It’s true. Myanmar (Burma for those not in the know) is like a giant time machine. And I’m stuck in it.
We got here on the 21st and were expecting to leave this morning, the 2nd of December, at 8:30am. Oddly enough, I find myself in a cyber cafe in Yangon, Myanmar at 7:30pm on the same day.
PAD supporters took over the Bangkok Internationl Airport a week ago and peacefully shut it down. No flights in or out for a week. Didnt seem like a problem at the time… we still had 5 days until our flight back to Bangkok… plenty of time to clean the mess up. It’s now a week later and the protest was JUST called off a few hours ago as Prime Minister Somchai and his government was found guilty of election fraud.
As it stands, I’ve heard reports of the airport in Bangkok opening as early as the 4th and as late as the 15th. Our flight got rescheduled for Saturday the 6th so opening on the 4th sounds really quite splendid at the moment. That gives us a 2 day buffer… not too bad.
I’d really like to leave Myanmar. This country is beatiful and FULL of culture… but it’s so corrupt that it makes me really sad. It’s like a time machine. The government has blocked it off from contact with the outside world so badly that it seems like the 1980s around here. All the music is ripped of songs from America sung in Burmese instead of English. Power goes out at least 20 times a day, and the internet is blocked from such awefully political sites as Hotmail and Gmail.
Sadly, once you see all the sites, there isnt a whole lot to do. Especially in the capital of Yangon. It’s going to be a painful 4 days until our flight MIGHT fly. The next few days will be spent trying to find an escape route that is free of drug trafficking and shitty, over packed busses.
Hopefully something works out soon. I’m really looking forward to getting some crispy golden brown skin (kinda like the Christmas turkey) on Philippines beaches while drinking frosty cold, cheap, Philippino beers. Thats our last little vacation time on this trip. Myanmar brought the culture. Philippines is bringing the beaches and beers. I hope things work out.