04.03.2007
Burma Travel Documentary
(Based on the 10days, 1,900 plus pictures and about 7 hours of video footage)
October 11, 2006
I attempt to recall my thoughts on this bumpy, pot-hole filled road leading north from Rangoon. We are on Route #1, not #2 because the road conditions north of Pyay are reported to be terrible due to the weather.
Yesterday was a full tour of Rangoon/Yangon. The White Elephant hotel is near Inya lake and what is reported to be the White Bridge a.k.a. the Red Bridge from the 1988 massacre of students.
Traveling on University Avenue, we find the former Rangoon University is now occupied by the military government for offices and seemingly overgrown. At least to an outsider’s eye. Farther down we pass some new construction and a sign noting that it is the new American Embassy residence. This is a short distance, about 20 metres from the block that Daw Su Kyi lives on. The condition of the residence seems quite run down, but the red peacock flags are still hung at the top of the fence. The road guards on either side that control the gate polls do not seem to notice me. I can’t get good pictures at this time. Then to Shwedagon and the Bo Gyoke Aung San museum. The gate into the Bo Gyoke statue or shrine was shut.
Within the grounds of the Shwedagon pagoda grounds, I am befriended by old gentleman who gave me cheap tour around the grounds. I found out that I am Friday born and my lucky animal is a ‘hamster’.
After dinner, we stopped at the Dagon market to use the internet café at café Aroma. This is the same market building where the City Mart store had a bomb detonated in. It had wrecked the entire store. But it is back in action and there are no signs of the explosion, only increased security at the Dagon market entrance. The City Mart is the chain store owned by one of the high level Generals in the military junta.
Now back to this present day
After entering Bago state, the road conditions worsen, become narrower and we share 3-way traffic with cars, cargo trucks, buses and bicycles. The road is literally a real highway, it is a raised peninsula spanning through miles of rice fields and water. Oh, I mention 3-way traffic because of having to swerve and weave into on-coming traffic to avoid pot-holes and to pass other vehicles. The road infrastructure greatly requires improvements.
The symbols of religion are more evident outside of the city. Each town and village has a pagoda and sometimes also a temple. Some rice fields also have a small gilded pagoda rising out above the field.
We passed through Nyauglebin around 10 AM and then Kyauktaga just before 10:30. There are a single pay telephone in every town of a significant size. These phones are sitting out near the road on tables. You simply pay the person after the call for the time you used the phone and place you called to.
The occasional road repair of small sections of road is done by women, a few men and what seem to be older children. The process appears to be very inefficient. The holes are patched using popcorn sized stone mixed with tar. Using shovels and specially gloved hands they fill the holes. Their heads are covered exposing a pretty yet soiled face. Heavy rollers do not always seem to be available to roll flat these newly patched holes.
After lunch in Toungoo, we proceed toward and into old and renewed Pyinmana expecting high security. But after entering by a new or renewed road and passing some new houses, we found it had been a wrong turn. The military’s new admin HQ, Nay Pyi Daw does not occupy the city itself.
After redirecting ourselves, we found the main entrance and had to pass it. Only able to observe from about 1 or 2 kilometres away. It sits at the foot of the mountain range that is the border to Shan state. I need to geologically verify this, but from observations, it seems that they built this very near a minor earthquake fault. Some of our team wishes it would all be sucked into the fault line someday soon.
North of Tatkon on Route #1, I noted new concrete (rail ties) that had been laid parallel to the existing rail line. Maybe a high speed line? I also wonder who, that is what country, is supplying the new train and parts.
Goat’s Brains & Mosquitoes
We got a flat tire outside of Meiktila. It was late, we had been traveling for about 13 hours. The first hotel had a lot of truckers and local resident recommended the Wuzin Hotel on the other side of the lake. It was a dark unlit road, at the hotel the first and most noticeable thing was mosquitoes. Thousands all over the outer walls and many inside the room. I do not think that Raid insect poisons and Deet repellants were tested in conditions like this. I wasted some Deet repellant spray to drive out the mosquitoes inside the room, but it actually killed them.
We went back into town, across the bridge and past the temple and the Karaweik boat restaurant or statue. A karaweik is a sort-of duck, though this one was made of concrete and about 30 feet tall. At the restaurant, a traditional open air sort, I choose from the Burmese menu selection…fried goat’s brain. It was mis-listed as mutton.
October 12, 2006
We patched our old tire and added an inner-tube for improved safety of the old tire. On the way toward Mandalay, we passed the entrance to Meiktila airbase. This is where much of Burma’s second had air force exists and where raids into KNU HQ occurred from. There is another military base down the road. After gassing up at a working MPPE pump, we turned around. I also see the Myanmar Aerospace Engineering college on the same street. There is an obvious Muslim population in Meiktila because of the 2 mosques in town.
Something I forgot to mention, there is an obvious police force in every town north of Rangoon.
