Globe Trekker (1994) s16e05 Episode Script
Myanmar
1 ANNOUNCER: FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY SUBARU.
AT SUBARU, WE BUILD VEHICLES LIKE THE RUGGED OUTBACK WITH SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE STANDARD AND PLENTY OF CARGO SPACE, FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
" MEGAN: EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE, DRAMATIC HISTORY, AND A SPECTACULAR LANDSCAPE ALL COME TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A COUNTRY THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO STAY FOREVER.
OFTEN KNOWN AS THE HERMIT STATE OF ASIA, IT'S SITUATED AMONG SOME OF THE MOST VISITED COUNTRIES ON THE CONTINENT, YET ITS MILITARY DICTATORSHIP HAS LEF ITS PEOPLE ISOLATED AND THEIR VOICES MUTED.
WITH THE RECEN SHIFT IN GOVERNMENT, THE STAGE HAS BEEN SET FOR CHANGE, AND THE COUNTRY IS OPENING UP.
THIS IS MYANMAR! MYANMAR, PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS BURMA, IS LOCATED ON THE BAY OF BENGAL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, SURROUNDED BY THAILAND, NORTHEAST INDIA, AND CHINA.
MY JOURNEY STARTS IN YANGON, THE GATEWAY TO MYANMAR.
NEXT, I FLY NORTH TO THE SHAN STATE, VISITING INLE LAKE AND THE IMPERIAL TOWN OF HSIPAW.
I THEN TAKE THE TRAIN 200 KILOMETERS WEST TO THE ANCIEN CAPITAL OF MANDALAY.
I CONTINUE WEST INTO THE CHIN HILLS TO MINDAT BEFORE HEADING SOUTH TO THE FAMOUS BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN BAGAN.
I END MY JOURNEY IN THE COASTAL TOWN OF THANDWE.
THIS ONCE SEGREGATED LAND WAS HOME TO NUMEROUS KINGDOMS.
IT'S NOW AS VAST AS TEXAS AND 30% BIGGER THAN NEIGHBORING THAILAND.
IT HAS A POPULATION OF AROUND 59 MILLION PEOPLE AND EVEN HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE AND ANCIENT SCRIPT.
MYANMAR IS DYNAMIC, IT'S ASPIRATIONAL, IT HAS AN INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED PAST, BUT IT'S CHANGING DRAMATICALLY RIGHT NOW.
ITS FUTURE IS WIDE OPEN.
THE BEST PLACE TO GET A SENSE OF ALL THIS IS HERE IN YANGON.
SORRY.
YANGON IS THE GATEWAY TO MYANMAR, BUT WAS DEMOTED FROM BEING CAPITAL IN 2005.
THIS APPEARS TO BE ROUTINE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN 21 DIFFERENT CAPITAL CITIES OVER THE PAST 14 CENTURIES.
WHEN THE BRITISH COLONIZED THE COUNTRY, THEY ANGLICIZED MANY KEY TOWNS AND CITIES.
AMONGST OTHERS, YANGON WAS NAMED RANGOON.
EVEN WHAT TO CALL THE COUNTRY REMAINS CONFUSING.
THE BRITISH CALLED IT BURMA, AFTER THE BAMAR MAJORITY, BUT IN 1989, THE MILITARY JUNTA CHANGED ITS NAME TO THE UNION OF MYANMAR.
THE COUP IN 1962 SAW THE MILITARY TAKING CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY.
OVER 20 YEARS LATER, THE ELECTIONS WERE OFFICIALLY WON BY THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY, LED BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI.
BUT THE MILITARY PREVENTED THEM FROM TAKING POWER.
IN A SHOW OF SUPPORT, MOS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MILITARY RULING OR THE COUNTRY'S NEW NAME UNTIL RECENTLY.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE TO SEE HER IMAGE ALL AROUND TOWN.
THIS IS AUNG SAN SUU KYI.
SHE WAS UNDER HOUSE ARREST HERE FOR 18 OF THE LAST 23 YEARS.
SHE WAS ONLY RELEASED IN 2010.
AFTER THAT, SHE'S SLOWLY BEING INTEGRATED INTO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COUNTRY APPEARS TO BE LOOSENING ITS DIVISIVE GRIP AND OPENING UP TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
AUNG SAN SUU KYI IS STILL THOUGHT TO CALL THE COUNTRY BURMA IN PRIVATE, BUT WHA DO PEOPLE AROUND HERE THINK? WHAT SHOULD WE CALL THE COUNTRY? MYANMAR, BURMA? WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? MAN: DEFINITELY MYANMAR.
MEGAN: DEFINITELY? WHY DEFINITELY? MAN: BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR NAME, EVERYBODY REFERS TO MYANMAR, LIKE THEY SEEM TO CONNECT BETTER.
MAN 2: MYANMAR'S WHAT IT'S KNOWN AS.
MYANMAR IS THE GEOGRAPHY.
BURMA IS THAT PAR THAT BRITAIN COLONIZED.
AND THE GEOGRAPHY INCLUDES THE SHAN STATES, THE KACHIN, THE KAREN, THE CHIN, ALL OF THEM.
THEY TOGETHER MAKE MYANMAR.
BURMA IS JUS THAT PART COLONIZED, AND IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
MAN 3: I USE THE NAMES INTERCHANGEABLY, BOTH MYANMAR AND BURMA, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE'RE A AND MAYBE WHO WE'RE SPEAKING WITH.
WOMAN: THE NAME MYANMAR HAS BEEN ON RECORD AS A NAME OF MY COUNTRY SINCTHE 13th CENTURY.
THE WORDS "MYANMAR COUNTRY" ARE THERE, SET IN STONE, AND WRITTEN IN ARCHAIC BURMESE.
MEGAN: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WE MAY HAVE FOUND THE WINNER FOR MOST HISTORICALLY ACCURATE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION! EVEN IF YOU ADOPT THE NEWLY APPOINTED "MYANMAR," IT'S HARD NOT TO BE IMPRESSED BY THE LEGACY LEFT BY THE BRITISH.
THE BUILDINGS MAY HAVE ORIGINALLY HAD INTERNATIONAL PRESTIGE AND FOREIGN RESIDENTS, BUT AS THE WEALTH OF THE CITY DECLINED, SO TOO DID THE BUILDINGS.
MANY OF THEM ARE NOW GOVERNMENT OFFICES OR HOME AND LIVELIHOOD TO THE BURMESE.
THE STRAND ROAD RUNS PARALLEL TO THE RIVER AND IS VERY NEAR THE JETTIES.
SO BACK IN THE DAY, THIS WAS THE PREMIUM ADDRESS FOR LEADING MERCHANTS.
NOW ALL OF THOSE BUSINESSES ARE GONE, BUT A FEW OF THE BUILDINGS REMAIN.
THE STRAND HOTEL IS ONE OF THEM, AND I AM LUCKY TO JOIN THE RANKS OF GEORGE ORWELL, KIPLING AND A ROCKEFELLER, IN STAYING THERE.
THERE, IT'S BEAUTIFUL, RIGHT? NOW TO CROSS THE ROAD.
I GOT THIS, I GOT THIS! BUILT BY THE LEGENDARY ARMENIAN SARKIES BROTHERS IN 1901, IT WAS AIMED A THE WORLD'S RICH ARRIVING IN THE COUNTRY BY CRUISE SHIP, AND IS STILL MYANMAR'S MOST FAMOUS HOTEL.
IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY THE SARKIES BROTHERS WANTED THIS PLACE.
IT'S ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE RIVER, SO ITS LOCATION WAS FANTASTIC, AND THE BUILDING ITSELF IS SO GRAND.
HOWEVER, IT WAS A GUEST HOUSE AT THE TIME, AND THE OWNER DID NOT WANT TO SELL IT.
AFTER HIS DEATH, THE SARKIES ACQUIRED IT AND TURNED I INTO "THE" PLACE TO BE IN TOWN.
AS TRADERS AND MERCHANTS, THE SARKIES BROTHERS RECOGNIZED THE IMPACT THE OPENING OF THE SUEZ CANAL WOULD HAVE ON TRADE IN ASIA.
HAVING ALREADY OPENED A HOTEL IN PENANG AND THEN THE FAMOUS RAFFLES IN SINGAPORE, RANGOON WAS NOW IN THEIR SIGHTS.
AAH, THIS IS MY FOYER! WOMAN: YEAH.
MEGAN: WHAT, WHAT, WHAT? THIS IS MY DESK SO I CAN PRETEND I WAS LIKE GEORGE ORWELL, SITTING HERE.
KIPLING, PERHAPS? I'VE ONLY JUST ARRIVED, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FRIENDS.
IF I'M FEELING LONELY IN THIS VAST SPACE, CAN I CALL YOU AND WE CAN JUST HANG OUT TOGETHER? WOMAN: YES, YES, YOU CAN CALL ANYTIME.
MEGAN: THAT WOULD BE NICE.
I'M A LITTLE OVERWHELMED.
WELL AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE PLACE IS NOW, THE HOTEL DEFINITELY FELL INTO DECLINE FOR MANY YEARS.
APPARENTLY, DURING WORLD WAR II, THE JAPANESE TOOK OVER THE HOTEL AND ACTUALLY STABLED THEIR HORSES AT THE BAR.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? THERE ISN'T JUST ONE COLONIAL BUILDING WITH A STORY TO TELL.
THERE ARE SO MANY THAT IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHERE TO START.
TO HELP ME, I'M MEETING FOUNDER OF THE YANGON HERITAGE TRUST, THANT MYINT-U.
THANT: AROUND CHRISTMAS 1941, THIS BUILDING SUFFERED A DIREC JAPANESE BOMB HIT, AND IT WAS NEVER REPAIRED.
MOST OF THE BUILDINGS YOU SEE HERE GO BACK TO THE LATE 19th, EARLY 20th CENTURY.
RANGOON WAS BUIL AS A BRITISH CITY, IT WAS BUILT IN BRITISH TIMES.
THE POPULATION IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY WAS ABOUT 80% INDIAN.
SO IN MANY WAYS, WHAT YOU SEE HERE WAS NOT A BURMESE LANDSCAPE UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.
MEGAN: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COLONIAL DAYS, THAT ERA THAT SO AFFECTED YOUR COUNTRY? THANT: YEAH, IT'S VERY MIXED.
THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL PLURAL SOCIETY WHERE YOU HAD ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE CHINESE, INDIANS, EUROPEANS, BURMESE, ALL MIXED TOGETHER.
MANY PEOPLE STILL HAVE A VERY BITTER SORT OF SENSE OF, OF COLONIAL HISTORY AND, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE TIMES.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK THAT THESE BUILDINGS ARE NOT JUST SORT OF COLONIAL BUILDINGS.
I MEAN, THEY WERE BUIL IN THE COLONIAL ERA, BUT THAT THIS WHOLE AREA WAS REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF, OR IS AN IMPORTANT PAR OF BURMESE HISTORY.
MEGAN: SO HOW DO YOU SEE THIS CITY DEVELOPING? THANT: I THINK THE NEXT FEW YEARS IS GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL.
MEGAN: RIGHT.
THANT: THIS WAS A CITY THA STAGNATED FOR A LONG TIME UNDER MILITARY RULE, UNDER VERY ISOLATIONIST POLICIES, UNDER WESTERN SANCTIONS.
NOW ALL OF THOSE THINGS, WE HOPE, ARE, ARE FADING AWAY, AND A LOT OF MONEY'S GOING TO COME INTO THIS ECONOMY.
THE ECONOMY'S ALMOS CERTAINLY GOING TO GROW, AND THE CITY COULD GO IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
IT COULD GO IN THE DIRECTION OF MANY ASIAN CITIES, OR I THINK IF WE PRESERVE A LOT OF THIS ARCHITECTURE, PRESERVE SOME OF THE OPENNESS AND GREEN SPACES, RENOVATE THESE OLD BUILDINGS, IT COULD BECOME ONE OF THE NICEST CITIES IN ALL OF ASIA.
MEGAN: WELL, I HOPE SO.
I HOPE I COME BACK IN A FEW YEARS, AND, AND I FEEL THIS REVITALIZATION THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
ONE COLONIAL BUILDING SE TO BE REDEVELOPED IS THE SECRETARIAT, WHICH TAKES UP AN ENTIRE CITY BLOCK.
THIS WAS THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND WHERE NATIONAL HERO GENERAL AUNG SAN WAS ASSASSINATED JUS MONTHS BEFORE INDEPENDENCE.
THERE ARE SO MANY MORE BUILDINGS LEFT FROM THE COLONIAL ERA THAN I ACTUALLY IMAGINED.
THIS ONE WAS CALLED THE PEGU CLUB, AND IT WAS A BRITISH CLUB, HAD 350 MEMBERS, AND IT WAS EXTREMELY EXCLUSIVE BACK IN THE DAY.
AND IT CERTAINLY SPEAKS TO A BYGONE ERA.
CONSTRUCTED IN 1882 AND MADE PREDOMINANTLY OF TEAK, THE PEGU CLUB IS ONE OF THE OLDEST BRITISH BUILDINGS STILL STANDING IN YANGON.
IT WAS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE REAL SEAT OF POWER IN THE COUNTRY, AND MEMBERSHIP WAS STRICTLY LIMITED TO FOREIGNERS.
IT WAS HERE THAT THE PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL WAS INVENTED.
IT WENT ON TO BECOME A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.
WELL, THEY MAY HAVE MADE A MEAN COCKTAIL, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE DRINK THE BRITS ARE MOST WELL KNOWN FOR.
TEA, PLEASE DID I COMMUNICATE THAT WELL? IT'S MY FIRST DAY.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
IT'S ALL ABOUT TEA, AND COLONIAL BURMA WAS NO EXCEPTION.
60 YEARS LATER, AFTERNOON TEA IS STILL VERY POPULAR, AND IN YANGON, TEA SHOPS ARE AS COMMON AS THE COLONIAL-ERA BUILDINGS.
THANK YOU.
TEA! OOH, AND SWEET! CONDENSED MILK, LOTS OF SUGAR! AH, HOT TEA ON A HO DAY, NOTHING BETTER.
BEHIND THESE GATES IS ONE OF THE MOST SACRED PLACES FOR BUDDHISTS IN MYANMAR IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
THEY ALL HOPE TO VISIT HERE AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.
AND I HEAR THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO SEE IT IS AT DUSK.
GOT TO REMEMBER, PAGODA ETIQUETTE: SHOES OFF, SHOULDERS COVERED.
BUDDHISM HAS EXISTED IN THE COUNTRY SINCE THE 6th CENTURY B.
C.
SINCE THEN, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SEEKING ENLIGHTENMENT, A STATE OF NIRVANA, FREE FROM WORLDLY SUFFERING.
IT IS SO POPULAR IN MYANMAR THAT THERE IS A HIGHER PROPORTION OF MONKS HERE THAN IN ANY OTHER BUDDHIST COUNTRY, AND BUDDHISTS MAKE UP AT LEAS 80% OF THE BURMESE POPULATION.
LEGEND HAS IT THA OVER 2,500 YEARS AGO, TWO MERCHANTS FROM MYANMAR TRAVELED TO INDIA, WHERE THEY ME THE BUDDHA HIMSELF.
THEY GAVE HIM AN OFFERING OF HONEY CAKES.
HE GAVE THEM 8 STRANDS OF HIS HAIR.
THEY RETURNED TO THEIR COUNTRY AND PRESENTED IT TO THE KING, WHO HAD THEM ENSHRINED HERE.
BUDDHISTS HERE BELIEVE THA THE GREATER THE VALUE OF YOUR OFFERING, THE MORE MERIT YOU WILL GARNER FOR THE NEXT LIFE.
IN THE 15th CENTURY, THE KING PROVIDED HIS OWN WEIGH IN GOLD LEAF TO BE ADDED TO THE STUPA, STARTING THE TRADITION OF GILDING THIS SACRED MONUMENT.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN PERSONAL BUDDHA TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO HERE.
AROUND THE GOLDEN STUPA THERE ARE 8 BUDDHAS WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE ANIMALS, EACH REFERRING TO A DAY OF THE BUDDHIST WEEK.
PART OF THE CUSTOM HERE IS THAT YOU MAKE AN OFFERING AT A PLACE THAT REPRESENTS THE DAY THAT YOU WERE BORN, AND YOU POUR 5 CUPS OF WATER MARKING THE 5 PRECEPTS.
THE FIRST ONE IS AN OFFERING TO BUDDHA.
THE SECOND ONE IS AN OFFERING FOR DHARMA, WHICH ARE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS.
THE THIRD ONE IS FOR SANGHA, WHO ARE THE MONKS.
THE FOURTH ONE IS FOR TEACHERS IN YOUR LIFE, AND THE FIFTH ONE FOR YOUR PARENTS.
THIS IS FOR YOU MOM AND DAD.
YANGON'S RIVERFRON IS AS IMPORTANT TODAY AS IT WAS IN THE COLONIAL ERA.
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, PEOPLE STILL VERY MUCH RELY UPON THE RIVER SYSTEMS, FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOR IRRIGATION, EVEN AS A FOOD SOURCE THROUGH FISHING.
AT 1,350 MILES LONG, THE IRRAWADDY RIVER IS MYANMAR'S LONGES AND MOST IMPORTANT.
STARTING IN THE HIMALAYAS, THE IRRAWADDY RIVER BISECTS MYANMAR AS IT TRAVELS SOUTH, FLOWING OUT INTO THE BAY OF BENGAL VIA THE DELTA REGION, 1,000 SQUARE MILES OF WATERWAYS AND WETLANDS.
RIVER LIFE HAS ALWAYS DOMINATED THE COUNTRY.
THE FIRST INHABITANTS SETTLED ALONG THE IRRAWADDY, AND IT'S STILL THE ANCIENT ARTERY BY WHICH THE COUNTRY LIVES.
I'M TAKING A SHORT ONE-HOUR FLIGHT TO ANOTHER LARGE BODY OF WATER, INLE LAKE.
HELLO.
YOU'RE MA AYE, YES? I'M MEETING MY LOCAL GUIDE FOR THE DAY, MA AYE, WHO IS GOING TO TAKE ME ON A TRIP AROUND THE LAKE.
WHO'S ROCKING THE BOAT? OKAY, I GOT THIS.
OH, A FANCY ONE.
INLE LAKE IS LOCATED IN THE SHAN STATE, WHICH TAKES UP NEARLY A QUARTER OF THE COUNTRY'S LANDMASS.
ORIGINALLY, THERE WERE 4 DOMINANT ETHNIC GROUPS IN MYANMAR: THE PYU, THE MON, THE BAMAR, AND THE SHAN.
THE BAMAR NOW DOMINATE THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY, WHILE THE OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS ARE CONFINED TO THE OUTSKIRTS.
THERE ARE NOW 135 ETHNIC GROUPS HERE, AND INLE LAKE IS ONE OF THE MOST ACCESSIBLE PLACES TO VISIT TO GET A SENSE OF THIS DIVERSITY.
THE SHAN MAKE UP THE MAJORITY IN THIS STATE, BUT THE HILLS AROUND THE LAKE ARE HOME TO AT LEAS 8 DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS.
THE LAKE IS THE TERRITORY OF THE INTHA PEOPLE, WHO MIGRATED FROM SOUTHERN MYANMAR IN THE 18th CENTURY.
WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THE SURROUNDING LAND WAS ALREADY POPULATED, SO THE ONLY PLACE LEFT FOR THEM TO INHABIT WAS THE LAKE ITSELF.
THEY ADAPTED MARVELOUSLY BY BUILDING THESE STILT VILLAGES RIGHT ALONG THE SHORE, AND EVEN CREATING FLOATING VEGETABLE GARDENS.
INGENIOUS.
THE PRODUCE GROWN IN THE FLOATING GARDENS IS SOLD A THE LOCAL MARKET.
ITS LOCATION CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES AND ETHNIC GROUPS.
THAT WONDERFUL AROMA OF DRYING FISH.
THIS IS A GREAT MARKET.
MA AYE: YES.
MEGAN: I LOVE IT.
MA AYE: YEA.
MEGAN: IT'S SO BUSY, BU EVERYBODY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT.
SO THEY'VE ALL COME FROM DIFFERENT TRIBES? MA AYE: YES.
INTHA TRIBE AND PA-OH TRIBE AND SHAN TRIBE.
MEGAN: OH, OKAY.
