Mixing it with the masses

Currently I m sitting by the side of the pool at the Governor's Residence Hotel with  some of my fellow travellers bobbing around very slowly and noisily in the pool awaiting the arrival of the G&Ts. It's about 5pm and for the first time a few raindrops are falling to cool us down.

We have been out and about since 8am getting a better sense of the life of the local people. Although I have to admit it is a little difficult to blend in and be unobtrusive when there are 24 large white women travelling en masse. And before anyone accuses me of being rude about their size: even the smallest of our gang is larger than the very petite Burmese women.

We set off to cross the Yangon River - muddy and brown like the Yarra. That involved a boat trip on a huge ferry equipped with tiny plastic chairs too small for western bottoms and peddlers of all sorts of items from quail eggs to hats to men's shirts. We caused quite a sensation and our endless "mingalaba" (hello) to everyone was met with big smiles. We got caught up in the masses of people getting on and off the boat and also the live chooks, TVs and bicycles which were also being transported.

On the other side we were met by chaos on the dock and caused major traffic jams as we piled into tri-shaws for the trip from the Dala township to a village about half an hour away.

Not many tourists visit this side of the river apparently and consequently the tri-shaws were not designed for the size of our bums. I managed to manoeuvre myself into the seat but was jammed tight and had great difficulty extricating myself elegantly (which my FRIEND Kerryn managed to photograph!) at the other end. As Sue pointed out I could have ended up like a hermit crab with the bike permanently attached, so I was somewhat relieved when I managed to squeeze myself out.

On the way to the village we stopped at the local market which was fascinating. It's interesting to see the different reactions to the sights and smells: I love the pungent smell of the herbs pastes, chillies and unrecognisable fruits - but some found it rather confronting.

I decided to buy some limes to try and make the new taste sensation of gin and ISOtonic even better. I did a great job of bartering (actually didn't even try!) and ended up with 6 limes for the princely price of 150 kyats (about 25 cents). And judging by the amount of giggling going on I still paid more than I should!

The sad thing was the amount of plastic rubbish at the front of the market. In days gone by all of the rubbish would have just rotted away, but now with the number of plastic bags the rubbish remains and turns into a horrible quagmire.

I squeezed back into the trishaw and we headed off down the rocky potholed road. (I felt positively at home as it was much the same as the driveway at Orygen: even Anne noticed the similarity!)

We passed a couple of small medical clinics apparently staffed by a doctor,
usually trained in Myanmar

After quite some time travelling through expansive rice fields we arrived in the village which has a population of 3000.


Even this small villgae had an NLD ( National League for Democracy) headquarters in a tiny building with a large billboard out the front with photos of Aung San Suui Kyi and her father Aung San

We spent some time wandering through the village: neat tiny wooden houses, all of them with large pottery urns for water, and small spirit house for offerings to the local deities. A mix of animism and Buddhism.

We walked around the tiny lake, past the local pagoda and ended up at the school where we really caused  sensation.

We were apparently the first tourist group to ever visit the village so everyone came to see us and greeted us warmly. However, the under two year olds were not so keen: when I got too close to one of them she took one look at me and screamed! In fact most of the babies we saw were perfectly content until they caught sight of these strange white faces and started to frown or cry.

At the school, controlled chaos reigned: there were about 6 classrooms with huge numbers of kids in each, all dressed in the Myanmar school uniform of white shirt and dark green pants/skirt. The prep class had 72 children in it and were learning English! Although they were very distracted they all behaved very well. The older boys were cheeky and posing for photos just as they would anywhere. The school routine went out the window and they giggled happily as we took photos.

Their resources were scarce: not every child had their own exercise book and there were no posters or teaching aids to see. So we did a quick 'whiparound' and gave them about $300. The head teacher was insistent that we present it to them formally and take photos as she said everyone in the village would know by the time we returned to the bus and she needed to be accountable.

So we did a group photo of all of us and the teachers (whilst all of the kids amused themselves and didn't misbehave!).

 By the time we had a look around the local monastery and its cats, and had a chat to the local monk we were exhausted. The humidity and heat were high and we were wilting!

But the news had spread and we were greeted at the headman's house where we were having lunch by a reporter from 'The Light of Myanmar' who insisted on taking a photo - just when we were looking our gorgeous best!

We were also photographed a number of times whilst we were travelling in the trishaws by a man in a uniform ( whom somebody decided was using a speed camera: very amusing!). He was apparently from the Tourism ministry and keen to show that we were having a great time to potential tourists.

The lunch was a very traditional Burmese meal with spicy chili and tamarind paste to liven up the stirfries and rice. Red bean cakes, pickled green tea, and peanuts served with green tea completed the meal. The loo proved a challenge for some (and their thigh muscles) as it was the squat variety, but we were in a Burmese home.

