by some studying and bed. Tomorrow we will tour the city and pick up our tailored pieces at the market. Myanmar is absolutely beautiful, and every time I see a stupa on the hill I get excited – too bad we cannot stop at every single one. Until tomorrow, goodnight.