Burmese Days - Haze - Rays & Malays

Day: many days

Location: Monash University Sunway Campus, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

It has been well over a month since my last post. Between two weeks essentially without Internet in Burma, then many weeks catching up and completing some of the semester's bigger assignments and a parental visit the blog has lamentably been placed on the back burner.

BURMA: We landed in Yangon mid-morning and went straight into the centre of town - Sule Pagoda to meet Simon. After dumping excess bags we went to the nearest train station and got on the three-hour 'circle line' train that loops around the city. The train barely exceeded a pace that made it unsafe to jump off wherever it suited you (and it did suit some locals). We befriended a Buddhist nun and with the help of a woman who translated for us were invited to her monastery somewhere on the outskirts of Yangon. The nun was bossy and so, bossed us off the train at her stop, to a tea shop and then on to her home where we had more tea and fruit on the floor of a small stilted hut that housed 5-8 people. Then we were offered a wash (or rather forced to) which involved stripping inside a longyi (Burmese sulu) and then pouring cool water over us from a trough which was incredibly refreshing. I respectfully declined the offer of a second hand toothbrush. After a quick visit to a small pagoda to pray we got back on the train to complete the journey.
That evening we visited the main goods market to exchange money with a jeweller and purchase our own liberating longyi.The next day was less successful than we had hoped because the national museum was closed (on a Monday!). We went to the main pagoda - Shwe Dagon that evening before our bus to Mandalay. Shwe Dagon was teeming with people, possible equal parts tourist - worshiper.

Yangon Flats

Sule Sule Sule Sule!

The Circle Line - Yangon

Anunymous

Trainside

Rural Burma - not far from the city

Tea

Mobile Monk

Shwe Dagon Pagoda

Shwe Dagon Pagoda

Arriving in Mandalay the next day we struggled to find accommodation with bed bugs being discovered in the first place we (almost) settled into. After relocating we met a monk that Simon knew from a previous trip. We talked to him and some of his friends in their monastery and they enjoyed practicing their English. After reading a book of teachings (from an Australian monk believe it or not) that they had I asked if they could show me where to buy a copy so we went to a bookstore. The monk insisted on buying the books for me which was so generous. I returned the favour by buying him books to help him pursue his interest in English and French.

Our Friend's Monastery

In the evening we went up to the temple that looks over the city and saw into the military-occupied imperial palace and other landmarks around Mandalay. The astounding thing was the smog that blanketed the city, to the point where it was eerie because the sun disappeared before it reached the horizon, the air was completely still and the landscape below faded to haze.
The rest of the time in Burma we spent getting as far North East as possible, in the ancient city of Bagan or in Yangon.
There seems to be misconceptions about where tourists can travel in Burma. Local people may say that you can travel to a certain town but at the same time don't want the government to know that they told you that you could go there. I don't know what to conclude from that exactly other than don't believe the government hype because it is nothing more than propaganda to keep everyone in the country, tourists and locals alike, under their thumb, within their grasp and on the beaten track.
Bagan offers a similar experience to Angkor in Cambodia I think. Many tourists, some bussed in just for the sunset from the top of the pagoda with the best vantage point. A highlight of the trip was the last few days in Yangon as it coincided with the water festival which is essentially a national water fight that lasts for days. You cannot walk down the street - especially as a white tourist - and stay dry. Yangon is also home to the magnificent Strand Hotel, built by the Sarkies Brothers who also built the Eastern & Oriental in Penang, Malaysia and the renowned Raffles, Singapore. I can recommend happy hour on a friday in 'The Bar' aptly named, where drinks, pool and ground nuts are served with copious lashings of colonial charm.

Train to Hsipaw

Countryside

Pagodi - Namsam

A sauced local

Bagan by the Irrawaddy

Mini Monks

The Table

The Bar

Water Festival

Having come to the sad realisation that I can't come close to telling you most of the stories that I would like to I will have to skim through the last month or so and I hope more photos will suffice.

After Burma there was a bit of work to catch up on at Uni which an extension or two helped with. I had to respond to pestering emails from Monash requesting my compulsory weekly attendance sheets that the government requires international and exchange students to complete and return weekly to prove 80% attendance.

The relieving news also came that a group of 20 or so exchange students wouldn't be evicted from the residence. After a personal appeal from the Vice Chancellor the residence which is run by a private organisation - Sunway Monash Residence (SMR) withheld their decision to evict us for the abhorrent act of attending a modest social gathering in one of the units on the 'exchange student' floor.