With some relief we jumped on the cool bus and headed back to the dock for the ferry trip back to the other side. A short walk brought us back to the Strand Hotel to collapse gratefully in the cool on comfortable cane lounges. When we revived we had a browse in the Beautiful Gallery and shop. Then it was off to the Gallery of Min ...Aung famous for his pictures of the local monks. Kerryn and I then realised that we had bought copies in the market the day before(which was fortunate as we couldn't afford the real thing).

Then it was home for a much-needed swim and a G&T: hooray! A quiet night will be had by all as we have to be up for meditation at 6.30am.

Your relaxed and much cooler correspondent

Dianne

Women's talk

What a day we've had!

The humidity rose as we assembled for Day Two of the conference in the open air Mindon room. Fortunately there was lots of energy generated by the fascinating discussions led by Sue, Ursula, Deb and Elaine.Themes included blog addiction, autoethnography, bladder control for middle aged women and acquiring the best hearing aids. Whilst that may not sound as if there was much synchronicity actually there was an amazing flow of ideas that somehow collided.

After another three course lunch ( note to self: swim harder when in the pool!) we set off to Monsoon again and met with 9 women from Myanmar. They came from a range of fields from politics to scriptwriting to NGO management to the law to financial services to business,  The group discussion covered topics far and wide but focused on the challenges of being a woman in Myanmar and eventually to how we could contribute. It was fascinating and very thought provoking, with much plotting and planning on the way back in the bus.

One of the participants is an NLD politician who is a member of the 88 Saffron Revolution and had spent five years in jail following her arrest for her student activist activities. She was voted in with other NLD members in elections held in April this year along with Aung San Suu Kyi: the  the NLD who won the majority of seats. It was very moving to hear about the resilience of those women who have tolerated such abuse and oppression for so many years.

Their needs are great in almost every field that was discussed. They acknowledged the lack of leadership due to the number of skilled people who have left the country and the huge gaps in many areas: particularly health and education. Can we help?? Yes we can! Or at least we would like to think so. We shall see........

After some hours of discussion, both exhausted and inspired, we headed back for a swim and the chance to get dressed up for a trip to The Strand Hotel for dinner.

It is a beautiful white colonial building built in 1901 and very English. As we entered the Fine Dining room we felt as if we had to mind our P's and Qs. The food was contemporary English and fabulous, especially the perfectly cooked chocolate fondant (for Masterchef fanatics cooked to perfection with a runny centre!) and the crackling chocolates. Make that a few more laps of the pool tomorrow!

A swim with more gin seemed too difficult so it was off to bed as we had an early start in the morning.

Your inspired but tired correspondent

Dianne

The conference begins.......and so does the shopping.

After a decent nights sleep which helped to counter some of the jet lag we all emerged from the luxury of our rooms yesterday to commence the 'serious business' of the conference.

But not before our decision making skills were put to use at breakfast! For a group of people who probably usually have a bowl of cereal or some toast on the run each day the choices were many and varied! The breakfast noodles perhaps, in keeping with the location? For the health conscious, interested in making sure their good bacteria levels remained high, small pots of delicious yoghurt.
A beautiful young lady offering to cook eggs any way you wanted them: I ordered an omelette and, given the difficulty of choosing from so many ingredients took up her offer of an 'omelette with everything' - delicious. But if you think that's decadent speak to those colleagues, who shall remain nameless, who finished off their breakfast with creme caramel and coconut panacaotta!

And there's no gym, so we will be rolling on to the plane home I fear!

We assembled upstairs in the Mindon room, an open air white and dark wood pavilion with fans whirring. Introductions took some time as the the previous attendees updated us about their lives over the previous two years and the new attendees introduced themselves.

The sessions were fascinating, emotional, informative, and challenging. Kim, Lee and Liz gave us much food for thought about the virtues of courage and contentment, the role of Burmese buddhism in shaping Burma and real stories of two Aussie survivors of the Burma Thai railroad. Liz's final poem brought many to tears.

Many of the previous attendees commented on the phenomemon of  "Has it really been two years?" : it felt as if we had seen everyone only yesterday and the conversations were somehow continuous.

After another glorious lunch: salad, veal ravioli with hummus and truffle oil and -wait for it- superb lemongrass pannacotta, we piled into the bus and headed for Chaukhtatgyi, better known as the Reclining Buddha.

At this point your erstwhile correspondent realised that she had left her camera at the Hotel: I have failed you dear readers. Not to worry- will steal photos from everyone else who were snappping away!

This was a whopper of a Buddha in a huge shed: beautifully painted and in a  gold robe. The first buddha to have eyelashes apparently. Some of us were delighteded to hear that the gold lined double chins were a sign of great wealth.

