Myanmar (Burma) in Many Parts.

Myanmar. The only way to legally enter the country (for more than a visa run) is by flying. Even though we were only 6 km from the border at Mae Sot, Thailand, we had to take a bus to Bangkok and then fly to Myanmar from there. After our three week crash course in Burmese politics, we were excited to "go inside," as the NGOs put it. There is a mixed opinion throughout the pro-democracy movement on whether or not tourists should visit Myanmar. Aung Sung Suu Kyi herself in one of her last public addresses in 2006 specifically asked for tourists not to come in that year, stating that tourists would be supporting the military government's "Visit Myanmar 2006" campaign and the forced labor it employed. In that year, thousands of citizens were forced to rebuild and refurbish the tourist sites, fix and build roads, and "clean-up" the homeless areas of Yangon and Mandalay. We don't know how The Lady (the Burmese code word for the Nobel Prize winning activist) feels about tourism at this time because she is not allowed to communicate with the outside world. Some activists also point out that in order to visit Myanmar, you must give at least some money to the SPDC in the form of visa fees, hotel taxes, and entrance fees even if you avoid the government run hotels and package tours. In spite of this we decided to go in for several reasons: First of all, even though some of our money did go to the SPDC, the vast majority of it went to the taxi drivers, restaurants, independent hotels, snack sellers, boat owners, bus drivers, and crafts people that we patronized while there. Secondly, most of the population of Myanmar is already rigidly severed from the outside world. When tourist visit we bring news, ideas, and encouragement as well as US dollars (the only currency you can exchange in Myanmar). Also, when we leave we bring news ideas and inspiration from the Myanmar people to the outside world. Lastly, the money and political legitimacy contributed to the SPDC by tourist pales in comparison to the millions of dollars made in trade with China, India, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, France, etc. The complacency of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which Myanmar is a member is far more significant in legitimizing the Military Junta than the presence of a few hundred tourists. Since when does tourism imply support for a government anyway?

So in we went. We weren't sure what type of military presence we would encounter, how restricted our movements would be, or what type of conversations people would be willing to have with us. By the time we left we were certain we had made the right decision. So many people were excited and willing to talk to us. So many people need the tourist dollars to survive. And we learned, saw, and felt what was really happening in Myanmar. Our Burmese friend in Yangon said it is good what they are doing in Mae Sot, but to truly know what is happening, you have to come here for yourself. Above is our first view of the area around Yangon. As usual, we followed the monsoon and arrived on depressingly grey morning, adding to our already grim perception of this troubled metropolis.

We arrived to our hotel in the morning. We experienced our first power outage within the first hour of getting there. Before the outage, we turned on the TV, a rather novel amendment for us. We usually try and stay in the cheapest rooms possible which means no TV, no AC and usually no shower. However in Myanmar, strict government regulations of the tourist industry (even in independent hotels) require a level of comfort we weren't used to, including this TV. After flipping through the channels, we were startled to see DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) was one of the four stations we received. The DVB is a independent media outlet made up of exiled Burmese journalists and their TV station is broadcast via satellite from Norway. We were shocked to find that we could watch this blatantly subversive station in our hotel, as we assumed its censorship would be strictly enforced by the SPDC. Though we could watch it any time in our room we noticed that during the daytime, the owners of our hotel would watch the state run TV station MRTV (Myanmar Radio and Television), yet after hours, when the main doors of the hotel were secured, the lobby TV was always tuned to the DVB. This was indicative of the political atmosphere of Myanmar during our stay: As soon as we were alone with someone or it was clear that no government officials were around, Burmese people wanted to talk politics. We never once initiated political conversations knowing that if we were overheard, the person we were talking to could get in serious trouble. However every day without fail, we would have conversations with people who approached us wanting to talk about anything from hard politics to the standard of life outside of their country.

