Myanmar - Time stands still..

An old and historic country that has now been forgotten by the world, Myanmar had always been a mystery to me when I was growing up. Completely closed by the military junta hardly anything is known about this once rich and progressive kingdom. Formerly called Burma under the British, Myanmar lies next to the emerging nations of India and China but has hardly been touched by the growth or the economic boom that has blessed the other two.

A rich and dynamic kingdom in the nineteenth century, it fared really badly under the British raj and was often treated as a second rated cousin the the India. Once also the center or the timber trade and hub of natural resources, the Burmese empire completely collapsed, so much so that even the King was exiled to Ratnagiri and was not even fortunate to die in his homeland.

A very excellent descriptive account of this period can be got from the books 'Burmese Days' and 'Glass Palace (Amitav Ghosh)'. These novels chronicle the oppression and slow degradation of the great Myanmar kingdom.

I had the opportunity to visit Rangoon and Bagan in Myanmar during my stint at the Singapore campus of INSEAD.

Yangoon (formerly Rangoon) is now a really poor city with poverty clearly visible on the streets and buildings. Nearly all the cars on the road are pre 1970s, old and rickety. The public transportation is unreliable and unsafe and other than the well armed military guarding the government establishment, everything seems to have been stopped in time.

Yangoon

Coming from India, I have witnessed poverty and under development but what I saw in Myanmar made all of it seem really small. Worse, is the apparent feeling of gloom and despair in the air and their scramble to make a little money, especially from foreigners.

But even in all this sad and backward scenario, it was easy to see the past glory of the former land of gold. The Swedagon Pagoda with its golden dome is an awesome spectacle and it towers over its surroundings is a evidence of the kingdom. With innumerable reclining and meditating Buddha's the Swedagon and its ambience motivated me to sit and meditate, transcending into a strange sense of peace and calm. 

We enjoyed the different pagodas, the Sule paya and strolled along the busy markets in the city where if possible to get anything from snake skin and rare gems to smuggled rolex watches and swiss army knives.

Bagan

Also called Pagan, this is the largest temple complex in the world and the mostly un-restored. The view from the aircraft before landing is breathtaking, over 2000 temples and pagodas of different sizes are sewn across the valley making it a amazingly memorable sight.

We stayed at one of the nicer hotels and were extremely surprised to see that we were the only guests among the 40 other rooms. This got us undivided attention of the whole staff but also made me wonder about the lost tourism opportunity that this beautiful country is facing under an oppressive and degenerate regime.

In Bagan, we were treated as royalty being one among the few foreign tourist in the whole town. Our guide (also the hotel manager) created a fine menu of temples for us to visit and also complimented it with handwritten catalogues (created specifically for us by him overnight). One of the best services that we have ever experienced it just highlighted the true potential of the place and the desperation of the citizen. 

I am recounting our guides account of the different temples below:

1. The Shwezigone stupa, built by king Anawhta and completed by his son Kyansitha between 1084AD and 1113AD.

2. Anada temple of south indian style built by Kyansith in 1091AD.

3. The Dhamayangyi (also the largest) built by King Naratha in 1163 who was assisinated in a war with a south Indian king.

4. The highest temple Thatbynyun,  built by north indian king Alongsithu in middle 12th century.

5. Manush temple, one of the oldest built by captive king Mon of Thaton in 1059, which houses the largest reclining buddha.

6. Nanpaya, built by Nagasaman in 11th century and having one of the finest stone scultures.

He further entertained us with some amazing tales of the old lands and for a while we were transported to the old times.

After returning I can only hope that the world wakes up to the plight of the Burmese people and also pray for the release of Aung San Suki, the only hope that the people have for better times for the next generation.