Life under the Martians

So, given all the hassle with visas, was it worth it? As a tourist destination, there are more fun and easier places in South East Asia to visit. As a unique experience, it’s definitely worth the effort. Visiting Myanmar is questionable, ethically, according to Lonely Planet. And Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly stated that tourism should be discouraged because it puts money into the pockets of the generals. But it is also repeatedly pointed out that the Myanmar government makes billions on lucrative oil, timber and gem deals with Thailand, China and India; tourism is small potatoes in comparison. That the Martians are living in a military dictatorship is undisputed. Our hotel supplied us with a free newspaper, The New Light Of Myanmar, which always headlines with the State's political, economic and social objectives epitomising the virtues of State Controlled Government. In fact, they make Gordon Brown and his New Labour cronies look like the Party for free personal choice, light touch government and champion for private enterprise! The newspaper also loudly wished Kim Jong II a happy birthday on Wednesday (and the day we left saw our hotel hosting a farewell reception for the Ambassador for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), so go figure! But the people want to see the tourists so the trick is to spread the money around. Our hotel, the Parkroyal in Yangon, was comfortable but expensive. $12 for a breakfast so we ate at nearby cafes. $6 for a beer so we found local beer stations. A tour to Bago was $100 each, so we hired a taxi off the street for $100 for the four of us. Decent restaurants are few and far between and many of them added a 20% "service" charge so you can guess where that money goes. You can eat from the street but cooking styles are like India, the later you eat the longer the food's been around. Look what happened to me!

Because of the lack of tourism, Yangon city hasn't evolved into an obvious "Downtown" culture, meaning that there is no obvious single locale for enjoying oneself in the traditional sense. The few bars and restaurants that are recommended either on the local street map or, say, in Lonely Planet are spread out over a large area necessitating the constant use of thirty-year-old taxis to get around. They were cheap enough, its just that walking from place to place in Yangon isn't really an option. Yangon itself is a city of contrasts. Well lit pristine temples, a well manicured People's Park, rich hotels packed with Japanese HiSos, living next door to a city in decline. Take a boat across the river, or an hour's drive out of the city, and you have instant third world poverty. There were crows everywhere squawking amongst the discoloured concrete shops and apartments. Throughout the night, after the curfew, we could hear packs of dogs viciously fighting over the scraps left behind from the vendors in the street behind our hotel. There are no mobile phones, no debit cards, no credit cards and internet access is severely limited and censored when it is available. Would I go back? Probably not. Glad I went? Definitely. Quite an experience.