Myanmar: a Memoir of Loss and Recovery
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| Inle Lake |
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.
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| 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?
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.
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
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