Satellites everywhere. Many people told us that since the government officially moved the administrative capital to Naypyidaw (a newly created city in the middle of the country) that there have been fewer government officials on the streets and that the atmosphere is more relaxed. We have a hard time believing that the government would leave such a culturally and strategic city "unguarded," so to speak, but then again the SPDC is known to be stupid and irrational. Basically, we aren't sure if these satellites are the legal government approved ones or a sign of the "lax" government presence in the city.
On an architectural note, Yangon is home to Soviet-era Eastern European block apartments that are well made but poorly maintained. Yangon looks like a modernist dream project that has been beaten up, badly. This was a surprise to us as we weren't sure whether we were going to see a shanty town or a colonial relic. It was clear that Yangon used to be a prosperous city under British rule. To make clear, we aren't condoning colonialism here, but were shocked to see the state of disrepair in which Yangon exists. We were expecting to see a city that was very slowly stumbling on the way to modernism; what we found was exactly the opposite. Yangon seems to be slowly walking into the past. However, with some new paint, new roads, and serious electrical work, Yangon could be this modern, international city.

Sewage problem. There is sewage all over the streets of this city. These are the worst roads we have ever seen, ever. If you don't look down while walking, you are sure to fall in either an open sewer, or twist your ankle. The many sidewalks look like jackhammers have been taken to them, or that a large scale earthquake has shaken the town. The grey matter shown above is regularly dredged from the gutters and piled on the street, only to be returned there in the next eminent rain.

Communication breakdown. Here is Kara using a local payphone. People sit on the street with a home telephone on a table and charge for local calls. International calls are not possible. All phones are monitored by the government. A note on mobile phones in Myanmar: They are few and far in between. A sim card costs at least $2000 USD, not including the service fees. Yes, that's not a typo, $2000. The only people who own cell phones are the very very rich and government officials, usually the two are the same or connected. International cell phones and sim cards don't work here. Forget about Skype.

Local bus in town. This is one of the newer models. We saw many buses from the 50s and 60s and a rare few that could have been the 40s or earlier throughout town.

The sidewalks of Yangon are crowded with generators of various sizes. The power stays on for no more than 5 non-continuous hours on a good day. The whole city is run on private generators and candlelight. It is unbelievable. Yangon: The largest city in the country and no electricity. Myanmar has more than enough resources and power plants to provide electricity for its citizens, but instead they sell it to Thailand and China. The power cuts have been getting worse as more electricity is diverted away from the cities to new factories dedicated to cheap exports.

Shwedagon Pagoda. The first of literally thousands of pagodas that we would see throughout the country. The country's official religion is Buddhism and the majority of the people are very devout. Shwedagon is the pride of the city, something like Yangon's Eiffel Tower. It is completely covered in gold and is topped by a globe of diamonds and gems. "Shwe" means gold in Burmese.

Shwedagon is the largest tourist attraction in Yangon and a regular hangout for both locals and tourists.

Kara can't handle the rain. It literally rained the whole time we were in Yangon. But it didn't stop us from exploring the city. Some general shots:

Burmese bananas on top of Burmese newspaper. You can see that the script looks like a series of circles in various forms. Fascinating.

A lot of people feed pigeons and other street animals to make merit, a Buddhist concept that is found throughout SE Asia. Merit can be described as "good karma."

Beetle nut. Although beetle nut has been available in all of the countries we have visited in SE Asia, we never experienced it on quite the same scale as we did here. Almost every man we saw or met chews this stuff. We remarked to each other, "People chew beetle nut here like they smoke cigarettes in Indonesia." (See Dec-Feb.) The beetle nut produces a lush red spit that seemingly covers every square inch of the country.

You can get anything tailored or fixed here. Kara got her anklet fixed here on "silver street," which is a line of closet sized storefronts.

