Myanmar - What's it Like

Do you want to know what the nation of Myanmar is like... that's the old Burma for those of us still living under the British Empire.

Well, it's nothing like you thought it would be.

You probably thought that since the coup d'état imposed military rule in 1962... there would be police informants hiding behind every bush... police and military swaggering down every street... indiscriminating detention faced on each corner. Joye and I are naive in such matters... we could see none of it. We saw citizens confidently going about their daily business... looking relaxed... looking well-fed... being courteous and energetic. I have no doubt that Myanmar citizens crave greater individual freedoms... all I'm saying is that today, they didn't look angry or fed-up.

You probably thought that a country with a GDP per capital of just $1,000 would have beggars on the street... children in rags... hunger driving desperate behaviour. I have to admit to being completely mysterfied by what we saw on the street. $1, 000 per annum is $2.75 per day. All the people we saw on the street looked like they had a comfortable night's sleep... had washed and groomed themselves... dressed in clean clothes... and satisfied any hunger pains. You can't do that on $2.75 per day. Perhaps the capital Yangon is treated as a privileged area... and real poverty lies outside the capital. We'll see.

Yangon is clean... very clean... without an observable team of street cleaners. We did not see citizens dropping waste paper or plastic on the street... very little spitting. We have seen no stay dogs, cats, pigs, cattle or water buffalo. We did see some street vendors with pet roosters each participating in a perpetual cock-a-doodle-do knockout... bringing some rural noises to downtown alleyways.

The traffic is quite different compared to India. Motorbikes are forbidden from Yangon... leaving automobiles to drive in accordance with strict road rules. Public transport is extensive... provided by utility vehicles with bench seating in the tray to seat a dozen or so commuters. Even bicycles are absent... although there are still a few on the roads.

One day (in recent history) the government decided that cars should change from driving on the left-hand side of the road... to the right. There are some vehicles with steering wheels on the left side... but the majority of vehicles have their steering wheel on the right side. Initially, we thought that taxis were expensive... it cost kt4,500 to get a ride downtown... even after adjusting for yesterday's inflation, that's still a big number. But the exchange rate is roughly kt1,000 for each $1...so you need to take a big pile of notes with you, everytime you step on the street.

I'm forming the opinion that the British did a far better job at colonial rule in Burma than it did in Delhi. Their colonial buildings are still being used today... streets are well laid out and street drainage is much more effective. Some of the colonial buildings have been let deteriorate... some are being renovated... but most are still being used.

You probably want some pictures and colour that are uniquely 'Yangonish'. Of course there are the Buddhist temples... golden domes shining in the tropical sun... but you expected that. How about the street vendors sitting with their manual typewriters... willing to fill in any government form that you may need. How about the street vendor next door with a photocopying machine that can duplicate the typed document you have just paid for... these street vendors think of everything. How about the fellow touting for business at the door of the government building... offering (at a price) to show you the right queue to join for you to present your form.

Street vendors often had 'line' phones booked up to their store. We have yet to figure out why a vendor offering a cup of tea would need two telephones on his table... perhaps it is a status thing. Feature mobile phone (the ones you are throwing away) are the hot items in street technology. The yuppies are around flashing their 'smart phones', but the up-and-coming cool guy will be standing idly on the street corner... smiling lovingly at his feature phone... Nokia ain't dead yet.

The markets here are civilised. The vendors do not harass potential purchasers. You are free to inspect and feel the goods without having to hear why the garment in your hand is much better than the one on display next door.

We meet with the seven other participants in our tour tomorrow night... when we will have the opportunity to ply countless questions to our tour leader... who can hopefully explain the riddle within the mystery that appears as the paradox of Yangon.