Myanmar/Burma – A Country Undergoing a Massive Transition

We have dreamt about going to Myanmar for many years, but its a tough destination because the country has been largely closed to tourists since 1989.  Over the past year or two, the military government has been opening up the country and paving the way for an open democratic election in 2015, when Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to become the President.  The US re-established full diplomatic relations only in the past year and as we were planning our trip, the chance to visit Myanmar was the primary impetus for us to visit Asia after South America.  We really wanted to experience it as it begins opening up to the outside world. 

As we looked ahead to Myanmar, we had two things that made us nervous.  First, there had been fighting between the Buddhists and Muslims and many Muslim homes had been burned and people killed (see our blog post on Thailand to read about the protest we witnessed there).  On the first leg of our flight from Laos to Myanmar, our flight attendant even warned us to be careful since the airline had warned their staff.  Second, forecast temperatures were between 100-106 degrees and after suffering in the 95 degree heat in Bangladesh and Bangkok, we feared we would literally die in Myanmar. 

Because of these fears, we cancelled one destination (90+ degrees, mosquitoes, no air conditioning,  no pool – a really bad combo) and shortened our time there.  We never saw any hint of conflict, but temperatures were scorching.  You know it is "crazy hot" when it is too hot to even go into the pool.  We now have three definitions of extreme heat - the stifling heat and humidity of the Amazon Jungle, the city heat combined with more conservative dress (no shorts!) in Bangladesh, and the extreme dry heat in Myanmar!

We visited the old capital cities of Yangon (Rangon) and Mandalay, with their magnificent Pagodas, and spent a few days in the ancient city of Bagan, with its 2200 temples that were built between the 11^th and 13^th centuries.  Bagan was our favorite town in Myanmar and reminded us of Angkor Wat, Cambodia with its endless crumbling temples.  One day, we met two young boys, astride a rusty bike far too big for them, who followed us back to our hotel after lunch.  The boys were 9 and 13 and spent their days during summer vacation selling postcards to tourists.  They offered to be our tour guides and proceeded to wait outside our hotel each evening to show us around.  They proved to be wonderful guides and our boys had fun exploring the ruins with them.

We also met a constant stream of entrepreneurial people trying to make a living in the developing tourist trade.  It was a tiring process to negotiate constantly, but we helped support the local economy by taking horse cart rides to temples and buying water and handicrafts from the numerous hawkers there. 

Part of the Burmese culture for men is spending a week to a year as a monk while between the ages of 5 and 16.  Monasteries and monks are everywhere and the Buddhist religion permeates life.  We were most amazed by the numbers of young novitiates who were Luke and Ryan’s age.  We kept pointing out how quiet and well behaved the monks were, but our kids did not seem to take note even after we threatened to send them back to Myanmar to spend a month as a monk.  

After the Buddhas themselves, Ryan was likely the most photographed image in the country while we were there.  In the way we run up to cute puppies, the Burmese seemed to be attracted to him.  Poor Ryan wanted nothing to do with all the people that touched his hair, kissed his cheek, held his hand and wanted a photograph with him.  We aren't sure if it was his blonde hair and fair skin, his young age, or the elephant pants he liked to wear – we only know that he was a magnet.  We had to laugh, because at first we tried to discreetly take photos of the monks and by the end of the trip, the monks were taking pictures of Ryan (and all of us).

We were impressed with the immense sparkling Shwedagon Temple in Yangon.  After burning our feet during a daytime visit in the blazing sun (you have to remove your shoes and socks before entering the temples), we returned at night to the sparkling golden exterior and what we call "Buddha meets Vegas".  Another highlight during our scorching walk around Yangon was stumbling upon an indoor snow palace that had cheesy ice sculptures and sledding.  We thoroughly enjoyed our half hour of ice heaven!  

We learned a lot about the history and changes occurring in Myanmar.  It gained its independence from Britain in 1948, and spent the 49 years from 1962-2011 under military rule before the current gradual transition to civilian government. The country was called Burma until 1989 when a new military group took power and wanted to rid the country of British’s influence including the names of many cities and the country itself.  Many western countries, including the US, continue to call the country Burma since they do not recognize the military government. 

Since 1989, the country has been isolated and largely closed off from the outside world.  Things are starting to change and today, property is being returned to the citizens, industries are being decentralized, people can travel in and out of the country and there is a vibrant optimism about the future.  The Burmese welcomed us with open arms and told us how much they liked America and frequently commented about Obama, who visited in November.

As Myanmar opens up to the world and the elections are held is 2015, we expect the country to grow rapidly.  With its natural beauty, smiling happy people and welcoming attitude it is sure to become part of the beaten path in Southeast Asia.  We were only able to scratch the surface and look forward to returning for a more in depth visit sometime soon (well not too soon - we do want to be home for a while)!

Laos - From New Years to Elephant Treks!

We were awoken early our first day in Laos to music pulsing from temples and gatherings in the streets as Laotians welcomed their New Year.  Everyone flocked to the temples with buckets of flowered water to wash the Buddha statues and give thanks and prayers to their ancestors and to make their wishes for the coming year.  It was joyous and very moving to participate alongside the Laotians in their beautiful tradition of giving thanks.

