Para empezar a amenizar el trayecto de 12,5 h, que nos llevaría primero a Meiktila y luego a Kalaw, corrieron la televisión hasta el centro del parabrisas para que todo el mundo pudiera verla, y subieron el volumen para que todo el mundo se pudiera quedar sordo!!! sólo fueron un par o tres de horitas de caraoke… luego el primer aviso, campanas y luces de colores a los laterales de la cabina (todo muy kitsch), para bajar en un “pípi stop”. Esta rutina, se fue repitiendo a lo largo de la noche, paradas en casas de bambú o en la carretera y entre medio… película de kongfu, adelantamientos kamikaces en barrizales, pregarias y lectura en la radio, carbana frente a una crecida de río que saltaba la carretera, y el fuerte olor a Betel que impregnaba la tapicería… eso sí! siempre conducía el mismo tipo! El que bautizamos como… “el loco incansable”.

Llegamos a las 5:03 h de la mañana, estabamos prácticamente en el centro geográfico del país,  nadie en la avenida, debíamos llegar a la estación de autobuses y encontrar transporte para ir hasta Kalaw; anduvimos no más de 5 minutos, cargados como ívamos con medio ojo cerrado y medio abierto, y de repente estábamos en medio de un animado mercado rural, con vendedores chillones y compradores ajetreados y más cargados que nosotros! una o dos indicaciones más, y ya está, una calle de tierra roja y un  tumulto de minibuses (transporte local), llegó el merecido descanso en las diminutas mesitas de la teteria frente al espectáculo. 10 conductores nos querían llevar…

• Desayunar:  Té de Ejaqüi (un te Nepalí especiado con leche), con… ¿porras? o una pasta dulce muy parecida. También se puede tomar sopa o algo que no definiría exactamente como café…
• Comer:  Hay un pan al vapor, relleno de carne y cebolla cocida, bueníssimo; el Possi.

¿Quien dice que el tamaño no importa? cuando se trata de recorrer la National Highway 4 durante 5 horas, entiendes a la perfección, para qué debes conocer la altura media de la población… es imposible que las piernas te quepan en los 20 cm de espacio que queda entre los asientos del transporte local… rebentón, “pipi-stop”, cabezadita (… o cabezazos contra la ventanilla), contractura, y selva!!! el mini empezó a ascender por la pista de barro hasta lo alto, hasta el pueblo que presume de tener un clima privilegiado, una temperatura agradable en medio de una exheberante vegetación; que preciosidad!   

• La National Highway 4, es una carretera empedrada a mano (como hay muchas en Myanmar) y dónde, aún hoy en día, envían a gente, también jovenes, a realizar trabajos forzados (aunque, el govierno lo niega).

Después de una ducha caliente en el Golden Lilly Guest House, salimos a patear. Fuimos hasta el centro, hasta Aung Chang Tha Zedi, una stupa de mosaicos dorados, luego Myoma Kyaung, contratamos un treck de 4 días hasta el lago Inle, enviamos un par de mails desde el centro escolar y a las 6 de la tarde fuimos en busca de una suculenta cena en el Everest Nepali Restaurant.

Por la mañana, empezamos la ruta a pié por las montañas Shan hasta Viewpoint dónde pasaríamos la noche.

La ruta de 4 días: 

• de Kalaw a Viewpoint (visita a Tayaw, poblado de étnia Palaung).
• de Viewpoint a  La Mine; pasamos por Hin Kha Gone, la estación de tren de Myin Daik, y Ywapu.
• de La Mine al monasterio Hti Thein; visitamos la escuela de Pin New (de étnia Pa-o) y Kone Hla (de étnia Taung Yoo).
• de Hti Thein a Indein, en el Lago Inle; pasamos por Nan Yoke y ya en Indein recorrimos todos los rincones del mercado.  

Los paisajes, el espesor de las montañas, los empinados campos de te, las llanas extensiones de arroz,  la gente y su modus vivendi, en la próxima entrada!!!.

Some Burma watchers and analysts are looking at US-Burma relation with caution. Some observers are optimistic on change taking place.

After a decade of disappointments, Burma watchers are talking softly about the latest signs of life in the country’s reconciliation process. “Shouting is better than shooting. Moreover, talking is better than shouting,” Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi once said.

