Monday 13 May 2013

Myanmar: A Memoir of Loss and Recovery


 Myanmar: a Memoir of Loss and Recovery


Inle Lake

Donald Gilliland from Dasa Books in Bangkok < dasabookcafe@yahoo.com>
https://garlicneversleeps.wordpress.com/ talks about Judyth Gregory-Smith’s travels in Myanmar and the book she published about her meanderings

I had heard of Judyth Gregory-Smith several years before I actually met her in person. Until that time, she was only known to me as “the trishaw lady” from Australia. I don’t think Judyth has ever pedaled a trishaw in her life (she can correct me if I’m wrong!), but her association with that most Burmese of transport options was due to the fact that she had purchased a couple of trishaws for a Burmese man to start a business in Mandalay. The appreciative young man then named one of the cute three-wheeled contraptions after Judyth.

Kinny 1

When I finally met Judyth, it was totally by chance. I had gone to the Feel Restaurant in Yangon with Ma Thanegi for lunch one day. The place was busy as usual, but amidst the throng I recognized one man, Kyar Min sitting at a corner table. The odd thing, however, was that he was a trishaw driver in Mandalay and I’d never previously seen him outside of that city. What was he doing in Yangon, I wondered? It was at that moment that I noticed that he wasn’t sitting alone, but with a Western woman. He introduced her; this was the famous Judyth! It turned out that Ma Thanegi also knew Judyth — both of them being travel writers who had trod similar paths —- but she had not met Kyar Min before. More introductions were made.

Transport

Fast forward to this year and Judyth’s fascinating new book, Myanmar: a Memoir of Loss and Recovery where she writes about her various experiences traveling alone around Myanmar, while gradually coming to terms with the illness and subsequent death of her husband. The book, Judyth says, traces two journeys: a geographical journey and an inner journey.
The Pansodan Art Gallery in Yangon recently wrote a review of the book on its blog, calling Myanmar: a Memoir of Loss and Recovery “a well-observed account of places and people over the course of several years of visits. This is a great book as a gift to people who want to know more about life in Myanmar in those years, whether they have been here or not, and (aside from its sobering prologue) it is a highly amusing and well-written book which freshens our sense of why we love this country so much.”

In between her country hopping - she has a base in Langkawi, Malaysia, she was in Vietnam earlier this year, is now in Kenya, will be in London next week and returns to Myanmar in July - I asked Judyth about her book and her experiences in Myanmar.


When did you visit Myanmar for the first time? And what were your initial impressions of the country?
I first visited Myanmar in 1987 with my late husband, Richard. He was on leave from his Australian government position in the embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He asked his counterpart in the embassy in Myanmar to do an itinerary for us and we visited Bagan, Mandalay, Bago and many other “must see” destinations in the two weeks’ visa that was allowed in those days. We both loved Myanmar — especially the people — and vowed to return, but over the years we went on to work in other countries and to other places on holidays. In 2003 I did return, but alone: Richard died in 2001.


Pa-O widow
At what point did you decide: “I’m going to write a book about my experiences in Myanmar”?
The first journey I took on my own, with five words of Burmese, was by train to Mawlamyine. An hour or two into the journey the train stopped. When it had been stationary more than an hour, the engine driver came to tell me why we couldn’t proceed: a train in front had tipped its load all over the track. I left the train and eventually found a truck going to Kinpun, so I visited Kyaiktiyo and the Golden Rock Pagoda and then found a way to get to Mawlamyine by bus. So many funny things happened on these journeys, that I thought they could be the beginning of a book on travel in Myanmar.

Kyaiktiyo


How long did it take you to write the book? Did you agonize over re-writes or did it flow quickly?
The book took more than seven years to write. It started life as a travel narrative, as I am a travel writer, but because of sanctions against Myanmar, no publisher was interested. Eventually, a Sydney publisher suggested I should rewrite the manuscript as a memoir. This took me 18 months. I turned my journey around Myanmar into two journeys — my geographical journey, and my interior journey as I tried to come to terms with the illness and death of Richard.

One of the people you write about in your book, Kyar Min, is someone I know also. Tell us about meeting him for the first time.
On my first overnight bus trip to Mandalay my daughter, Fiona, working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yangon, asked me to telephone to tell her I’d arrived safely. This I did, but the man with the telephone on the street spoke even less English than I spoke Burmese. He hailed a trishaw man across the street who spoke English and he took me to an internet cafe so I could work on my manuscript. The trishaw man, Kyar Min, had supported his invalid father, his mother and three siblings for ten years when I met him. I decided it was time for someone to give him some support. So he came on holiday to Australia and my generous friends helped him with cash, which he used to buy some secondhand trishaws for him to rent out. This has not been a great success, but a little sewing business that we started has done better and is growing. Kyar Min is the manager and quality control manager of the little project.

