Lady of Myanmar

A source of hope for democracy and freedom in the face of adversity      

Bangkokpost, Published: 3/05/2012 at 02:33 AM ... ...

Today's top list of must-see sites in Yangon include not only famous pagodas or museums but also a visit to the headquarters of the National League of Democracy (NLD), the opposition party founded and led by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the Lady's house.

Feeding birds on the banks of the Yangon River is a popular activity among locals.

The house is located inside a large area, judging from the size of the long and tall concrete fence along University Avenue Road. It is not far from the US embassy and is connected to Inya Lake, the same lake in which an American Vietnam War veteran, who said he had a message from God, swam and sneaked into her home in 2009, violating the conditions of Suu Kyi's house arrest.

"This area on University Avenue Road in the northern part of town is where upper-class families live," said our local guide. He pointed to us many houses in the area with long and tall fences with barbed wire on top.
Visitors will immediately know where Suu Kyi's house is because a poster of her and a picture of her father, Gen Aung San _ a national hero who founded the Burma National Army _ are placed over the main gate. NLD's red flags emblazoned with a white star and yellow peacock are clearly seen from afar. Although the main gate is always closed, passing by the house gives you a sense of the environment Suu Kyi lived in for 20 years under house arrest.

During the by-elections on April 1, there were a number of locals and international media waiting outside the house. From time to time the main gate was opened to allow private vehicles to enter, which permitted revealed a big lawn.

FROM LEFT Souvenirs offered at NLD’s headquarters.

T-shirts, bags, flags and hats of the opposition party are one of the most popular gifts from Myanmar.
Framed pictures on display inside NLD’s headquarters.

The result of the by-elections, in which Suu Kyi's party won 43 out of 45 seats, made her supporters very happy. A wind of change was felt by the locals, as well as foreign visitors. In the past, having a big camera would almost guarantee being followed by officials. But today, many visitors come to Myanmar with big DSLR cameras.

"I've been here for almost a month now and I feel safe," said a wire service photographer, who visited several provinces in Myanmar during the by-elections. He had two DSLR cameras with professional lenses hanging around his neck. "No one followed me around like I thought there would be before I arrived. Everywhere I went, I found the people to be friendly and kind," he noted.

Indeed, the Burmese people are charming and well-mannered, although some still spit on roads. When we pulled out our camera to take pictures of them, they smiled at us. Some even greeted us and wanted to know where we were from.

The hotel we stayed in was decent and did not ask for advance payment. They told us we could settle the bill when we checked out, and they even had a contracted taxi service with an English speaking driver, too.

This seated Buddha in Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda on Shwegondine Road is also remarkable. The magnificent statue is adorned with a glittering crown and breast chain, crafted in gold. Behind him is delicately crafted wood. When you are in front of him, you feel small as the image is about 14m high, including the base. The original Nga Htat Gyi Buddha was built in 1558 and renovated to the present look in 1900. The entrance fee is 2,000 kyats (75 baht).

While driving around the city, we found the main roads of this old capital city to be quite clean and adorned with big trees. There were shops selling T-shirts sporting NLD insignia or portraits of Suu Kyi, Myanmar's democracy icon. To the locals, though, she is affectionately called Mae Suu or Daw Suu, meaning Mother Sue or Auntie Sue respectively.

Upon our request, the taxi driver brought us to the NLD's headquarters on Shwegondine Road. And once we stepped into the modest two-storey office, we found other visitors from Europe, Australia, Korea, as well as fellow Thais, who were all looking for souvenirs with great interest.

"I want to buy some coffee mugs with photos of Miss Suu Kyi for my friends and family back home. I think they would be really great gifts, don't you think?" said one Thai visitor, Pranee.

Along with the coffee mugs, there were also caps printed with NLD's logo, CDs of recorded events when Suu Kyi rallied at various provinces, such as Khwamu, Nay Pyi Taw, Shan State and Mandalay. There were also stickers, red party flags and T-shirts printed with either a picture of the Lady or a picture of her father, who was assassinated when Suu Kyi was only two.

A Myanmar family celebrates their son becoming a novice at the Shwedagon Pagoda. The novitiate ceremony, called shin phyu, is held during the summer when schools are closed. Like other Buddhists, the people of Myanmar believe that boys should enter the monkhood at least once in their lifetime, in order to earn merit for themselves and their family. The boy is dressed in traditional prince attire, including a sparkling crown, chase chain and two bracelets. He is carried over an adult’s shoulder and circled around the pagoda to pay homage to Buddha’s relics. In Yangon, it is traditional for novices to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda to pay their respects.

According to our taxi driver, for years the NLD's headquarters has been closely observed by authorities who today still camp out in a wood stall across the road to monitor who goes in and comes out. "We know they are government authorities because the stall has never sold anything, but men always hang out there all day and all night," he noted.

In years past, locals did not dare wear T-shirts bearing the logo of the National League for Democracy or a picture of Suu Kyi let alone talk about her party's movement or political issues in public. So afraid in fact, that they spoke of her in a whisper.

"We were very afraid for years and did not dare show [in public] that we were NLD supporters," said Daw Mei. But things have changed since then.