I just spent some time going over the Remarks on Myanmar to Diplomatic Missions and have put down my thoughts though I know they don’t carry any diplomatic weight still I am probably voicing what many out there are probably thinking and know to be true.  The text that is in red is mine.
http://hninyulwin.wordpress.com/books/
Remarks on Myanmar to Diplomatic Missions UNSG 090704
Downloaded Nov. 22, 2009
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests and colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is my second visit to Myanmar in just over a year. Both visits have been at critical times for the country’s future.
My first visit was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. This devastating natural disaster, which took so many lives and created so much hardship, touched hearts across the globe. In Myanmar’s moment of need, the world responded generously.
I want to personally thank everyone here today for your remarkable contributions to the relief and recovery effort.
You have saved lives, rejuvenated communities and made it possible for many thousands of people to reclaim their livelihoods. You have helped Myanmar to overcome adversity. It is important that this work continues.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I felt the tragedy of Cyclone Nargis deeply — as a fellow Asian and as Secretary-General.
I am Asia’s second Secretary-General.
( UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon   ) The first was Myanmar’’s U Thant. I revere his memory. I also recall his wise words.
U Thant said: “The worth of the individual human being is the most unique and precious of all our assets and must be the beginning and end of all our efforts. Governments, systems, ideologies and institutions come and go, but humanity remains.”
This is why I have returned.
As Secretary-General, I attach the highest importance to helping the people of this country to achieve their legitimate aspirations.
The United Nations works for people – their rights, their well-being, their dignity. It is not an option. It is our responsibility.
I have come to show the unequivocal shared commitment of the United Nations to the people of Myanmar.
I am here today to say: Myanmar – you are not alone.
We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar.
We want to help you rise from poverty.   ( At who’s cost?) ( As of late I have noticed all sorts of reports of merchant ventures within Myanmar and its surrounding neighbors especially during Pres. Obama’s visit to the region. It begs the question who is helping who? )
We want to work with you so your country can take its place as a respected and responsible member of the international community. ( I don’t see how this is possible while there is a corrupt regime in place that continues to violate human rights.)
We want to help you achieve national reconciliation, durable peace and sustainable development.  ( First off durable peace in Myanmar cannot take place. For that to happen the current military regime would have to be removed and the people given the choice to decide their own fate. )
But, let me emphasize: neither peace nor development can thrive without democracy and respect for human rights. ( OK now we are talking so long as it is not more diplomatic rhetoric.)
Myanmar is no exception. ( No it is not but I would be wary of strangers and merchants who come bearing gifts! Who truly profits from off shore oil projects and huge hotels contracts? Who will truly benefit from the trade agreements that are on the table?)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The challenges are many. But they are not insurmountable.
We know from experience that securing Myanmar’s peaceful, democratic and prosperous future is a complex process. ( I see a lot of redundancy here and the usual diplomatic rhetoric!)
None of Myanmar’s challenges can be solved on their own. Peace, development and human rights are closely inter-related.
Failure to address them with equal attention will risk undermining the prospects for democracy, durable peace and prosperity.
However, we also know that where there is a genuine will for dialogue and reconciliation, all obstacles can be overcome.
The question today is this: how much longer can Myanmar afford to wait for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights?
The cost of delay will be counted in wasted lives, lost opportunities and prolonged isolation from the international community. ( Well finally, something that I can agree with!)
Let me be clear: all the people of Myanmar must work in the national interest.  (The People are the national interest and their needs cannot be reached or accomplished so long as the military regime continues in power.)
I said this yesterday when I met with representatives of Myanmar’s registered political parties and with those armed groups that have chosen to observe a cease-fire. I encouraged them respectively to honour their commitments to the democratic process and peace.
Nonetheless, the primary responsibility lies with the Government to move the country towards its stated goals of national reconciliation and democracy.
Failure to do so will prevent the people of Myanmar from realizing their full potential.
Failure to do so will deny the people of Myanmar their right to live in dignity and to pursue better standards of life in larger freedom. ( There is only one type of freedom!)
These principles lie at the core of the United Nations Charter, whose opening words are “We the peoples”.
The founding Constitution of independent Myanmar echoes these noble words. We must work together to ensure that Myanmar’s future embodies these principles too.
With this in mind, I bring three messages.
First, respect for human dignity is the precondition for peace and development everywhere.
Myanmar was one of the first United Nations Member States to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It subscribed early on to the consensus that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is indispensable to political, economic and social progress.
Unfortunately, that commitment has not been matched in deed. Myanmar’s human rights record remains a matter of grave concern.
The Government has articulated its goals as stability, national reconciliation and democracy.
The upcoming election –the first in twenty years – must be inclusive, participatory and transparent if it is to be credible.
Myanmar’s way forward must be rooted in respect for human rights
This is why I say that all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, should be released without delay.
When I met General Than Shwe yesterday and today, I asked to visit Ms. Suu Kyi. I am deeply disappointed that he refused.
I believe the government of Myanmar has lost a unique opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of political openness.
Allowing a visit to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would have been an important symbol of the government’s willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible. ( Right there that tells you the frame of mind the general is in. He has Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under his control and there is no way he is going to relinquish that power.)
The rest of this is nothing but the usual diplomatic rhetoric.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must be allowed to participate in the political process without further delay. (That is the last thing in the world the general would want!)
Indeed, all the citizens of Myanmar must be given the opportunity to contribute fully to the future of this country.
National reconciliation cannot be complete without the free and active participation of all who seek to contribute.
The country must embark on a process of genuine dialogue that includes all concerned parties, all ethnic groups and all minorities.
People must be free to debate and to engage in political dialogue, and they must have free access to the information that will help them participate meaningfully in the democratic process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Any transition is difficult. Myanmar has already undergone transitions from sovereign kingdom, to occupied colony, and now independent State.
This history carries a twin legacy of armed conflict and political deadlock, including recent painful events: the repression of demonstrators in 1988, the cancellation of the 1990 election results, and the clampdown on peaceful dissent that continues to this day.
At the same time, there have been some positive efforts that should be recognized.
Although still fragile, the cease-fire agreements between the Government and armed groups have reduced the level of conflict. The United Nations has wide-ranging experience in making such gains irreversible.
Sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity are legitimate concerns for any government.
We contend that opening and broadening the political space is the best way to ensure that each group and each individual becomes part of the greater collective project.
The military, all political parties, ethnic minority groups, civil society, and indeed every son and daughter of Myanmar has a role to play in this country’s transition.
Only mutual compromise, respect and understanding can lay the foundations for durable peace, national reconciliation and democracy.
My second message is on addressing the humanitarian needs of Myanmar’s people.
I am glad I have been able to return to see the progress made in the Irrawaddy Delta. The loss of some 130,000 people was tragic, but the rebuilding I saw today was impressive.
The tragedy showed the resilience of the people of Myanmar. It also demonstrated that people throughout the world care deeply about Myanmar and its people.
Above all, the response to Cyclone Nargis proved the value of engagement over isolation.
The unprecedented cooperation between Myanmar, the United Nations and ASEAN through the Tripartite Core Group, with the support of the donor community, has demonstrated that humanitarian imperatives and the principles of sovereignty do not conflict.
Humanitarian assistance — in Myanmar as elsewhere — should never be held hostage to political considerations. We can and must work together to ensure access to humanitarian and development assistance to all those in Myanmar who need it.
This brings me to my third message. It is time for Myanmar to unleash its economic potential.
Myanmar sits in the middle of Asia’s economic miracle. Harnessing Myanmar to the rapid advances taking place around it is the surest way to raise living standards.
I welcome the Government’s policy of opening up to outside trade and investment, and its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, control HIV, combat human trafficking and curtail opium production.
But the reality is that millions continue to live in poverty. Standards of living in Myanmar remain among the lowest in Asia.
The people of Myanmar need jobs, they need food security and they need access to health care.
We must work to ensure that the people of Myanmar can benefit from and contribute to the regional and global economy.
We must recognize that the region and the world have much to gain from a stable, prosperous and democratic Myanmar. We must work together for that goal.
The Government of Myanmar must seize the moment.
It must take advantage of the opportunities that the international community is prepared to offer to the people of Myanmar.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I came here as a friend.
My duty is to uphold the ideals and principles of the United Nations Charter.
My role is to encourage all of you – the Government, political parties, ethnic groups, civil society – to move forward together as one people and one nation.
Nothing is insurmountable or impossible when the people’s interest is placed above divisions.
The region and the world are changing fast. Myanmar only stands to gain from engagement — and from embarking on its own change.
The Government of Myanmar has repeatedly stated that cooperation with the United Nations is the cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.
We ask it to match deeds with words.
The more Myanmar works in partnership with the United Nations to respond to its people’s needs and aspirations, the more it affirms its sovereignty.
Similarly it is incumbent on the international community as whole to work together to help Myanmar meet our shared goals: a united, peaceful, prosperous and democratic future, with full respect for the human rights of all the country’s people.

Kyae zoo tin bar tae.

I got my Myanmar visa sorted on Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning I caught the plane from Bangkok to Yangon. When I got off the plane, I immediately sunk into culture shock. I expected it to be somewhat like Cambodia. Somewhat still quite familiar, but it was totally different. Outside the taxi drivers were waiting, chewing betel nut and wearing longyi, some sort of sarong.

When I actually got to the taxi, I was completely shocked at the state of the taxi. The seats were half gone, the inside of the back door was gone and so was the window. Natural airconditioning! When the driver started the car, I was afraid it would blow up or break down. And a lot of the cars on the road are like that. Not only is it very expensive to own a car, the import of cars is also restricted so they will drive them til they fall apart, and then drive them some more.

I didn’t have a hotel yet, but I had done a bit of research and I asked the driver to take me to the Okinawa Guesthouse downtown. The ride was interesting. While keeping an eye on the door in case it would fall off, I watched the people making their way around town. Really old buses packed to the max with people on the roof top. Wreck like cars that would have been taken apart for scrap metal two decades ago in any Western country, people riding rickety bicycles. But not a single motorbike in sight. As it turns out, motorbikes were banned from Yangon twenty years ago. Probably a blessing.

When I got to the guesthouse, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a tiny little house in a  run-down street with the biggest potholes imaginable. They had a few private rooms and a small four bed dorm upstairs. I checked in, took a little nap and then walked around downtown looking for food. Yangon must be cholera cart capital. I ended up settling for some Indian style food, which was pretty awful. Not at all the Indian kind of food I’ve tasted anywhere else. Very bitter and sour.

Later in the afternoon I decided to walk around in order to find a place where I could get a drink at night. Mmmmmm no such thing. There are no bars. Instead I headed back to the guesthouse to have a Myanmar beer there. It tasted actually really good so all was well. At the guesthouse I met a Belgian guy, Lieven, who had been to Myanmar four times already. I asked him about bars and he said he knew of a place up the street where you could get cheap Myanmar draft. So off we went, to this tiny hole in the wall restaurant. We had a couple of beers there and ended up hanging out for the next few days.

