Christmas

Christmas started in Yangon. There were a few festive things available in the shops. Including Cadbury’s Christmas tree decorations from England (= nice chocolate), which of course cost a small fortune but had to be bought. We got worried that the ants of doom, which seem to sniff out the slightest whiff of sugar, would savage them all so we cling filmed each one before putting them on our midget tree with the Christmas snake (everyone needs a Christmas snake).

  

Other random decorations we have collected include visually impaired papier-mâché Santa, a mini nativity made (I think) by our local Mexican restaurant, which possibly explains the rather Latino look of the characters… and finally, a thing of GREAT beauty (purchased by Ant) – Santa flying in the sky… in a “Merry” plane with stockings and Christmas trees and even a teddy dangling off it.

   

We managed to do a small amount of Christmas baking. Cranbury and Ginger fudge. Mandalay Rum Butter (in front of our orchid adorned even mini-er Christmas tree – thanks Clari!) and a huge pile of mince pies with mincemeat from Dorset  - thanks Mum!.

  

Then it was off to the airport and on to Australia. Yangon International Airport was full of excitements. I enjoyed meeting Santa next to a huge Christmas tree, and we tried to use our Visa card in the ATM. We had heard that Myanmar had finally been wired up to the international banking world, but alas even though the Visa sign was on the machine our card did not work. Perhaps when we get back?

 

Christmas day was a little different. Tiger prawns on the veranda (YUM). Followed by cold turkey and ham and salad. In the photo below I think that Ant looks a bit concerned about the lack of roast potatoes, roast parsnips, chestnut stuffing, chipolatas, gravy etc. People of Ware be warned, I suspect he may require an English Christmas feast to be recreated for him in April.

 

Then it was off for a little walk on the beach. Golden sands, warm sunshine, sound of the waves. Perfect.

 

Jason Mraz

Times are a changing in Yangon. Saturday saw the first international concert to hit Yangon… or so the organisers said. Perhaps it was the first “Western” musician to play a big concert, or perhaps it was the first big concert. I don’t really know. Anyway, we got tickets to the big event, which was free - funded by USAID, AusAID and Walk Free Foundation and organised by MTV Exit, so along with the music there was a big focus on “ending exploitation and trafficking”.

Anyway, 50,000 odd people (including a few monks) packed into the “People’s Square” (normally only open to people who pay… so the name is something of a misnomer)… We all enjoyed a free Coke from the Coke stand. Until August this year Coke didn’t have an official presence in the country. Yes you could buy Coke from Singapore or Vietnam, but it wasn’t Coke importing it and they did not advertise or have plans to start bottling in country. Now of course all that has changed, and the only remaining Coke free countries are North Korea and Cuba. I guess Coke girls in mini dresses and free drinks at a pop concert is a good way to promote the brand?

  

The set up was very professional… the sound, lights, timing etc. were all excellent, as were the movie clips highlighting some of the trafficking issues in Myanmar (e.g. trafficking for sex, trafficking for labour, trafficking for wives – China’s one child policy and preference for boy children means that there are not enough Chinese women for all the men, and so many Chinese men pay brokers to get them a wife from neighbouring Myanmar, where there is not the same policy about numbers of children).

Of course the location in front of the big glowing golden Shwedagon was better than amazing.

Walk Free foundation had given out thousands of red inflatable plastic waving light things that seemed to go down well.

 

First up were a whole heap of Myanmar acts. Some observations about Myanmar music:

• All popstars have long hair – men and women.
• Tattoos are surprisingly popular.
• There is even a Lady Gaga of Myanmar pop – all capes and ruffles and crazy hair.
• Almost all artists like to mix the rock genre with a bit of sloppy candle waving stuff. Interesting combination. One minute the crowd was going wild as guitars and drums were wielded in a rock frenzy, and the next everyone was swaying along and feeling the love.

 

Next up was “Slot machine” – a big Thai rock band. They were wild. As were the lead singer’s mono sunglasses - essential for a night concert, and clearly cooler than cool (especially combined with a tight, white 3 piece suit).

