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COVER
STORY
12 | FireFlyz
The political climate
in Myanmar (Burma)
is going through a
change, with tourism
being encouraged.
Tan Hee Hui
takes
the opportunity
to visit the former
capital that is still
the most important
commercial centre of
the country.
Burmese
as George Orwell, enjoyed holidays
here, away from his wretched life as a
policeman in provincial Burma, and later
wrote the book
Burmese Days
. Inspired
to pen
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
, Noel
Coward described “the heat of noon (in
Rangoon) is just what the natives shun”.
As a consul in 1927, Pablo Neruda had
an affair with his “Burmese panther”, a
beautiful woman whose jealousy inspired
his poem
Widower’s Tango
.
Theological Pull
This is one of the most religious Buddhist
places in the world, as witnessed in
Yangon’s architecture. Everywhere you
turn a
stupa
(dome shaped Buddhist
shrine) or temple is in view. The city
also has many mosques, churches, Hindu
and Sikh temples and an old yet well
maintained synagogue, reflecting the
diverse population. At places of worship,
dress modestly in tops with sleeves,
long trousers or
longyi
, a cloth widely
worn locally. The
longyi
– sewn into a
Y
angon
is hot, in more
ways than one. The
humidity is more in-
tense than in Malaysia,
yet more travellers are
heading to the city, as
Myanmar is just open-
ing up and changing after Aung San
Suu Kyi’s victory in Myanmar’s first free
election in 25 years. Though no longer
the nation’s capital, Yangon remains the
most commercial city, and traffic jams
are common.
It is also multicultural with South
Asian and Chinese Burmese and indig-
enous groups including the Rakhine
and Karen. Along busy grid-like streets,
untainted by mass tourism, food stalls
and other trades do brisk business. Tea
shops are also popular among the locals,
who chat over fresh brews or while
chewing on betel nut leaves.
Rangoon, as Yangon was formerly
known, even inspired renowned writers.
The young Eric Blair, better known
Rendezvous
The grand Shwedagon
Pagoda, at 99m in
height, shimmers in the
sun and towers over
the downtown area