Yangon, MYANMAR

I arrived safely in Yangon (Rangoon) the capital of Myanmar (aka Burma).

This is a city rich in culture with many gold covered temples, pagodas and stupas. Some are very impressive sites indeed.

It is very different than neighboring Thailand and Laos. To me its more reminiscing of India (and probably somewhat similar to life in neighboring Bangladesh). While a small proportion is Indian, the population is really a good mix of Indian, Chinese, eight main groups of Burmese (67 sub-groups), many Thai-looking people, and an interbreeding of all of these! People are generally friendly, speaks some English, and most people live very basic lives (probably on less than $1 or $2 a day per person). While the city is rich in colonial buildings, most are extremely decayed! There is hardly any (read: NO) maintenance of the city streets and buildings. Watch where you walk!! At night, don't walk on the sidewalks. Safer to walk right in the streets where there are fewer potholes and traps! Years of international sanctions is clearly visible. No international corporate brands around here - not even a 7-Eleven, McD or anything else! A can of Coke costs more than half a litre of local Myanmar Rum or Whiskey.

Taxis are everywhere and real cheap....but deprived of most "luxury extras" such as door handles, carpets, rear view mirrors....you get the vibe, right? Have a happy ride.

Many people (women, kids, the youth) wear thanakha, a yellow sandalwood paste, on their faces which serves as a combination of skin conditioner, sunblock and make-up. Quite sexy I think. I just may go for it myself to protect myself from the brutal sun...and to blend it with the locals.

About 90% of all men, young and old, wear the longyi, the Myanmar unisex sarong-like "skirt" or lower garment - which - afterall, is sensible wear in this hot and humid tropical climate. Unlike men in most other South East Asian countries, the men of Mynmar have not yet taken to Western trousers. Less worn by the young and hip, I guess in 10 years most men will be wearing trousers. I have been encouraged by many locals to wear a longyi (as this would signal my "love and understanding of local traditions"). So, from tomorrow, I will be like one of them!

How can I write about Yangon without any mention of Shewedagon Paya. Unbelievable!! Until you see my pics on www.globerovers.com, check here for some pics.

Betel nuts! You know it? As in many Asian countries, people chew them to get slowly and constantly intoxicated - and to stay awake (which many people here find quite difficult). Difference in Myanmar is that about everybody use it! The nut is from the areca palm, and is mixed with different types of tobacco, a spicy paste, and rolled in a fresh green leaf. Never swallow the juice as you so slowly chew the rolled leaf. Spit the RED juice whenever and wherever you want. The toxins are absorbed through the membranes of your mouth. Ok....so locals encouraged me to try it...I did not get any feeling of intoxification and after doing it for about 30 minutes and embarrassingly spitting red-blood saliva several times, I swore that it was my first and last time. Many people, young and old, will give you the RED smile - gross!

While Yangon has been a wonderful experience to me; the people, the fooooood, the Beer Myanmar, the many Payas - poverty is in your face - doesn't matter where you walk. People here are poor and many are desperately poor. You cant help but to wonder how much better life would have been here without the international sanctions. Do I think the local junta (Government) cares about sanctions....as it goes, they are living very well of in their mansions around Kandawgyi Lake while the populus are suffering big time. So, who does the sanctions hit? the average Joe on the streets, big time! Surprise? NOT!

Late this afternoon I walked past a 10-year old girl sitting by the road. From underneath her long skirt I saw, what appeared to be the backside of a very mulnutritioned dog (similar to what I saw a few hours ago). I stopped to gasp a second look. Out popped a 1-2 year old boy - small, and totally under-nourished. This is not an uncommon sight at all but this must be one of the worst cases I have ever come across.

I'm sitting in a big Internet cafe....probably the best and only in Yangon. What do people do....I checked them out and my surveys says....match-making, gmail, and studying abroad!

People here are extremely curious about the life of foreigners. In the city of Yangon are very few foreigners and I guess hardly any as I will travel in the countryside. Not only do I get many stares (like I am from another planet), but often people stand in line just to ask me questions about "my world" (or to see their pics in my digital cam). I noticed that most people also stare at my hiking shoes. I then realized that I was about the only person in Yangon not wearing flip-flops or sandels. About 95% wear flip-flops and 5% wear sandals. I have since retired my "out-of-this-world" hiking shoes and now wear my sandals.

Tomorrow I am flying up north to Inle Lake to explore lake-side villages, tribes, floating markets, and ....the lake! Will write when I get Internet access.

We live in an amazing, yet very unfair world! My heart goes out to these wonderful people.