It was great to have Mum and Jenny here for a week and go away to Penang for the weekend with them. Luckily home sickness hasn't struck me down very much at all but I enjoyed the family time and being away from the Monash/SMR 'bubble'. Penang is another location in Malaysia that displays the diversity of the country. This is most evident through culinary and religious displays and icons.
As with Yangon, the Sarkies Brothers put on a good show and we enjoyed high tea at the E&O on our last afternoon in Penang.

Kl w Mum

High Tea - The E&O

Since this weekend I have been away another two times - justified by the logic of busy people get more done. These trips were to Pangkor Island and Cameron Highlands and both with groups of the exchange students from Melbourne, England, South Africa, Germany and Sweden.

Both trips involved hiring motorbikes to see the local area and some of the tourist attractions. I have really enjoyed learning to ride and the freedom of not being bound by local public transport.
In Pangkor we discovered phosphorescent plankton at night that sparkled in the water as we swam through at night and indulged in a seafood BBQ that involved far more crab than was viable for the AUD$10 that we paid for it.

Pangkor

Cameron Highlands

It is now the third last week of classes for the semester and I have one assessment in each of the following two weeks. My time will be split between those, preparing future travel and the usual gym-class-Rock Cafe semi-routine.

In other news Tom and I have booked flights to Athens and back from Istanbul as a solution to our post-semester travel conundrum. Europe here we come!

Ben x

Aus

p.s. The weekend in Pangkor coincided with the federal election here in which the Barisan Nasional party (BN) won another consecutive term since independence. This will take their period of power over 60 years. Each day sets a new record for the longest ruling 'democratically' elected party anywhere in the world.
BN secured the win by a small majority and the circumstances surrounding their victory were extremely suspicious to say the least. Many of the locals I have spoken to, of which the majority are taxi drivers, want a change in government and with it a change to the divisive race-based policies that BN maintain.
It has been fascinating to see the political processes at work in Malaysia and to attend an opposition rally (NOT a protest by any means). The passion that people have for change was far beyond any enthusiasm we see at home.

To Burma

Day: 73

Location: Monash University Sunway Campus, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia


The last week has provided some challenges to what I am used to in Australia. It is different to going through the same thing when you’re only in a country for a short amount of time and constantly moving around. In defiance of this and the insulation of campus life I must tell you about my journey back from the formular one race last weekend. I will elaborate on all of this in greater detail when I return from my imminent expedition.

I am unable to write all that I want to tell you unfortunately as I have a flight to Burma (now recognised by the Australian Government as Myanmar) in a few hours and have rather run short of time. After receiving my passport back from the Malaysian immigration department on Thursday with a student visa attached we had one day to get a visa for Burma as this can’t be done on arrival. Fortunately we hadn’t booked flights and shown up at the airport only to be rejected as some other tourists we met had done. A 100 Ringgit ‘Express Processing’ Fee ensured we would have the crucial stamp by 5pm that day.
In the meantime we went to an event hosted by a coalition of Burma ethnics which aimed to raise funds and awareness for refugees who are fleeing what was claimed to be genocide in the Kachin state (North East on the border with China). This was a fascinating preview into Burmese culture and the events taking place there. I will add that it is very difficult to access any of the areas where this conflict is occurring or anywhere near the four international borders as a tourist.
Through talking to a few people at the event we were then invited to speak to a small group of leaders from a number of the Burmese ethnic groups who are standing in solidarity with their neighbours, the Kachin during this conflict. Despite feeling a little out of our depth we managed to keep up with the discussion and pose some questions about the treatment of refugees in Malaysia, the situation in Burma and Kachin and how recent international attention and the reported democratisation of the country may impact the situation. More on this later.
As you can see it will be a very interesting time to be in the country and the events are completely relevant to the content of all three of my subjects (including a response that is due two days after I return). The chance to travel to somewhere that you have been talking about in class the week before is truly phenomenal.

I am vaguely aware that Easter is going on at the moment in the Christian world so Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating it, 'confectionarily' or otherwise.

I will return on the 14th of April and cannot wait to tell you about adventure and inspiration then.

Ben x

Aus

Sunway Life

Day: 72

Location: Monash University Sunway Campus, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Two weeks on from my last post and three weeks into semester time seems to be flying by. This is something that is said at the beginning, middle and end of all semesters though, so in some ways it is to be expected. The difference of course is what you distract yourself with in between class. In general the rhythm is the same but perhaps a bit more relaxed and I find myself cruising between the campus and my apartment/room.

The Room

The Fridge

There is definitely a sense of ‘home’ in my room where I write to you from. The damp smell has more or less been fixed with time, air and a little incense. Against the rules of the residence I moved my desk so that it faces the window rather than a plain white wall.