SO SHE'S WEARING ALL BLACK.
WHERE'S SHE FROM? MA AYE: PA-OH TRIBE.
MEGAN: PA-OH? MA AYE: YEAH.
MEGAN: PA-OH.
LOOK AT THIS BOY! HELLO.
WOMAN: HELLO.
MEGAN: WHAT IS THIS THEY HAVE ON THEIR FACES? MA AYE: THIS IS THANAKA, ANOTHER NAME IS MYANMAR MAKEUP.
FOR BEAUTIFUL AND PROTECTION FROM THE SUNSHINE.
MEGAN: THE LOCAL MARKETS HAVE STARTED TO DRAW IN THE TOURISTS AS WELL AS THE VILLAGERS, AND EVEN THE MOST REMOTE HILL TRIBES FROM THIS AREA HAVE REALIZED THA FOREIGNERS ARE INTERESTED IN THEM AS MUCH AS THE LANDSCAPE.
THE PADAUNG PEOPLE ARE ONE SUCH GROUP.
ORIGINALLY FLEEING TO THAILAND IN 1988 TO ESCAPE FIGHTING BETWEEN BURMESE TROOPS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES, THEY BECAME A MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION.
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
.
HELLO.
FROM BEAUTIFUL WEAVINGS TO THEIR LOCAL DRESS, THE PADAUNG WOMEN ARE STILL FIRM FAVORITES WITH FOREIGNERS.
THEY START WEARING THEIR DISTINCTIVE NECK RINGS FROM THE AGE OF 9, STARTING OUT WITH 14 RINGS AND WORKING THEIR WAY UP TO 24.
THEY PUT THIS ON OVER THEIR HEAD, YEAH? AND THEN THEY TIGHTEN IT UNTIL THE COILS FORM.
AH, THAT'S HEAVY! MA AYE: SO HEAVY.
IT'S MADE OF COPPER.
MEGAN: AND SO THEY DO ONE AT THE BASE AND THEN LIKE THIS? MA AYE: YES.
MEGAN: YES, SHE'S LAUGHING.
DOES IT HURT? MA AYE: THE FIRST WEEK IS A LITTLE BIT HURT, AND THEN SO LONG, THEY CAN EASY.
THEY COMFORTABLE FOR THEM.
DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR YOUR, YOUR NECKLACE? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
THAT WAS AMAZING! HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOU MEETING THE TOURISTS? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MA AYE: SOMETIMES, THEY ARE VERY HAPPY.
SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY SAD, BECAUSE SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE LIKE ANIMAL, SO THEY ARE VERY SAD.
MEGAN: THEY MAY BE LABELED BY SOME AS "GIRAFFE WOMEN" AND "LONG NECK" AND SI IN SHOP ENTRANCES TO DRAW IN FOREIGNERS, BUT I ACTUALLY GE THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY ARE THE ONES HAVING THE LAS LAUGH OUT OF THE TOURIST TRADE.
IT'S AN EASY WAY TO MAKE A LIVING, AND THEY CERTAINLY SEEM HAPPY TO SHOW OFF THEIR TRADITIONAL CULTURE.
I COULD STAY HERE DANCING ALL DAY, BUT THERE'S ONE MORE TRADITION WHICH IS THE REAL HIGHLIGHT OF INLE LAKE, AND THAT'S FISHING.
THE INTHA HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN METHODS, ROWING WITH THEIR LEGS TO FREE BOTH THEIR HANDS TO WORK THE NET.
ASK HIM, "HAS HE CAUGHT ANYTHING?" [SPEAKING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MA AYE: FIVE FISH.
MEGAN: FIVE FISH? THAT'S DINNER FOR AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE.
HOW IS HE NOT FALLING INTO THE WATER WHILE HE FISHES, STEERING WITH HIS LEG? MA AYE: BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS TRADITIONAL.
FISHERMEN FIRST THEY LOOKING FOR THE BUBBLES FROM THE FISH.
THEY CATCH WITH THE LONG BASKET, SO THE FISH CANNOT GO OUTSIDE.
BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE NET INSIDE THE BAMBOO BASKET.
MEGAN: OKAY.
MA AYE: AND THEN THEY USE A SPEAR AND THEY FRIGHTENED THE FISH SO THE FISH CAN GO INTO THE NET.
MEGAN: THAT'S TRADITION, BUT THAT'S PRACTICE.
THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
I'M TRAVELING 300 MILES NORTH TO A SMALL RURAL TOWN THAT WAS ONCE ONE OF THE WEALTHIES AND MOST POWERFUL PLACES IN THE SHAN STATE, HSIPAW.
TRIBAL RIVALRIES HAVE INFLUENCED MYANMAR THROUGHOUT HISTORY, AND THE BEST PLACE IN TOWN TO FIND OUT MORE IS THE ROYAL PALACE, ONE OF THE FEW REMINDERS OF HSIPAW'S IMPERIAL PAST.
THE BAMAR MAJORITY HAS ALWAYS SEEN THE SHAN AS A THREAT, AND THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THEM HAS HAD DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HSIPAW ROYALTY.
I HEAR THAT THE SHAN PALACE OF HSIPAW IS JUST DOWN HERE.
IT LOOKS KIND OF, UH, CLOSED? HELLO? THE TURNING POINT CAME AFTER INDEPENDENCE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT SOUGHT TO SUPPRESS ETHNIC MINORITIES.
HELLO? THE LAST PRINCE OF HSIPAW WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND PROGRESSIVE SHAN RULERS, WITH HIS AUSTRIAN WIFE, INGE, AND HIS WESTERN IDEAS.
HE WAS ARRESTED ON THE EVE OF THE MILITARY COUP IN 1962 AND LATER KILLED IN PRISON.
THE SHAN LEADERS HAVE CONTINUED TO RESIST BAMAR DOMINATION, AND THE GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN HAD IT IN FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THIS PALACE.
FERN? FERN: YES? MEGAN: HELLO.
FERN IS A GUARDIAN OF THE PALACE WITH HER HUSBAND DONALD, A DESCENDEN OF THE HSIPAW PRINCE, AND SHE EXPLAINS TO ME WHAT HAPPENED.
AND SO YOU AND DONALD HAVE BEEN THE CARETAKER FOR THE PALACE? FERN: YES, EVER SINCE 1972 WHEN WE CAME TO LIVE HERE.
FROM '62 UP TO 1995, NO FOREIGNERS WERE ALLOWED.
FROM 1995 UP TO 2005, DONALD AND I, WE WERE RECEIVING TRAVELERS, BECAUSE THEY FOUND OUT SOMEHOW IN TOWN THA THERE'S A PALACE, SO THEY CAME TO VISIT TO SEE THE PALACE.
AND DONALD AND I, WE WELCOMED TRAVELERS, BECAUSE WE LIKE TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE HERE.
WE LEARN ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY, AND TRAVELERS, TOO, THEY LEARN ABOUT OUR COUNTRY.
SO WE'D BEEN RECEIVING TRAVELERS EVERY DAY, EVERY EVENING FOR 10 YEARS.
NO PROBLEM.
MEGAN: NO PROBLEM? FERN: NO PROBLEM.
THERE WAS A PERIOD WHERE I WAS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC? FERN: YES.
MEGAN: YEA.
FERN: THE MILITARY GOVERNMEN DIDN'T WANT ANY TROUBLE FROM THE SHAN LEADERS, BECAUSE THEY WERE PREPARING FOR THE 2010 ELECTION, SO THEY WANTED TO KEEP THE LEADERS QUIET.
THEY WANTED ALL OF THEM IN PRISON.
THEY ACCUSED DONALD OF GIVING INFORMATION TO TRAVELERS.
HE WAS GIVEN 13 YEARS, BUT HE SERVED 4 YEARS.
I HAD TO CLOSE THE GATE BECAUSE THEY USED TOURISM TO ARREST DONALD.
MEGAN: OH, OKAY.
FERN: AND I WAS ONLY IN AUGUST, I OPENED THE GATE TO RECEIVE TRAVELERS.
MEGAN: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE OPENING UP YOUR WORLD AND YOUR GATES AND YOUR HISTORY AGAIN? FERN: THE PRESEN GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING TOURISM AND AUNG SANG SUU KYI, TOO, IS WELCOMING TRAVELERS.
NOW WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO PRESERVE, UH, OUR SHAN HISTORY.
MEGAN: IT'S TIME TO LEAVE HSIPAW, AND THE MOST FUN WAY TO TRAVEL IS BY TRAIN.
WOMAN: WELL, WE FIRST TOOK THE TRAIN, AND IT WAS JUST SO HILARIOUS.
WE WENT INSIDE, AND THE TRAIN STARTED, AND WE REALLY THOUGHT, LIKE, "IS THIS NORMAL, IS THIS NORMAL?" BECAUSE THE TRAIN WAS, LIKE, SHAKING, AND WE WERE LIKE THIS SITTING ON THE SEAT, BUT IT WAS QUITE NORMAL, BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WAS SLEEPING, AND WE WERE LIKE, "OKAY, I THINK THIS IS IT.
" MEGAN: ONE TICKE TO MANDALAY, PLEASE.
MAN: $2.
00.
MEGAN: $2.
00? MAN: YES.
MEGAN: ALTHOUGH I MIGHT BE A SLOWER METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION COMPARED TO CARS AND BUSES, TRAVELING BY TRAIN IS A GREAT WAY TO MEE PEOPLE AND ENJOY THE SCENERY.
A LITTLE CROWDED.
NOTHING I CAN'T HANDLE.
YOU GOT TO BE CAREFUL OF THE BAMBOO, THE WATERMELONS, THE POTATOES.
[GRUNTS.]
I'M TAKING THE TRAIN FOR 7 HOURS, HEADING WEST TO MANDALAY, STOPPING ON THE WAY AT THE BRITISH HILL STATION OF PYIN OO LWIN.
RAIL LINES WERE FIRS INTRODUCED TO MYANMAR IN 1877 WHEN LOWER BURMA WAS A BRITISH COLONY.
THIS IS THE CRAZIEST TRAIN! CONNECTING MYANMAR'S SECOND BIGGEST CITY, MANDALAY, WITH THE BURMA ROAD LEADING INTO CHINA, THIS RAIL LINK IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST USED.