We had more awful food, more cheap Myanmar draught, walked around town and visited the Shwedagon pagoda, as well as the meat market. Absolutely shocking. The meat market is in a damp basement of an old building. When we went in, the power was down (which is very often the case) so it was pretty dark but we carried flashlights. The floor was covered in blood, dirt, guts, shit and god knows what wildlife was running around there. The cut up animals were just lying on the dirty floor, rotting away. And this was meat for sale. It sure made Phnom Penh look like Singapore compared to that. We didn’t stick around too long as the stench was just horrendous but it sure made a deep impression on me.

A few interesting things… First of all, money. When you arrive in Myanmar you need to have USD on you (though Euro’s can also be exchanged, but only in Yangon). The bills need to be new and pristine. No ink stains, no creases. You cannot buy the local currency, Kyats, outside of Myanmar, so you’re at the mercy of the black market money changers. This is tricky. I needed to change some US dollars and was well aware of the money changing scams out there. A guy approached us on the street, he showed us a stack of 1000 Kyat bills. Counted them in front of us, but he did it very quickly. I said I wanted to re-count myself. So while I was counting, one of the guys held out the counted money in front of him. I was wearing my sunglasses so he couldn’t see my eyes and while I pretended to be counting the money in my hand, I watched his hands and I noticed that in a split second, he took a few bills from the bottom of the counted stack and put it behind his back and into his pocket. I looked up and told him ‘I saw that’. He denied. I gave him the Kyat back and walked away. This is a very common scam and you have to be very careful when changing money. Of course, never give the US dollars til you have ensured you are getting the right amount of Kyat.

Electricity… Or lack thereof. It seems completely random, and perhaps it is. There might be electricity for a few hours, then it goes off again for hours at a time. Lots of shops and restaurants have generators and the sound is deafening. Unfortunately, the Okinawa guesthouse does not and at night it was very hot. Just imagine about 35C and being forced to sleep under a mosquito net that doesn’t let any of the breeze in, if there is any. I guess I’m a bit of a princess but I found it very hard to deal with and did not sleep well at all.

Also, perhaps related to the lack of electricity… there isn’t any at night, so almost everything shuts down at around 9 PM and the city goes black. A flashlight is an absolute necessity to carry with you at all times, especially at night walking the streets because the potholes are huge and there’s a lot of open sewers.

Another interesting thing is mobile phones. There is no international roaming in Myanmar but you are given two options. One of them is to buy a temporary sim card, which costs 20 USD and cannot be reloaded and will expire after a month. Those 20 USD won’t get you far, making/receiving calls on a mobile phone is very expensive. The other option is to buy a post-paid SIM card. Just the card itself costs USD 1500. Needless to say, very few people have mobile phones in Myanmar. It is sheer luxury.

However, on Sunday night we decided to live it up a bit and we went to see the Michael Jackson movie ‘This Is It’. The theatre was surprisingly nice. Quite retro for our standards but the screen was good, and so was the quality of the movie. Though most memorable was when the movie was over and the lights went on…. the garbage left on the floor was shocking. It was as if a garbage truck had crashed and toppled over right there. Very strange, because the Burmese take a lot of pride in appearance and they mostly look well groomed and very proper. We were about the last people to leave the theatre because we couldn’t stop looking and couldn’t get over the mess all around… and the sad looking empty garbage cans nobody was using.

Another interesting visit was a stop at the Myanmar Tourist & Travel office. Lieven wanted to go see the Sea Gypsies in the South. He wanted to find out how to get there by bus and boat. Well, the answer was ‘not’. The only way he’d be able to go was to sign up for some $1000 tour and apply for a permit (turn around time about two weeks). He’d have to take a plane as foreigners are not allowed on the roads in that area. He asked about other places. The answer was pretty much ‘no’. As a foreigner, you are highly restricted in your movements around the country. You can go to Yangon, Mandalay, Inle Lake, Bagan and a few places to the North and West but that’s it. He ended up taking a bus to Pegu, to visit a monastery with a 100 year old snake and I ended up taking a 12 hour night bus to Mandalay.

In the next installment, my impression of Mandalay a variety of other tidbits and why you should go to Myanmar.

Dhamma Dana, a documentary I previously blogged about here, has won the Best Domestic Documentary Prize at the 2009 Queens International Film Festival.

Made by Theodore Martland, the film documents Buddhist monastic life in Burma today, and is full of striking images.

Teddy is selling copies of the DVD at his website for $12.82, and 100% of the profits will go to benefit the good work of our mutual friends Sister Molini and Sister Dhammavijaya at the Dhamma Moli Project. The Dhamma Moli Project, which is based in Nepal, provides shelter and education to young Nepalese girls who are at risk of falling victim to the South Asian sex trade or other forms of exploitation.

Buy a copy of Teddy’s film here, and take a look at the trailer below.

Every year, Transparency International makes a list of the most corrupt countries in the world. I searched through the blogs to find out more about each one, from a travelers’ perspective.

1. Somalia

Hardiek at the border of Somalia

“For those of you who don’t know (almost everybody, including me up until a few weeks ago) the once unified country of Somalia is now effectively divided into three, the rump Somalia surrounding dangerous Mogadishu, the country of Puntland from which all the ship piracy of recent fame takes place, and Somaliland, relatively peaceful and open for business, connected by land to the also relatively peaceful states of Djibouti and Ethiopia.” – Hardiek

2. Afghanistan

Samcato telling home base about an explosion in Afghanistan

“From ‘grease my palm’ to ‘oil-fill my bellybutton’: corruption has penetrated the political, economic, judicial and social systems so thoroughly that it has ceased to be a deviation from the norm and become the norm itself. Corruption had existed ever since the Taliban regime was toppled, but it has reached a historically record breaking level. Ordinary Afghans are well aware of this, the majority of the country is sorry, not because it existed but they are not in a position to benefit from bribery. Corruption has become so endemic that it is perceived as normal. Nothing is possible at the same time, everything is possible. When a job comes to a standstill it doesn’t mean there is a problem with the job, it is time to grease up some bellybuttons. If one is prepared to pay as much as needed then anything could be done. Shortcuts are introduced if one is willing to compromise. I could have thought of any word as synonyms for bribery but not compromise, Farsi and Pashto languages are rich with euphemisms for bribe. My favorite and all time fresh is ‘Shirini’, the sweetener. It is generally used when you got something done. In other words shirini is post bribery bribe. Don’t be surprised. At least I had something done, these days ordinary citizens pay bribes as much to be left alone as to get something done. They call it ‘Kharcha’, ‘paeesi chai’, ‘jawani’ and many more which are basically *bribe of survival*. Exactly this has changed everything; everyone attempts to be in a position to take a bribe as oppose to a sucker. Bribe takers are at the highest rank of the society where everybody inspires to be.” – Samcato

3. Myanmar

Markl's tour guide "Stella" spoke about the corruption in her country

“Stella was forthcoming about the current regime and it’s appalling corruption. They have moved the capital inland and have created an insane, artificial compound where the military and civil servants live in pampered luxury. They are building a zoo, of all things there, and transporting the animals from Yangon zoo to fill it. So the people in the capital get a few old camels and the rest get shipped 300 miles inland. Civil service pensions are no better, her mother receives 100 Kyat or $0,10 a day. Stella’s bitterness was mainly reserved for the treatment of the poor who seem to have been mainly abandoned by the political rulers. The stories of aid for rural people post Cyclone Nargis in 2009 were terrifying.” – Markl

