It is a quite a rare thing these days to be given an official journalist visa to enter Burma, or should I say the Union of Myanmar. But that is exactly what we managed to swing. working Freelance for CCTV 9, the English service of Chinese state TV. We had head office in Beijing contact the Myanmar embassy……. and to cut a very dull story short, we were approved.
There was a small moment of confusion and perhaps fear on the part of the Burmese officials, when they realized we were not Chinese, but in fact British. Although by then it was too late, and their masters had already approved the visas. We were however met by Chinese officials in Yangon, who basically told us to “behave or else”, remarking on how lucky and privileged we were to be there.
And so it began, a tour of Burma (Myanmar) provided by national MRTV, complete with minder and a very expensive ($300 per day) rickety old van. An itinerary had been arranged for us, ignoring all requests we had made for interviews and locations…. “this is your program” the minder kept telling us. ” change is not allowed.
Yangon is a crumbling city, arriving at night, it reminded me of Jakarta in the 70′s. Old beat up cars drive down dimly lit streets. The old colonial buildings reminders of a more prosperous time gone by. Soldiers and police stand at most road junctions, guarding what from who, i am not sure. Strange advertising posters promoting all manner of household products, using sales techniques not used in the outside world for decades. It is in every way a city stuck in the past….
We left Yangon on the second day and began a 5 hour drive to Ny Pi daw ……. a bizarre and almost haunting place. Wide empty Boulevards, 5 lane highways, and only a handful of cars on the streets. A fake city…. huge in the area it covers, but reminiscent of a Hollywood movie set. No atmosphere, no life, despite claims that they have almost a million people living there now… we saw very very few. Our hotel in the “hotel zone”, had very few guests. and had that “just finished” feel about it. Although it was already showing signs of falling apart. more down to the build quality than from wear and tear.
The following day after filming a “demonstration” of the voting system for the elections, where people in traditional dress walked through a mock polling station. we left the giant white elephant city, and finally arrived in the countryside. Real burma, with real people….. simple, honest but horribly oppressed.
Another 6 hour drive to Bagan followed….. on roads that where nothing like the empty pointless highway that connects the new capital with Yangon. Single lane pot holed, and made all the more dangerous by the huge brake-less trucks that came flying along towards us. That said, waking up in Bagan the following day was a very memorable experience.
It is a truly remarkable place, about 2000 stupas, built between 1000 – 2000 years ago, litter the landscape in differing states of repair. There is a very fledgling tourist industry, but nothing compared to Angkor wat in Cambodia. Bagan is a tourist trap that is waiting to be sprung…. and a source of untapped revenue for the local population, should their masters ever see fit to let the rush begin.
Bagan has no UNESCO certificate, The maintenance of the area is not up to standard. At one temple we found them laying modern ceramic bathroom tile on the 1000 year old monument….. a criminal offense to any westerner with even the slightest interest in history
personally, Bagan was the highlight of the trip….. a great opportunity for picture taking…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianbangkok/sets/72157625215207972/
After Bagan, it was back in the van…. another 6 hours to Mandalay, then another 2 hours north to a huge hydroelectric project , which is largely being funded and run by the Chinese…. impressive, but …..yawn. By now with almost 20 hours of rickety van driving on treacherous roads. we were all ready for the flight back to Yangon…..
The final day saw a short battle between us and the minder who would not allow us to film a few street scenes in Yangon….. “it is not on the program” “filming is not allowed”…. ” my boss say…my boss say”… we did win eventually, but that is another story…. But the whole day personified the problems of Burma. A culture of fear, built on paranoia of what may come. Resulting in nobody wanting to take responsibility for anything.
Upon reflection it was an interesting trip, i failed to see the romantic Burma that many seem to find…. for me it was a sad place, full of scared people. there was little magic apart from the 1000 year old stupas in Bagan. There rest for the most part was very depressing…. a zombie like population walking through life with little or no verve. just living day to day, seemingly without dreams or aspirations. Not that it is really their fault… but that is how it appeared to me on my 6 day drive through the heart of the country.
A beautiful, but sad place……….
They kept us under control in the van for almost 20 hrs over the 6 days…. showed us what they wanted us to see, and never really allowed us to talk to anyone….
The forth coming elections are a sham, and nothing to get excited about…… anyone who tells you different is either viewing “democracy” through western eyes, or they simply don’t understand…….regardless of turnout, fairness, ballots cast etc….the real power lies with those who carry the guns. votes are meaningless if one day the men with guns can click their fingers and change it all in their favor. Nobody will stop them……..nobody can.