This golden Shwedagon Pagoda, which is believed to enshrine relics of Buddha, celebrated its 2,600th year in February. It is the most famous place of pilgrimage in the country. When we were there we could hear chanting by a large group of Thai visitors and monks, while another group of Thai elders walked around the pagoda with lit candles, incense sticks and flowers to worship Lord Buddha. Located on Singuttara Hill, the 98m-high pagoda can be seen from around the city. It has an entrance gate for foreign tourists with escalators leading to the main golden pagoda, which has a top decorated with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones. The property also houses 64 smaller pagodas, 1,485 bells and several large Buddha images. Local monks also practice meditation there. It is the norm that when you visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, you should walk to your left as locals do. The best time to visit is early morning or at sunset as you are sure to get the blue sky and the pagoda glistening in gold. Also, at this time your feet will not get burned from the hot sun, as it heats up the concrete floor. The Shwedagon Pagoda is open from 4am for locals and 6am for foreigners. It closes at 9pm. The entrance fee is 4,500 kyats (150 baht). There is no additional charge for taking pictures or recording videos.

Nowadays, you can easily spot taxis with stickers of NLD's insignia on windscreens or rickshaws with little NLD flags on the handles. NLD flags depicting a fighting peacock were being sold at several traffic intersections. And the people felt free, safe and proud to wear T-shirts with portraits of the Lady on the front. They could also wait for hours under the unbearable midday sun to greet Mae Suu while shouting "We love you!" and "We already voted for you, Daw Suu" whenever she went during period of the by-elections.
This shows that fear is not part of the road to democracy, said Tae Win So Ngar, a local.

"I am very happy," he said, also noting that he wishes for a better future for the country and that it was not only his hope, but the hope of others inside and outside of the country.

The giant reclining Buddha is 66m long and is one of the largest in Myanmar. The Chaukhtatgyi Buddha is a scared place for locals go to for recreation and meditation. Unlike the gold Reclining Buddha in Thailand, the Chaukhtatgyi Buddha looks like a human with white skin. He also has red lips, bright blue around both eyes and pink toenails. The underside of his feet are painted in pink with gold art. Two feet are also placed differently. While Thailand’s Reclining Buddha’s feet are on top of one another, the Buddha in Yangon doesn’t have its toes aligned. The Chaukhtatgyi Buddha is believed to be one of most beautiful in Myanmar.

Situated in a big roundabout like Victory Monument in Bangkok, Sule Pagoda stands 46m high and is a sacred temple and a city landmark. The golden octagonal-shaped pagoda is believed to have held Buddha’s relics for more than 2,000 years.

This colonial building with clock tower is the Supreme Court of Myanmar. Founded in 1905, the red brick building faces the 46m-tall Independence Monument, located in the centre of Maha Bandula Park, not far from City Hall. It was built by the British.

The famous Bogyoke Aung San Market is about 70 years old and located at the corner of Shwedagon Pagoda Road and Bogyoke Aung San Road. Also known as Scott Market, it is 29,717m2 and houses over 2,000 shops, so it is a good place to look for souvenirs. Items vary from T-shirts, traditional sarong, handicrafts, lacquerware, puppets, bags, shoes, magnets, gems and jewellery. There is also an money exchange counter open during weekends. Count every bank note before you leave the counter.

Old colonial buildings are found in Ashay Tawya monastery where Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda is located. According to a retired English teacher Alexander, who took us around the monastery, the buildings used to house British people during their rule (early 19th century until World War II). Today the buildings accommodate monks. He said there were about 1,000 monks and novices in the monastery and he taught them English.

Saint Mary’s Cathedral on Bo Aung Kyaw Street is the biggest Catholic church in Yangon. The exterior is clad in red brick with twin 26m spires. Founded more than a century ago, the church has a gothic interior design with a large hall and beautiful stained glass windows, which were designed and crafted by Thai artists. The glass includes depictions of the life of Jesus Christ. After Cyclone Nargis destroyed the windows and roof in 2008 the church underwent a three-year renovation, which was finished last year.

Myanmar food has become our favourite cuisine after we tried local delicacies in Khaing Khaing Kyaw restaurant on University Avenue Road. This famous local food centre is located not far from the house of Aung San Suu Kyi. The recommended dishes are shrimp with garlic, chicken curry and curried fish. In the traditional method of eating in a local restaurant, the customer picks one or several dishes and the restaurant will serve extras without charge. These extras include white rice, hot soup of the day, fresh and boiled vegetables with salty dip made of fermented fish, fresh fruit, local dessert of the day, as well as nuts and hot tea. A chicken meal can cost 2,000 kyats (75 baht) and can go up to 6,000 kyats (225 baht) for a shrimp dish. There is no service charge. An alternative restaurant that is also popular with locals is Feel Restaurant on Warden Street. The choices are almost the same, but with a better variety of snacks and sweets.

MORE INFO

Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar, was founded in 1755. Yangon means "End of Strife". It was changed from Rangoon after Myanmar gained independence from the British in 1885. The old capital of Myanmar covers about 350km2 and has a population of 6 million.

The local time is GMT+6.30 hours or 30 minutes ahead of Thailand.

The cost for an airport taxi into town is about US$15 (about 470 baht). If you catch a taxi inside Yangon, the fare is based on your negotiating skills. If you hire a taxi for the day, the cost is about 5,000 kyats (187 baht) and 7,000 kyats per hour for non air-conditioned and air-conditioned taxis, respectively.

Credit and debit cards are not widely accepted, but US banknotes are. It is strongly advised to make sure that every banknote is brand new or in mint condition as there is a high chance that local banks will not except US dollar banknotes that are creased, torn or marked. And remember, a $100 banknote always gets a better exchange rate than smaller banknotes.

Kyat is the local currency of Myanmar (US$1 equals 819 kyats; and 1 baht equals 26 kyats).
A typical Myanmar dish costs around 2,000 kyats (about 75 baht), and a one-litre bottle of drinking water costs 300 kyats (about 11 baht).

A tourist visa is required, which takes two to three business days to process and costs 810 baht. Visit www.mofa.gov.mm/myan marmissions/thailand.html.

Visit the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism website at www.myanmartourism.org.

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