Well, we were sad to leave Burma, but Chris and Emma were not sorry to leave behind the heavy smoke that filled the air each evening and aggravated their eyes and upper respiratory tracts. The people in Yangon are lucky to receive 10 hours of electricity a day and they never know when the power will be on; much of their cooking takes place outdoors and fires burning garbage and grasses '
As we wandered around Yangon in the evenings, the sidewalks were crowded with many people cooking enormous pans and vats of food the sidewalks were crowded with people eating their dinner. Many of the buildings in Yangon were quite old and handsome, but today it appears as if they have not been touched, as far as maintenance of any sort, in many years. As we walked down the street, the smell of mildew and age wafted into the street from the doorways we passed.
We had originally planned on joining a group traveling to Bagan, but Chris got food poisoning from something he ate at lunch the day before we were scheduled to leave (our group left at 3:30 a.m). Alden also had a stomach ache and, not knowing how long it would take Chris to recover and if Alden was coming down with food poisoning as well, we decided to stay in Yangon.
The night of our arrival in port, a group of us went into town for a meal at Le Planteur. We pulled out of the port heading to dinner and were proceeded by a police escort, lights flashing and siren blaring and we were told that this was because there would be a great deal of traffic. We were a bit puzzled by this, and figured it would be one of the only times most of us would experience this (except, as one professor pointed out, possibly at our funerals). The restaurant was situated on a small hill and we walked up a curving drive surrounded by trees. Near the top of the drive, was a row of shiny antique automobiles ready to fetch guests from nearby hotels. The restaurant itself is located in a handsome old building and we were gardens --a waterfall with aquatic flowers and plants floating below, huge lamps with pottery bases made in a nearby town topped with shades exaggerated in proportion and glowing, a colorful silk parasol lit from behind, winding stone paths, the whole garden surrounded by enormous trees --incredibly romantic. From the moment we began our walk up the drive we suspected that this experience would be pretty amazing and we were not disappointed. The food was delicious: white tuna carpaccio followed by prawns with a slight flavor of citrus, cumin crusted fish, coconut ice ream with pineapple crisp. But not only was the food excellent, it was the kind of meal that could not easily be teased apart from its setting---the beautiful garden and interesting conversation added to the "flavor" of the dinner!
As in many of the countries we are visiting on this trip, Burma is one of dramatic contradictions and extremes. The poverty in Burma is evident everywhere and is extreme. Not only have most people been subjected to economic deprivation, but there have been few liberties tolerated by the government--certainly not free speech, gathering in groups of more than five people, publishing anything critical of the government...the list is long. The elections two years ago are said to have marked a turning point for the country --- "the Lady" Aung San Suu Kyi is now a member of parliament after 15 years of house arrest, but while we were there, there were rumors of violence in several parts of the country and Medcin sans Frontiers was evicted from part of the country. The government claims that the group was evicted because contract negotiations failed and due to a lack of "transparency", but it is believed that the group was actually evicted because of the fact that they were treating wounds resulting from violence which is continuing.
We were told before we reached Burma that our email could be checked, phone calls monitored, and to be aware that we would most likely be watched. We also had a person staying on board while we were in port. Atleast one student from the ship who did not have a hotel room received a visit from a government "representative" at the hotel room of his friend inquiring about his stay. One morning, during a stroll through a small village, our group was followed by a man in a white shirt who shadowed us on a scooter the entire morning. This was not an issue for us as we were only in port for 6 days, but its another story for those living there.
We went on a "service visit" which took us to the village Thanlyin and then to an orphanage/school/monastery. While we were walking down a lane in the village early in the morning, a group of monks approached from the opposite direction gathering rice at a few gates. Reminders of Stupas, pagodas, shrines, monasteries and, of course, monks. Becoming a monk is a part most males (and many females) life at some point. The female monks can be seen in pink robes and the males in robes of saffron.