4. Sudan

Bonthorn on the road in Sudan

“You have two choices when you come to a roadblock. You can play Mr./Mrs. Nice Guy/Gal and greet the officer as if you’ve known him your whole life, shake hands amicably and ask about his health, his family, their health, etc. Calling him ‘my friend’ and patting him on the back is also a good tactic (although never try this if you are female). After all the formalities are completed, he might just let you off the hook and wish you a “Good Journey”. The second option is to play dumb and pretend you have no idea what the officer is saying, although it’s blatantly obvious. Keep jabbering in English in a tone that is neither offensive nor accusing, and sooner or later, he will hopefully tire of you and your feigned stupidity and wave you on. So far, these are the two choices we’ve attempted, both at pretty successful rates. But the key is to pick one and stick to it BEFORE your car is stopped and you’re face to face with him and his gun.” – Bonthorn

5. Iraq

Rebecca.mcneal went through several checkpoints in Iraq

“After passing through numerous checkpoints, Iraqi, Pesmerga and Awakening Council fighter types we neared Mosul. Mosul was the only place that was worrisome. We passed by a truck bomb site that had killed 250 people in the recent past. We were not allowed to photograph checkpoints which were all manned with machine guns.” – Rebecca.mcneal

6. Chad

Kevandsian picked up some unexpected hitchhikers in Chad

“Crossing into Chad was surprisingly hassle free, the police in this country have a bad reputation for being corrupt and subtracting bribes and ‘tolls’ at every opportunity. We took a hitch hiker at the request of the police and also transported a soldier to the next village. We then gave another 5 police and military personnel lifts to neighboring towns 55 kms away,becoming the essential local transport as the first truck to pass through in 6-7 days. We decided this might help avoid searches and bribes at police stops and ease our journey. They did help at one small town where the police demanded a 16 dollar fee per person for registering and stamping our passports which was eventually avoided successfully.” – Kevandsian

7. Uzbekistan

Crowdywendy's tour guide in Uzbekistan, Behruz

Our first morning in Bukhara introduced us to the entrenched police and official corruption in Uzbekistan. It was our first introduction to “bakeesh” or bribes to officials. At the first Bukhara bank we were told that we were not allowed in. “Why not?” we asked. It was a very large bank and there were numerous tellers open everywhere. Well, we just couldn’t. The police were stationed at the entrance of the bank and would not let people in. Well, of course with a little bribe they would… But we resisted and moved on to yet another bank, and another. Later that evening while talking with other hotel guests, we were told that it is not uncommon for locals to have to try ten or so different banks before they would be allowed entry. The young local people were openly disgusted with the practice.

Similarly, bakeesh is a common practice with the police. There are frequent road blocks throughout Uzbekistan. While we had no problems thanks to Naim calling out “tourists!” at every point we were told over and over again by locals about the road police. Apparently being a police officer on the roads is a much sought after profession. Although they are dreadfully underpaid they certainly make up for it in bribes or bakeesh.” – Crowdywendy

8. Turkmenistan

Ricka leaving the "ferry from hell" in Turkmenistan

We loaded on-board after a trainload of freight was stowed and we were squeezed in between the carriages and the crew started to hassle us for “Security Fees”. We all had the sense to tell them to get lost! We were on at last! Another trip back into the customs hall to get our final clearance and it was back on board, passports handed over to a dodgy looking guy along with $90 and then a stagger up to the deck with our luggage. We wondered why there were loads of crewmembers smiling and laughing at us, little did we know!
The dodgy guy we gave our passports and cash to started to try to explain that if we wanted a cabin they were $100. We said no thanks, at that price we could manage the 12 hour crossing on the deck. I had a suspicion that things may not go to plan so I followed a crew down into the ship to have a look at a cabin. He showed me two of the filthyest, run-down excuses for cabins I had ever seen, with the “bathrooms” being even worse. I haggled with the guy anyway as I knew this was a “take it or leave it” situation and I settled on twenty bucks per cabin – I thought we would be needing them!” – Ricka

9. Iran

Jimsim at Persepolis in Shiraz, Iran

“While Sim took a few snaps of the mosque I chatted to a local soldier who was visiting the mosque. He was very young, and was very upbeat about Iran’s prospects for the future. While not stating a preference for either the hardline or more moderate of Iran’s leaders he seemed to believe that by keeping the right (positive) attitude the people of Iran would pull the country in the right direction. It was hard not to be caught up in his enthusiasm. He was also extremely helpful while we were there, happily answering the barrage of questions I had about Shiraz and it’s major attractions.” – Jimsim

10. Haiti

Mim301 on her first day volunteering in Haiti

“It is so hard to believe that so many people in Haiti live in poverty because of such a corrupt government, but that the beaches and mountains are so beautiful. I guess that this is just another one of life’s great mysteries.” – Mim301

Twenty-five days traveling under the world’s oldest military regime…

I was thankfully able to have a number of what I would consider to be candid conversations on various off limit topics in secure environments. So what did I learn about Myanmar?

The Junta

I think the following paints an accurate picture of the clowns in power:

In the early 1970s a fortune teller told General Ne Win that if the direction of traffic was not reversed, he would die shortly. The direction of traffic was reversed within weeks. Hence the reason you’ll see a right hand steering wheel in a car driving on the right side of the road.

These people run the country.

Myanmar has the 25^th largest military in the world at roughly 500,000 (larger than the United Kingdom). But why would anyone voluntarily join a military that is unanimously hated by its own people? This one was tough to answer but from what I could piece together half enjoy the access to power and corruption. The other half are just hungry. The pay is apparently nothing so it’s not as if the youngest son is enlisting to financially support his family. Needless to say I didn’t have a chance to speak with the other side of the aisle.

The Burmese

Despite what the newspapers would have you believe, Myanmar’s greatest resource is not timber, oil, gas, or precious jewels. It is its people. Despite the lack of personal freedoms, the ever present threat of spontaneous incarceration, and living in a world in which no avenues for vertical mobility exist, the Burmese are kind, warm, intelligent, welcoming, and would appear happy.

But like Mr. Joe’s sleepless nights which offset his jovial days, one can only guess how much deep fear and hardship the happy veneer these people wear on the surface hides underneath. But when generations know of nothing but suppression, perhaps ignorance becomes bliss.

What I do know is that life is a struggling for the overwhelming majority of people with which I interacted. Jobs are scarce. Corruption is not. Those with connections or money are able to break the cycle and fine work and relative security. The overwhelming majority without have no means to escape. Schools, the logical solution, are too expensive for most. And for those that can afford them (e.g. Mr. Joe), there is precious little left over afterwards. And for those coming out of school, there are no professional jobs. Unless you have a connection overseas your diploma isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

So why not leave the country? The government sees to it that passports are economically unfeasible for all but the most privileged, which makes them so far out of reach for the common man it’s not even on the table for discussion. And even if you had the money…you’re going to have to bribe someone to approve it. More money. And after all that the fickle government may just say NO. Or decide to close the borders. I did not converse with a single individual (outside of the two airports I visited) that had ever left the country.

When I asked an 86-year-old ex-municipality officer in Kalaw, who happened to be “incredibly poor but rich in family,” where he would travel if money was not an issue his answer took me back:

“I have never even dreamt of that question.”

He had never left his native town of Kalaw, and despite having worked diligently for decades as a well-respected civil servant, his government pension was 600 kyat a month. That’s $0.60 a month. It was so obscene and insulting that we all sadly laughed…right along with him.

Financial rich? No.

