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In Search of Wan Chai - The Burmese Experience (Part 1)
by Scott Mallon, www.thaiboxinggear.com
For more information on Scott Mallon and ThaiBoxingGear.com
( please click on the above banner.)
For most people, a trip to Thailand for any reason is exciting and exotic. If you are coming from outside of Asia the trip alone is a journey and once in Thailand most travelers find it an extremely rewarding experience that they will never forget. After living in here for 8 years though, Thailand has become home, ordinary in a sense. Sure, I still find my thrills once in a while however for the most part I’m home.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is the major landmark in Yangon. Quite beautiful, it sits right in the middle of the busiest part of town.
One thing that most expatriates in Thailand need to do is the visa run. A visa run is simply a run to the border to get a stamp in your passport that says you have left Thailand. Some have to leave every month and some, like me, being married to a Thai, are required to leave every three months. In the future I will only need to leave once a year or better yet not at all. For now though, a visa run is a part of living in Thailand as an expat.
Some think of the visa run as a pain in the neck however I actually look forward to it. I usually venture out of Thailand once every 6 weeks so I get my passport stamped two or sometimes three times before it’s even necessary. The visa run gives me a chance to take a vacation. That’s exactly how I look at it too, a vacation.
A view of my hotel, one of the few tall buildings in Yangon.
Over the years I’ve piled up quite a few stamps in my passport and had three sets of extra pages put into it. I’ve managed to go to the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia. One place I hadn’t been to was Myanmar (formerly Burma).
Myanmar is still an extremely isolated country that most people will never go to go sightseeing. The problems with their iron-fisted government, their heavy involvement in the drug trade and their lack of infrastructure keep all but the most grizzled travelers away. I’ve wanted to go to Myanmar for many years but hadn’t the chance. Any place where there aren’t a lot of tourists is a place that has my interest. I purchased my ticket on Bangkok Air, went to the Burmese embassy to get my visa and a week or so later I was on my way.
Anytime I set off for a new country there are two things I always look for and keep my eyes wide open for.
One is some sort of fighting art (Muay Thai, Khun Khmer Boran, boxing) and the other shall go unmentioned (you figure it out for yourself). I only had a week to check out the city of Yangon. That’s not nearly enough however I figured it was better than nothing.
These two guys were a crack-up and got my Burma trip off on the right foot.
The first two days I settled in at my hotel and set off on foot. The idea was to find some Burmese boxing. The hotel I stayed in, The Traders, was luxurious and priced just right for my budget. It was a five-star hotel and at $55 a night I couldn’t complain. I wanted to make sure that on my first trip I was at least comfortable where I stayed for I didn’t know what to expect from the rest of the city. At $55 a night it was a small price to pay for that level of comfort.
I had read in Lonely Planet there was Burmese boxing being taught at the YMCA so I set off on foot to find it. Little did I know it was about 10 kilos from where I was. 10 kilos isn’t really all that far but in the hot Burmese sun it seemed like forever. By the time I got to the place I was drenched in sweat and even though I had already downed two bottles of water on the way, I was still parched. It took me a while to find the entrance but when I did I say a sign that said “Burmese boxing.” I was thrilled my long journey had paid off. So I thought…
A few young guys came up and asked me what I was looking for. When I told them the entire gym stopped what they were doing and came over to talk to me. Seemed the instructor was no longer teaching there as there was no money and they hadn’t paid him for several months. I was ready to leave and go look elsewhere but when you have 20 guys crowded around you listening to your every word, it’s not easy to do so. They wanted to know all about me, all about America and George Bush. “Did I like him? America is rich isn’t it? Why can’t I go to America?”
There were so many questions coming at me I had to ask them to pose their questions one at a time. This went on for about an hour. The group slowly went back to lifting weights and I was left with one guy who was about 25. He went on to tell me how he worked on a Korean fishing vessel and how when they docked in New York he wasn’t allowed off the boat because he was Burmese. “Why” he asked? I could only tell him I did not know but I did know it wasn’t easy for a foreigner to enter into the US. He did give me one lead though. He told me to go to the university and I would be sure to find some Burmese boxing or “Let Wei” as it’s called in Burmese. This was only the first of what would become many interesting encounters I’d have in Yangon.
I suspect that this attitude is why many Burmese speak English very well.
Rested, I set off in search of the university. It was getting late though and I didn’t want to be out on my first night not knowing where I was. My legs were heavy but I pushed on. I could see my hotel as it was one of the highest buildings in the area but the streets were a maze. I was a rat looking for the cheese and I was going hungry.
I then bumped into a young man, Nanda, who would become my guide for the remainder of the trip and who would help mold my first Burmese experience. I was apprehensive at first however Nanda’s command of the English language was excellent not to mention humorous. In Thailand I would suggest not using a guide as most of them are out to rip you off but in Myanmar, I’d highly suggest you do so. Nanda not only was invaluable but he also became a friend who I communicate with via email.
After talking over a late lunch, it was decided I would go back to my hotel, get some rest and then go out for a night of fun. We would start our search for Burmese boxing in the morning.
* Article by Scott Mallon, www.thaiboxinggear.com.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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