Finally on came Jason Mraz. I don’t think many people knew who he was, and probably didn’t really go to the event to see him… and when he came on it was getting a bit late i.e. after 9.30pm, so people were most likely thinking of bed (Yangon isn’t party central)… and obviously he didn’t speak Myanmar… so perhaps he wasn’t as popular as the Myanmar and Thai acts… but he was really good, and had a great band with him including a 3 piece brass set. At one point during his “Freedom Song” he had the whole crowd repeating the word “Freedom” after each time that he sung it. As one of our friends pointed out, although it didn’t seem politically motivated, it had to be the most surreal point of the night. Who would have thought it possible even 18 months ago?

  

Inya Lake

Boats at Yangon Sailing Club, Inya lake… just round the corner from Suu’s House. Peace in the middle of the city.

Glass Factory

Before we arrived in Myanmar we had heard about an amazing glass factory in Yangon where you could buy beautiful glasses in blues and greens. We were keen to find it, but were quickly informed that the place had been shut since Cyclone Nargis.

However the other week some of our friends were taken to the glass factory by their landlord. Turns out that although it is a ruin, and the kilns and glass making machinery are all broken, they are still open and selling off bits of stock they have lying around. So last weekend, after Ant had worked his way through a hot dog at the American Club’s Christmas Bazaar, we went to visit the glass factory.

The factory is in an urban, built up area… it is not in the middle of nowhere… it is very much in town… not that you would guess that from the photos. Once you come off the road and go through the gates you are in the jungle… and in jungles you often get mosquitos. This jungle was no exception and we really were SAVAGED. Never been bitten so much in my life. Anyway, assuming we don’t develop dengue, it was worth it. The place is magic.

Down the path to the glass factory… and no that isn’t rubbish… it is glass… piles and piles and piles of glass.

First stop was the shop… and what should be in the shop but a Vauxhall car made in Luton, England. Don’t think it is used. Ever. The car was of course surrounded by piles of dusty pieces of glass… everything was.

 

Before we were taken on a tour by the wonderful old owner (whose father owned the car) we were shown a treasured copy of an “Air Mandalay” in flight magazine from 2004. I guess those were the factory’s glory days. The front page shows the glass kiln/ furnace in action, and inside was a photo story of the team making the glass. Touching, because it is all gone. Random, because opening the front cover of the magazine I discovered the name of a friend who edited it. I knew he worked for a Myanmar airline magazine, but it was random to actually see one of the magazines 8 years later!

After seeing how it was in the past, it was off into the jungle to see things now. It all looks like rubbish, but it really is piles and piles of glass… there is even glass under the pink flowering creeper in the right hand photo. Crazy to think they had so much stock kicking around. A lot of the glass isn’t finished. Just needs a final polish or the rough edges finished off etc.

  

It seems that although Nargis destroyed the factory, the rising cost of fuel meant that even before then things were difficult.

  

The owner was delightful. Laughing away with a peg on his collar as he picked through glass to show us a “James Bond” glass… or a wine cooler designed by a visitor from France… or to show us a glass fish… or explain how the kilns used to work… or to laugh at how much the mosquitos enjoyed eating us…

We found some fun glasses to buy. This was quite a slow process as once we found a glass we liked a couple of staff would go out into the jungle to try and find others that matched. We ended up with a selection of green glasses. Higgledipiggledy in design and finish. But we love them and their story.

I also love the receipt… with the design of each glass drawn out on the paper next to its price.

 

My friend and I had the same reaction to visiting the factory. We both wanted to go in there (after killing the mossies) and sort out all the glass. Put things into sets, clean it up, finish off the bits that can easily be finished. I am sure they could make a fortune… but I suspect that isn’t what the owners want… and it would spoil the magic somewhat.

Autumn in Yangon…

Crispy leaves… but it is still HOT

 

Thanksgiving

Being British we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. However when Ant heard that we could go to the American Club (Rangoon) and eat turkey, ham and a “selection of pies”… well we had to go and celebrate Thanksgiving with the Americans. I have actually celebrated a few Thanksgivings, the first one being 10 years ago in Mongolia with dear Munson. It was our first meeting in fact. So Thanksgiving day started off with a phone call to Mongolia (where Munson once more resides). Happy Anniversary Munson!

