Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma)

I have only been here for about three hours but my first impressions are great. Judy, you'll be happy to hear that the black market is alive and well, but it's really more of a dove-gray as it's really not that illegal and is the only sane way to change money. You get 2-3 times more on the black market than from a government-sanctioned money changing place, so it's crazy not to use it. I was "found" by a lovely man on the street named Hillary who offered to change my money at the rate I was looking for, so I followed him all over town to his cache of cash and got quite a nice little tour along the way. The exchange rate is 1200 Kyat to the dollar and it all comes in 1000 K notes, so after exchanging $300 I'm carrying around several bricks of cash in my bag. Hillary directed me to this internet spot that allows me access to the outside world so I'm off to a great start.

I arrived at 8:00 this morning and have my first meeting with my tour group tonight at 6:00 so I have the whole day to explore on my own. The city is really interesting - lots of colonial buildings that are juxtaposed against market stalls, gold-topped stupas and general Asian street life. It's really a great mix of all the
best parts of Asia: the people are lovely and laid-back like they were in Laos, but the city has lots to offer. I expect that the countryside will be even better. I fear that two weeks will not be enough time here - I guess we'll see.

I read a bit of the history of the country on my flight over from Bangkok. I've been struggling with the Myanmar vs. Burma thing and was hoping to sort it out. Many people prefer to use the name Burma as a show of non-support for the current (nasty) government who reverted back to the name Myanmar when they took over. However, the country existed as Myanmar for centuries before the British came in and decided to change the name to Burma, so I'm not sure which is worse. I'll reserve judgement for now.

As much as tourists are warned to avoid discussions of a political nature with locals for fear of them being punished, Hillary was quite open with me and willing talk about whatever I wanted. He was, of course, discrete on some matters of a particularly sensitive nature and did lower his voice at times. It will be interesting to see how other locals open up to us (or not) along the way.
I have just determined that the new year, which is marked by a water festival, falls during my stay here. I'm not sure where we'll be for that, but it will be great to participate in a local festival.

That's it for now...I think this was a bit of a one-off situation and I don't expect that I will continue to find access to e-mail and my blog on a regular basis. I will stay in touch if I can but don't worry if this is the last you hear from me for a couple of weeks.