James Dean alive in Burma?
Hello again and sorry for not writing for a while. In my defence Internet access is difficult to come by. Somehow I can access my email which is a bonus.
So far my impressions of the country are quite spectacular. I have spent a few days in small towns and have not seen another tourist for about a week. I find that spending time with the locals is one of the most interesting aspects of travelling. Especially in Myanmar where local views are suppressed by authorities. By spending time in local bars with newly acquired friends I'm able to better understand their anger and views in regards to the regime. For example when the "number one" G-Men (Military Generals) arrived to a small town of Toungoo everybody had to repaint their houses in order to improve the image of the town and when the man arrived everybody in town had to stand on the sidewalk to greet him with something of an expression resembling a smile.
The taxation is quite harsh on the locals as well, this really cuts into the income of already poor nation where people make about $1 a day. Others are forced to do forced labour repairing state highways. But even though things are rough the people are going out of their way to accommodate tourist and fulfil every little request. I have often asked why people go out of their way to help me and the response I get everytime is that "It's within the heart of Myanmar people to help travellers". It is difficult sometimes to pay for my drinks and food.
In one guest house along the way I stayed at, I ran into 4 local guys. One was working to Myanmar whiskey (who's truck full of whiskey was parked outside the guest house), the second for a local cigarette company, the third was running the guest house and the fourth was kind of "go and get us this please" guy. We spent two nights together, drinking whiskey and smoking our brains out. I wanted to pay for some of the substances but was denied saying that it is thier pleasure to drink with me.
At a local "Hawaii" bar the owner invited me to spend the day sightseeing. He was supposed to be running the bar but decided to go out of his way and show me around town. He also had a lot of negative things to say about the G-Men and how they affect his family's everyday life. He had a few stories to tell about the the army, but I don't want to write about them in here. The internet is controlled closely by the gov't. We spent time with a owner of a local guest house eating organic fruits and drinking Chinese tea. The old lady running the guest house was very friendly, initially she invited me for breakfast serving about 20 dishes of local fruits and sweets, in return I bought her some flowers as a sign of appreciation. She returned the gesture with another serving from her garden. She and her husband are both retired doctors running four guesthouses in town. We had a small chat about the life in Burma, essentially she reconfirmed that life under the regime is a problem but on the other hand she said "We may not be rich and have all the freedom as you have in the west. However, we are happy people. So long as there is enough food on the table and the family is healthy it is all that we need in the world." I agree with her point of view as we in the west strive for material possessions and kill ourselves at work for most part. But we tend to overlook the simple pleasures in life such as spending an afternoon doing nothing. Many people work for 6 months and then take the rest of the year off. It is not because they have made enough money for the year, but it is due to the fact that they want to spend more time with thier loved ones. Family ties are quite strong in Myanmar as well as one of the most important parts of people's lives.
The food at local restaurants is always served with about 10 different dishes. The food is clean and good tasting for most part. The only annoying part are kids watching you eat! But it's all in good fun.
In another town I helped the locals bet on football and I get all 3 games right! This was 10-1 odds so when I go back to Meiktila in a few days they owe me a bottle of whiskey. One man was really upset at my prediction of liverpool beating everton 2:1, but I nailed that one one the head.
They love to bet in Myanmar. It was also quite interesting to watch the game. At a local hall, about a 100 people gathered in front a big screen tv to watch football. The locals and monks alike were betting on the games. One monk laughed at my liverpool prediction. In your face monk! just kidding...
OK, a bit about cycling. It is very hot, temperatures sore to about 43C in the afternoon. Doing 80km days is fine, but on a day where I did about 120km I really thought I was going to die. The tarmac melts and sticks to your tires, this also increases rolling resistance making riding more difficult. I'm off the bike for a while now using public buses, I might ride four more days but it will be very limited. When you see white spots in front of you, it means that your brain is frying. The people are very curious of me and try to poke me and say "hey you" whenever I'm close by. The bike is holding OK but the temperature is killing me. The roads are somewhat crappy but it is to be expected. It is essentially a strip of pavement wide enough for one car, so when two vehicles meet, one has to get out of the way in order to avoid a head on collision. You get used to it after a while.
I'm currently in Inle lake and will spend a couple of days here before heading to Mandalay and Bagan. Of to Nepal on the 10th of next month.
Oh, the James Dean. A guy yesterday in a town of Taungii sold me three Time magazines and 20 cents. After talking to him for a while he introduced himself as James Dean of Burma. Too bad he was a bit drunk.
I'll try to post again in Yangon or Mandalay.
Cheers for now.