IN 2009, PLANNING STARTED ON A LINK EXTENDING THIS LINE ALL THE WAY INTO CHINA.
WHOA, WHOA! ARE YOU HUNGRY? DO YOU WAN SOME BANANA CHIPS? WOMAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH! MEGAN: PEOPLE ARE SO FRIENDLY.
IT'S REALLY FUN FOR A MISERABLY LONG, DELAYED TRAIN RIDE.
THE GOKTEIK VIADUCT WAS BUILT IN 1901 BY CONTRACTORS FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA STEEL COMPANY.
AH, IT'S REALLY SCARY TO ACTUALLY LOOK DOWN! THAT IS INSANE! IT JUST LOOKS LIKE IT HASN' BEEN MAINTAINED THAT WELL.
THERE'S A WHOLE LO OF CREAKING GOING ON.
AT 318 FEET HIGH AND 2,257 FEET ACROSS, IT WAS THE SECOND HIGHES RAILWAY BRIDGE IN THE WORLD AND REMAINS MYANMAR'S LONGEST.
AFTER SUCH A NERVE-RACKING EXPERIENCE, I DEFINITELY NEED A BREAK FROM THE TRAIN JOURNEY, BUT THIS IS SOMEWHAT BUSIER AND MORE COSMOPOLITAN THAN THE QUAINT BRITISH VILLAGE I WAS EXPECTING.
LET'S SEE THE SIGHTS! I DECIDED TO GET OFF THE TRAIN BEFORE MANDALAY BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE THIS TOWN.
IT'S CALLED PYIN OO LWIN, AND THIS IS WHERE ALL OF THE BRITISH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATORS WOULD COME FOR THEIR SUMMER RETREATS.
SO I THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENT STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE, AND DEFINITELY A DIFFEREN FORM OF TRANSPORTATION.
I'M IN A STAGE COACH! THE BRITISH HOUSES WERE BUILT IN THE TUDOR ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF THE ERA.
THEIR RED BRICK, STEEPLY PITCHED ROOFS, AND EXPOSED TIMBERS GAVE THEM A WONDERFULLY DRAMATIC APPEARANCE.
[SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
THANK YOU! WELL, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY BUMPY DAY, BUT NOW I'M ON MY WAY TO MANDALAY.
MANDALAY IS MYANMAR'S SECOND LARGEST CITY, AND WITH EASY ACCESS TO CHINA, IT IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE "CHINESE CITY.
" IT'S A CURIOUS BLEND OF ANCIENT AND MODERN, AND I'VE ARRIVED JUST IN TIME TO CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE, BURMESE STYLE.
WATER MAY BE A LUXURY IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD, BUT HERE IN MYANMAR, DURING NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS, IT SEEMS TO EXIST PURELY TO BE THROWN AT OTHERS.
OH, NO! PEOPLE KEEP THROWING CUPS OF WATER ON EVERYBODY AROUND, WHICH SYMBOLIZES THE WASHING AWAY OF ALL YOUR BAD DEEDS FROM LAST YEAR, SO YOU CAN START THIS YEAR FRESH! WHOA! IT'S SO LOUD, YOU CAN'T HEAR A THING! ALL BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT'S WHERE IT IS NOW! WATER HAS ALWAYS BEEN VITAL TO LIFE IN MANDALAY.
THE FORMER ROYAL CAPITAL IS SET ON THE EAST BANK OF THE IRRAWADDY RIVER, AND DAWN HERE AT U BEIN BRIDGE IS A POPULAR PLACE TO FIND SOME SERENITY AWAY FROM THE MODERN CENTER.
IT SEEMS EVEN THE LOCAL MONKS AGREE.
ALL BUDDHIST MEN IN MYANMAR ARE EXPECTED TO JOIN A MONASTERY FOR AT LEAST ONE WEEK, AND MOST OF THEM DO THIS BEFORE THEY TURN 13.
ON THE DAY THEY BECOME A NOVICE MONK, THEY WOULD TRADITIONALLY BE PARADED AROUND TOWN ON ELEPHANTS.
THESE DAYS IT'S LIMITED TO HORSEBACK, OR EVEN THEIR FATHER'S BACK! BATHED IN GOLD, THEY ARE DRESSED TO RESEMBLE ROYAL PRINCES.
GOLD IS A VERY IMPORTAN PART OF THE CULTURE HERE, AND THERE ARE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY STILL BEAT THE GOLD IN THE TRADITIONAL MANNER, AND I CAN HEAR IT IN HERE.
[RYTHMIC POUNDING.]
GOLD ARRIVES HERE IN A BLOCK THAT THEY CALL A VIC, WHICH IS 2 KILOGRAMS.
THEY BREAK THAT DOWN INTO A UNIT OF MEASUREMEN CALLED A TICKLE, WHICH IS ABOUT 20 GRAMS.
THEY THEN PUT IT THROUGH A MACHINE THAT MAKES IT THINNER, SO THAT THESE GUYS CAN THEN POUND IT INTO THESE BEAUTIFUL THIN PIECES OF GOLD THAT YOU SEE AROUND TOWN.
MAY I SEE THAT PLEASE? WOW? DO YOU WANT TO SHOW ME? SO THIS IS A PIECE OF BAMBOO, AND THEN IN BETWEEN EACH ONE IS A PIECE OF GOLD.
AND THEY USE THE BAMBOO TO KEEP EACH PIECE FROM STICKING TOGETHER AS THEY SPREAD IT THINNER AND THINNER.
THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF POUNDING TAKES ABOUT 6 1/2 HOURS.
ACTUALLY, I SHOULDN'T SAY "ABOUT" BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY PRECISE ABOUT THIS.
THEY HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE MEASURING SYSTEM.
THERE'S A BOWL IN THE MIDDLE WITH SOME BAMBOO, AND AS THE BAMBOO FILLS UP WITH WATER, THE STICKS SUBMERGES, AND THEY KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN POUNDING THIS ONE PARTICULAR SECTION FOR 15 MINUTES.
AT WHICH POINT, THEY KIND OF, STOP, I HOPE REST A LITTLE BIT, SHIFT IT AROUND, AND THEN KEEP POUNDING SOME MORE.
CAN I SEE HOW HEAVY THAT IS? CAN I SEE, IS THAT OKAY? OH, WOW, ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS REALLY, THAT IS REALLY HEAVY! [BELL RINGS.]
.
MANDALAY'S MOST POPULAR BUDDHIST RELIC IS THE 13-FOO MAHAMUNI BUDDHA STATUE, SO REVERED THAT PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO VISIT IT.
BY PLACING GOLD LEAF ONTO THE BUDDHA STATUE ITSELF, IT'S SEEN AS A WAY TO EARN MERIT.
EARNING MERIT IS A WAY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR NEXT LIFETIME IS BETTER THAN THIS ONE.
SO MUCH GOLD HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE STATUE OVER THE YEARS THAT IT IS NOW 25 CENTIMETERS THICK, AND THE LOWER PART OF THE STATUE LOOKS RATHER LESS DEFINED THAN IT ONCE DID.
I CAN'T ACTUALLY GO UP AND PLACE GOLD LEAF BECAUSE THAT'S RESERVED ONLY FOR MEN, AND THE WOMEN ARE ASKED TO STAY HERE TO PRAY.
WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT GOLD LEAVES ARE INSTEAD ASKED TO PU THEM IN THE DONATION BOX.
MANDALAY LOST ITS IMPERIAL SEAT WHEN IT FELL TO THE BRITISH IN THE THIRD ANGLO-BURMESE WAR IN 1885.
THE GOLDEN ERA WAS OVER.
THE BRITISH EXILED THE KING, KING THIBAW, TO INDIA, WHERE HE DIED IN 1916.
HIS OLD PALACE, NEARLY 1 1/2 MILES SQUARED AND SURROUNDED BY A MOAT, WAS A NATURAL DEFENSIVE LOCATION.
THE BRITISH STATIONED THEMSELVES THERE AND RENAMED IT FORT DUFFERIN.
ANOTHER WAR ENDED BRITISH RULE, BUT THIS TIME, THE REACH AND IMPAC WAS FAR MORE DEVASTATING.
WORLD WAR II HAD ARRIVED IN BURMA.
BY 1942, JAPANESE TROOPS HAD MARCHED THE 400 MILES HERE FROM THE NOW OCCUPIED RANGOON.
THEY FINALLY CAPTURED MANDALAY AFTER BURNING MUCH OF THE CITY.
ONCE THE JAPANESE HAD TAKEN THE FORT FROM THE BRITISH, THEY WERE DETERMINED TO KEEP MANDALAY AT ALL COST.
HELLO! NYI: HELLO, HI.
MEGAN: I'M MEETING AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN NYI SAW MIN, WHO IS AN EXPERT ON THIS ERA.
MOST OF MANDALAY WAS BOMBED DURING THE WAR, INCLUDING ALL THE ORIGINAL WOODEN BUILDINGS OF THIS PALACE.
BUT IT WASN'T JUST MANDALAY'S BUILDINGS BEING DESTROYED.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WERE AT BREAKING POINT, TOO.
NYI: AT THAT TIME, BURMESE PEOPLE HATED BRITISH GOVERNMEN BECAUSE THEY THOUGH THEY MADE THEM SLAVES AND TOOK OVER THEIR COUNTRY.
SO THEY FOUGH AGAINST BRITISH ARMY.
THE JAPANESE, THEY MADE AGREEMENT.
IF BURMESE PEOPLE HELPED THEM TO OCCUPY OUR COUNTRY THEY WILL GIVE US OUR FREEDOM.
SO THEY COLLABORATED WITH JAPANESE.
BUT, THEY GAVE US FAKE INDEPENDENCE.
ALL THE MAIN POINTS ARE CONTROLLED BY THE JAPANESE.
MEGAN: SO AT THAT POINT, WHICH MASTER WAS WORSE, THE BRITISH OR THE JAPANESE? NYI: JAPENSE, YES.
THE BURMESE PEOPLE CAME TO KNOW THE TRUE FEATURES OF FASCISM.
THE JAPANESE TORTURED PEOPLE, EVEN THE BUDDHIST MONKS.
SO BURMESE PEOPLE HATE THEM, SO THEY WANT TO RESIST.
AND THE BURMESE PEOPLE MADE ALLIANCE WITH THE BRITISH ARMY.