Street food is everywhere. Tasty, but the absolute dirtiest we have ever found. The cuisine of Myanmar is delicious mix of Indian, Thai, Bangladeshi, and local fare. With the low tables and stoves, it really IS street food. The four main blocks of downtown Yangon are almost un-walkable because they are completely covered with markets and street vendors. You'll never go hungry in this country, but you might feel more than a little sick. Above are some of our favorite street food: name not known-- corn veggie pancakes with coconut shavings on top. Only mild stomach indigestion afterwards.

60s? 70s? No. This movie billboard is from a new Bollywood release. It seems movies make it 6 months to a year later than most Asian countries. Bollywood movies are popular next to local Myanmar productions. Occasional Hollywood blockbusters can be found in the main cinema, such as "The Incredible Hulk," and "Fast and Furious 4."

Meat and fish market. Also on the street.

Jews! Yes, your eyes haven't failed you. That's Hebrew written above the entrance of Yangon's Jewish Synagogue. This Synagogue used to be home to the many Jewish families (mostly from Iraq and surrounding areas) who lived in Yangon from the 1800s to the 1950s. At one point the Jewish community numbered some 1,500 people. These Jews originally migrated to Myanmar looking for better business opportunities, religious freedom and British citizenship. Ironically they left for many of the same reasons during the Myanmar's chaotic struggle for independence. Nowadays there are about 8 families who remain.

We walked to the Synagogue in the middle of the day to find a Muslim man watching over it. It was closed until the evening and it was Friday night. We assumed we would come back and go to a Sabbath service. Unfortunately the community is too small to have services, as 10 men must be present to make a minion, (the smallest unit possible for prayer.) High Holidays such as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are some of the only occasions in which the Synagogue can serve its purpose when enough traveling Jews and members from the Israeli and American consulate can attend. The rest of the year, the Synagogue serves a historic building and a museum of sorts. We spoke with the caretaker of the temple, Moses for quite some time. His son is currently studying and working at Yeshiva University on Broadway in New York. Right next to NYU, where Kara went. What a small world. Max wants to say "Go No!" If you know what that means you're Jewish, or you are Max's Dad.

Max eating at our favorite Indian restaurant in Myanmar. Kara still thinks it was a Nepali restaurant, but the staff denied it. Maybe they are crypto Nepalis.....

We learned about a hand blown glass factory in Yangon and decided to check it out. Though this looks like somewhere in the jungle, this is still in the heart of the city. We arrived at a barn like structure that had been destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. This was the first time we realized how hard hit Yangon was by the cyclone, as most of the international media attention focused on the south of the country. We spoke with the owner of the factory, who was a sweet older woman. Their furnace has been destroyed by falling trees and now their entire livelihood depends on the sale of their already created pieces as they can not afford a new kiln to make new work.

Luckily they have a warehouse full of beautiful pieces of glass from kitchy paperweights to unique and elegant wine carafes and martini glasses. We reserved some things and told them we would pick them up on the way back. (We did eventually pick them up and sent them to America....does anyone from 355 Humboldt know if the package came?)

No, this isn't Shwedagon Pagoda above, but rather ANOTHER gold clad pagoda in the center of town.


As tourist travel in the country is severely limited to a couple of cities and towns, we knew we would be coming back through the hub of Yangon many times. After finding our bearings and collecting some information about where and what we could see in the country, we left for Pagan. Our initial plan was to stay in Myanmar for 3 weeks, the first couple focusing on tourist attractions and a classic itinerary of Pagan, Mandalay, and Inle Lake. Later, we would see how far we could get off the beaten track without being deported. We brought in enough money to last us for the three weeks, a months tops. A side note about money in Myanmar: there are NO ATMS in the country. There is no way to get money from your bank as soon as you enter the country, with the exception of 2 hotels in Yangon who do credit card advances for about 10-30% commission with an unfavorable exchange rate. All international banks pulled out of the country following the US sanctions imposed by Bush. Not only do you need to bring in all the money that you want to spend in cash, but it must be in new, crisp, unfolded, perfectly smelling and clean US Dollars. If there is the slightest rip or imperfection in your dollar, it will not be exchanged. This is in sharp contrast to the Burmese Kyat, which is literally the most disgusting, smelliest, torn and tattered money in the world. If you took a USD, ran it through a washing machine, shat on it, and then used it to wash your car, it MIGHT look like a typical Kyat. Burmese Kyat is like this for many reasons; we will show you some bills when we get home. The bills are a visual representation of both the incompetence of the government and the daily filth in which the general public must live. We were constantly pissed off at exchange bureaus for meticulously inspecting our currency and then handing us their stacks of rags. 1 USD is equivalent to about 1000 Kyat on the black market. Seeing as we were in Bangkok before we left, it was extremely difficult to secure these perfect bills to bring into the country. We managed, but like we said, only enough to last us for a month. We ended up staying for 6 weeks..... See how we make it in the next posts....
K and M

