Bangkok - Finally Another Update (Bangkok, 31 May 2007)

Hi everyone and sorry it took so long. I really wanted to update from Myanmar, but that didn't work for reasons I will explain later.

So, Monday morning, Jon and I left Singapore for Yangon, Myanmar (otherwise known as Rangoon, Burma - I will use the names interchangably). When we landed.... I was a bit shocked. Never have I seen such poverty first hand. Rangoon suffers from a complete lack of infrastruture..... many roads aren't paved, and the ones that are, are rather poorly paved.

Nearly all buildings are delipitated- probably havent been renovated since the colonial era.

Power supply is inconsistent.... in fact, at any given time during the day, it is more likely that there is no power. The lucky ones have their own generators, to power their homes or businesses. There are few "proper" stores.... nearly all commerce takes place on the street.... and everything is negotiable. Take the exchange rate of the local currency, the kyat. The "official rate" is fixed at 6 to 1 USD. The airport rate was 450 to 1 usd..... the rate Jon and I got: 1260 to 1 USD.

The upside to this volatility.... things were cheap!!!!! To give you an idea..... a plate of food cost on average K1500. A glass of beer cost K400. I got a nice, button down shirt for K1500. Each post card we mailed cost K50. And this is my favourite: I got a haircut for K500!!!! Yes, I know, I'm a Jew.... but there's nothing quite like getting things at incredibly low prises.

The Burmese people were in general incredibly friendly. Never before in my life (except, perhaps, the night I "slept" in Bangkok airport) did I feel like a celebrity. Jon and I truly stood out- as there were nearly no other white people in Rangoon. We got a lot of stares, many smiles, a bunch of ways, and quite a few "Minglabas" (yes, Sulin, they DO say it!). I must admit that I definitely enjoyed the attention- especially the female attention.

However, as Rangoon is direly poor, there were quite a few beggars- entirely in the form of children, elderly, and cripples.... and it breaks your heart to see them, but you know you shouldnt give them anything, as it wouldn't help them in the long run. Then you have the people trying to scam money off you.... they have this little script (at least 10 people ran through this script with us). "Hey, where you from? How long you been in Myanmar? Where you want to go?" Apparantly, thats the only English some people know.There was also evidence of government propoganda. We got a rather humourous Burmese tv station in our hotel room.... and tehre was a pretty funny billboard too. Then: the national musuem! What a joke! It was 6 stories of pots and bowls, and they had these "ancient" violins, which looked remarkably like classical european violins.... and even had price tags on them!!! Hmmmm...... And yes, there were armed soldiers all over the city...... however, they weren't threatening to us foreigners.... although my attempt to access the internet proved unsuccessful, as all relevant sites were blocked (including hotmail!!!!)

My conclusion on Rangoon: it is an extremely impoverished city. The infrastructure is poor and its people are suffering. Night commerce is done on the streets by bonfire, and the city smells of gasoline, street food, and rubbish, which is all over the street. However, if the lack of modern amenities isn't a problem- Rangoon is a very nice city.

It is very navigable, has some attractive colonial buildings, and is loaded with greeen space. The food is quite good (although perhaps not for everyone...) and incredibly cheap.... the local Myanmar beer is the best Asian brew I've ever had. If you don't mind the beggars and the scam artists, the people are INCREDIBLY nice, and seem to adore foreigners.I have plenty of pictures from Myanmar....

I hope to post them soon (I don't know when yet). Check facebook for pictures from Malaysia and Singapore.

This morning we left Rangoon for Bangkok.... we only spent today here. Bangkok is the 4th SEA capital that I have seen, and is extremely different than the other three. It is sorta like a combinatiojn of KL and Rangoon- only on a much larger scale. Bangkok is incredibly sprawling, congested, pollutted, contains many scam artists (who are MUCH more pushy than there burmese counterparts), lacks the friendly attitude of Rangoon, and contains WAY too many slums and shantytowns (I even saw an infamous rubbish-pile family). Yet, it contains its own shrae of glitz, and glamour. It was somewhat of a welcome relief from Rangoon..... although I loved Rangoon, I felt like I was transported back in time by about 60 years. Here, I feel like I am back in the 21st century.... however, Bangkok is trying to hide the fact that it is still a third world city.

Tomorrow I leave for Chaing Mai--- alone. I'm by myself for the rest of the summer. I don't know what I'm getting into. I'll try to update again from Chiang Mai. For all of you who sent me birthday wishes (my birthday was on 29 may), many many thanks! Despite being many miles away, you guys helped make it a birthday I would never forget. Keep checking this blog for more updates, and facebook for pictures. Until my next update, take care. :-)