Week One: Getting Acclimated
Week One:
My first week in Myanmar has been truly incredible. I arrived late on Sunday evening and spent Monday and Tuesday exploring Yangon. My internship began on Wednesday, and I took a night bus to Bagan on Friday night. This week has made two things abundantly clear to me: Myanmar is a beautiful country, and it is entirely unique.
Getting Acclimated:
I spent most of Monday and Tuesday exploring the area around my hostel which is located in the heart of downtown Yangon. It is only a few short blocks away from attractions such as the Sule Pagoda and Strand Hotel to the East, and Chinatown to the West. The hostel itself is quite nice and features a dining area on the eighth floor overlooking the city.
The view from the eighth floor (pictured above) shows just how underdeveloped Yangon is. While there are some new developments and old buildings that have been well-kept, a majority of the city sits in various states of disrepair.
The streets are lined with small shops selling everything from construction materials to jewelry. I even saw a woman buy a live parakeet and wrap it in a plastic bag for what I hope was a very brief trip home. Where there are no shops, the sidewalks are peppered with food carts complete with seating in the form of child-sized plastic lawn furniture. However, unlike other destinations I have been to in Southeast Asia, these shops and food carts are not geared toward tourists. In fact, I’ve rarely seen anyone that appeared to be a tourist, even at the most popular destinations such as the Shwedagon Pagoda. Although it has become far easier to travel here in the past ten years, Yangon still seems to be relatively unchanged by tourism.
Sight Seeing:
Shwedagon Pagoda was by far my favorite excursion in Yangon. This is likely one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yangon, and it is not hard to see why. It stands 300 feet tall and is plated in pure gold. The entire complex on which it sits is filled with marble floors, ornate wooden buildings, and hundreds of Buddha statues. According to my guide, they replace the gold plating every five years which is why there is scaffolding on the lower half of the pagoda. I’m hoping the scaffolding will be gone when I visit again later this summer.
Legend has it that the original pagoda was built approximately 2,600 years ago during the lifetime of Buddha. The original structure was much smaller, but it has been renovated and expanded several times over the centuries to its current size. It is considered one of the most sacred sites in Myanmar because it contains several relics including eight of Buddha’s hairs.
My Internship:
The first few days of my internship have been quite busy. I am doing legal research for Open Development, but I am working from one of their partner’s offices, so I have spent much of my time meeting people. My first project is to research Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) and write a summary for Open Development’s website that provides context on how the goal is being implemented in the Mekong Region.
This research has presented interesting challenges because much of the information I need is not readily available if it is even tracked at all. SDG 16 aims to ensure peace, justice, and strong institutions. The UN measures progress by looking at several different factors that focus on topics such as violence generally, violence against children, human trafficking, organized crime, corruption, etc. Unfortunately, much of this information in the region is not consistently tracked, so it is quite hard to find relevant information. I’m working closely in conjunction with Phandeeyar’s (Open Development’s partner organization) data team and scouring various UN reports, and I am optimistic that I will find the necessary information.
After I finish this project, I will spend the remainder of my summer focusing on special economic zones in Myanmar. Specifically, I will be looking at how they impact the rights and freedoms of marginalized communities and how they impact migration. I will also be creating profiles of each special economic zone in Myanmar.
Bagan:
My trip to Bagan was over in a flash. I arrived via the night bus at about 6am on Saturday morning, checked into my hostel, and immediately began exploring. I started by renting an e-bike for the day for just over three dollars (amazing, right?), and set out to see as many of Bagan’s 2,200 temples as I could. I took a break during the afternoon to escape the 108 degree heat, but I finished the day by climbing one of the temples and watching the sun set over the river.
I started Sunday by waking up early to watch the sun rise over some of the temples, and I spent most of the day doing a guided tour of Bagan. The tour was an incredible experience because I was able to get a local perspective on all the changes taking place in Myanmar and visit a local monastery. After the tour was done, I had some time to relax and eat before catching the night bus back to Yangon to immediately begin another week of meetings, research, and travel.