The Sunway area is a strange place. I recently learned that it started with a mining company by the same name owning a tin mine which is now a lake, this is surrounded by roads leading to highways, backstreets full of car workshops, another university, a gigantic mall including a hotel and of course a theme park. The mining must have stopped years ago to allow the more recent development but the Sunway name has stuck. In the opposite direction to the theme park and shopping mall there are Buddhist and Hindu temples, another, smaller mall and a shopping centre with a hawker centre and a hypermarket (a creation somewhere between Coles, Costco and a regular South East Asian market). As you can tell it’s a happening place in an interesting way.

Freeway on-ramp

Monash-Sunway Pyramid 'Canopy Walk'

There are some options within the described surrounds for food. The first one I experienced was Rock Café, a hawker centre with various Chinese, Indian, Korean and faux ‘Western’ options. There is a similar set-up at Asia Café although getting to it requires a taxi that is usually too much trouble (more on that later). During the week for breakfast and lunch there are stores on campus that offer similar things to Rock at comparable prices – two to four Aussie Dollars per meal. Finally there is Pyramid Mall that is linked to Monash by a long above-ground walkway, this is home to bakeries, supermarkets, fast food chains and other up-market restaurants that I try to avoid for the most part. Because of the supermarket here and similar places nearby it is possible to self-cater although any equipment past a microwave and kettle has to be bought.
Despite this, some of us did hunger for some grease-free food during the week and manage to put together a great batch of steamed rice and vegetables.

Food Court at Uni

I promised to expand on a point about cab drivers earlier. Kuala Lumpur has earned itself the accolade of third worst place to get a taxi in the world. The reason for this as far as I can see is that collusion is rife among all of the drivers. They are supposed to use a meter system and this is stated on the outside of the cab however most requests to have the driver use the meter are rejected, alternatively you can work out what the journey would cost and attempt to haggle to that price although in almost all cases this is going to be unsuccessful. A common scenario would involve approaching a group of cab drivers who are playing a game of cards, they all know how much they want to charge to certain destinations and nothing less than this will encourage any of them to leave their game. It is a frustrating situation when they choose not to operate at the market price so they don’t make any money and you have to waste time finding someone that will take you for an honest ride.

Back onto Uni – my first assignment is due on Wednesday, a strenuous 1000 words before the unusually early mid-semester break starts at the end of the week. This is for International Relations. The other subjects I’m doing are titled Mobile Worlds: Migrants, Refugees and the Politics of Belonging and Making A Difference: Bringing about Social and Political Change. Monash does enjoy an unnecessarily wordy subject title.

Also The Room

The Campus (view from my window)

Last of all I am pushing the department that works with immigration on our student passes to return our passports as soon as possible with the hope that we will be able to get them back before the break and therefore be able to go to Burma for the 9 days we have off uni. I will keep you posted about these plans and I imagine won’t be able to be in contact while in Burma. There will of course be a post to follow whatever goes on during the break whether it be in Malaysia or (hopefully) not.

Ben x

Aus

Philippines, Melaka and Orientation

Day: 56

Location: Monash University Sunway Campus, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

As planned we were bundled into a mini van the next morning to travel from Donsol to Legazpi City. The driver insisted on fitting a German couple, Steph and I into the 'four' seats in the back row. We bought another seat rather having to sit on top of each other.

Church, Donsol

Legazpi City is located a few kilometres from Mt.Mayon, an almost perfectly cone-shaped, active volcano. An All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) ride lead to the 2006 lava front – a gigantic, snaking mound of rocks that had been spat from the mouth of the volcano. 

Our accommodation in Legazpi was a standard backpackers which wouldn’t have been out of place if it was for ‘standard backpackers’ being pretty scarce in The Philippines.

The morning before we left Legazpi we got up to see the sunset in the hope that the top of Mt. Mayon would be clear and not covered in clouds as it often seemed to be. We caught a few glimpses of the peak and I was mesmerised watching it but the photos don’t really do it justice.

A couple of delayed flights took us to Boracay on the 16^th where we met Tom and Courtney. Boracay was packed with tourists. The main stretch is along White Beach and is very developed with shops, restaurants, stalls, massage centres, accommodation, dive shops and bars.

It was clear that many local people travelled to Boracay to meet the demand brought by the tourist population and it was disheartening to see how desperate they were to make money from tourists.
We completed two dives while we were in Boracay which were quite good and definitely wet my appetite for getting an Open Water License while in Malaysia.