Next it was on to the 1600 shops known as Scots Market where we wandered for an hour, slowly wilting in the heat, amidst tiny stalls selling everything from longyis - the elegant long skirts worn by men and women - to amazingly ornate shoes and 'modern' clothes to jade and gold to.......everything!

Tonic water was high on the list of much-needed items but a word of advice : do not send a woman without her reading glasses to buy it as she just might end up with Isotonic drink instead of tonic water. And Kerryn and I bought 6 cans of it!!

Next was cocktails at the Skytower so we could watch the sunset over Shwedagon and gaze out over the city of Yangon. Then to Monsoon for dinner, more drinks ( was that wise?) and terrific food to share.

After staggering 'home' some of us headed for a 'wallow' in the pool to discuss world peace and other vital issues. AND a new taste sensation was born: gin and isotonic!!The joy of this discovery was somewhat ruined when we realised that there was actually real tonic water in the minibars!

Your slightly hungover correspondent

Dianne

Dianne's adventure

Some time ago I watched a documentary on the ABC called Dancing with Dictators and recognised one of the interviewees as Geoffrey Goddard, a journalist with whom I shared a house about  35 years ago in Bendigo.
It was my first job as an OT at the Bendigo Psychiatric Centre and I was all of 20 years old. We had lost touch when we both went overseas after a couple of years and I had no idea of his whereabouts.

I contacted him by mail as any emaill addresses I could find didn't seem to connect ( or was it that he ahd no idea who the hell I was?). Anyway we exchanged emails and organised to meet for lunch after we arrived on Monday.

So while I asked him endless questions about his life, all of the places in Asia that he had worked, his experiences in Myanmar and, most importantly: what have you been doing for the last 35 years? we:

1. Had lunch in a tiny cafe that he frequents regularly with the locals ( I'd requested that he take me where the locals eat). The food was simple, delicious and had different spices to other asian food.Cost about $4 for both of us!

2. Wandered through the CBD and looked at some of the magnificent colonial buildings including the one where Aung San (Aung San Sui Kyi's father) and his colleagues were assassinated six months before Burma became a socialist republic.

3. Drove past the NLD headquarters ( National League for Democracy) - Aung San Sui Ky's party - and admired the secret services building directly opposite: the times might be changing but not without some serious surveillance.

4. Had coffee at a superb cafe called Sharky's run by a Burmese guy who worked in Switzerland and on his return to Burma made the first cheese in Burma. 

5. Caught a number of taxis between all of these places: lots of haggling over fares, very old and barely rattling along.

6. Visited his office at the Myanmar Times which publishes a weekly English and Burmese newspaper. The censorship processes depicted in the TV documentary have been changed: now they are required to keep in line with some post-publication guidelines with the threat of fines or bans if they violate them. Apparently much easier than previously!

After a couple of hours I must have finally looked exhausted and almost run out of questions! It was back to the hotel in time for the Shwedagon pagoda visit.

In a country where the politics and social structure is so complicated it was great to spend time with someone who has lived here for the last decade and to get his views about the changes.

And of course all of the gossip about marriages (2) countries lived in (lots !) was fascinating as well.

He kindly offered to come to dinner with the mob (there's a brave man!) so we can ply him with all of our unanswered questions.

Your (I'm sure I still look 20 years old) correspondent  
 
Dianne

We all arrive safely...sleep deprived but excited

After gathering at Tullamarine at a time well past our bedtimes we climbed aboard the airbus and headed for Singapore, 8 hours and a few movies down the track.

Because we were all going to be together for days we decided to not sit together on the flight ( or alternatively that's how the bookings turned out!) After a meal in the middle of the night (called what exactly?) we staggered off the plane in search of loos and alcohol ( duty free variety of course) Changi Airport appeared to have run out of Bombay Sapphire Gin - now there's a calamity! After a 3 hour flight to Yangon we discovered the exact gin at the Yangon Duty-free (a total of 3 shops) and as it was only $17 per bottle we bought two! Think of all the money we saved there.

Along the way we sorted out some of the new attendees at the Conference - fairly conspicuous in the Yangon Airport fortunately. The excitement levels were high and a few were heard to utter " I can't believe we actually made it".

Despite our best attempts we seemed to group and regroup as we made our way through immigration with me getting some particular attention from one of the officials determined to get me through the Myanamr Nationals queue for some reason . With my blond ( grey??!!) hair and blue eyes it would be hard to find someone less like a Myanmar national.

Despite various escapades with bottles of whiskey being separated from their owners, several people being  'lost' in what is a very small airport, and the challenge of trying to work out how many kyats (pronounced 'chats' - the local currency ) one could possibly need, we finally assembled and headed off in the bus with Omnah our very knowledgeable guide.
However Anne's first encounter with the locals was not so positive as she had to contend with the fact that her brand spanking new $US50 bill wasn't acceptable to the foreign excahnge lady. Apparently she took a dislike to the serial numbers: who knew???!!

Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is a rambling city of 5 million people many of whom appeared to be squashed into tiny buses hurtling around. No motor bikes are allowed in the central part of town ( the story goes that one of the generals was involved in an accident involving a motor bike so they have been banned!) and as the import tax on vehicles has been lifted a year ago apparently there has been a huge increase in cars. They drive on the right hand side of the road in cars with the steering wheels on the right or the left: take your pick!
Plenty of rather rundown but still beautiful colonial buildings built by the British some decades ago, and not many high rise buildings. Lakes and parks aplenty so very green.

The Governors Residence Hotel lived up to the pictures on the internet (feel free to do a search on the internet and drool). Beautiful gardens, magnificent pool and water just the right temperature apparently, and decadent rooms with lots of dark wood, huge baths and fresh white linen: heaven to a sleep-deprived traveller. Whilst I went off on my own adventure ( to be reported later!) all of the above were used as everyone struggled to recuperate and relax.



Notice the monk walking around one of the levels
at the base of the spire



At 4 pm we headed for the Shwedagon Pagoda whose huge shining 90 metre gold tower can be seen anywhere in Yangon. We were grateful for a lift which took us almost to the top and then spent more than an hour doing a circuit, which included every version of a gold pagoda imaginable, sitting at the base of the tower. It's one of the most sacred pagodas in Asia and many of the local buddhists were there paying their respects. Without shoes and on hard marble some of the legs and feet were weary, but the beauty of the place inspired us to keep hobbling along.

We participated in a lamp lighting ceremony which was very spectacular, and then enjoyed the effects of the dimming light on the hundreds of gold buddhas as we headed for home.
 
A lovely dinner and far too many G&Ts were enjoyed before we all collapsed into bed to revive for an exciting first day of the Conference.

(Spelling mistakes to be corrected later too: I am exhausted)

Your only-just-awake correspondent,

Dianne

Baggage, toothpaste and hats....the big questions!

After weeks of preparation only 4 sleeps to go!

Why is it that just when you think you have everything sorted you start to doubt your judgement about everything?

Is the suitcase too big/just perfect/too small?

Do you take shoes that are glamourous/ comfortable and smart/completely daggy but very comfy?

How much toothpaste does a person really need for 3 weeks?

Do I really require a first aid bag the size of a watermelon? And if I pack it will I fit anything else in?

How does one manage to stay cool in the humidity whilst being modest and covered up?

Is it possible to purchase a hat that is great for sun protection but doesn't make you look like an old tramp?

I'm sure when we are there wallowing in the pool solving the problems of the world these will seem trivial questions but at the moment they are all too hard!!

Your pondering and indecisive correspondent

Dianne

Be prepared....

As we head off into the wild unknown of Myanmar let me ask:

How much do you know about Myanmar: it's history, it's culture , it's current progress??

If the answer is very little, here's my tips on what to read ( by no means comprehensive but just might give you some ideas!)

Myanmar Times: is a weekly newspaper in English www.mmtimes.com
It's fascinating to see what makes news especially as the Censorship Board was supposed to close in July 2012.

For example: This week 2000 people who had been banned from entering the country were taken off the blacklist and can now travel freely to Myanmar, including Dauw Aung San Sui Kyi's sons, and John Yettaw who is the American who swam across the lake to her house in 2009. However 4000 remain on the list ( I wonder what they did??!!).

For those of you who have seen 'Dancing with Dictators' I have made contact with the Senior Editor who was in the documentary and will be catching up with him in Yangon. He and I shared a house together in our mid-20's in Bendigo which, needless to say, was a very long time ago.....


George Orwell was a police soldier in Myanmar in the 20's so any of his books including Animal Farm and 1984 have themes based on the military regime in place at that time. I am reading Burmese Days which he wrote whilst in Burma. Finding George Orwell in Burma is an interesting book written by an American woman who retraced his steps  in 2004 and is worth a read.

Little Daughter is the autobiography of Zoya Phan who is a Shan whose parents were resistance fighters. Her story outlines her idyllic childhood being disrupted by persecution and massacre by the Burmese Army, and her eventual life as a refugee. She studied overseas and is an international Burmese activist. Her story is similar to many thousands of stories across many of the minority groups in Burma.

I did enjoy a book of cartoons called Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle. Guy is a cartoonist who lived in Burma with his young son and wife for a couple of years whilst she worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres. Very easy to read, but very telling about the challenges of everyday life in Burma.

I'm happy to lend any of these to anyone interested , even when we return.

Only 11 sleeps to go!!  ( And so many books to read!!)

your very excited correspondent

Dianne