I had the chance to spend about a week in Myanmar/Burma. It was a grueling trip to get there from a conference in Kona, Hawaii: 5 am Friday – 3 pm Sunday–two nights in Chinese airports (Shanghai and Kunming). I had pre-purchased a Visa for Myanmar so it was easy to get through the airport, and pre-pay for a taxi. Traffic was crazy. The roads haven’t kept pace with the increase in the number of cars.
The view of the Sule Pagoda from my hotel in Yangon. Fun fact, although they drive on the right side of the street, 90% of the cars have steering wheel on the right–old Toyotas from Japan.
Because our bus was Japanese, the steering wheel was on the right, and the door on the left. We had to exit into oncoming traffic. They still use some vehicles (like the fire truck and bus above) from the 1940s.
For the traditional US Embassy visit, the Ambassador and her staff came to our hotel. They talked about challenges Myanmar faces due to years of isolation and sanctions, how the new NLD party took over in April 2016 (from military) and they are making very slow progress. They elected Aung San Su Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who had been under house arrest from 1989 – 2010 (also the daughter of the general who liberated Burma from the British–and Japanese–in 1947).
We visited a Monastic school. Parents can send their children (mostly boys, but some girls) to live and go this school to become monks. Buddhism and monks are a big deal in Myanmar. About 89% of the people are Buddhists and everyone is expected to contribute food and donations. They pride themselves on being very tolerant of other religions. There is a Muslim mosque and Hindu temple next to the Buddhist Sule Pagoda. However, they are on the human rights watch list because of their ongoing persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in the north of the country. It’s pretty bad.
We visited to UFMCCI chamber of commerce and discussed the challenges of being an emerging market. They said the last three markets in the world are Cuba, Myanmar, and North Korea.
The next day we also had several business visits, including Coca Cola HQ, and the American Chamber of Commerce.
We toured the Shwe Dagon pagoda–most famous landmark in Yangon, Buddhist shrine and 100 m tall stupa. It was an adventure walking around. You have to find the corner for the day of the week you were born, then pour water 9 times.
Tourists are actually very safe in Myanmar due to heavy government monitoring and fines, so I walked through the wet market to get to the Strand Hotel, and around the waterfront.
They still have a telegram office:
A quick run through the airport in Thailand.
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