Father of six and grandfather to fourteen. Rich with family? Yes.

Life under the Regime

First off most people have no idea about what goes on in their country unless they see it with their own two eyes. Given the barriers to domestic mobility and absence of an independent news source, the internet and word of mouth serve as the only means of accurate news flow.

That said the internet is highly monitored and controlled. I couldn’t access this blog on most occasions. A guesthouse owner told me he never searched anything sensitive on his computer. “I always go into town.” He had heard of the government tracking IP addresses and taking action.

Internal transportation (i.e. buses) is so expensive that only the very fortunate can travel within. It was not uncommon to meet people to whom the very thought of traveling to Yangon or Mandalay was just crazy.

Tun Tun, the wise teenager of Bagan, had never left home.

“Will you ever leave Bagan?”

“No.”

“Would you like to see Yangon one day?”

“I’ve never thought about it. It’s too expensive.”

Too expensive. And here I am carrying enough money in my shorts to send him down and back. Twice.

No one has mobile phones. Too expensive. The government monitors the public lines. The majority of mail is opened, not for security purposes, but rather for financial gain. I asked Tun Tun’s family to explain what would happen if I tried to mail a package to them.

“It would be recognized as coming from outside the country and opened with the intent of stealing its contents. That would first happen in Yangon. Then at the regional level. Then at the local. It’s completely corrupt all the way down…”

Whether incorrect or not I’ve come to conclude regarding human rights abuses that few people can truly speak to the issue. Information, like the people, does not flow freely so I’m very suspect when I hear answers. Take Hillary, my personal guide in Yangon. When asked whether forced labor still occurs he replied he didn’t think so. When I address the lack of information he has access to he agrees that he’s in the dark.

And there it is. Like the power most nights…the people of Myanmar are in the dark. A credible source did say the “Ghost Highway” I rode from Yangon north was constructed primarily with forced prison labor. He said 10% of the prisoners died from disease related illness. Most internal airports were also constructed using forced labor – a fact that apparently has not reached the majority of package tourists (and yes I flew internal once).

In the end the country is massive, but the area accessible for travel is small. No one knows what goes on off the tourist trail. And that’s the scary reality.

The Future

As I’ve mentioned on several occasions the junta is awash with money. With its wealth of accessible natural resources that will continue to be of great economic importance to the key regional powers for decades to come, it’s no surprise the government enjoys favorable relations with its neighbors.

And what neighbors. Two of which represent 35% of the world’s population and one is the world’s next undisputed super power. Between the oil, gas, timber, and opium exports the government enjoys with India, Russia, Thailand, and China…no power outside the region is going to so much as rock the boat as long as the government has China in its back pocket. I was told that in exchange for 50% of the profits the government condones the cultivation of opium. How does it leave the country? On military trucks..

Obama sent several U.S. diplomats to Mandalay to reopen dialogue that had apparently gone cold under the previous administration. How did I learn? Every informed Burmese with a handheld radio listening to Radio Free America told me so. Talk. That’s all it’ll ever be. Sadly.

The government has said they will hold national elections next year. They haven’t said when of course. If you’re trying to visit pay attention. All borders will be shut three months before the date they select. The election is for show. The result, in all likelihood, will be violence. Nothing will change for the man on the street. And the people know it.

Eventually I started asking a question I’d phrase along the following lines:

Q: “I don’t care how crazy it sounds; I want to know how to change this country?”

The best answer I got also reveals another sad reality.

A: “Even if you dropped a bomb and eliminated all the generals and successfully removed the regime, this country is still made up of over 135 ethnic groups…none of which get along. Civil war would erupt immediately given the void of central power.”

And I believe it. I never felt so much as the slightly hint of national unity, only a shared distain for the military.

Worth the Visit?

Yes. An emphatic yes. The situation is incredibly fascinating, as I hope the above hints at. The people brilliant, the food forgettable, the landscape breathtaking. The travel can be as easy or as difficult as you want it. Granted the government has a tight leash on where you can and can not go, it doesn’t matter because all you have to do if walk twenty feet off the tourist trail…and you’ll find a smiling Burmese that can count on one hand the number of exchanges they’ve enjoyed with someone that looks like you and me.

The tragic reality is that there is no clock counting down to V-M Day. The Burmese will no sooner enjoy liberation from the west then the generals will voluntarily loosen their grip over their own people. The world’s longest running military dictatorship will remain just that. Sadly for some time to come…

I’ll wrap this up by sharing an exchange from late last night. I walked out of the internet café at midnight and turned left. I stood there gazing down the neon filled streets of Chiang Mai. I caught the eye of a beautiful girl sitting at an outdoor table. She looked at me. I looked at her. We both slightly cocked our heads to the side and made the connection. It was the same London couple from my epic first night on Gili T off Bali back in September. I sit down and the three of us swap war stories. Where you been? Where you going? The usual.

I mention my crossing from Myanmar three days ago and get the immediate question, “What was Burma like?” First time I’d been asked. I kind of froze. How do I even begin? As I began to describe my experience… the country…the people…the situation…the challenges, neither Brit ever broke eye contact. They were fixed.

They had traveled Sumatra, Malaysia, and had covered Thailand. They had, in their own words however, yet to experience anything close to what I was describing. The real Asian experience. The untouched villages. The genuine native people. In a word: sincerity.

I was told nothing in Thailand was real. Nothing left to be discovered. I was told that everyone here thinks they know where the real Asian experience is but when they get there they only find disappointment. 13,000,000 visit Thailand a year. What do you expect?

After lecturing for thirty minutes I could see the fire and intrigue in the eyes before me. I think they now know where to find what it is they came here looking for…

Myanmar. You know where to find it, I told them. It’s just across the border, a world away…

Its been…

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=113857108228539669434.000475cd617df8978ac81&ll=19.020577,99.140625&spn=11.449853,16.940918&z=6

ေက်းဇူးေတာ္ရွင္ နိဳင္ငံေက်ာ္ဓမၼကထိက ျပည္တြင္းျပည္ပသာသနာျပဳ ျဖဴးဆရာေတာ္ဘုရားၾကီး ဘဒၵႏၱနရပတိ သည္ ထိုင္းႏိုင္ငံ၊ ဘန္ေကာက္ၿမိဳ႕ ရွိ ဖလန္ေကာက္ေဆးရုံ (PRARAM 9 HOSPITAL)၊ စတုတၳထပ္ အတြင္းလူနာေဆာင္ အခန္းအမွတ္ (၃)တြင္ ေက်ာက္ကပ္ေရာဂါေဝဒနာကို ေဆးကုသမႈခံယူလွ်က္ ရွိေနပါသည္။
continue
http://www.niknayman-niknayman.co.cc/2009/11/blog-post_21.html
http://www.phyusayadaw.com/biography.html

