Myanmar "the Happy Room"

I have made it through Myanmar!

I never really thought that this part of the trip would happen. The recent typhoon on top of the political situation in the country meant I was not really expecting to have the chance to visit. I also had the personal decision to make about going to the country and possibly getting in the way of any aid work that might be going on there.

However, we did go and I am so glad we did.

The title for this blog comes from our local guide in Myanmar called Min who would describe a toilet as a "Happy room". He was great and told us so much about the places we visited. He really loves his country.

The first stop at Inle Lake (13th) introduced us to those people in Myanmar who live quite literally 'on the water'. Going for an early morning boat ride across the lake we saw children going to school by boat, large vessels carrying vegetables to the markets and fishermen using their legs in order to paddle boats in a very peculiar way. There were also floating gardens which seemed to cover miles of water, all floating on weed and bamboo and supporting loads of tomatoes and peppers! The only noise was the occasional motor boat going by. Everything else was paddle power!

Our visit to Bagan (14th) introduced us to what I would consider to be one of the wonders of the world. Over a plain there were 4,400 temples and stupas. We were told that at one time there were over 50,000 stupas here. All the stupas pointed upward and you just kept bumping into them. At sunset the sight was breathtaking. Golden and red and brown and white spires glowing in the reflective beauty of the sun.

At Pyay (16th) I managed to find a Baptist church and walked into a prayer meeting at 7.00 in the morning. I joined them and was given a lovely welcome.

We eventually arrived in Yangon (17th) and drove passed the office of the democracy movement. No lights on but a small sign defiantly stating its purpose. This was just around the corner from our hotel. The hotel also overlooked the Shwedagon Temple which we later visited. The temple was the site of the freedom riots last year and there was a large police presence as we entered. Strange going to a place of worship that was so well protected by the police and army!!

We also discovered that Myanmar has now got a new capital. Instead of Yangon it is Naypyidaw. This is nearer to China and away from any troublesome Buddhist temples! This change only happened a month ago and the old government buildings are now left empty. The old university is also standing empty, this was a place of student riots in the past. Because of this the government closed the Uni and moved it to the villages. We saw the old army headquarters which was directly opposite the city zoo. The army HQ had 3 fences around it, the zoo had only one! Who do you think are the most dangerous?

This leads me to comment on the storm damage of the recent Typhoon. There was a lot of it in Yangon which was the northern most part of the storm. We were not allowed to travel anywhere near the area of real need. We did however see a row of Red Cross lorries waiting outside the Red Cross HQ. They looked loaded up and ready to go.

As we left Yangon we also organised a collection amongst ourselves which we gave to local sources. We also raided our first aid kits and backpacks for anything that might be useful to leave behind. These things were again left with a local person who assured us that it would get to the points of need quickly.

The day we arrived in Yangon we visited the Taukkyan War Cemetery. In this cemetery are the remains of 27,000 soldiers, mainly allied forces from the Second World War. Within 2 minutes of being there I discovered 2 VC's and hundreds of soldiers from Welsh and Yorkshire regiments - very touching for me as these are the 2 places of the UK that touch my heart. Many died in November 1944 fighting for Freedom. It seems to me that in Myanmar the fight still goes on.

People we met who were brave enough, told us how fed up with their government they were. But most are afraid to say anything.

There is so much poverty in this country that is also rich in natural resources.

We saw very expensive houses in Yangon which are owned by Government people. They were surrounded by razor wire! In contrast ordinary people were scratching a living and many complained that since the typhoon things were worse because there "are no visitors to purchase our goods". We were told that at the present time only 50 tourists a day are entering Myanmar! We were a part of that statistic.

Now in Thailand again (18th) there is such a lot to think about. The contrast is so big with Myanmar which is struggling to become a happier place for all its people.