The Road to Mandalay…

Hello again.

Apologies for the delay – limited Wi-Fi access – the bane of Emma and I’s lives (!)

So, back in Myanmar, it was time to move on. We elected to proceed to Mandalay. Was it to be the romantic road as predicted by Rudyard Kipling? We had some doubts, especially when it emerged that Kipling had never actually visited Mandalay!

Indeed, I was reminded of Ultravox’s popular eighties single ‘Vienna’ – despite being a hit, their vocalist, Midge Ure, had never even stepped foot in Vienna at the time. Ah, the irony.

On the road to Mandalay

The socio-political situation in Myanmar is complex, to say the very least. Peoples champion for democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, was placed under house arrest for many years, but she is currently constitutionally prevented from becoming prime minister/president, due to the fact that she has children who have British nationality.

Moreover, by releasing her, the government have played a shrewd political move, by virtue of the fact that in doing so depletes her iconic Mandela-esque political status, and her advice to foreigners to visit Myanmar, after years of encouraging an unofficial tourist ban (due to the military dictatorship), is confusing to the Myanmese undereducated populace – it is a ‘U-Turn’ which leaves many people confused, and unsure as to what the future may hold.

That said, Myanmar is a wealth of contradictions, amidst rapid cultural revolution, and enhanced civil freedom for its citizens. During our stay, we discovered that the local economy was strong, by virtue of the fact that the opium crops were being harvested, and to that end, was competing relatively well in comparison with the American Dollar, which is utilised to prop up the indigenous currency.

Moreover, the pace of cultural evolution has no precedent; dust roads are having tarmac added at a vociferous rate. Wi-Fi is spreading quickly. People are able to communicate with foreigners, with relatively little infringement from the government. Such progress is unheard of In the country formerly known as Burma. It is almost as if there is a revolution, minus blood shed.

But we were also to discover, by speaking to other foreigners in the main, that Myanmar hangs on a thread, in relation to the maintenance of stability of universal social cohesion. This is by virtue of the fact that there exists in excess of 100 different languages across the country, making the risk of civil war a very dangerous possibility.

As travellers, Emma and I became very aware that our visas were scrutinised with our every step. The road to Mandalay was no exception – minus a valid visa, we would not have been permitted to even obtain a transport.

Fortuitously we both possessed legitimate documents. The roads were long and windy, as we traversed rural environments, occasionally punctuated by police roadblocks. At scheduled convenience stops, locals were curious and bemused by our piercings and fashion sense. The experience was somewhat surreal.

At the lunch stop we were greeted by these guys selling some very tasty egg pancakes and fruit!

At the lunch stop we were greeted by these girls selling some very tasty egg pancakes and fruit!

Upon arrival in Mandalay, we initially made the mistake of going to two restaurants recommended by Lonely Planet. Both places were frequented by European LFB – often families sitting around tables looking morose, or rich flash packers who neither Emma or I had any desire to communicate with. After Bagan, we were both despondent.

But why are people so miserable in here?

Trent did like the sentiment of the restaurant though…

As a consequence of our disappointment, we elected to head off the beaten track, and access some local bars, which was a very good call. Upon entering, locals often stared at us, but a smile goes a long way in Myanmar, and once assured we posed no threat, people relaxed, and we were made to feel welcome.

One of the Myanmar friends we met in a local bar!

In one such bar, a man found the courage to come and speak to us. His introduction made me smile; “You’re a punk. I like punk. I like Sum 41 and Iggy and the Stooges”. In all honesty, I’m not sure I’d classify Sum 41 as a punk band, but none the less this guy had my complete attention. We chatted to him for the remainder of the evening, as I discovered that a half bottle of whiskey was cheaper than a pint of beer at the bar!

This is Arka, we asked if we could photograph this guy and put it on the blog, he gave me his email so we can contact him..great guy!

“You’re a whiskey man” remarked said local, and I had to agree. It was a fragile situation – responsible tourism dictates that you avoid political conversation through fear of incriminating local people, for their inadvertent criticism of the quasi civilian government. On the other hand, Myanmar people relish their new found liberty and freedom, and are keen to speak English to foreigners.

We had to find a compromise of conversational topics, somewhere in the middle. Occasionally a local person would quietly criticise their government, for not reducing the cost of accommodation for tourists. Emma and I privately speculated that with the passage of time, capitalist market forces would lower said accommodation costs, longitudinally.

During the course of our stay in Mandalay, we visited U Bein Bridge, which was aesthetically heartwarming, and where we met a young girl in her teens, who was being taken to the tourist attraction by her father, so as to improve his daughters command of the English language, in the hope that she might foster a career in tourism in the future.

U Bein Bridge

There was a small island in the middle!

Emo the young girl we talked to along the distance of the bridge, so she could practice her English. Her father is in the background!

We also went to Mandalay Hill, which affords visitors some excellent views of the city, and the surrounding countryside. Invariably we overheard some terminally depressed Europeans complaining that the site was unclean and under maintained, and lamented the fact that they appeared to have totally overlooked the fortuitous nature of the country’s political liberation, which had hastened their very presence in the country.

The long walk up

This was an unusual statue as it depicted a monk before the Buddha.

That evening, we went to see a performance of the comedians the Moustache Brothers, who for many years have used their sets to highlight injustices, and human rights infringements, inflicted by the Myanmar government against their own citizens.

Indeed, banned from performing in public, or in the Myanmar language, the Moustache Brothers have circumvented the law by performing their set in their own home, and speaking in English.

This is Lu Maw’s wife who was a Lonely Planet front cover girl!!

It was a great performance. The eldest Moustache Brother has sadly long died of lead poisoning from the water supply in prison. Imprisoned for speaking out against the government , two of the Moustache Brothers were prior sentenced to hard labour.

A must see the Moustache Brothers in Mandalay!

A memorable gag was when one of the Moustache Brothers passed comment on the unsavoury dental situation of many local people – it is not uncommon in Myanmar to see local people with very rotten teeth, due to the absence of available dental care.

When questioned in Thailand about the state of his teeth, he ruefully explained “It’s because the government won’t let people open their mouths in Myanmar”. Proof indeed that there is often never a truer word said than in jest…..

Meanwhile, yours truly had discovered the availability of the Myanmar cigarette, which is a kind of combined cigar cigarette, which are wrapped in a cigarette leaf, and you are able to inhale. I bought forty, with a view of bringing them back to Blighty to gift to friends. Unfortunately that is unlikely to occur – I fell in love with them, and at the time of writing, I have only four remaining – LoL!

The Myanmar cigarettes, Whiskey, and street pancakes and Daal, all very tasty!

In the market.

The British two finger salute is not recognised in Myanmar!

The streets of Manadalay.

On our final day in Mandalay, we elected to take a stroll to the Jetty, which is well worth a visit. Various boats are moored, as others come and go on the river, and yet another local bar welcomes tourists, from which we ordered excellent food, as we watched the world go by.

More crazy vehicles of Myanmar!

The official Jetty of Mandalay!

But time was against us. Emma and I had to return to Yangon, where we hoped to again meet up with our German friend Esther, and discover whether or not she had gained permission from the relevant authorities to remain in Myanmar as a student, funded by a scholarship from her home country.