As anticipated, Bagan proved to be the real highlight of our trip from a "sights" perspective. Lonely Planet aptly describes the scale of the region, "Gather all of Europe's medieval cathedrals onto Manhattan island and throw in a whole lot more for good measure, and you'll start to get a sense of the ambition of the temple-filled plain of Bagan". The majority of its temples were built in the 1000s to 1200s, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire.
Our two days in Bagan consisted of sunrise and sunset explorations of the temples on bikes (when the light was most magical and the heat somewhat bearable). The awe which these temples inspires easily rivals that created by Machu Picchu or the Egyptian Pyramids. And yet, there was practially no one here. We often found ourselves entirely alone in the shadows of a giant budda while listening to chanting from a neighboring temple. It was truly magical.... And also so tragic as a stark depiction of how the govemental regime has impacted tourism here.
While visiting Burma, we read two books that were very influential on our view into this country. The first was Burmese Days by George Orwell, set in post WWI British colonial Burma. What struck us most about this book was how little had changed in the way life is lived. Men still wear longyis and chew betelnut. Water buffalos are the pervasive machinery of farming. Food is cooked over a wood fire. The "beastly heat" that Miss. Lackerstein describes in the book is just as palpably felt; with less than 2 hours of electricity a day realities of ice and fans are nearly as non-existent now as they were 80 years ago. And most tragically, the people are just as oppressed as they were under British rule, only this time without the pretenses of infrastructure development that came with colonialism.
The second book was Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. A description of one man's role in the economic "colonialism" that has defined much of the U.S. empire building in the last 50 years (trading infrastructure for crippling debts that require compliance with U.S. policies), the experiences recounted in this book come as no surprise. What is most frightening, however, is to think about the limitations of this strategy in the face of a decline of the U.S. economic stronghold. The U.S. response to the autrocities of the military junta in Burma has come in the form of economic sanctions. Well it turns out that U.S. sanctions carry very little weight in the world of Chinese investments. Burma's eastern neighbor is more than happy to keep fueling the junta if it in turn fuels the steady growth of the Chinese economy. In a changing global economy, here's hoping that the U.S. figures out another way to prioritize its influence in the world and that China rises to the challenge of being a responsible world superpower. Otherwise there doesn't seem to be much hope for the Burmese people.
A few last humerous elements of our Burma adventure -- first, was the mutual fascination in the new and unusual. We've encountered this phenomenon throughout all of our travels.... Us sneaking pictures of the indigenous women while their children sneak glances and giggles at us. In Burma we found that the monks and nuns wanted our picture just as much as we wanted theirs. The shot below was requested by this group of teenage monks, and so we decided to have one taken with our camera as well :)
And then, upon boarding our flight from Bagan to Mandalay we found ourselves subjegated to Swine Flu testing. The ridiculousness of this situation was two-fold. First, it was a domestic flight. Second, their method of testing was to stick the same thermometer into each person's ear as they passed through security. So if anyone on that flight had the Swine, you can be sure we now have it too...
Finally, the popular debate amongst backpackers these days regarding Burma is "should you go or not? Will your trip aid the junta's power?". Our opinion is definitely go. First, it's incredibly narcissistic and naive to think that your meager funds have any impact on the junta in the face of massive Chinese investments. Second (and more importantly), it's the local people who are being hurt by the downturn in tourism..... Every guide or guesthouse owner we spoke to had been hit hard. Obviously avoid government run hotels and tours but please go visit. Learning more about these beautiful people and their plight can only bring good things through increased exposure and international pressure.
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