Mae Sot

Mae Sot. We came here not knowing what to expect. We came here to volunteer with refugees from Myanmar. The image in our heads was of a small town with little infrastructure on the fringes of Thailand. What we found was almost the exact opposite. There are many different worlds existing in Mae Sot, many hidden from the average passerby's eye. Yet you can feel that something is going on that you are not aware of. The minute that we entered the town, we got a very strange vibe; even as we write, we don't know how to explain this feeling. Our suspicions were confirmed as over the next three weeks we found out about the many layers of corruption, exploitation, fear, hope, and resistance all stacked crudely on top of each other in Mae Sot. What we knew before coming to Mae Sot was that there was a large group of refugees fleeing Myanmar's oppressive military government, the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council.) A brief definition of terms: A refugee is a person who is recognized by the UNHCR (United Nations High Council on Refugees) to have fled their homeland because of persecution or natural disasters. These people have defined rights and a legal status. A migrant worker is a person who leaves their native country in persuit of better employment opportunities. Many migrants illegally work and live in Thailand, others cross the border on a daily basis, and a small minority qualify for daily work permits. Political refugees or exiles are exactly what they sound like. Some are legal and some are not. Some have refugee status and some do not. The process of determining a refugee is seemingly arbitrary. It is not unusual to find a family who migrated and live together, yet have one member who is a political exile, another migrant worker, and a recognized refugee. Mae Sot is a complicated and informative introduction to the politics of both Thailand and Myanmar. We're not sure how to structure this entry, so we'll let the pictures help us along. We're pretty sure we will be talking about this a lot when we get back. Onto Mae Sot...

Mae Sot is located 6 km from the Myanmar border town of Myawaddy. The first thing we did when we got to town was another visa run as our 2 week Thai visa had expired yet again. It turns out this was the perfect introduction to an area whose very existence is completely a product of the porous border.

Thai side stamps our passports before walking over the bridge to the Myanmar side.

Max looks from the "Thai/Myanma Friendship Bridge" at the river that forms the natural border. That small dot in the middle of the river is an inner tube, illegally ferrying workers from one country to the other.

Watch this video.

Public service billboards on the Thai side warn of the dangers of human trafficking, goods smuggling, and not having a work permit. In our opinion, these are a joke as the entire local economy is dependent on the infringement of these laws.

Kara went down to the border a couple of times over the course of our time here during "rush hour." The price of an inner tube border ride is dependent on the cost of the bribes that the police on both sides demand. Instead of daily bribes from individual workers, the inner tube workers pay the police by the week or the month. For some reason this price fluctuates quite dramatically.

Some weeks before arriving in Mae Sot, Kara had gotten in contact with an international NGO that works with exiled political groups. The NGO provides free English and human rights education to over 20 groups in the area. They also work in three of the surrounding refugee camps. Kara shot for the NGO, meeting many of these pro-democracy groups in their centers, which also serve as their houses and classrooms. These organizations must operate in secret because they are persecuted by both the Burmese and Thai governments. Many members of these groups travel back and forth across the border, distributing information and supplies. Because of the very real danger of deportation, imprisonment, torture, or death that these activists face, Kara can not post the photos she shot for the NGO. Here is Max at the NGO house where we stayed for three weeks.