About 200 children depend on the monastery we visited for schooling and lunch; some of the children return to homes nearby in the afternoon and others live there. We delivered donated items and then spent time with the kids--dancing, drawing and coloring, and playing badminton and soccer (no easy feat as the temp rose above 100 degrees before noon). Then, we joined the kids for lunch--well, most of us sat with them on the floor of a big room around low tables--a giant buddha looking down on all of us. A few of the college students ate huge plates of food along with the kids. The lunch (rice, soupy greens, and chicken in a red sauce) had been prepared in an outdoor open kitchen with about 1,000 dogs yelping and scavenging for scraps everywhere you looked. There were many puppies running around who were,of course, tiny and cute, but when the urge to even get near one hits, we have to remind ourselves that most of them have rabies and that friends told us that their guide was bitten by a dog in front of them. The ship can treat two people for rabies--the medicine is expensive and has a short shelf life. Beyond two (and this has happened on a previous voyage) and the infected individuals must be flown to a location that can offer treatment. Not on our agenda! Several women help the monks watch over the children, many of whom were very young and barely eating on their own, but managing to put away huge plates of food!
In Rangoon on another day, we went to high tea at Acacia with Aida, a member of our "adopted" family on the ship. It was a bit disorienting as we pulled off of the chaotic dusty steet into a quiet drive that led to a beautifully restored old home. Tea was so delicious and we were so comfortable sitting on the huge wicker sofas that the kids wanted to stay for an early dinner dinner there ---large plates of risotto and lamb. After tea/dinner Emma and Alden returned with a group on the bus to the ship because they were hot and tired, but not before we ran into a woman carrying a large plastic container filled with tiny birds approached us. She wanted us to pay her one dollar for each bird that we wanted to be set free. Of course, we did buy a few birds their freedom, but we later heard that they are trained to return. I guess we wont know if that is the case, but hopefully they flew far away! We went in search of a "free trade" store which they found (miraculously from a hand drawn map without knowing the name) on the third floor of a building on a small street close to the Strand Hotel. A cold beer at the bar in the Strand was a great way to end the day and then back on the bus to the ship.
It will be interesting to see what unfolds in Burma in the future. One guide kept telling us that "large corporations" were positioning themselves to enter the country. We passed rows of empty homes (no residency permits) that stood on ground previously worked by farmers (our guide told us that many people were unhappy that the farmers had been pushed off of their land). One thing is for sure, it is a beautiful country.
As we wandered around Yangon in the evenings, the sidewalks were crowded with many people cooking enormous pans and vats of food the sidewalks were crowded with people eating their dinner. Many of the buildings in Yangon were quite old and handsome, but today it appears as if they have not been touched, as far as maintenance of any sort, in many years. As we walked down the street, the smell of mildew and age wafted into the street from the doorways we passed.
We had originally planned on joining a group traveling to Bagan, but Chris got food poisoning from something he ate at lunch the day before we were scheduled to leave (our group left at 3:30 a.m). Alden also had a stomach ache and, not knowing how long it would take Chris to recover and if Alden was coming down with food poisoning as well, we decided to stay in Yangon.
The night of our arrival in port, a group of us went into town for a meal at Le Planteur. We pulled out of the port heading to dinner and were proceeded by a police escort, lights flashing and siren blaring and we were told that this was because there would be a great deal of traffic. We were a bit puzzled by this, and figured it would be one of the only times most of us would experience this (except, as one professor pointed out, possibly at our funerals). The restaurant was situated on a small hill and we walked up a curving drive surrounded by trees. Near the top of the drive, was a row of shiny antique automobiles ready to fetch guests from nearby hotels. The restaurant itself is located in a handsome old building and we were gardens --a waterfall with aquatic flowers and plants floating below, huge lamps with pottery bases made in a nearby town topped with shades exaggerated in proportion and glowing, a colorful silk parasol lit from behind, winding stone paths, the whole garden surrounded by enormous trees --incredibly romantic. From the moment we began our walk up the drive we suspected that this experience would be pretty amazing and we were not disappointed. The food was delicious: white tuna carpaccio followed by prawns with a slight flavor of citrus, cumin crusted fish, coconut ice ream with pineapple crisp. But not only was the food excellent, it was the kind of meal that could not easily be teased apart from its setting---the beautiful garden and interesting conversation added to the "flavor" of the dinner!