I just realized my first ‘turnpike’ as we pay another toll. Such as the Pennsylvania or New Jersey State Turnpikes. Their origins are similar. A balanced ‘pike’, literally a long pole or tree. This pike is opened or turned to the side to allow the toll payer to pass. Father down this road the hills begin to build and the people and styles change as we travel west from Meiktila. Farther down the road we see another new water retention area and find that it is primarily for a military HQ. This may be an artillery group because the symbol or emblem is that of two crossed canons.
I see I am attracting much attention since I am rare ‘gringo’ passing on this road. Also we may be one of the few civilian vehicles and not a cargo truck. One lady we passed had a long knife balanced across her head. The same as I have seen in travel books.
The road up to Popa Yoma and the temple is quick, but we encountered a dry river bed with a truck stuck in the sand. Many became backed up on both sides and a few more including our vehicle becomes stuck in the sand. Once the first vehicle was freed our driver became impatient or brave and tried a different route that had not yet become a beaten path. He hits the sand too slowly and becomes stuck. We push him back and walk to the other side. He tries the main route through the sand and finally succeeds. During the rainy season, this is urgent. Many of these rivers can fill up very rapidly and are known to take anything including cars and trucks and bridges downstream with the deluge. At this time, it was near the end of the rainy season.
We finally arrive at the foot of Mt. Popa and its monastery. This is an on volcanic core of some type similar to that in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The 777 stairs were closed for cleaning and repair after a mudslide tumbled down the side of Mt. Popa and another under mined a restaurant and the temple gateway. The gateway was still standing, but at 20 degree slant towards the direction of a former restaurant that now sits toppled at the bottom of the hill. I hiked as far up the temple stairway as was allowed. This wasn’t very far. It is closed at the point just after the chain of shops.
The resident monkeys came for the food we purchased for them. It was dry corn and other grains prepared in little cones of newspaper. We learned to hand it to them careful so our fingers would not become accidental monkey snacks. A monkey from another tribe came to get food and was viciously attacked by the others. The fur really did fly that day. A worker came and broke up the attempted slaughter with a big stick.
We departed Mt. Popa going up the hill toward the remaining volcano and the Mt. Popa Nature area. This road then led us down through a small town. This brought us through a mud slide area that had recently been cleared then down to a new straight road from Popa to Bagan (Pagan). We encountered a second dry river bed where we became stuck again. This was a great way to meet the locals since ever body was working side-by-side to push themselves out of the sand. Along the way, I witness a new train station which is a strong indicator of a new train line.
Upon arriving in Bagan, we learned that the Peacock Killing chaung (a river or stream) had killed the passengers in two cars. They too were stuck in the sand. The river gets its name because peacocks (peafowls) are known to fly fast. But this dry river can change faster than they can fly.
The road to Mandalay was deeply flooded. The reported water levels were at least waist deep and maybe a bridge had been washed out all because of the heavy rain this year. The routes to Taungyi and Inle lake were blocked by mudslides. So the travel schedule had to be modified again because of unpredictable Burma.
October 13-14, 2006
The night before, I had a delicious dish with egg plant at our hotel Bagan Thande. Well… I paid the price for enjoying something delicious. I first got gas that bothered me all night and later a stomach flu… probably salmonella or such. I began to vomit through the next morning. Another who shared my dish, got diarrhea. Breakfast --- and lunch didn’t stay down long. Luckily there was a local doctor that treats foreigners and is affordable. Many clinics and hospitals are ill-prepared. Many doctors require prepayment before service is rendered. Some ask for food as part of the payment. The two of who were affected are now on antibiotics and other stuff that I am not familiar with.
I do manage to get out since I felt secure enough with an empty stomach. The local children were looking sell postcards or be your tour guide by horse cart immediately met me within 15 feet after departing the hotel compound. The walls of the old and popular pagodas and temples were covered over in whitewash or white paint up to about 25 feet. This is either protecting the ruined painted murals and inscriptions or some dumb thoughtless reason just to cover them. Also, the inner stairways leading to the upper levels are closed. The majority of these buildings range from 800 to 1,000 years in age. A few are much older, dating back more than 2,000 years. According to their new archeological museum, there are over 4,000 pagodas, temples, bricks mounds and such items or structures. In one unpopular and off the beaten path pagodas, the drawings are in great condition. In an inner chamber, I heard the chirp of numerous bats and then felt a small splat on my head. Is it good luck to get bat excrement on head as it is to get a drop of cave water on the forehead??
We are able to tour and explore through most major temples and some minor ones. Dhamayangyi is the most interesting. I found different narrow stairways that lead up to a narrow ledge that crosses over toward the second corridor. The ledge is only 6 or 7 inches wide, but the holes in wall above appear to be handholds. This ‘ledge way’ is about 5 metres above the floor and leads into the door or window opening in the wall between the outer or first corridor area into the second corridor. About 10 feet through there leads to the other side or the wall. The inner wall also has this ledge way. I was out of film and batteries at this point and did not try to cross.