After visiting the temples, we moved with everyone to celebrate in the streets and partake in their playful tradition of pouring water on people to wish them a prosperous year ahead.  Strangers ran up to us and gave us a thorough dousing of water – squirt guns, buckets, hoses – anything was fair game.  The boys loved running around attacking people with their large squirt guns. In addition to soaking us on the outside, people also just handed us beers to soak our insides!  We all agreed that this was one of the best New Year’s we have ever celebrated.  The Lao people know how to have fun!  Plus there was the added benefits of being consistently soaked during a 100 degree day and being able to actually ring in the New Year with our boys.

We had a sobering experience the following day visiting the COPE museum and learning what happened when Laos was caught in the Vietnam War that was raging on its Eastern border.  The North Vietnamese used the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos to shuttle its troops and supplies to fight the war in South Vietnam.  The US wanted to stop the supply lines and thus Laos became the most heavily bombed country ever – despite the fact that they were never officially even in the war.  On average, there was a bombing mission every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 9 years, dropping thousands of bombs each time.  About 30% of the cluster bombs never exploded upon impact and, 40 years later, they still exist in the ground, causing casualties and hindering farmers and other people going about their daily lives.  Luke decided to write a letter to President Obama and the American Ambassador in Laos asking why we weren’t doing more to clean up our mess (see attached). 

After a few days in the capital of Vientiane, we headed north to Luang Prabang, a picturesque, quiet, travelers’ town along the Mekong River.   Here we tried to stay cool in the 95 degree heat by taking boat trips up the river to Buddhist Caves, jumping off rope swings into refreshing waterfalls, and bathing friendly elephants in the river. 

We all loved the 24 hours we spent at the Elephant Camp, learning how to ride and take care of elephants.  Previously, we had ridden on the back of an elephant, but riding on its neck without anything to hold onto (except its ears!), was more unstable than we thought it would be.  The elephants were gentle and kind and took care of us during their daily routine.  Our favorite experience was picking them up from the jungle in the morning and taking them into the river for a needed bath.  Swimming next to them when their trunk suddenly appears and shoots water up from below the muddy water is quite the memorable experience.   

Laos is a communist country of only 7 million people who make on average $1,100/year.  Although income is not high, people seem to be healthy and happy, and there is a vibrant feel to the country that fills you with life.  Based on the attitude of the people and the unbridled capitalism, Laos is clearly not an old Soviet-style communist country.  The economy is sustained by small businesses, many supporting the tourist trade.  We even visited a hip-hop bar one night that was as Western as it gets.

We will always remember Laos for the exuberant New Years festival and for the visions and sounds of the villagers along the river at sunset.  As naked children giggled and splashed in the slow moving river, men fished with make-shift nets and families repaired their boats for work the following day.  We only had one week to spend in Laos, but it feels like we experienced one month’s worth of adventures. 

Luke's letter to President Obama is here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Friends introduce us to the "Maximum City”

Maximum - people, traffic, chaos, noise, heat, politics, religion, construction, kindness, opportunity....  The road was packed with cars, three-wheeled pedal rickshaws, motorbikes, motorized rickshaws, people, piles of dirt and other construction materials.  Vehicles haphazardly inched their way forward, across or backwards – usually only centimeters from other people or vehicles.  There appeared to be no traffic laws, no center lines, no turn signals and no one to stop cars from going down the wrong side of the road when the traffic got bad.  At one point we watched a legless man, barely visible in the chaos, successfully scoot his way across a "three lane road" which held five lanes of traffic!  The only certainty was the maximum pressure exerted on car horns and the maximum volume that resulted!

Sweat poured down our faces and drenched our clothes in the sweltering heat, and we just had to smile.  What an amazing place!  Different in so many ways from back home – making it our favorite type of country to travel in.  Bangladesh was 4 days of intense learning and wonderful reconnecting with our friends Moushumi (Mou) Khan, her husband Munaf and their daughter Sarah.

Mou and Munaf ensured we saw and experienced everything possible during our brief visit to Dhaka.  They hosted us for a tour of the city, a peaceful boat ride and village visit outside the city, spa treatments, shopping and of course, amazing food.  Luckily,  Mou encouraged us to visit during Bengali New Year so we were able to meet many of Mou and Munaf’s friends and crash all the big celebrations throughout the city.  Mou can tell you funny stories about how her foreign friends were the only thing that got her past security into one exclusive neighborhood party!  Funnily enough, we felt like minor celebrities in Bangladesh.  It turns out people like to meet and be seen with foreigners.  People even kept stopping Luke and Ryan to take pictures with them (and inviting us into private parties). 

Now for a quick history and geography lesson!  Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world (aside from city-states like Monaco and Singapore) and has the 7th largest population with over 160 million people.  87% of the country is Muslim with the rest predominantly Hindu.  Bangladesh is a relatively new country, having gained their independence from Great Britain in 1947 (as part of the partition of India and Pakistan) and then achieving independence from Pakistan after a war in 1971.  Today, the country is messily democratic in a dynastic sort of way (think Nehru/Ghandi, Kennedy, Bush) and is having political instability with frequent strikes that are shutting down commerce and hurting the economy.  We loved learning from our friends and their community about what is occurring politically and what they aspire to achieve.  A fair segment of the population live in less than ideal situations but there seems to be an agreement among the people (maybe not the politicians) that the country must work together to advance living standards for all.  There is a lot of work to do in Bangladesh but also a lot of enthusiasm for a better future.  We look forward to following Bangladesh's path over the next few years and visiting again when we have more time.