BUT MANDALAY PEOPLE ARE VERY KIND AND GENEROUS.
WHEN THE JAPANESE LOST THE WAR IN IMPHAL, MANY OF THE SOLDIERS GOT MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES.
WHEN THEY CROSSED TO MANDALAY, BURMESE PEOPLE HELPED THEM, GAVE THEM FOOD AND CLOTHING.
MEGAN: SO EVEN AFTER ALL THE JAPANESE HAD DONE IN DESTROYING THEIR CITY AND TORTURING THEM, THE BURMESE STILL TOOK THEM IN AND TOOK CARE OF THEM? NYI: YES, THEY CAN EVEN FORGIVE THEIR ENEMY.
MEGAN: IT SOUNDS QUITE BUDDHIST.
NYI: YES, QUITE.
MEGAN: TAKE CARE OF THE SUFFERING.
NYI: SOME OF THE JAPANESE CAME BACK AND MADE A DONATION TO BURMESE PEOPLE.
THEY NEVER FORGE THE GRATITUDE OF OUR PEOPLE.
MEGAN: DESPITE BEING OCCUPIED BY SO MANY FOREIGN POWERS, MANDALAY HAS REINVENTED ITSELF AS THE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF MYANMAR.
5, 6, 7, 8.
ROCK 'N' ROLL! PUPPETS, YES! MANDALAY IS KNOWN FOR PRESERVING THE ART OF PUPPETRY.
IT'S BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR AT LEAST 700 YEARS, BUT IT WAS REALLY IN THE 1800s THAT THIS WAS THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.
THEY WERE THE GREA STORYTELLERS OF THEIR DAY.
LIKE THE RES OF BURMESE CULTURE, ITS PUPPET SHOWS ARE STEEPED IN BUDDHIST FABLES, LEGENDS, AND FOLK TALES.
TRADITIONALLY, A MARIONETTE SHOW WOULD LAST ALL NIGHT, BUT THESE DAYS THE TOURISTS JUST GET THE HIGHLIGHTS.
THE SHOWS WERE NOT ONLY USED TO TEACH THESE STORIES, BUT THE SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS OF THESE PUPPETS HAVE BEEN IMITATED BY PEOPLE OVER THE CENTURIES AND ARE NOW INCORPORATED IN TRADITIONAL BURMESE DANCE.
HELLO, YOU MUS BE MA MA NAING, YES? MA MA NAING: HI, HELLO, GOOD MORNING.
I'M MEETING MA MA NAING, WHO FIRST STARTED THIS THEATER AS A WAY TO INTERAC WITH TOURISTS SHE TELLS ME HOW THE PUPPETS WERE USED TO COMMUNICATE BOTH THE HISTORICAL LEGENDS AND THE COUNTRY'S CURRENT AFFAIRS.
SO THESE ARE YOUR BEAUTIFUL PUPPETS? MA MA NIANG: YES, THE PUPPET TROUPES ALWAYS TRAVEL FROM TOWN TO TOWN, AND THE PUPPETEERS GATHER INFORMATION, EVEN THE LATEST SCANDAL.
MEGAN: EVEN THE LATEST SCANDAL? MA MA NIANG: YES! MEGAN: WOW.
DID THEY PUT THA GOSSIP INTO THE SHOW? AND SO THAT'S HOW INFORMATION SPREAD WAS THROUGH THESE PUPPETS? MA MA NIANG: YES, MARIONETTES BECAME REAL MEN AND WOMEN ACTING IN REAL-LIFE DRAMAS, BECAUSE EACH MARIONETTE WAS POSSESSED BY THE SPIRITS OF ITS MANY TRANSLATORS.
MEGAN: WHILE SHE TELLS ME THIS HISTORY, HER PUPPET IS STILL, LIKE, TALKING TO ME AS WELL.
EVERYTHING SHE'S SAYING, THIS PUPPET IS ACTING.
MA MA NAING HAS AGREED TO GIVE ME A QUICK LESSON IN MAKING THESE AMAZING PUPPETS COME TO LIFE.
MA MA NIANG: THIS HANDLE MUST BE ON THE INDEX FINGER.
MEGAN: OKAY.
MA MA NIANG: IT MUS BE, NO, IT MUST BE HERE.
MEGAN: NO, YOU'RE LAUGHING AT ME! THIS IS MY FIRST DAY, LADY, GIVE ME A BREAK! MA MA NIANG: YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS, LIKE, STRING TO DANCE, HERE, LIKE THIS.
1, 2, 3, YES.
[LAUGHS.]
.
YOUR PUPPE DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT.
MEGAN: NO, NO, I'M VERY SORRY, SPIRIT OF THE PUPPET.
MA MA NIANG: 1, 2, 3, 4.
MEGAN: I GOT IT.
MA MA NIANG: 1, 2, 3, 4.
MEGAN: THIS IS INCREDIBLE, WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
MA MA NIANG: I'M TOO MUCH SWEATING.
MEGAN: THAT'S OKAY, ME TOO.
IT'S HARD WORK BEING A PUPPET MASTER.
TOO HARD FOR ME, SO TONIGHT I'VE OPTED FOR A DIFFERENT FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT, COMEDY.
IT WASN'T JUS PUPPETS THAT WERE USED AS A CLANDESTINE COMMUNICATION WEAPON.
THERE WERE THREE BROTHERS BELONGING TO A THIRD GENERATION OF COMEDIANS THAT USED TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY DOING POLITICAL SATIRE.
THAT IS UNTIL THEY WERE PUT ON THE BLACK LIST FOR PERFORMING.
MAN: WHY IS YOU'RE BURMA HERE? PLEASE TAKE CARE.
I REQUEST, PLEASE DON'T TAKE ANYTHING.
PLEASE DON'T STEAL ANYTHING.
GOVERNMENT, THEY DON'T LIKE COMPETITION.
YEAH.
MEGAN: IN 1996, TWO OF THE TRIO, PAR PAR LEY AND LU ZAW, WERE ARRESTED AND PU IN A FORCED LABOR CAMP.
MAN: PAR PAR LEY, THREE TIMES IN THE SLAMMER, IN THE CLINK.
MEGAN: THEIR ARREST GAINED INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY.
ACTIVISTS, FILMMAKERS, AND HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STARS ALL CAMPAIGNED FOR THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE THEM.
MAN: FOUR YEARS AGO, WE HAVE OVER 2,000 POLITICAL PRISONER.
NOW OVER 1,000 RELEASED.
GAN: THE PRESSURE PAID OFF.
MAN: JENNIFER ANISTON, SHE'S MY SECRET LOVER.
DON'T TELL MY WIFE, OKAY? MEGAN: THE SHOW IS STILL OFFICIALLY BANNED IN PUBLIC, AND THE TRIO ARE NOW WELL KNOWN AS DISSIDENTS.
MAN: I LIKE OBAMA.
OBAMA KISS OUR LEADER, OKAY? NEXT TIME, IF YOU COME TO BURMA, PLEASE DON'T COME ALONE.
YOU BRING YOUR WIFE.
FIRST LADY BRING HERE.
I WANT REVENGE, YEAH? PAYBACK! NOT CHEEK KISS, LIP KISS! [LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE.]
.
AUNG SAN SUU KYI VISIT OUR HOUSE.
SHE WATCH MY PERFORMANCE, 2002.
THERE'S MY BROTHER, PAR PAR LEY.
MEGAN: PAR PAR LEY! MAN: NUMBER ONE MOUSTACHE, PAR PAR LEY! MEGAN: NUMBER ONE! NUMBER ONE MOUSTACHE, PAR PAR LEY! OKAY, LET'S KNOW, WHY DID HE GO TO JAIL? WHY? MAN: FOR SATIRE AND THE SLAPSTICK! MEGAN: SO HE MADE SO MANY JOKES.
ABOUT THE LIFE THA THEY PUT HIM IN PRISON.
WHY DIDN'T YOU GO TO PRISON? MAN: I STAY HERE, I WATCH MY FAMILY, NO MORE, HOLDING THE FORT DOWN HERE.
MEGAN: I WANT TO KNOW.
HOW, WHEN YOU LIVE SUCH A DIFFICULT TIME, A VERY SCARY TIME, HOW COME EVERYBODY'S STILL LAUGHING AND SMILING? MAN: THIS COMEDIAN HEART.
MEGAN: HOW, WHY? MAN: COMEDIAN HEART.
MEGAN: COMEDIAN'S HEART? MAN: YEAH.
MEGAN: I'M NOW HEADING INTO THE CHIN STATE, WHICH BORDERS INDIA AND BANGLADESH, VISITING THE HILL TOP TOWN OF MINDAT.
THE CHIN STATE IS ONE OF THE LEAST DEVELOPED AREAS OF THE COUNTRY, AND TRAVEL HERE WAS RESTRICTED UNTIL RECENTLY.
I'M TRAVELING THE ONLY WAY POSSIBLE BY 4-WHEEL-DRIVE.
EVEN TODAY, YOU STILL NEED A SPECIAL PERMI FROM THE GOVERNMENT, AND TO GET ONE, YOU NEED TO TRAVEL WITH A REGISTERED GUIDE.
MR.
SAW IS THE GO-TO PERSON FOR THE CHIN STATE AND KNOWS MOST PEOPLE IN THE AREA, WHICH IS KEY TO GETTING A REAL SENSE OF THE CULTURE HERE.
YOU CAN NOW VISI ALMOST ALL THE CHIN STATE, BUT MINDAT IS ONE OF THE MORE ACCESSIBLE TOWNS, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING.
THE TOWN IS SPREAD OU ACROSS THE SIDE OF A HILL AND IS SPECTACULAR.
THE CHIN STATE HAS A POPULATION OF 1.
5 MILLION PEOPLE, BUT THEY'RE BROKEN DOWN INTO 52 DIFFERENT SUB-GROUPS, 12 OF WHOM YOU CAN GET TO KNOW HERE IN MINDAT.
I'M MEETING PEOPLE FROM A COUPLE OF THE MORE DISTINCTIVE ONES.
MR.
SAW: THIS IS ONE OF THE LADY.
MEGAN: YES.
MR.
SAW: SHE IS PLAYING THE FLUTE.
MEGAN: YEA.
MR.
SAW: BUT IT'S THE LAS GENERATION FOR THEIR TRIBE.