Saya Htay sewing

Obviously, you aren’t the typical tourist who visits Myanmar one time, says “That was nice”, and never returns. Like me, you return again and again. What keeps you going back?
The book is now published, but I return to Myanmar on my tourist visa three times a year. I go to the market with Kyar Min and the seamstresses and we buy fabric for which I pay. Then the seamstresses go off to sew. Kyar Min monitors them, going from house to house on his trishaw, checking that they have all they need and improving the standard of their work. Just before my visa expires I return to each woman, collect what she has made and ask how much I owe her. I pay whatever she asks, so if my plane crashes on my way home they have at least been paid for their labor. Fortunately for them (and me) my plane has not yet crashed. Kyar Min and the seamstresses know that whatever I sell for them when I go back to Malaysia (where I have a base) or Australia (which I visit for six weeks a year) I will take the profit (or helping money as they call it) back to them.


Thu Zar working outside

Things are changing quickly in Myanmar, perhaps too quickly. Are you optimistic about positive changes happening in the country, or do you fear the deluge of greedy developers and investors will have a negative impact?
I am optimistic about change in Myanmar as long as developers and investors employ Myanmar staff and ensure part of the profit of their endeavors goes to the people of Myanmar. I believe Myanmar cultural norms, particularly where family is concerned, will go some way to prevent negative exploitation, for example in the tourist industry.  

Riding side-saddle

For someone going to Myanmar for the first time, what are five “must” things they should either see or do?
They must visit the three most important Buddhist shrines in Myanmar: the Shwedagon in Yangon, the Mahamuni in Mandalay and the Golden Rock Pagoda in Kyaiktiyo. Bagan is, of course, a must, as is Mandalay.
Zin Ma Htay in Bagan

What are some of your other favorite travel destinations? Are there any other countries that you would still like to visit?
I’ve enjoyed time in UK, Europe, Nepal, Sudan, Kenya, and Malaysia. I’d like to visit Egypt because my mother was born there. I’d like to re-visit Rome, Paris and Athens with my grandchildren, as I took my children there when they were young.

What are some other books about Myanmar, either fiction or non-fiction, that would you recommend?
Aung San Suu Kyi. (1995) Freedom from Fear. Penguin Books, London, UK.
 — (1997) Letters from Burma. Penguin Books, London, UK.
Byles Beuzeville, Marie. (1962) Journey into Burmese Silence. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, UK.
Collis, Maurice (1938) Lords of the Sunset. AVA Publishing House, Bangkok, Thailand.
Cribbs, G. (Ed.) (1996) Back to Mandalay: Burmese life, past and present. Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, USA.
Crosthwaite, Sir Charles. (1968) The Pacification of Burma. Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., London, UK.
Diran, Richard K. (1999) The Vanishing Tribes of Burma. Seven Dials, Cassell & Co., London. UK
Fielding, H. (1899) Thibaw’s Queen. Harper & Brothers, London & New York.
Foucar, E.C.V. (1956) I lived in Burma. Dennis Dobson, London, UK.
Gregory-Smith, Judyth. (2000) Sulawesi: Ujung Pandang to Kendari. Balai Pustaka, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Gutman, Pamela. (2001) Burma’s Lost Kingdoms. Orchid Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
Hall, D.G.E. (Ed.) (1955) Michael Symes Journal of his Second Embassy to the Court of Ava in 1802. George Allen and Unwin, London, UK.
Hla Thaung, U. (2005) The Buddhist Missionaries from Myanmar. Bagan Publishing House, Bagan, Myanmar.
Houghton, G. & J. Wakefield. (1987) Burma. The Macmillan Company of Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia.
Htin Aung, Maung. (1967) A History of Burma. Columbia University Press, New York and London.
Hunt, G. (1967). The forgotten land. Geoffrey Bles London, UK.
Insight Guide. (2003) Burma (Myanmar). Apa Publications, Gambit and Co. Verlag KG (Singapore Branch).
Isaacs, R and Blurton, T.R. (2000) Visions from the Golden Land Burma and the Art of Lacquer. British Museum Press, London, UK.
Khin Myo Chit. (1980) Flowers and Festivals round the Myanmar Year. Sapay Lawka, Yangon, Myanmar.
Khoo Thwe, Pascal. (2002) From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey. Harper Collins, London, UK.
Khng, Pauline. (2000) Myanmar. Times Publishing Group, Singapore.
Larkin, Emma. (2004) Secret histories: finding George Orwell in a Burmese Teashop. John Murray (Publishers). London, UK.
Lewis, Norman. (1952) Golden Earth. Jonathan Cape, London, UK.
McPhedran, Colin. (2002) White Butterflies. Pandanus Books, Canberra.
Ma Thanegi. (2000) The Native Tourist: In Search of Turtle Eggs. Swiftwinds Books, Myanmar.
 — (2001) ‘Pyu Shadows from a Lost Civilisation.’ Enchanting Myanmar.
 — (2002) ‘Two ancient cities and a sanctuary.’ Enchanting Myanmar
Marshall, Andrew. (2002) The Trouser People: A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire. Penguin Books Ltd., London, UK.
Masters, J. (1961) The Road past Mandalay. Hutchinson, London, UK.
Mawdsley, James. (2001) The Heart Must Break: The Fight for Democracy and Truth in Burma. Century, London, UK.
Mi Mi Khaing. (1946) Burmese Family. Orient Longmans, Calcutta. India.
O’Brien, Harriet. (1991) Forgotten land: a rediscovery of Burma. Michael Joseph, London, UK.
Orwell, George. (1934) Burmese Days. Penguin Books, London, UK.
Raven-Hart, Major R. (1939) Canoe to Mandalay. Frederick Muller Ltd. London. UK.
Reid, Robert & Grosberg, Michael, (2005) Myanmar (Burma). Lonely Planet Publications Pty. Ltd, Victoria, Australia.
Rodrigue, Yves. (1992) Nat-Pwe Burma’s Supernatural Sub-Culture. Paul Strachan, Kiscadale Ltd., Scotland, UK.
Sargent, Inge. (1994) Twilight over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Saul, J.D. (2005). The Naga of Burma Their Festivals, Customs and Way of Life. Orchid Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
Saw Myat Yin. (1994) Culture Shock! Burma, Times Books International. Times Editions Pte. Ltd.
Scott, Sir James George (Shway Yoe). (1882) The Burman His Life and Notions. The Norton Library, New York. USA.
Scott O’Connor V.C. (1987) Mandalay and other cities of the past in Burma. White Lotus Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
Tandy, W.D.D. (trans. Sangermano) (1966) Burmese Empire, Susil Gupta, London.
Tennyson Jesse, F. (1981) The Lacquer Lady. A Virago Modern Classic. Dial Press.
Thant Myint-U. (2006) The River of Lost Footsteps. Faber and Faber, London.
Thein Pe Myint. (1973) Selected Short Stories. New York, USA.
Thirkell White, Sir Herbert. (1913). A Civil Servant in Burma. Edward Arnold, London, UK.
Toke Gale, U. (1974) Burmese Timber Elephant. Trade Corporation 9, Rangoon, Burma.
Webster, Donovan. (2003) The Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China–Burma–India theater in World War II. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.
Williams, Lt. Col. J.H. (1950) Elephant Bill. Rupert Hart-Davis, London, UK.
Yule, Henry. (1858) A narrative of the mission sent by the governor-general of India to the court of Ava in 1855, with notices of the country, government, and people. Smith Elder, London, UK.

