Excerpts from the intrepid correspondent, aka Mom, in far off Burma, or as they call it, Myanmar.
This is the first time I venture out by myself. I am at cyber world, next to movie house showing The Departed, Pirate of Caribean (?), Spider Man 3. I took a taxi to downtown. It was pouring rain and I was wet from sitting (swinging) inside the cab. I asked to be taken to a small pagoda/temple/paya. Not to go in, just as a stopping point. Then I asked some Spanish people for a certain street. I walked straight into massive humanity. It turns out I am in the middle of Indian interest. There is a Bangali Sunni Central Mosque, some other Jami mosque. It is mosque after mosque after mosque, different sects. Only men are selling things.
If there is one surprise of Burma it is that there is no easy place to walk. Sidewalks are only one person width, along with sewage, pot holes, loose stone slates, burning stoves and oil. There are always something being deep fried, including some small bird, butterfly cut, with head and feet standing straight like a flying bat. Beetlenut sellers wearing portable stand displaying varieties of flavor. Noodles and noodles and cuts of fruit. And it's raining. I was so afraid that I might twist my feet in some sewage holes and break my ankles, while fighting with my umbrella against traffic. People stop their cars or back up while you are crossing, or they will change tires in the middle of crooked lane. Young men hustle for customers to their awful pickup trucks/buses, then there are "city buses" written in Chinese.
I believe the transportation modes are crappier than the Brasilia I knew. I rode buses in Brasil , but I'll never do it here. People told me it takes four hours to ride 20m miles. There are a few gas stations. The embassy owns one. Unheard of. Because there is gas ration. So you'll see young men holding plastic buckets/ containers with sprout on the street. They are selling black market gas/oil. Cheaper too. Drivers will fill up a few gallons, enough to get to street sale individuals. Situation is so comical here. It's dictatorship. However you can't (see) any government nor govt officials anywhere. They go out of the way to avoid you, hiding in new capital. But somehow decrees will be sent out to tell you new rules or revised old rules.
Universities are empty because the big men do not want young people congregate in one place. So professors hand out reading lists and books on first day. Students study on their own (unless they pay extra for private tutorials). One week before exams they go to school and professors give them question sheets to be expected during exams, along with answers! So everyone passes and everyone graduates.
1 comment:
another great dispatch!
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