As in many of the countries we are visiting on this trip, Burma is one of dramatic contradictions and extremes. The poverty in Burma is evident everywhere and is extreme. Not only have most people been subjected to economic deprivation, but there have been few liberties tolerated by the government--certainly not free speech, gathering in groups of more than five people, publishing anything critical of the government...the list is long. The elections two years ago are said to have marked a turning point for the country --- "the Lady" Aung San Suu Kyi is now a member of parliament after 15 years of house arrest, but while we were there, there were rumors of violence in several parts of the country and Medcin sans Frontiers was evicted from part of the country. The government claims that the group was evicted because contract negotiations failed and due to a lack of "transparency", but it is believed that the group was actually evicted because of the fact that they were treating wounds resulting from violence which is continuing.
We were told before we reached Burma that our email could be checked, phone calls monitored, and to be aware that we would most likely be watched. We also had a person staying on board while we were in port. Atleast one student from the ship who did not have a hotel room received a visit from a government "representative" at the hotel room of his friend inquiring about his stay. One morning, during a stroll through a small village, our group was followed by a man in a white shirt who shadowed us on a scooter the entire morning. This was not an issue for us as we were only in port for 6 days, but its another story for those living there.
We went on a "service visit" which took us to the village Thanlyin and then to an orphanage/school/monastery. While we were walking down a lane in the village early in the morning, a group of monks approached from the opposite direction gathering rice at a few gates. Reminders of Stupas, pagodas, shrines, monasteries and, of course, monks. Becoming a monk is a part most males (and many females) life at some point. The female monks can be seen in pink robes and the males in robes of saffron.
About 200 children depend on the monastery we visited for schooling and lunch; some of the children return to homes nearby in the afternoon and others live there. We delivered donated items and then spent time with the kids--dancing, drawing and coloring, and playing badminton and soccer (no easy feat as the temp rose above 100 degrees before noon). Then, we joined the kids for lunch--well, most of us sat with them on the floor of a big room around low tables--a giant buddha looking down on all of us. A few of the college students ate huge plates of food along with the kids. The lunch (rice, soupy greens, and chicken in a red sauce) had been prepared in an outdoor open kitchen with about 1,000 dogs yelping and scavenging for scraps everywhere you looked. There were many puppies running around who were,of course, tiny and cute, but when the urge to even get near one hits, we have to remind ourselves that most of them have rabies and that friends told us that their guide was bitten by a dog in front of them. The ship can treat two people for rabies--the medicine is expensive and has a short shelf life. Beyond two (and this has happened on a previous voyage) and the infected individuals must be flown to a location that can offer treatment. Not on our agenda! Several women help the monks watch over the children, many of whom were very young and barely eating on their own, but managing to put away huge plates of food!
In Rangoon on another day, we went to high tea at Acacia with Aida, a member of our "adopted" family on the ship. It was a bit disorienting as we pulled off of the chaotic dusty steet into a quiet drive that led to a beautifully restored old home. Tea was so delicious and we were so comfortable sitting on the huge wicker sofas that the kids wanted to stay for an early dinner dinner there ---large plates of risotto and lamb. After tea/dinner Emma and Alden returned with a group on the bus to the ship because they were hot and tired, but not before we ran into a woman carrying a large plastic container filled with tiny birds approached us. She wanted us to pay her one dollar for each bird that we wanted to be set free. Of course, we did buy a few birds their freedom, but we later heard that they are trained to return. I guess we wont know if that is the case, but hopefully they flew far away! We went in search of a "free trade" store which they found (miraculously from a hand drawn map without knowing the name) on the third floor of a building on a small street close to the Strand Hotel. A cold beer at the bar in the Strand was a great way to end the day and then back on the bus to the ship.
It will be interesting to see what unfolds in Burma in the future. One guide kept telling us that "large corporations" were positioning themselves to enter the country. We passed rows of empty homes (no residency permits) that stood on ground previously worked by farmers (our guide told us that many people were unhappy that the farmers had been pushed off of their land). One thing is for sure, it is a beautiful country.