This is the Mae Sot you can see from its surface. Downtown is made up of three streets: Top street, Middle street, and Bottom street. We were initially surprised at the amount of commercial activity and the number of people contained in this boom town. There is a plethora of goods and money flowing through Mae Sot; the downtown area reflects this. For a Thai town of its size, it is surprisingly built up with 5 banks, many shops, and international brands such as Tesco and KFC. A sign of wealth very specific to Thailand is the shiny brand new pick up truck. We saw many in Mae Sot, almost all of them silver. This was our first tip off that there was a lot of money being made here. If you only stopped into Mae Sot for a visa run, you could come away thinking it was just a busy trading post doing remarkably well. There are no tourists in Mae Sot; no traveler in their right mind would spend more than one night here. As there are no sights to see in Mae Sot, there are two types of Westerners found here- visa runners and NGO workers. The latter group supports a healthy smattering of A/C and WiFi equipped coffee shops, tastfully lit restaurants, and (of course) bars. The population is about 80% Burmese. The rest are Thai, Chinese, and various Southasian immigrants. Though there are many Burmese living permanetly in Mae Sot, a large percentage cross the border daily.

Burmese stupa in the middle of town. Although we didn't know it then, the design for this stupa is distinctly Burmese. We passed by this stupa every day on our way home. It was surrounded by packs of wild dogs who scared us every time.

Gem traders. Gems are one of Myanmar's largest legal and illegal export. Every day you can find many people in this shop as well as the surrounding streets, looking to get some shiny rocks. The gem trading world is not very understood by us, but we think its shady.

One of the many many sweatshops. Cherokee and Ralph Lauren are just two of the big companies who fill their orders at these factories. The factories vary in size, some are huge multi building complexes with barb wired fences and armed guards. Others are just a small house with the windows closed. The Thai mafia is very intertwined with this textile industry in particular.

Just outside the downtown area, the residential communities begin to look familiar again with one story buildings, dirt roads and fields.

Speaking of fields, the surrounding countryside of the town is largely agricultural and employs much of the migrant labor force.

Here is a glance at the holding cell for workers awaiting deportation. Most likely they will recross the border in the morning with their pockets much lighter and their desperation for work all the more acute. These tactics do nothing to stem the tide of migration and their purpose is to keep the labor force cheap and submissive. About once a month, the police make massive raids on hundreds, if not thousands of migrant workers in an effort to make their quotas and establish their dominance.

Night market is the social melting pot of Mae Sot with Thais, Burmese, and NGO workers all coming through to eat some tasty, cheap, and greasy food. We weren't sure whether to greet the staff in Burmese or Thai. We ate here for many nights before Kara's stomach resigned in protest.

Larvae, a delicacy in both Myanmar and Thailand and a regular at the night market.

After three days of waiting for assignments, Kara began her clandestine operations, as Max was sent to a village to build a playground. The village was established for the sole purpose of educating various Burmese students. Some were children of migrant workers, others came from across the border for the school year and returned to Myanmar during the "summer" break. The border was within site of the hillside village just a couple kilometers away. These three days were the longest period of time we have spent apart on this whole trip. Above you can see students spreading sand over the nearly completed site. Students are required to volunteer time to improve their school, a practice that we feel is ethically questionable when it involves difficult manual labor and potentially dangerous power tools. However, many students were excited to help and in the end they could enjoy a playground that would have not been there otherwise.

This guy was so hardcore. He was one of the paid workers at the site and a former KNU (Karen National Union, a revolutionary ethnic separatist group in Myanmar) soldier. He worked straight through the day in the blazing heat, drinking no water and taking few breaks. His work was skillful and efficient in stark contrast to many of his peers. Max salutes you. In this photo, he is completing the platform that he and Max built together.

Students enjoy the playground minutes after its completion.