ယခုႏွစ္ ဧၿပီလ(၂၉)ရက္ေန႔က ျမန္မာျပည္တြင္းရွိ အမ်ဳိးသားဒီမိုကေရစီအဖဲြ႔ခ်ဳပ္မွ ထုတ္ျပန္ထားခဲ့ေသာ ”ေ႐ႊဂံုတိုင္ေၾကညာစာတမ္း“ကို ဂ်ပန္ႏိုင္ငံရွိ ျမန္မာဒီမိုကေရစီအင္အားစုမ်ားမွ အျပည့္အ၀ေထာက္ခံေၾကာင္းႏွင့္ အဆိုပါေၾကညာစာတမ္း၏အေရးႀကီးပံုကို ဂ်ပန္အစိုးရႏွင့္တကြ ဂ်ပန္ႏိုင္ငံရွိ လူမႈအေျချပဳအဖဲြ႔အစည္းမ်ား၊ ဂ်ပန္ႏိုင္ငံေရးပါတီမ်ား၊ ဂ်ပန္အလုပ္သမားသဂၢမ်ားအပါအ၀င္ ဂ်ပန္လူထုႏွင့္ ဂ်ပန္ႏိုင္ငံရွိ ႏိုင္ငံျခားသံ႐ံုးမ်ားပါ သေဘာေပါက္လက္ခံလာၿပီး အားေပးေထာက္ခံမႈရရွိေစရန္ရည္႐ြယ္၍ ႏွီးေႏွာဖလွယ္ပဲြတရပ္ က်င္းပျပဳလုပ္မည္ဟုသိရွိရသည္။
continue http://knljapan.blogspot.com/

karenunited.com မွျပန္လည္ကူးယူေဖၚျပသည္။

Wednesday November 18^th:

LP and I are up early. After a hearty breakfast we walk to the post office. Just as negotiated our non-English-speaking-motorbike-facilitator has two bikes ready for us. Quick cash transaction and we’re off into the morning streets of Kengtung. Our plan was to head out of town until we were inevitably turned back. How’s that for a plan? We made it as far as fifteen minutes could take us before we were redirected to the immigration office, where we promptly had our bikes confiscated by two non-English-speaking immigration officers (that could have been physically subdued with one’s right arm while holding a cup of coffee with the left…and I’m talking no spillage). It was frustrating. We get our $16 back from the captain of the post office who is quickly brought in. We head off on foot back into the streets of Kengtung. Well that was short lived…

LP is not a fan of cities and tourists. If it’s not historically overwhelming (e.g. Bagan) or completely off the radar and seldom attempted (e.g. sleeping on the floor of a village hut where you’re not supposed to go)…he’s not interested. So the idea of joining us for hijinks in southern Thailand sounded like more hassle than it was worth. As such he spends the entire day going logistical and sorting out how to fly to the west coast and boat upriver to a place travelers seldom go. Hey, I can’t argue with that. And if you only have two weeks…do what you’ve got to do to feel fulfilled. Thailand isn’t going anywhere…

The nail in the decision coffin came that afternoon when we phoned the border and learned that his permit to cross was several days away. And with that things are set in motion…and I’m suddenly about to witness my last sunset in Myanmar…

The remaining daylight hours witness my unsuccessful attempt to acquire a Burmese flag. You simply can not find them for sale anywhere in the country. I’m ecstatic when someone in the market says to follow him. I hop on his motorbike and arrive at a military supply store. And there it is. The Red & Blue for sale. I take one look, however, at the army green wearing military dude behind the counter and tell my driver to get me the hell out of here. Like hell I’m buying a flag from that guy…

Time is running out and things are getting desperate. I inventory my kyat supply and start making offers to every building waving a flag…

Two post offices and two schools later I’m empty handed. God, it would have been an epic acquisition…the military is apparently going to change the flag next year.

We grab final beers on the lake and watch the sun dip into the mountains. And just like that it’s Twilight Over Burma.  I inform LP that my Last Supper will consist of the dodgiest street food I can find. Dinner turns into a riot with the locals descending on us with complete fascination. It was perfect way to go out.

We bicycle home in power-out darkness. Illuminated by enough candles to quickly burn down Harry’s Guest House Lucius advises as I shed unnecessary lbs in my bag. Why the hell am I packing jeans anyway? Cutting the fat…

Thursday November 19^th

The Crossing: Part II

Not to be confused with the original Crossing. My as-yet-unreleased 2004 self-starring mockumentary about a young man’s search to find himself…during the 50 minutes it takes to paddle across Moriches Bay…on Tyler Brawner’s surf board.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=40.784311,-72.692928&spn=0.062909,0.130978&t=h&z=13&msid=113857108228539669434.000478dd4b0fc3e1cceb4

Back to Asia…Up at 6:30am. LP accompanies me to the bus station. My original intention being to find the most beat up local transport imaginable and ride on the top to the border in high style (a la The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert). It doesn’t exactly work out like that though. I get to the none-English-speaking-ticket-lady and try to buy one of the last remaining seats on the bus to the border town of Tachilek. She starts objecting and with the help of my soon-to-be Fixer I learn I need yet another permit just to take the bus to the border.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixer#In_journalism

So off Lucius, the Fixer, and I head to the immigration office on foot. We arrive and why wouldn’t they be happy to see us…again? After roughly twenty minutes a crowd of eight has formed, with each officer feeling the need to thoroughly inspect my passport, my visa, my (government-run) Myanmar Tour & Travel-issued permit allowing me to cross into Thailand, and my MTT-issued receipt showing payment…

I mean aren’t you guys all on the same money grubbing side? They finally draw up yet another permit which I’m to show at each checkpoint along the road to Tachilek.

Permits in hand, a goodbye to Lucius, I board the bus and assume the legendary middle aisle seat. Two people to my right. Two to my left. Aisle-seat passenger to my front.  Aisle-seat passengers (mother and vomiting daughter) to my rear.

We depart at 9:03am…

• 9:16am. First checkpoint. Everyone out of the bus. Barb wire. Police. All good. Everyone back on the bus.
• Surrounded on all sides by the very people that for the past 25 days have made my journey unforgettable, we begin to climbs a great mountain. Rice terraces on either side radiating in the morning sun. Mist covering the mountain pass ahead. Windows down. Wind swirling the interior…a rush of incredible excitement comes over me. This is real. This scene is real. These circumstances are real. It was a real high. We cross the pass and drop into the depths of the Golden Triangle. Dense. Jungle. Steep. Winding. Mountainous. Brilliant.
• 12:07pm. Second checkpoint. Everyone out of the bus. Barb wire. Police. All good. Everyone back on the bus.
• 1:36pm. Third checkpoint. Everyone out of the bus. Barb wire. Police. All good. Everyone back on the bus.
• 1:54pm. Tachilek.
• Motorbike ride to the border.
• Papers to the MTT officer.
• Exit stamp.
• He escorts me to the middle of the footbridge…

I stop and look below at the tiny river dividing countries. Dividing worlds. I turn to my escort:

“I’ve had an incredible experience in your country. Jez zu beh.”

I turn back to the Blue & Red of the Burmese flags lining both sides of their half of the bridge. Pause. Grin.

And with that I turn, march, and am engulfed in the red, white, blue and yellow of Thailand….

One of the questions we get asked a lot and also ask others as we travel from country to country is “Where is your favourite place?”.  As you meet people who are travelling in similar areas and have travelled all over the world it is lovely to hear their stories of favourite places and why they meant so much to them.

For me there are two countries that really stand out. The first is India, for a million reasons.  It has that marmite quality of love it or hate it.  You speak to one person and they regale you with experiences of diarrhea, theft, con artists, torturous bus journeys, cockroaches and people who would steal the breath from a dying man.  Then you talk to the next person who has been to the same places and they tell you of the greatest, loving caring people you could meet, acts of supreme kindness and generosity that bring a lump to the throat, and food so delicious you start slavering at the very thought of it.  I am in the second camp.  Great people, great country, great food and a scale of beauty and diversity it is hard for a boy from a small Island called Britain to grasp.

When I think of India I am fascinated by the colours, the  immense sweat and grime, dirty streets,  and more people in the scope of my eye than I knew could fit.

When you get off the plane you are thrown into the heat, the dust and the smell of people in all their raw reality.  The food, the sweat, the rubbish, piss and shit and perfume of people living, sleeping, breathing, farting and fucking on top of one another in a crowded city.

