September 3, 2007

Yangon (MYANMAR)

Touring the Outskirts of Yangon by Train

The main item on the agenda for the day was riding a local train that does a three hour loop around the city of Yangon. We were told about this train by an Austrian couple we met in southern Laos, and since it is designed solely for locals it sounded like the perfect way to discover the 'real Yangon'.

We arrived at Yangon Central Station at 10am, and after paying for a ticket we waited along the side of the tracks amid a group of curious locals. We have been quick picking up the Burmese language, and today was the perfect chance to put everything we learned to use. Normally, travel books and the like advise foreigners to learn bargaining phrases ("too much", "how much", and so on) or common phrases ("how long", "where is the...", and so on), but you can get farther by knowing phrases that bring a smile to people's faces - when some one likes you they will be far more inclined to be helpful and accommodating. So we decided to focus on things like "I love Burma [can also insert items like food, women, pagodas, etc]" and "You are beautiful [useful with children]". Saying such things to people who have never before interacted with a westerner brings an unexpected show of gratitude and good will.

When the train finally arrived we were ushered by the platform attendant onto the rear cabin car where we were forced to sit in a roped off section of the train. We shared the cordoned off area with a train attendant, whose job it was to look after us. We were somewhat put off by this as it was obviously designed to ensure we don't get off at any unauthorized stops or interact too much with the locals. The government in Myanmar is horribly oppressive and restrictive: most internet sights are blocked and we had to use internet mirrors to access any form of email.

The rear section of the train wasn't all bad and we were still able to interact with locals. For example, one women took a liking to Jo and gave her a beautiful rose. It was a completely unexpected show of kindness that reaffirmed our love for the Burmese people.

At another point, a young couple boarded the train with a small baby. Everyone in the car was watching as the new parents gave every ounce of their attention to the playful boy. I thought the kid was the cutest thing on earth as he was wearing a miniature longyi and he had the traditional face paint on his forehead. The mother noticed my attention and called me over. I quickly hopped the cordon line before the guard could stop me and the next thing I knew she was putting the young boy into my arms.

We saw a variety of other interesting sights that made us want to hop off the train to explore, but we knew this wasn't much of a possibility. The pictures from the train window would have to suffice.

In the afternoon we went back to Bogyoke Aung San market before napping back at the guest house. We had a late dinner at one of the many Indian restaurants in Yangon. I was somewhat nervous about eating in the traditional Indian style while with Jo - that is, shoveling food into my mouth with my right hand - but she was fine with it (much to my relief). Afterward, we picked up a few DVDs for the cheapest price I have seen so far in Asia: nine movies for $1USD.

There were also a few logistical decisions made today: tomorrow morning we would bus to Kyaiktiyo to see Golden Rock, and on the morning of the 5th we booked a flight to Inle Lake (sparing us a grueling 20 hour bus ride).