The local story about third, inner corridor is that a succeeding king sealed the access into this corridor out of jealousy. The archaeology department claims it was closed off during its construction period because of structural problems. I found that a few upper windows were not sealed or not sealed completely. The only issue was to get across the gap from were the ledge way crosses to one of those openings. Remember that these are 5 metres or 20 to 25 feet above the ground. And the second corridor was 15 to 20 feet across. Jumping seemed out of the question at this point. I did not want to go home in pieces or a lot of pain.
The Ananda temple was more touristy, but also had a similar design to Dhamayangyi. Ananda had many little openings up the walls in many corridors containing little Buddha statues from different eras. Some probably have not been seen by human eyes for centuries. I ‘investigated’ some much I found two openings sealed with bricks, leaving only a small hole to see inside. One seemed to go nowhere. I stuck my hand and camera through and confirmed with pictures about that. The other was the former opening to the upper level. Behind the brick wall was a lock iron gate. I used my video camera to carefully peer up and virtually climb the stairs.
One of the Myanmar projects that affects Bagan officially is as one sign states, “The Greening of the central Myanmar dry zone, Contributed by the Republic of Korea”, AKA, South Korea. As it was told to the people--- “Plant anything”, not just trees, “everywhere.” So, in the government organized areas many trees were planted. Some planted like rows of vegetables in a field. In other areas, such as off the road in Bagan, so much mixed vegetation was planted that Bagan is changing into a jungle. The vegetation, their so called “a-forestation” project is out of control here. The wall of the old Bagan city is over-whelmed by greenery. Their project will lead to the old buildings disintegrating much sooner. Bagan was considered a desert before this. Also, they never told the people to maintain or cut back the over growth. Again something was put into process, but without any apparent plan to further manage it or chart its progress. When a business does this, it eventually fails.
I learned about the people living by or almost in the temples and pagodas are not squatters, but hired as security. They reportedly receive a small payment and are allowed to do their own business and sell their own wares from the temple.
Something I learned about poverty here, which may also reflect on the quality of religious teaching here. As I had first seen in a temple street shop in Bagan, some Buddha and other related heads looked as if they had broken off. These disembodied heads of idols were now on sale. One night after seeing the sunset from the top of one different temple, we entered a long, low-lying building at the base of this temple. Contained within this unlit, cramped structure was an ancient sleeping Buddha statue. Within the passage the circle behind the statue to the other side of this structure were small hollows in the wall. Almost all of these had statues that had been beheaded, the statue bodies still in their proper place. Thinking back about it, it seems a bit gruesome.
Later we learned more about the flooding going to Mandalay. On route 2, it was reported to be waist deep.
October 15, 2006
With limited reports about a southern route return through the ancient Pyu cities via route 1, we return through Kyaukpadaung to Meiktila and heard north. Shortly, we encounter a modern toll plaza that charges you by how much your vehicles overall weight is. For our measured weight of about 1,500 kilograms or pounds, the cost was only 300 kyat. (ks.) We enter the home region of Than Shwe, Kyaukse. The roads at this point become new and perfect. The roads that he had bragged so much about were done only for his home town’s region. The road is without holes, so we are traveling at 100 kph north towards Mandalay. We just enter Wundwin and the car’s flap or something shreds the right rear steal belt radial tire. This is the same tire that was repaired the other just south of Meiktila.
The MPPE is the ‘official’ state-owned gas station and has the best available price at about US$1.10/gallon. But you are also restricted to 2 gallons of gas per car. Some of these pumps do not work, so the gas is brought out in buckets and poured via a funnel and hose. But very close by, many so-called illegal gas stands exist and sell fuel at around US$3.00/ gallon.
Returning to the point about Than Shwe’s highway…some areas are still being prepared for improvement. Nearing Kyaukse, there has been extensive flooding. Within Kyaukse, the symbol of the city, a White Elephant…does not seem so lucky today.
The news reports were true that even this town was flooded up to street level. The stream that passes through the south side of town was still high and violent with water raging only inches below the bridge. Towards the north side of the town, the side streets to the east were still flooded. Going north out from the living area of the town, was nearly impassible. The road having at least 8 to 10 inches of brown river water on the roadway, we drove slowly trying not to create waves and not flood the engine and have to push. The potholes were literal landmines since there were so many and some were so deep that you may loose a tire or axle in the process. The locals were smart, they put large objects such as tree branches in the known holes so drivers would not find a surprise.
A few people were on bicycles and scooters. I know I would have tried to ply the waters on a bike too since I had ridden a bicycle through deep snow years ago. About 100 yards later, we left Kyaukse behind with its flood. Now we need to find the proper tire store. The stores in Kyaukse didn’t have the correct size. The sun is setting, yet we may luck in Mandalay.
In a dry cool climate, you do not easily realize how much moisture your body looses. Here in Burma, the high humidity and moderately-high heat levels…you learn to sweat constantly. I doubt that deodorants could cope. The sweat begins almost immediately after leaving an air conditioned space. And then the body odor quickly follows.
(To be continued next week.)
_ By Sarsu Yin
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