People flow in every direction, walking, running and jostling their way through the heaving sweaty mass.  Shouts, laughter, revving engines, growling rickshaw motors, and unknown phrases spat to and fro surround you.

The smell of sweat and spice concentrates the raw odour of humanity through the heat of the pavement.  You have to find the rhythm, the ebb and flow of the crowd and your place in it.

The streets are part of life; not just walkways but homes, kitchens, shops and beds.  Streets seemingly sweaty and damp with their own perspiration lubricate the friction of difficult lives played out on their surface.

India can be tough but just like anything worthwhile, to find the hidden gems you have to search in strange places.

The other place I answer as my favorite is Myanmar.  I won’t repeat the content of the many posts we have already written about Myanmar. It is again probably a marmite experience.  A happy, smiling, warm people who seem to approach their everyday life with a calm determination that belies the hardship that is forced upon them by an oppressive military regime.

A people who have every right to be depressed, angry, resentful and uncaring are in fact just the opposite.  Their country is beautiful beyond words.

As I sit here in our lovely guest house in Bangkok enjoying the free wifi and overpriced veggie food I read yet another depressing story about the continued suffering of the people of Myanmar.

Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world and has negligible state spending on healthcare and education.  However the Military leaders have recently banked nearly $5bn in offshore accounts in Singapore.  This money comes from the gas pipeline project in Myanmar operated by French company Total, and as this article argues Total are complicit in supporting the military junta.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands to think at the moment but things don’t seem right with the world.  Yet again here we are with something that should anger, offend, distress and disgust every single one of us, but it doesn’t really.  We know it is wrong but some sort of weird mental process takes place that makes us quickly forget the anger and disgust and go back to our comfortable lives, afraid as ever to rock the boat.

Are we really more concerned with preserving the status quo and maintaining our economic stability than with standing up for the basic rights of our fellow human beings? Maybe we are… I am still here enjoying overpriced pumpkin soup and posting this blog on the free wifi.

I searched online for Myanmar metal stuff last night and found a forum. With great expectations, I clicked on the link.

What I found?

They were talking about… nu-metal??? Yes, nu-metal. Frigging hell mallcore stuff like Slipknot and Marilyn Manson. There were even people who mentioned Linkin Park and Flyleaf.

Seriously! There was nothing on it but mallcore. -.-

Next one was a blog. He was talking about Slipknot and how much he likes them and on another blog was an article on Myanmar metal scene and the author was talking about Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold and Trivium. Frigging Metalcore.

EVERYTHING HERE IS JUST NU-METAL AND METALCORE????????????

-________-

Why can’t they just get out of this whole mallcore thing??? Why won’t they step deeper into the depths? WHY?????

There were even some people who said,”Slipknot is Death Metal”. Ya, go die. It pisses me off when I hear people saying crap like that.

Mallcore, Nu-metal, Metalcore, BFMV, A7X, Marilyn Manson, BMTH, blah blah blah and it goes on and on and on in a never finishing mallcore whirlpool. This is what’s happening  in Myanmar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This should end.

Metal albums aren’t that rare anymore. You can pretty much buy them here. (Last week I got Black Sabbath:The Dio Years and Megadeth’s Endgame.) Or you can download them via Mediafire or 4shared (which I usually do).

Still people are still drowning in the mallcore whirlpool… labeling themselves “metalheads” with Slipknot songs in their mp3 players.

It’s time to ditch out mallcore people! Ditch it out and explore into the depths of Metal!

Compare it! Compare and listen! Compare Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Korn, Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me the Horizon, Atreyu (and whatever mallcore/metalcore/nu-metal stuff) to Iron Maiden, Death, Mayhem, Children Of Bodom, Judas Priest, (old) In Flames, Slayer, Dio, Black Sabbath, Kamelot, Gorgoroth, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Dark Tranquillity, Behemoth, Amon Amarth, Amorphis, Sonata Arctica, Opeth, Deicide, HammerFall, Moonspell, Venom, Testament, Morbid Angel, Candlemass, Exodus, My Dying Bride, Datkthrone, etc. Compare mallcore/nu-metal/metalcore to Death Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal, Symphonic Metal, Gothic Metal, etc. AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE!

\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/

Lieutenant General
Chief of Bureau of Special Operations – 5 (BSO-5)
Chief of Military Affairs Security

Born: 24 May, 1951
Wife: Khin Thet Htay

An ethnic Mon, Myint Swe is the first Regional Commander to rise above the rank of Major General. He is known to be personally close to Sr Gen Than Shwe, a fact inextricably linked to his career success. Myint Swe was reportedly close to Than Shwe’s family during his rise to the top, and Kyaing Kyaing appreciated his deferential approach. His promotion to head of Military Intelligence following the purge of Khin Nyunt is a strong indication of the trust placed in him by the SPDC’s top generals.

MILITARY CAREER
In 1973, Myint Swe became a Second Lieutenant when he graduated from the 15th intake of Rangoon’s Defense Service Academy, and rose quickly through the ranks. He became Commander of the IB 97. In 1992 he joined LIB 58. In 1996, as a Lieutenant Colonel, he took over as the commander of LIB 404.

In 1997, he was promoted to Brigadier General and named Commander of Rangoon’s LID 11.

He joined the SPDC in 2001, when he was appointed Commander of the Southeastern Regional Command when incumbent Thiha Thura Sit Maung died in a helicopter crash. Later that year he was summoned back to the capital to take over the Rangoon Command and was promoted to Major General. He also functioned as Chairman of the Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council.

Following the purge of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, Myint Swe took over as head of the new Military Intelligence agency while retaining his position at the top of Rangoon Command. In October 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

In January 2006, Lt Gen Myint Swe moved from Rangoon Commander to the newly created BSO-5. The creation of the new Bureau coincided with the SPDC ministries’ move to Naypyidaw.

Myint Swe commands the Bureau of Special Operations – 5 (BSO-5), which is responsible for ‘security, military, political, economic, and social tasks’ in Naypyidaw and Rangoon.

Ranks Held

1973 – Second Lieutenant
Unknown – Lieutenant Colonel
1997 – Brigadier General
2001 – Major General
2005 – Lieutenant General

PERSONAL DATA

Myint Swe has played a very public role in major events in Burma.

Khin Nyunt’s ouster

In 2004, Than Shwe turned to Myint Swe to ouster intelligence chief and Prime Minister Khin Nyunt. Myint Swe arrested Khin Nyunt at the airport after having ordered the soldiers under his Rangoon division to arrest key men attached to Khin Nyunt’s intelligence office. Crackdown on information

In early 2006, Myint Swe launched a campaign to track down citizens in Burma who were feeding the international media with information with targets that ranged from businessmen and civil servants to local journalists.

Saffron Revolution

In October 2007, the New Light of Myanmar reported an apparent gesture of reconciliation following the Saffron Revolution. Myint Swe distributed about US$8,000 dollars in cash and large amounts of rice, cooking oil, toothpaste and medicine to 50 monasteries and a nunnery in Northern Rangoon. The paper said the donations were made on behalf of military members and their families.

Constitutional Referendum

On 9 April 2008, Lt. Gen Myint Swe described to a meeting of some 600 people, which included senior government officials, the junta’s plans for rigging the May 2008 constitutional referendum. Plans included announcing only final results in one announcement from the new capital, Naypidaw, rather than local tallies.

Cyclone Nargis

SPDC distributed aid to cyclone survivors but first plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the cyclone relief effort into a propaganda exercise. State-run television continuously runs images of top generals handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies. One box bore the name of Myint Swe in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: “Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand.”