MEGAN: HOW DOES SHE PLAY? MR.
SAW: OH, BY NOSE.
MEGAN: BY HER NOSE? MR.
SAW: YEAH.
MEGAN: THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
WHY NOT CLAP FOR YOURSELF? HOW OLD WAS SHE WHEN SHE STARTED PLAYING? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MR.
SAW: 18.
MEGAN: SINCE SHE WAS 18? MR.
SAW: YES, 18.
MEGAN: AND WHICH TRIBE IS SHE? MR.
SAW: IT'S MAKHEN.
MEGAN: MAKHEN? MR.
SAW: THE SAME AS YOUR NAME, SIMILAR.
MEGAN: I CAN TRY, YES? [HUMMING MELODY.]
.
I CAN'T DO IT.
ARE YOU IMPRESSED? I THINK I HAVE TO LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY CHRONICLES FROM CHINA FROM THE 8th CENTURY THA TELL OF THE PU PEOPLE, AND ESPECIALLY NOTE THA THEIR WOMEN HAD TATTOOED FACES.
ONE THING THAT IS INCREDIBLE ABOUT VISITING THIS AREA IS THAT ASPECTS OF THEIR LIVES HAVE NOT CHANGED IN CENTURIES.
THESE WOMEN ARE ALL FROM THE MUNN TRIBE, DISTINGUISHED BY THE HALF-MOON SHAPES ON THEIR CHEEKS.
MR.
SAW SAID I WAS INVITED TO DINNER, BUT I DIDN'T REALIZE IT MEANT THAT I WOULD DO PART OF THE COOKING.
[LAUGHING.]
.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE COOKING A BEEF DISH, WITH LOTS OF FLAVOR TO IT.
THERE'S GINGER, GARLIC.
SHE'S TAKING MY JOB AWAY BECAUSE SHE'S DISSATISFIED, I DO BELIEVE, WITH MY GARLIC PEELING EFFORTS.
AND SOME KIND OF HERB.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
PREP DONE, INGREDIENTS IN THE PAN, NOW IT'S TIME TO RELAX.
WHAT KIND OF WINE IS THIS? MR.
SAW: IT'S MADE OF MILLET.
MEGAN: MILLET WINE? [LAUGHING.]
.
OH! LEGEND STATES THAT THE WOMEN FIRST STARTED TATTOOING THEIR FACES TO MAKE THEMSELVES UNATTRACTIVE AS PROTECTION FROM SLAVERY AND FOR IDENTIFICATION IF THEY WERE CAPTURED.
IT'S VERY SWEE AND VERY STRONG.
THEIR PERCEPTION HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE YEARS.
THIS SYMBOL, DOES THIS MEAN SOMETHING, THE SHAPE? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MR.
SAW: THE SPO AND THE LINE HERE, THIS DEPENDS ON HER WISHES.
MEGAN: WHY DID SHE DO THE TATTOOS, OR WHY DO THEY? MR.
SAW: THEY THOUGH THAT THEY'RE PRETTY FACE.
MEGAN: YES.
HOW OLD ARE THEY WHEN THEY HAVE THE TATTOO THE FIRST TIME? MR.
SAW: AT THE AGE OF 10 YEARS.
MEGAN: AT 10 YEARS OLD, YES? DO THEY STILL GIVE THE TATTOO TO THEIR CHILDREN? THEY DON'T WAN THEIR FUTURE GENERATION, NO MORE TATTOO ON THEIR FACE.
NO MORE HURT.
AFTER A FEW TOO MANY WINES, IT'S NOW TIME FOR SOME MUSIC AND DANCING.
THEN IT'S TIME TO ENJOY THE SPOILS OF OUR LABOR.
THE DINING ETIQUETTE AROUND HERE SEEMS TO BE THA YOU WILL EAT, WHETHER YOU WANT TO OR NOT.
THEY ALL JUST CAME OU AND THEY STARTED PUTTING FOOD IN PEOPLE'S MOUTHS.
FOR ME? I EAT IT? THANK YOU.
WOW, THAT'S DELICIOUS.
YOUR TURN! THEN IT'S DANCE UNTIL YOU DROP.
IT'S ANOTHER LONG 4-WHEEL-DRIVE JOURNEY TO REACH MY NEXT DESTINATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE MORE FUN ON THESE BUMPY ROADS.
I'M HEADING TO THE SITE OF THE FAMOUS ANCIEN CIVILIZATION, BAGAN.
BAGAN IS A TOP VISITOR'S DESTINATION IN MYANMAR.
NOW, TO SEE THE PLACE, YOU CAN TAKE AN AIR CONDITIONED MINIBUS, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE BECAUSE IT CAN BE OVER 100 DEGREES IN THE HEAT.
OR IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET LOST, YOU CAN TAKE ONE OF THESE.
YOU ARE MY GUIDE, YES? MIMIN: YES, MY NAME IS MIMIN.
MEGAN: MIMIN, NICE TO MEET YOU.
MIMIN: NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
MEGAN: SHALL WE? HELLO.
MAN: HELLO.
[SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MEGAN: FROM THE 9th TO 13th CENTURIES A.
D.
, THIS WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM OF PAGAN.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRS KINGDOM TO UNITE THE COUNTRY.
BUDDHISM FIRST TOOK HOLD IN THE 11th CENTURY WHEN THE KING WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS BROUGH OVER FROM SRI LANKA.
HE GAVE ALL HIS SUBJECTS AN ULTIMATUM, CONVERT TO BUDDHISM OR LEAVE THE KINGDOM.
BAGAN IS NOW HOME TO THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN THE WORLD, DESPITE THE FACT THA IN THE 13th CENTURY, THE MONGOLS, LED BY KUBLAI KHAN, INVADED AND DESTROYED MUCH OF THE SURROUNDING AREA.
FOR MANY YEARS, PEOPLE LIVED HERE JUST AMONG THESE INCREDIBLE PAGODAS AND TEMPLES? MIMIN: YES, YOU'RE RIGHT.
THE OLDEN DAY, ALL THE PEOPLE LIVED AROUND THIS AREA.
MEGAN: HOW MANY TEMPLES ARE HERE, ALL IN ALL? MIMIN: 2,200 SOMETHING PAGODAS ARE STILL STANDING NOW HERE.
MEGAN: ONLY 2,000, THAT'S ALL.
THAT'S NOT MANY.
THAT'S A LOT.
MIMIN: YES.
THE OLDEN DAY ALMOST OVER 4,000.
MEGAN: WERE ALL OF THESE BUILT BY THE KING? MIMIN: NOT ONLY KINGS.
SOME ARE MADE BY THE QUEENS AND THEIR ROYAL FAMILY.
THE OTHER SMALL PAGODAS AND TEMPLES ARE MADE BY NORMAL PEOPLE.
MEGAN: AND THAT WAS A THING OF HONOR TO BUILD A TEMPLE? MIMIN: YES.
MEGAN: IT'S A PRETTY MAGICAL PLACE TO LIVE.
MIMIN: YEAH, YOU CAN IMAGINE, YES.
MEGAN: ANANDA IS AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF BAGAN'S ARCHITECTURE.
RICH IN DECORATIVE DETAIL, THIS TEMPLE EVEN HAS TWO ORIGINAL STANDING WOODEN IMAGES OF BUDDHA FROM THE 11th CENTURY.
THAT IS INCREDIBLE, WOW.
MIMIN: IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL ONE.
MEGAN: VERY BEAUTIFUL.
EVERYBODY LOVES THIS ONE.
MIMIN: SURE.
MEGAN: EVERYBODY'S HERE TO SEE.
MIMIN: THAT'S WHY THEY CAME.
MEGAN: THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY.
VISIBLE FROM ALL OVER BAGAN, DHAMMAYANGI IS THE LARGEST AND ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TEMPLES HERE.
MIMIN: THERE WAS A EARTHQUAKE IN 1975.
ALL THE MONUMEN WAS COLLAPSED, BUT THIS ONE, NO COLLAPSED.
THE KING, HE DOESN'T WAN ANY GAP BETWEEN THE TWO BRICKS, AND HE MADE STRONG DECISION TO HIS WORKER.
IF HE SEES SOME GAP, HE WILL CUT ALL THE FINGERS FROM THE WORKER.
MEGAN: ARE YOU SERIOUS? IF HE SEES A GAP? MIMIN: VERY SERIOUS, YES.
MEGAN: OFF WITH YOUR FINGERS? MIMIN: YES.
DURING THE CONSTRUCTION TIME, THE KING DIED.
THE WORKER, THEY DIDN'T CONTINUES TO COMPLETE THE TEMPLE.
AND NOBODY CAME IN TO FINISH IT.
SO IT'S AS ORIGINAL AS IT WAS.
IN THE 12th CENTURY? MIMIN: YES, 12th CENTURY, YES.
MEGAN: WOW.
MIMIN: UNESCO PROTECTED THIS ONE, BECAUSE THE MOS IMPORTANT PAGODA IN BAGAN.
MEGAN: ORIGINAL OR RESTORED, THESE TEMPLES ARE AN INCREDIBLE LEGACY OF THE RISE OF BUDDHISM IN MYANMAR.
TRAVELING AROUND MYANMAR HAS BEEN INTENSE, SO I'M HEADING 600 MILES SOUTH FOR SOME R & R AT THE COASTAL TOWN OF THANDWE.
WITH MANY OF ITS ETHNIC GROUPS MIGRATING FROM NORTHERN INDIA, THE RAKHINE STATE HAS ITS OWN CULTURAL IDENTITY.
ASIDE FROM A BRIEF PERIOD WHERE THE RAKHINE FELL UNDER THE DOMINANCE OF BAGAN, THIS WAS AN AUTONOMOUS REGION UNTIL INDEPENDENCE.
PEOPLE HERE DON' CONSIDER THEMSELVES BURMESE.
BUT I'M HERE FOR NGAPALI BEACH, AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO TRAVEL THAN BY BOAT? THIS PART OF THE COASTLINE IS SET ON THE BAY OF BENGAL, AND THE ENTIRE AREA IS DOTTED WITH SMALL FISHING VILLAGES.