One thing that amuses me about the “clubs” in Yangon (the Brits have one, so do the Ozzies), is that they all refer to the place as Rangoon. No one really calls it that in the country (although sometimes foreigners get confused and call it “Yangoon”), so it all sounds very colonial.

  

Once inside the club there were turkey decorations galore, and lots of Americans. In fact I suspect we were the only British people there. We even managed to speak to one real live American which was quite exciting as you can imagine.

Photos below show Ant with his first helping, and a bottle of American ale (no we haven’t acquired a child)… and and Ant by turkey/ thanksgiving decorations and the wondrous stars and stripes with his second helping. Apologies to all vegetarians but he seemed to opt for a plate with only meat on it. Actually when I say second helping, it’s not exactly true, because we had Pumpkin soup to start with, and Pumkin Pie and Pecan Pie for desert… and only then did Ant go back in for a final meaty course!

 

The American Club has also a “Tuck Shop”. Ant was in HEAVEN. He bought many exciting (to him) American sweets. Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. Butterfingers. Double Dip Nerds. Sour laces. etc. (alas no Lucky Charms). According to Ant sweets are in short supply in Yangon. But clearly not at the American Club. (Which we couldn’t join even if we wanted to because we are not American. Fortunate in some ways as I think we would need to take out a bank loan to cover the fees… and bank loans are not really possible in this country). The photo with the trophies is interesting, as these trophies relate to the “Yangon International Darts League”. Who would have thought? Darts. In Yangon. Seeing as half the world wants to visit perhaps Phil the Power Taylor himself will find himself here playing a spot of darts with the Americans??

 

Barack

So great excitements, Barack was in town today. We knew this some time in advance of the press release, courtesy of the ex-pat rumour mill. We also knew roughly where he would be going, courtesy of the newly painted curbs. Basically if Barack was going somewhere the curbs were cleaned and painted red and white… and if he wasn’t they weren’t.

It is now possible to buy Barack t-shirts (alongside Aung San Su Kyi t-shirts), and American flags too. We also enjoyed this slightly scary Obama graffiti at the weekend. Cross between Stevie Wonder and a vampire (the teeth are particularly disturbing).

I was at work today so alas missed all the excitements… well aside from admiring the newly painted curbs on the way to work, and the strategically placed, but ancient, fire engine outside of the old Parliament, and the hundreds of military police and battle trucks scattered about the place.

My personal favourite Reuters photo of the day is Obama at Shwedagon. I love it because looooook they all had to take their shoes off. Even the secret police/ commando body guard people! Apparently rumour has it they nearly didn't go to Shwedagon because of the security risks involved in walking around barefoot (indeed). Nice that they did manage to fit in a bit of sightseeing… 6hours in Yangon isn’t long.

Ant on the other hand spent the day following round the Obama motorcade (by the looks of it it wasn’t hard to miss). Here are some of his photos.

Left: Conducted arrival of President Obama towards the old Parliament (note: traffic conductors don’t usually wear white. Perhaps it is some sort of ceremonial uniform?? or perhaps they aren’t really traffic conductors). Right: Some American loving Myanmars. Apparently America is the only country in the world with full human rights and democracy. Would. You. Believe. It. ????

  

Uncommon sights in Yangon - shiny new roads and empty at that… until of course… ta daaaa along comes Mr President… travelling light… only 2 jumbo jets full of entourage. Ant counted 30 cars. Apparently the imported American ones were slightly better than the beat up Myanmar 4x4s.

  

Everyone loves Obama… and all his cars. Is that an emergency American ambulance I see trailing the procession? One can never be too careful one supposes.

 

It should be noted that “the Lady” travels far lighter… and is even allowed to open the windows of her car and wave. So as a final photo please admire the right arm and hand of Aung San Su Kyi.