On 14 May 2008, in the New Light of Myanmar, photographs depicted survivors giving the two-handed sign of respect, usually reserved for the Buddha, to Myint Swe as he inspected a relief camp in Hlaingthayar Township in Rangoon.

Lt-Gen Myint Swe (center) attends the opening ceremony of the Vietnam-Myanmar International Trade Fair 2009 in Rangoon. (Photo: The Mirror)

Lt-Gen Myint Swe is being widely tipped to succeed Snr-Gen Than Shwe as the Burmese army’s next commander in chief, according to several dissidents in exile and Burma observers.

Rumors have circulated that Myint Swe is junta strongman Than Shwe’s favored choice to take over from him. Myint Swe was recently promoted to quartermaster general of the Tatmadaw, Burma’s armed forces, and is also commander of the Bureau of Special Operations 5.According to analysts, Myint Swe’s appointment indicates that the junta chief intends to pave the way for him to assume a top-ranking position in the military’s hierarchy. Traditionally, a quartermaster in the Tatmadaw is among the names in the hat who could feasibly be promoted to commander in chief of Burma’s armed forces.

Myint Swe reportedly caught Than Shwe’s eye in 2002 when he was involved in the arrests of late dictator Gen Ne Win’s family after an alleged coup conspiracy was uncovered. Then, in October 2004, Myint Swe proved his loyalty to Than Shwe by heading the purge against former military intelligence chief Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt. Myint Swe became a second lieutenant officer after he graduated from the 15th intake of the Defence Services Academy in 1971. He was promoted to commanding officer of Infantry Battalion 404 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming commanding officer of Light Infantry Division 11 overseeing security in Rangoon. He then served as commander of Southwest Military Region in Bassein, Irrawaddy Division, before moving to the War Office in the late 1990s where he worked directly under Than Shwe and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, reputedly becoming their close confidante.

In 2001, Myint Swe made brigadier-general as the commander of the Southeast Region when he succeeded Maj-Gen Thiha Thura Sit Maung who had died in a helicopter crash. As a divisional commander and a favorite of Burma’s “first lady,” Than Shwe’s wife Kyaing Kyaing, Myint Swe took over Rangoon Command and was promoted to major-general.

As a commander in Rangoon and chief of Military Affairs Security, he failed to catch the culprits when the former capital was rocked by a series of bomb blasts in 2005, which killed 21 people and injured dozens more. Nonetheless, his reputation and loyalty within the military elite went unquestioned.

As chief of both the Bureau of Special Operations 5 and Military Affairs Security, Myint Swe undoubtedly played a ruthless role in the crackdown and handling of monk-led demonstrations in September 2007.
irrawaddy

by Salai Pi Pi
Friday, 20 November 2009 20:31

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Commanders of Burma’s military commands arrived in the new jungle capital of Naypyitaw, as the ruling junta is set to commence its year-end quarterly meeting.

Sources close to the military establishment in Naypyitaw told Mizzima that the junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe had directed the Commanders to reach Naypyitaw by November 20 for the quarterly meeting, scheduled to begin in the coming week.

The quarterly meeting, according to the source, is likely to come up with a reshuffle among high ranking officials including re-appointment of cabinet ministers and allow old ministers, who are to contest the 2010 elections, to retire.

In the wake of the meeting, the junta is likely to form a political party, which will contest for office in the 2010 elections. The party will be backed by the junta’s civilian organization – the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) – whose patron is the junta chief Than Shwe.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese observer on the Sino-Burma border said the ensuing quarterly meeting will be more significant than previous meetings, as it will mainly focus on the details of next year’s elections.

“In this meeting, they will not only review the tasks they have accomplished this year but will also discuss matters related to the election,” Aung Kyaw Zaw told Mizzima on Friday.

He also said the agenda on transforming cease-fire groups into the Border Guard Force will be included in the meeting. “They will possibly decide on how to deal with groups like KIO and UWSA, which refuse to transform into BGF,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

While agreeing that there would be some changes following the meeting, Win Min, another Burmese analyst in Thailand said he did not expect that there would be a major reshuffle among the Generals but there is a likelihood of a few division commanders being promoted.

“I don’t think there will be a major change in the Burmese Army. It is possible that some division commanders with Major-General tags will get promoted to Lieutenant General,” said Win Min, but said he is unsure who will get promoted.

Meanwhile, the pro-junta social organization USDA is also set to begin its nation-wide conference on Monday at its head quarter in Dakhina Thiri Town near Naypyitaw.

“I also heard that some of USDA’s candidates will contest the elections,” Win Min said.

by Mungpi
Friday, 20 November 2009 19:28

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The International Labor Organization’s (ILO)’s Governing Body on Thursday said Burma’s ruling military junta has failed to implement recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry in eliminating the use of forced labour.

The Governing Body’s decision was made on the information presented by the ILO’s Liaison Officer, and the statement made by the Permanent Representative of the Government of the Union of Myanmar (Burma).

The decision notes that Burma has so far failed to fully comply with the Forced Labour Convention, No. 29 (1930), the implementation of recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry and the complete elimination of the use of forced labour in the country.

The decision recalls past conclusions and urges the Burmese authorities to issue a statement against the continued use of forced labour and the need to respect freedom of association.

The Governing Body also urges the Burmese government to allow cases of forced labour to be reported and to consistently follow-up so that the practices cease and the perpetrators are prosecuted and punished.

“Particular attention should be paid to monitoring infrastructure projects such as oil and gas pipelines,” the resolution said. The ILO and Burma in February 2009 extended the Supplementary Understanding that provides a mechanism for Burmese citizens to lodge complaints of forced labour through the ILO Liaison Officer in Rangoon.

The agreement retains the provision that ensures freedom from harassment and retribution for complainants and other persons, who support the operation of the complaints mechanism.

Despite the agreement between the ILO and the Burmese government, Human Rights activists said forced labour persistently continued to be practiced in the country.

The Governing Body on Thursday also called for “the immediate release of all persons currently detained, who are complainants, facilitators and others associated with the Supplementary Understanding complaints mechanism, as well as for the unconditional release of all imprisoned political and labour activists.”

Illegally harvested processed teak logs worth millions of baht were seized by the Border Patrol, provincial police and forestry officials in two different sub-districts in Mae Hong Son Wednesday, November 11.
79 teak logs were found and seized by the BPP squads, Mae Ngao National Park officials , Ban Mae Koh forestry officials, local police and Sub Moei District Administration officials, in the forest near Ban Mae Lui, Tambon Mae Suad in Sob Moei district, Mae Hong Son.
Another further 150 teak logs were also confiscated by officials from the Huay Sing Forest Preservation and Protection Unit, the Salween National Park and BPP ranger forces based in Tambon Mae Sam Laeb, near Salween river banks.
337th Border Patrol (BPP) Company officials, led by Pol. Lt-Col. Sippanant, deputy superintendent of the 33rd BPP, based in Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son, believe that the teak is actually being harvested in Thailand’s national forests and is then transferred into Burma, opposite Tak’s Ta Song Yang district, to be processed. The processed wood is brought back into Thailand for transportation and sale.
The police suspect a joint effort between Thai nationals and the DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) to illegally harvest golden teakwood from Thailand. It is believed that the abundance of landmines in the forests in Burma, plus increased vigilance by Burmese authorities, have brought the DKBA over the border into Thailand to harvest teak.
Officials report that due to the large number of logs seized in Mae Sam Laeb, it will take some time before enough equipment and elephants can be brought to the area to remove the teak.