Air Mandalay and KBZ Airlines are the regional airlines that operate daily commercial flights between the country’s commercial capital Yangon and the coastal town of Sittwe, which is the capital of the Rakhine state or region. Flights are operating at full capacity. Travellers often have to book early to avoid being bumped off the flight. A big harbour is currently under construction while the tourism season is expected to start soon after the monsoon rains.
Due to its strategic position, residents are optimistic that upon completion the sea port will propel the economy of the town and the region as a whole. Both Rakhine State government and the Union government must make greater efforts to improve Sittwe’s infrastructure to take advantage of the port and tourism. The town can definitely do with new buildings in place of the dilapidated structures currently occupying prime land. There are numerous bicycles, tricycles, motorbikes and strange-looking cargo-carrying contraptions mounted with noisy 2-stroke engines that the resident businesspeople and builders use to ferry all manner of heavy goods from point to point. The nondescript moving machines are operated by sweaty mean-looking men who shout and curse whenever a biker or pedestrian strays into the path of the noisy machines. Instant braking is not one of their strong points and any attempt to bring one to a sudden halt is an exercise in futility if not suicidal. If you have been to a construction site and seen the yellow weather-beaten concrete mixer machine then you will appreciate what I’m talking about. Out of curiosity, I learn that the machines are an old Chinese innovation. I have henceforth baptized them “Sittwe Cruiser” in honour of the hardworking people of Sittwe.
In Sittwe and in most of Myanmar, bicycles, tricycles, motorbikes and 3-wheeled scooters are the preferred means of transportation. Every family has at least 2 bikes. Gender-mainstreaming is evident as a significant percentage of riders are female. I once found myself marvelling at the sight of an old lady holding an umbrella with one hand, her handbag safely tucked under her armpit while delicately balancing and riding her motorbike with one hand! That brought back painful memories of the time when I was learning how to ride a bike; I crashed against a tree as I attempted to steer dad’s precious “Black mamba” bike using one hand. Witnesses to this grand incident had a whole week’s dose of laughter and that marked the end of my association with bikes. Up ‘til now, my prowess with bikes is nothing to brag about.
One other interesting thing about Myanmar is that most men have tattoos on their bodies. They proudly display them for all to see and I’m not sure if having a tattoo is a rite of some kind? I cannot say with any degree of authority if the ladies also have them because they show no skin here in Sittwe.
Another significant observation is that the people of Myanmar love their beer. The country has its own brands of locally produced beer which have competed internationally and won trophies, bringing plenty of joy and pride to the country. Despite the seemingly high consumption of alcohol, you will not see any acts of misbehaviour or recklessness that East African imbibers are known for. The people simply drink and quietly retreat to their homes just in time to beat the strictly enforced 10pm curfew deadline. Woe unto you if you are found in the streets during the curfew hours. Even the two main tourist hotels have to close their doors at 10pm, much to the chagrin of adventurous westerners.
Walking down the streets of Sittwe, Yangon and perhaps all other towns in Myanmar, you will obviously notice lots of red spatter on the pedestrian walkways, bus stops, traffic junctions – everywhere. This has got to be the most unhygienic pastime activity anywhere in the world, perhaps only rivalling the disgusting throat-clearing procedure that is common place among the inhabitants of the Horn of Africa region. One needs to tread the streets very carefully to avoid stepping on the red sputum as residents continue chewing beet-nut with garlic and tobacco, all wrapped in beet-nut leaves and freely spitting as if in a competition.
Like all other places in the world, the food here is a bit different to what your mum has been cooking and serving you since childhood. It has taken a while for my taste buds to adapt to some of the local delicacies. For instance, this is probably the only place where popcorn is sugared rather than being salted like we are all used to! And while still on the food subject, I can proudly announce that after several disastrous attempts, I have finally mastered the art of using chop sticks .
I find the people of Sittwe to be exceedingly warm and friendly to visitors. They will go out of their way to ensure maximum comfort and convenience for the town’s visitors. How best can I illustrate this than through the VIP treatment I was accorded when I sought help to fix my malfunctioning laptop! One computer shop owner actually gave me a fully licensed Windows 7 CD to try and repair my installation overnight. Though the CD didn’t fix my problem, I was ready to pay for keeping it overnight but the owner wouldn’t take my money! He was more sympathetic with me upon learning that I would be staying in town for long – without the benefit of using my laptop. A couple of blocks later, I entered another computer shop where a very friendly technician did a thorough diagnosis of my machine, identified the problem and proceeded to fix it in less than an hour! The Nairobian in me was ready to pay through my nose, so you can imagine my pleasant surprise when the guy flatly refused to accept payment, even as I offered a 20 US$ as token to compensate for his time.
It is a shame that Kenya doesn’t have diplomatic relationships with Myanmar, yet the two countries can learn a lot from each other.
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