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INFORMATION SHEET NO.A -0296(I)



                                       INFORMATION SHEET
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NO.A -0296(I)	                                               26th January 1998

Tourists Visit Elephants at Work
		Altogether 117 tourists engaged in forestry and finished goods industry of
France visited Seinyay Forest Camp in Oktwin Township, Bago Division on 24 and
25 January. The tour was arranged by Woodland Travels Co Ltd and Excoticimo Co
Ltd of France. They observed timber extraction with the use of elephants and
conservation of teak and management.
OFFICE CALL IN YANGON ON 25 JANUARY
		Minister for Health received President of Royal Surgical College Professor
AGD Maran and Mr R C Smith in Lawkanat Room of Karaweik Hall. They discussed
organizing FRCS examination in Myanmar and progress of surgery.
 
		The Article by Tommy Koh Entitled " Myanmar Crowd Clapped When Sun Set " is
presented for your information and reading pleasure.
		I made my first visit to Myanmar during the past Christmas holidays. I had
a wonderful time. Let me share with you some of the happy memories of my
visit.
Weather
		The weather in Myanmar is ideal in December. During my visit, the sky was
blue every day, the humidity was comfortably low, the daytime temperatures
were in the 20s and the nights were pleasantly cool. You need only a sweater
or light jacket for the evenings.
People
		The people are honest, gentle, kind and cheerful. You see smiling faces 
everywhere. One of my tour guides in Yangon told me that she had conducted a
group of Myanmar tourists to visit Singapore last year.
		I asked her whether she liked Singapore. She was reluctant to answer at
first but, when pressed, said Singaporeans behaved like robots, rushing about
their business with unsmiling faces.
Food
		Singaporeans love good food. I should therefore address the question: What
was the food like?
		Myanmar produces very fresh ingredients, especially fish, prawns, vegetables
and fruits. Myanmar food is a milder version of Thai food. Curry is popular
throughout the country.
		I had several memorable meals there. In Yangon, the Myanmar food at the
beautifully-renovated Strand Hotel and the Green Elephant Restaurant was
excellent. The Sedona Hotel has an outstanding Italian restaurant called Orzo.
		In Pagan, there are two restaurants situated on a cliff overlooking the
Irrawaddy River, the River View Restaurant and the Sunset Garden Restaurant.
The latter is owned by artistic U Aung Nyunt , who has created a little
paradise. In Mandalay, the Chinese food at Eterna Restaurant, and the Western
food at the Novotel were very good.
		The most memorable meal I had was of Shan food, eaten in a hotel built on
stilts, in the Inle Lake. The hotel is called Golden Island Cottages and is
located at the Nampan Village.
Shopping
		Next to food, the Singaporean tourist's priority is shopping. Myanmar has
much to offer him. Those interested in gems and jewellery will find Myanmar a 
wonderland. Yangon has a gem museum. Below the museum are several floors of
shops which issue certificates of authenticity.
		I was more fascinated by the fabrics produced by Myanmar, from the humble
cotton to the exalted silk. I was impressed particularly by the tribal
patterns, the 
beautiful cottons and silk produced by Mandalay, Amarapura and the Inle Lake. 
Mandalay also produces beautiful tapestries made of sequins.
		Pagan produces worldclass lacquerware made in the old-fashioned way. 
I spent many happy hours at the Scott Market in Yangon and at other markets in
Pagan and Mandalay.
Shwedagon Pagoda
		The most fascinating place in Yangon is the legendary Shwedagon Pagoda.
Built on a small hill, the Pagoda is said to contain eight hairs of the last
Buddha.
		Its bell-shaped stupa rises 100 m into the sky. The stupa is plated with
8,688 slabs of solid gold, and decorated with 5,448 diamonds, 2,317 rubies and
other precious stones. The Shwedagon Pagoda dominates Yangon's skyline, and
glitters by day and by night. 
		There are four long marble stairways leading up to the Pagoda. They are like
broad covered streets, with shops on both sides. The atmosphere at the Pagoda
is joyful and not solemn. I visited it twice, once by day and once by night.
On each occasion, there were hundreds of men, women and children, worshipping
and partying. It seems like it is the favourite meeting place for Yangon's
citizens. Many families brought along food in tiffin carriers to picnic at the
pagoda.
		When I visited Estonia in 1993, I was entertained to lunch by its president,
Mr Meri, who had been a writer by profession. He told me a wonderful story
about his own visit to Myanmar.
		Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. He had to join the Soviet Writers'
Union in order to make a living. When the Soviet Union was sending a goodwill 
delegation to visit Myanmar, it wanted to include a writer and invited the