Robert
p.s. I'll do grammar and spell check sometime in the future.
So far my impressions of the country are quite spectacular. I have spent a few days in small towns and have not seen another tourist for about a week. I find that spending time with the locals is one of the most interesting aspects of travelling. Especially in Myanmar where local views are suppressed by authorities. By spending time in local bars with newly acquired friends I'm able to better understand their anger and views in regards to the regime. For example when the "number one" G-Men (Military Generals) arrived to a small town of Toungoo everybody had to repaint their houses in order to improve the image of the town and when the man arrived everybody in town had to stand on the sidewalk to greet him with something of an expression resembling a smile.
The taxation is quite harsh on the locals as well, this really cuts into the income of already poor nation where people make about $1 a day. Others are forced to do forced labour repairing state highways. But even though things are rough the people are going out of their way to accommodate tourist and fulfil every little request. I have often asked why people go out of their way to help me and the response I get everytime is that "It's within the heart of Myanmar people to help travellers". It is difficult sometimes to pay for my drinks and food.
In one guest house along the way I stayed at, I ran into 4 local guys. One was working to Myanmar whiskey (who's truck full of whiskey was parked outside the guest house), the second for a local cigarette company, the third was running the guest house and the fourth was kind of "go and get us this please" guy. We spent two nights together, drinking whiskey and smoking our brains out. I wanted to pay for some of the substances but was denied saying that it is thier pleasure to drink with me.
At a local "Hawaii" bar the owner invited me to spend the day sightseeing. He was supposed to be running the bar but decided to go out of his way and show me around town. He also had a lot of negative things to say about the G-Men and how they affect his family's everyday life. He had a few stories to tell about the the army, but I don't want to write about them in here. The internet is controlled closely by the gov't. We spent time with a owner of a local guest house eating organic fruits and drinking Chinese tea. The old lady running the guest house was very friendly, initially she invited me for breakfast serving about 20 dishes of local fruits and sweets, in return I bought her some flowers as a sign of appreciation. She returned the gesture with another serving from her garden. She and her husband are both retired doctors running four guesthouses in town. We had a small chat about the life in Burma, essentially she reconfirmed that life under the regime is a problem but on the other hand she said "We may not be rich and have all the freedom as you have in the west. However, we are happy people. So long as there is enough food on the table and the family is healthy it is all that we need in the world." I agree with her point of view as we in the west strive for material possessions and kill ourselves at work for most part. But we tend to overlook the simple pleasures in life such as spending an afternoon doing nothing. Many people work for 6 months and then take the rest of the year off. It is not because they have made enough money for the year, but it is due to the fact that they want to spend more time with thier loved ones. Family ties are quite strong in Myanmar as well as one of the most important parts of people's lives.
The food at local restaurants is always served with about 10 different dishes. The food is clean and good tasting for most part. The only annoying part are kids watching you eat! But it's all in good fun.
In another town I helped the locals bet on football and I get all 3 games right! This was 10-1 odds so when I go back to Meiktila in a few days they owe me a bottle of whiskey. One man was really upset at my prediction of liverpool beating everton 2:1, but I nailed that one one the head.
They love to bet in Myanmar. It was also quite interesting to watch the game. At a local hall, about a 100 people gathered in front a big screen tv to watch football. The locals and monks alike were betting on the games. One monk laughed at my liverpool prediction. In your face monk! just kidding...
OK, a bit about cycling. It is very hot, temperatures sore to about 43C in the afternoon. Doing 80km days is fine, but on a day where I did about 120km I really thought I was going to die. The tarmac melts and sticks to your tires, this also increases rolling resistance making riding more difficult. I'm off the bike for a while now using public buses, I might ride four more days but it will be very limited. When you see white spots in front of you, it means that your brain is frying. The people are very curious of me and try to poke me and say "hey you" whenever I'm close by. The bike is holding OK but the temperature is killing me. The roads are somewhat crappy but it is to be expected. It is essentially a strip of pavement wide enough for one car, so when two vehicles meet, one has to get out of the way in order to avoid a head on collision. You get used to it after a while.
I'm currently in Inle lake and will spend a couple of days here before heading to Mandalay and Bagan. Of to Nepal on the 10th of next month.
Oh, the James Dean. A guy yesterday in a town of Taungii sold me three Time magazines and 20 cents. After talking to him for a while he introduced himself as James Dean of Burma. Too bad he was a bit drunk.
I'll try to post again in Yangon or Mandalay.
Cheers for now.
Robert
p.s. I'll do grammar and spell check sometime in the future.
posted by Rob at 12:28 AM
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