The invocation of the playground. The principal gave several long speeches and the students presented Max and the other volunteers with traditional Karen shirts.

Watch this video.

Max and Thawah. Thawah was the project coordinator and designer of this playground. He was young and motivated and a pleasure to work with. Over the weekend, Max and Thawah became friends and continued working together on other projects in Mae Sot.

There are nine camps along the Thai Myanmar border. Three of them are within a couple hour's driving distance from Mae Sot, the closest being Mae La. About 50,000 refugees live in this camp, which is a skinny plot of land situated between this road and the mountainous border of Myanmar. This camp is not just a temporary or makeshift solution; many of Mae La's inhabitants have been living here for over a decade. The camp has a school, and functions like a village community, however its residence have no freedoms, no jobs, and nothing to do other than wait for the possibility of assimilation into Thai society. They are essentially in refugee purgatory. Though the UNHCR along with other international NGOs donates resources and monitors the camp, the Thai government is responsible for granting refugee status which gives people access to food, shelter and water. The Thai government is not granting visas or citizenship to long term refugees and new, unrecognized refugees arrive daily. This leads to a growing amount of mouths to feed and house from very limited resources. Kara went to this camp and was shocked to find it more like a poor village than a emergency camp.

View of the camp from the road.

Our friends! The little head is Vania, below are Ania and Ignacio. We met up with them almost every night and had many long thought provocing conversations about life and the world. Ania and Ingacio are an international power couple. They are so awesome and we hope our paths cross again soon somewhere on this planet.

Inpromtu yoga class.

Unwinding at Thymes bar, a NGO stronghold. Right to Left: Thawah, I forget his name, and Siobhan.

As one might expect, Aung San Su Kyi was very popular in the schools where Kara was shooting. This is a textbook bearing a painting of the imprisoned National League for Democracy (NLD) leader. This is the only photo Kara feels comfortable posting online from her project. You'll see more later in person, unless you work for the SPDC.

At work on the second playground project. This site was much bigger and more complicated. The school was brand new and very well built. We hope the same will be said of it's playground. Max is seen working with Colas, another volunteer on the project. Colas is extreamly capable at whatever he puts his mind to on top of being friendly and intelligent. In this picture they are attempting the herculean task of cutting through a steel rimmed truck tire. Max says it was a pleasure to work with him, and hopes they remain friends.

By this point Kara was close to completeing her project, and so she came over to help out on the playground. This picture is of our favorite paid worker on the project. He took an immediate liking to Kara, and by extension to Max as well. He had the best smile, blackened as it was by years of Betel nut chewing. Whenever Kara was not working on the site, he would run over to Max to ask 'where is your wife?'

Kara and the "student army" under her direction painted every piece of wood in the massive playground. Marcus, the project leader said she did this in half the time it normally takes. Above is a tire climbing structure that was built by Max and painted by Kara.

We had a lot of fun working together on this playground. It was physical and challenging and kicked our asses a little bit. Also it was a tangible contribution made to the community with percievable results. We just wish we were small enough to play on it! Well, MAX wishes he was small enough...

After 3 weeks of emotional, informative, and challenging volunteer work, we left Mae Sot for Myanmar itself. This picture comes from our last experience in Mae Sot before boarding an overnight bus to Bangkok. We were walking along the highway on route to the bus station and a nice Thai couple picked us up and dropped us at the station. The stars were out, the night air was fresh, and we were feeling bittersweet about leaving. We understood why so many people have dedicated their lives to helping others here in Mae Sot. We joked about our experiences and even talked about coming back one day.

As we got out of the truck we heard the sound of a baby crying. Looking for the root of the noise, we looked up to find a massive truck, filled to the brim with goods and about 50 migrant workers standing on top. Like a bucket of cold water, we were once again hit with the realization that we can always leave, but the places and people we visit still remain.

This entry is dedicated to the workers of Mae Sot. May the world realize that your struggle is our struggle.

-Kara and Max