Next we travelled to Cebu. Originally we had planned to make it to Panglao Island off Bohol in one day but we were handballed around by a cancelled flight and a delayed replacement and instead landed in Cebu with free accommodation for the night.
We arrived 24 hours later than planned in Panglao. With limited time we had to sightsee efficiently so went in search of the fabled ‘tarsier’ at a nearby tarsier centre. We dutifully paid our entrance fees and were then informed that due to new government regulations the tarsiers could no longer be kept there in captivity. Instead we saw some exotic birds, many of which were from Australia and strolled through the gardens and galleries of the property owned by a French expat. The tour conveniently ended at a restaurant with a stunning view of the sea at sunset.

In keeping with our ambition to get as much done in Panglao as possible we booked in a snorkelling trip and a driver to take us to ‘Chocolate Hills’ for the following day. Rising early, we boarded a boat to go to a marine park. By the sound of this primitive machine they were using a six-cylinder engine to power the propeller which made for a fairly piercing ride out to the island. I’m not sure if it was an issue with language or organisation but the set up when arrived at the island was disappointing, an environmental fee had to be paid for the preservation of the park which was more than acceptable although it seemed we then became the subjects of a poorly executed scam. Our guide suggested that we had to hire another small boat to take us 50m off the shore to where the best snorkelling was. Eventually we decided to swim out on our own, testing the water so to speak to determine whether another boat ride was compulsory as they seemed to claim. After a paddle out over a shallow shelf the sea floor dropped 15m giving way to an incredible wall of coral, fish and anemones. Both Courtney and I were stung by jellyfish which she was very excited about as it was her first time.

The same afternoon we drove to an actual tarsier centre, one with real live tarsiers. I hope the photo provides enough information about this incredibly disproportionate creature.

The real destination however was Chocolate Hills. Because of the season we were there they didn’t have their renowned chocolate colour but were still a sight worth beholding.

The 23^rd was a day of travel – we had to get a van, a boat, a plane and then a bus to Clark for our flight to KL on the 24^th. This made for a good 15 hour journey with time in transit between connections. Accommodation had been hard to find in Clark because of a Hot Air Balloon Show on that weekend. Furthermore, arriving at our hard-sought accommodation we discovered that Clark is home to many short-stay hotels and as such the rooms we had booked were occupied when we arrived. This made four people who had travelled all day less than impressed. In order to get a discount for having to wait for the rooms to be meticulously cleaned we paid for three three-hour time slots which was cheaper than the original booking.

Sunday brought on the next phase to my journey. Touching down in KL I thought about the lack of certainty of my next destination, I didn’t know when the next flight would be or to where as I had done for over a month. There was comfort knowing that I could settle down in one place and begin uni after such a long time away that it feels like you’ve forgotten what an essay is.
Tom and I were thrown into things at Sunway Monash Residence (‘res’ from here on), when we arrived a big group of the exchange students were going out to dinner which we joined in on having said goodbye to Courtney and Steph.

Monday brought orientation which was an administrative day with a bit of wasted time in between. On Tuesday we met Courtney and Steph to return to Melaka where I retrieved the rest of my luggage and we spent some time eating. There are lovely historical buildings in Melaka due to it’s colonial past although we became the most familiar with the phrase “Try this, Melaka is famous for it”. In the 48 hours were there we ate about 12 meals – two varieties of satay, wanton mee (noodles, dumplings and soup), chicken rice, nasi lemak (rice, chicken, egg and sambal), roti canai (bread and dhal), coconut milkshakes, durian, glutenous rice desserts, laksa, cendol (ice dessert) and oyster pancakes (from the two competing stalls in the town). This culinary extravaganza was facilitated by Courtney and here relatives who I can’t praise enough for their hospitality and generosity while we were there.

Since coming back to KL there have been many trips to the shops to get supplies such as coat hangers and other necessary, mundane things. My room is starting to feel more like home and so is the 8^th floor. It is interesting in the way that rooms are set up, within the apartment building there are 22 levels. The 8^th and one room of the 7^th floor have only exchange student occupying them. This comes with a form of ‘diplomatic immunity’ whereby we don’t have to adhere to the curfews in place for local and permanent international students or the rules about alcohol or movement of people in between rooms.
In my apartment of seven people we have four Australians, and three guys from Hungary, France and South Africa respectively.

Some of the features of the accommodation make it feel as though you’re still on holiday. So far I have used the gym, pool and basketball court more than lecture theatres or tute rooms, hopefully that will continue but I’ll have to report back about it in week 8.

I am looking into some volunteering and/or internship opportunities to take on for the semester, it could be tight fitting it in between the three contact hours for each of my three subjects but it should just be possible.

I realise it has been a long time in between posts so I apologise for that. The last couple of weeks have been either busy setting up at uni or on the move between Philippines, KL and Melaka. I may add some afterthoughts as they come to mind if I have left anything significant out and photos of uni, my room and surrounds will follow.

Ben x

Aus