Soviet Writers' Union to select a representative. As there was no volunteer,
Mr Meri agreed to join the delegation.
		It arrived in Rangoon and was greeted by the Burmese chief of protocol and
other officials. When it was Mr Meri's turn to shake his hand, he whispered
something in the latter's ear. 
		The chief of protocol became very excited and shouted some orders in the
Myanmar language. Several Myanmar officials escorted Mr Meri away under the
protest of the chief of the Soviet delegation, who thought that he had
defected.
		What had actually happened was that Mr Meri had told the Myanmar officials
he was from Estonia and that he wanted to be taken to the Shwedagon Pagoda to
pay his respects to two Estonians who had become Buddhist monks there. When I
was in Yangon, I enquired about the two Estonian monks, but was told that they
had died.
Splendour of Pagan
		Pagan is a living museum. It is as beautiful and awe-inspiring as the Angkor
Wat in Cambodia. Unlike Angkor, however, Pagan is situated in the middle of
Myanmar, which receives very little rainfall.
		As a result, the pagodas have not been overgrown by jungle and are 
remarkably well-preserved. In an area covering several square km, on a plain
beside the Irrawaddy River, there are thousands of pagodas and temples. The
visual impact of this once great religious city is quite overwhelming.
		From the 11th to the 13th centuries, Pagan was the capital of a great
empire. It was also an educational centre, attracting scholars from China,
India and Sri Lanka. It was a cosmopolitan city, and this is reflected in the
architectural and artistic styles of the temples, buddhas, paintings and
carvings. According to history and legend, Pagan was destroyed by the army of
Kublai Khan in 1287.
		The holiest of the pagodas at Pagan is the Shwezigon. It is said to contain
some important relics of the Buddha which King Anawrahta had obtained from
India, Ceylon and Yunnan.
		The pagoda also contains wood carvings of the 37 spirits which the Myanmar
people worshipped before they were converted to Buddhism . Even today,
Buddhism as practised there is combined with animism. The largest pagoda is
the Dhammayangyi Temple, built by King Narathu, to atone for his sin of
killing his father and older brother in order to usurp the throne.
		 My favourite is the Ananda Temple, which is the prettiest. It was regilded
in 1990, on the occasion of its 900th anniversary.
Intha people of Inle Lake
		The second high point of my visit to Myanmar was the day I spent at the Inle
Lake in the Shan State.
		I flew from Mandalay to the airport at Heho. From Heho, the journey by car
to the jetty at Nyaung Shwe took about an hour.
		The Inle Lake is inhabited by a tribe of people who had originally come from
the Tavoy region of Tenaserrim. They started emigrating to the Inle Lake
between the 14th and 18th centuries. They have adapted to their new
environment in the most 
remarkable way.
		The Intha people live in houses, mostly made of wood, standing on stilts.
They row their boats standing up, not sitting down, and using their legs
instead of their arms to power the paddle.
		They fish by using a conical trap made of bamboo, which they would lower
into the water when they recognise the bubbles released by the fish. They are
expert farmers and may have been the first inventors of hydroponics. They grow
their rice and vegetables on floating humus, which is made of silt and weed.
		In addition to being skilful fishermen and farmers, the Inthas are also
master weavers, silversmiths, boat builders and cheroot makers. I visited one
silk 
factory and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of design, colour and
texture.
		It is possible to stay on the Inle Lake. Some enterprising individuals of 
another tribe who live in the Shan State, the Pa-O have built a lovely hotel
called the Golden Island Cottages at the Nampan Village.
		That is where I will stay on my next visit. I also intend to visit the
capital of the Shan State, Taunggyi, to see the cave paintings at Pindaya and
visit Kalaw town, which is reputed to be surrounded by pine trees.
A wonderful world
		Living and working in Singapore and being surrounded by high-rise buildings,
one seldom has the time or inclination to watch the sun set. 
		During the seven days in Myanmar, I was privileged to watch the sun set from
the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, from the top of two temples at Pagan, from 
Mandalay Hill and sitting in a boat on the Inle Lake.
		Watching a setting sun is like watching a beautiful abstract painting of 
constantly-changing colours. One evening on Mandalay Hill, the spectators were
so moved by the experience that they broke into spontaneous applause. At that
moment, 
I could not help feeling that, in spite of all our troubles, we do live in a
wonderful world.
		Professor Tommy Koh is the executive director of the Asia-Europe 
Foundation.
 
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