How can interested readers get your book?
I published Myanmar: A Memoir of Loss and Recovery through Lulu Publishers in the USA. It can be bought online from Lulu, from Amazon.com, from Barnes and Noble and The Book Depository in UK. There is also a Facebook page for the book: https://www.facebook.com/MyanmarJudythGregorySmith


Monday 6 May 2013

Troublesome Visas



We think we know all about travel and are appalled when we find that we don’t. And I have less excuse than most, as I’ve travelled through countless countries over the last 20 years. But visas to visit those countries, though sometimes essential, can be troublesome.
Having just published a book on Myanmar, I intended returning to outline another, not covering the well-known haunts, but discovering places that the local people love and would like to show to eco-culturally-minded visitors. Sounds easy: and would have been, had I read the small print about Visa-on-Arrival.
Already this year, I’d had a visa incident with Immigration when I wished to stay overnight in my Myanmar friend’s village.
“You must have a Social Visa for that,” the Immigration Official in Pakokku, in central Myanmar, informed me: And he was nearly right.
Back to the present: I lined up at Air Asia’s LCCT terminal in Kuala Lumpur. I was excited to think I’d be back in my favourite country in just a few hours: And then ….
“Where is your letter from the Myanmar Embassy, written in their language?” asked the Air Asia young man with a choirboy’s face.
“I don’t have one,” I stammered. “But I’ve been to Myanmar many times over many years and I’m sure they’ll let me in.”
“I’m sorry Madam, but you have applied for Visa-on-Arrival,” said the choirboy whose smile was fading.
“That’s right,” I faltered. “I thought Visa-on-Arrival would be a time-saver - isn’t it?”
“No Madam”, said the choirboy through gritted teeth, “it is for business people. Without a letter from the Myanmar Embassy, Air Asia would be sued and they would cut my salary. Go to Counter 67 and they will help you,” he added to the relief of the queue mounting behind me.
I slunk off, rejected, and wondered how much money I’d lost. But Counter 67 turned out to be great.
“I can hold a place for you for a few days, then when you have your Tourist Visa come back here to Counter 67,” said the helpful official very slowly to make sure I understood. “The fee for changing your ticket is RM100.”
“Mum, don’t go to the Embassy before phoning first,” said my son, Alex. “It’s Friday afternoon, they may have closed already for the weekend.”
I chose McDonalds for my phone call: I needed an ice-cream to soothe my troubled mind. But McDonalds was seething with chattering crowds. I couldn’t hear the telephonist above the noise. But she didn’t fob me off – far from it: she told me to wait a minute and put me through to Nwe Ni Oo, Second Secretary at the Burmese Embassy, who was touchingly sympathetic.
“Could you come to the Visa Office straight away?” she asked.
Could I? Of course I could - and did - and the lovely Ms Nwe Ni Oo gave me my usual Tourist Visa.
Will I try for a Social Visa next time so that I can stay in friends’ houses rather than in hotels? Well I could if I was Myanmar born or had Myanmar relatives. But I was born in England and have English relatives so I don’t fall into those categories. But now that I think of it, what’s wrong with a Tourist Visa anyway?
***