IT IS STILL DEVELOPING, BUT WITH NEARLY 1,400 MILES OF COASTLINE IN THIS COUNTRY, I'M SURE THE FEELING OF BEING IN A SECLUDED HAVEN WILL BE SUSTAINED FOR A WHILE YET.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE! THE THING ABOUT MYANMAR HAVING BEEN SO SHUT OFF FOR SO LONG IS THA PLACES LIKE THIS ARE STILL RELATIVELY UNSPOILED.
THIS IS APPARENTLY THE MOST DEVELOPED PART, AND IT STILL LOOKS PRISTINE TO ME.
MYANMAR.
ON THE ONE HAND, THE COUNTRY IS OPENING UP.
ON THE OTHER, THERE ARE STILL LARGE AREAS THAT ARE RESTRICTED TO FOREIGNERS AND IN SERIOUS CONFLICT.
BUT, THAT SAID, THERE IS A FEELING HERE THAT THINGS ARE CHANGING FOR THE BETTER, AND I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT THAT CONTINUES.
ANNOUNCER: STAY TUNED FOR A SPECIAL "GLOBE TREKKER" EXTRA.
FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY SUBARU.
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SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
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PROGRAMS FROM THE "GLOBE TREKKER" SERIES ARE AVAILABLE ON DVD, OR VISI GLOBETREKKERCHANNEL.
TV TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN WATCH US ONLINE.
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COM.
MEGAN: THIS IS BOROBUDUR.
IT'S ONE OF THE HOLIEST SITES IN BUDDHISM, AND JAVA'S NUMBER ONE TOURIST DESTINATION.
BOROBUDUR IS A 3-TEMPLE COMPLEX MADE OF VOLCANIC ROCK.
THE MAIN BUILDING IS A COLOSSAL MULTI-TIERED BUDDHIST STUPA.
IT WAS BUILT IN THE 9th CENTURY AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE BUDDHIST COSMIC MOUNTAIN.
FROM THE LOWEST LEVEL, THE REAL EARTHLY WORLD OF SEEDY DESIRES AND BASE PASSIONS, BUDDHIST PILGRIMS WOULD HAVE WALKED CLOCKWISE, ASCENDING TO THE NEXT TIER, AND REPEATING THIS PROCESS TO THE TOP, NIRVANA.
THE DETAILS IN THESE RELIEFS IS JUST, JUST AMAZING.
THERE ARE OVER 3,000 OF THEM HERE.
HALF OF THEM ARE JUS MEANT FOR ORNAMENTATION.
THE OTHER HALF DEPIC THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA AND DIFFEREN BUDDHIST PARABLES, ALL MEANT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON.
AT THIS POINT, THE BUDDHA HAS COME A LONG WAY ON HIS JOURNEY.
YOU SEE, HE WAS BORN AS A PRINCE, AND, THEREFORE, HAD EVERY EARTHLY DELIGHT, DESIRE FULFILLED.
HOWEVER, HE KNEW SOMEHOW THAT THIS WASN'T ENOUGH.
HE ALSO REALLY HATED TO SEE HUMAN SUFFERING.
THIS IS WHAT MOTIVATED HIM ON HIS JOURNEY.
HERE, IT SHOWS THA HE'S ALMOST THERE.
PEOPLE ARE ATTACKING HIM.
HE'S BEING ATTACKED BY TEMPTATION IN THE FORM OF SWORDS AND WEAPONS AND ARROWS, BUT THEY ARE TURING INTO LOTUS FLOWERS, WHICH SHOWS THAT HE'S ALMOS NOW IMPERVIOUS TO TEMPTATION.
IN THE MID-80S, ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS TRIED TO BLOW UP THE TOP LEVEL, BUT TODAY, MOST OF THE VISITORS ARE MUSLIMS WHO TAKE A BROADER VIEW OF THEIR COUNTRY'S TRADITIONS AND ARE EVER WILLING TO SEEK GOOD FORTUNE WITH THE BUDDHA.
THERE ARE 504 DIFFEREN STATUES OF THE BUDDHA HERE.
MANY OF THEM ARE ENCLOSED BEHIND THESE STUPAS.
NOW, IF YOU ADD 5 PLUS 0 PLUS 4, YOU GET 9, AND IN EACH DIRECTION, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST, THERE ARE 99, AND 9 PLUS 9 IS 18, AND 8 PLUS 1 IS 9.
AND THEN IN THE CENTER, YOU HAVE 72, AND 7 PLUS 2 IS 9.
9 IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER, BECAUSE 9 REPRESENTS THE NINTH DIRECTION, WHICH IS HEAVENWARD.
SOME OF THEM ARE CONSIDERED LUCKY.
THIS IS A LUCKY BUDDHA, SO, APPARENTLY, IF YOU REACH IN, TOUCH ITS LEG, MAYBE ITS FOOT, YOU GET TO MAKE A WISH, AND, HOPEFULLY, IT WILL COME TRUE.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO LIKE THIS AS WELL.
AT SUBARU, WE BUILD VEHICLES LIKE THE RUGGED OUTBACK WITH SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE STANDARD AND PLENTY OF CARGO SPACE, FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
" MEGAN: EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE, DRAMATIC HISTORY, AND A SPECTACULAR LANDSCAPE ALL COME TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A COUNTRY THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO STAY FOREVER.
OFTEN KNOWN AS THE HERMIT STATE OF ASIA, IT'S SITUATED AMONG SOME OF THE MOST VISITED COUNTRIES ON THE CONTINENT, YET ITS MILITARY DICTATORSHIP HAS LEF ITS PEOPLE ISOLATED AND THEIR VOICES MUTED.
WITH THE RECEN SHIFT IN GOVERNMENT, THE STAGE HAS BEEN SET FOR CHANGE, AND THE COUNTRY IS OPENING UP.
THIS IS MYANMAR! MYANMAR, PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS BURMA, IS LOCATED ON THE BAY OF BENGAL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, SURROUNDED BY THAILAND, NORTHEAST INDIA, AND CHINA.
MY JOURNEY STARTS IN YANGON, THE GATEWAY TO MYANMAR.
NEXT, I FLY NORTH TO THE SHAN STATE, VISITING INLE LAKE AND THE IMPERIAL TOWN OF HSIPAW.
I THEN TAKE THE TRAIN 200 KILOMETERS WEST TO THE ANCIEN CAPITAL OF MANDALAY.
I CONTINUE WEST INTO THE CHIN HILLS TO MINDAT BEFORE HEADING SOUTH TO THE FAMOUS BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN BAGAN.
I END MY JOURNEY IN THE COASTAL TOWN OF THANDWE.
THIS ONCE SEGREGATED LAND WAS HOME TO NUMEROUS KINGDOMS.
IT'S NOW AS VAST AS TEXAS AND 30% BIGGER THAN NEIGHBORING THAILAND.
IT HAS A POPULATION OF AROUND 59 MILLION PEOPLE AND EVEN HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE AND ANCIENT SCRIPT.
MYANMAR IS DYNAMIC, IT'S ASPIRATIONAL, IT HAS AN INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED PAST, BUT IT'S CHANGING DRAMATICALLY RIGHT NOW.
ITS FUTURE IS WIDE OPEN.
THE BEST PLACE TO GET A SENSE OF ALL THIS IS HERE IN YANGON.
SORRY.
YANGON IS THE GATEWAY TO MYANMAR, BUT WAS DEMOTED FROM BEING CAPITAL IN 2005.
THIS APPEARS TO BE ROUTINE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN 21 DIFFERENT CAPITAL CITIES OVER THE PAST 14 CENTURIES.
WHEN THE BRITISH COLONIZED THE COUNTRY, THEY ANGLICIZED MANY KEY TOWNS AND CITIES.
AMONGST OTHERS, YANGON WAS NAMED RANGOON.
EVEN WHAT TO CALL THE COUNTRY REMAINS CONFUSING.
THE BRITISH CALLED IT BURMA, AFTER THE BAMAR MAJORITY, BUT IN 1989, THE MILITARY JUNTA CHANGED ITS NAME TO THE UNION OF MYANMAR.
THE COUP IN 1962 SAW THE MILITARY TAKING CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY.
OVER 20 YEARS LATER, THE ELECTIONS WERE OFFICIALLY WON BY THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY, LED BY AUNG SAN SUU KYI.
BUT THE MILITARY PREVENTED THEM FROM TAKING POWER.
IN A SHOW OF SUPPORT, MOS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MILITARY RULING OR THE COUNTRY'S NEW NAME UNTIL RECENTLY.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE TO SEE HER IMAGE ALL AROUND TOWN.
THIS IS AUNG SAN SUU KYI.
SHE WAS UNDER HOUSE ARREST HERE FOR 18 OF THE LAST 23 YEARS.
SHE WAS ONLY RELEASED IN 2010.
AFTER THAT, SHE'S SLOWLY BEING INTEGRATED INTO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COUNTRY APPEARS TO BE LOOSENING ITS DIVISIVE GRIP AND OPENING UP TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
AUNG SAN SUU KYI IS STILL THOUGHT TO CALL THE COUNTRY BURMA IN PRIVATE, BUT WHA DO PEOPLE AROUND HERE THINK? WHAT SHOULD WE CALL THE COUNTRY? MYANMAR, BURMA? WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? MAN: DEFINITELY MYANMAR.
MEGAN: DEFINITELY? WHY DEFINITELY? MAN: BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR NAME, EVERYBODY REFERS TO MYANMAR, LIKE THEY SEEM TO CONNECT BETTER.
MAN 2: MYANMAR'S WHAT IT'S KNOWN AS.
MYANMAR IS THE GEOGRAPHY.
BURMA IS THAT PAR THAT BRITAIN COLONIZED.
AND THE GEOGRAPHY INCLUDES THE SHAN STATES, THE KACHIN, THE KAREN, THE CHIN, ALL OF THEM.
THEY TOGETHER MAKE MYANMAR.
BURMA IS JUS THAT PART COLONIZED, AND IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
MAN 3: I USE THE NAMES INTERCHANGEABLY, BOTH MYANMAR AND BURMA, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE'RE A AND MAYBE WHO WE'RE SPEAKING WITH.
WOMAN: THE NAME MYANMAR HAS BEEN ON RECORD AS A NAME OF MY COUNTRY SINCTHE 13th CENTURY.
THE WORDS "MYANMAR COUNTRY" ARE THERE, SET IN STONE, AND WRITTEN IN ARCHAIC BURMESE.
MEGAN: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WE MAY HAVE FOUND THE WINNER FOR MOST HISTORICALLY ACCURATE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION! EVEN IF YOU ADOPT THE NEWLY APPOINTED "MYANMAR," IT'S HARD NOT TO BE IMPRESSED BY THE LEGACY LEFT BY THE BRITISH.
THE BUILDINGS MAY HAVE ORIGINALLY HAD INTERNATIONAL PRESTIGE AND FOREIGN RESIDENTS, BUT AS THE WEALTH OF THE CITY DECLINED, SO TOO DID THE BUILDINGS.
MANY OF THEM ARE NOW GOVERNMENT OFFICES OR HOME AND LIVELIHOOD TO THE BURMESE.
THE STRAND ROAD RUNS PARALLEL TO THE RIVER AND IS VERY NEAR THE JETTIES.
SO BACK IN THE DAY, THIS WAS THE PREMIUM ADDRESS FOR LEADING MERCHANTS.
NOW ALL OF THOSE BUSINESSES ARE GONE, BUT A FEW OF THE BUILDINGS REMAIN.
THE STRAND HOTEL IS ONE OF THEM, AND I AM LUCKY TO JOIN THE RANKS OF GEORGE ORWELL, KIPLING AND A ROCKEFELLER, IN STAYING THERE.
THERE, IT'S BEAUTIFUL, RIGHT? NOW TO CROSS THE ROAD.
I GOT THIS, I GOT THIS! BUILT BY THE LEGENDARY ARMENIAN SARKIES BROTHERS IN 1901, IT WAS AIMED A THE WORLD'S RICH ARRIVING IN THE COUNTRY BY CRUISE SHIP, AND IS STILL MYANMAR'S MOST FAMOUS HOTEL.
IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY THE SARKIES BROTHERS WANTED THIS PLACE.
IT'S ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE RIVER, SO ITS LOCATION WAS FANTASTIC, AND THE BUILDING ITSELF IS SO GRAND.
HOWEVER, IT WAS A GUEST HOUSE AT THE TIME, AND THE OWNER DID NOT WANT TO SELL IT.
AFTER HIS DEATH, THE SARKIES ACQUIRED IT AND TURNED I INTO "THE" PLACE TO BE IN TOWN.
AS TRADERS AND MERCHANTS, THE SARKIES BROTHERS RECOGNIZED THE IMPACT THE OPENING OF THE SUEZ CANAL WOULD HAVE ON TRADE IN ASIA.
HAVING ALREADY OPENED A HOTEL IN PENANG AND THEN THE FAMOUS RAFFLES IN SINGAPORE, RANGOON WAS NOW IN THEIR SIGHTS.
AAH, THIS IS MY FOYER! WOMAN: YEAH.
MEGAN: WHAT, WHAT, WHAT? THIS IS MY DESK SO I CAN PRETEND I WAS LIKE GEORGE ORWELL, SITTING HERE.
KIPLING, PERHAPS? I'VE ONLY JUST ARRIVED, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FRIENDS.
IF I'M FEELING LONELY IN THIS VAST SPACE, CAN I CALL YOU AND WE CAN JUST HANG OUT TOGETHER? WOMAN: YES, YES, YOU CAN CALL ANYTIME.
MEGAN: THAT WOULD BE NICE.
I'M A LITTLE OVERWHELMED.
WELL AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE PLACE IS NOW, THE HOTEL DEFINITELY FELL INTO DECLINE FOR MANY YEARS.
APPARENTLY, DURING WORLD WAR II, THE JAPANESE TOOK OVER THE HOTEL AND ACTUALLY STABLED THEIR HORSES AT THE BAR.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? THERE ISN'T JUST ONE COLONIAL BUILDING WITH A STORY TO TELL.
THERE ARE SO MANY THAT IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHERE TO START.
TO HELP ME, I'M MEETING FOUNDER OF THE YANGON HERITAGE TRUST, THANT MYINT-U.
THANT: AROUND CHRISTMAS 1941, THIS BUILDING SUFFERED A DIREC JAPANESE BOMB HIT, AND IT WAS NEVER REPAIRED.
MOST OF THE BUILDINGS YOU SEE HERE GO BACK TO THE LATE 19th, EARLY 20th CENTURY.
RANGOON WAS BUIL AS A BRITISH CITY, IT WAS BUILT IN BRITISH TIMES.
THE POPULATION IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY WAS ABOUT 80% INDIAN.
SO IN MANY WAYS, WHAT YOU SEE HERE WAS NOT A BURMESE LANDSCAPE UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.
MEGAN: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COLONIAL DAYS, THAT ERA THAT SO AFFECTED YOUR COUNTRY? THANT: YEAH, IT'S VERY MIXED.
THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL PLURAL SOCIETY WHERE YOU HAD ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE CHINESE, INDIANS, EUROPEANS, BURMESE, ALL MIXED TOGETHER.
MANY PEOPLE STILL HAVE A VERY BITTER SORT OF SENSE OF, OF COLONIAL HISTORY AND, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE TIMES.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK THAT THESE BUILDINGS ARE NOT JUST SORT OF COLONIAL BUILDINGS.
I MEAN, THEY WERE BUIL IN THE COLONIAL ERA, BUT THAT THIS WHOLE AREA WAS REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF, OR IS AN IMPORTANT PAR OF BURMESE HISTORY.
MEGAN: SO HOW DO YOU SEE THIS CITY DEVELOPING? THANT: I THINK THE NEXT FEW YEARS IS GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL.
MEGAN: RIGHT.
THANT: THIS WAS A CITY THA STAGNATED FOR A LONG TIME UNDER MILITARY RULE, UNDER VERY ISOLATIONIST POLICIES, UNDER WESTERN SANCTIONS.
NOW ALL OF THOSE THINGS, WE HOPE, ARE, ARE FADING AWAY, AND A LOT OF MONEY'S GOING TO COME INTO THIS ECONOMY.
THE ECONOMY'S ALMOS CERTAINLY GOING TO GROW, AND THE CITY COULD GO IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
IT COULD GO IN THE DIRECTION OF MANY ASIAN CITIES, OR I THINK IF WE PRESERVE A LOT OF THIS ARCHITECTURE, PRESERVE SOME OF THE OPENNESS AND GREEN SPACES, RENOVATE THESE OLD BUILDINGS, IT COULD BECOME ONE OF THE NICEST CITIES IN ALL OF ASIA.
MEGAN: WELL, I HOPE SO.
I HOPE I COME BACK IN A FEW YEARS, AND, AND I FEEL THIS REVITALIZATION THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
ONE COLONIAL BUILDING SE TO BE REDEVELOPED IS THE SECRETARIAT, WHICH TAKES UP AN ENTIRE CITY BLOCK.
THIS WAS THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND WHERE NATIONAL HERO GENERAL AUNG SAN WAS ASSASSINATED JUS MONTHS BEFORE INDEPENDENCE.
THERE ARE SO MANY MORE BUILDINGS LEFT FROM THE COLONIAL ERA THAN I ACTUALLY IMAGINED.
THIS ONE WAS CALLED THE PEGU CLUB, AND IT WAS A BRITISH CLUB, HAD 350 MEMBERS, AND IT WAS EXTREMELY EXCLUSIVE BACK IN THE DAY.
AND IT CERTAINLY SPEAKS TO A BYGONE ERA.
CONSTRUCTED IN 1882 AND MADE PREDOMINANTLY OF TEAK, THE PEGU CLUB IS ONE OF THE OLDEST BRITISH BUILDINGS STILL STANDING IN YANGON.
IT WAS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE REAL SEAT OF POWER IN THE COUNTRY, AND MEMBERSHIP WAS STRICTLY LIMITED TO FOREIGNERS.
IT WAS HERE THAT THE PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL WAS INVENTED.
IT WENT ON TO BECOME A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.
WELL, THEY MAY HAVE MADE A MEAN COCKTAIL, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE DRINK THE BRITS ARE MOST WELL KNOWN FOR.
TEA, PLEASE DID I COMMUNICATE THAT WELL? IT'S MY FIRST DAY.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
IT'S ALL ABOUT TEA, AND COLONIAL BURMA WAS NO EXCEPTION.
60 YEARS LATER, AFTERNOON TEA IS STILL VERY POPULAR, AND IN YANGON, TEA SHOPS ARE AS COMMON AS THE COLONIAL-ERA BUILDINGS.
THANK YOU.
TEA! OOH, AND SWEET! CONDENSED MILK, LOTS OF SUGAR! AH, HOT TEA ON A HO DAY, NOTHING BETTER.
BEHIND THESE GATES IS ONE OF THE MOST SACRED PLACES FOR BUDDHISTS IN MYANMAR IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
THEY ALL HOPE TO VISIT HERE AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.
AND I HEAR THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO SEE IT IS AT DUSK.
GOT TO REMEMBER, PAGODA ETIQUETTE: SHOES OFF, SHOULDERS COVERED.
BUDDHISM HAS EXISTED IN THE COUNTRY SINCE THE 6th CENTURY B.
C.
SINCE THEN, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SEEKING ENLIGHTENMENT, A STATE OF NIRVANA, FREE FROM WORLDLY SUFFERING.
IT IS SO POPULAR IN MYANMAR THAT THERE IS A HIGHER PROPORTION OF MONKS HERE THAN IN ANY OTHER BUDDHIST COUNTRY, AND BUDDHISTS MAKE UP AT LEAS 80% OF THE BURMESE POPULATION.
LEGEND HAS IT THA OVER 2,500 YEARS AGO, TWO MERCHANTS FROM MYANMAR TRAVELED TO INDIA, WHERE THEY ME THE BUDDHA HIMSELF.
THEY GAVE HIM AN OFFERING OF HONEY CAKES.
HE GAVE THEM 8 STRANDS OF HIS HAIR.
THEY RETURNED TO THEIR COUNTRY AND PRESENTED IT TO THE KING, WHO HAD THEM ENSHRINED HERE.
BUDDHISTS HERE BELIEVE THA THE GREATER THE VALUE OF YOUR OFFERING, THE MORE MERIT YOU WILL GARNER FOR THE NEXT LIFE.
IN THE 15th CENTURY, THE KING PROVIDED HIS OWN WEIGH IN GOLD LEAF TO BE ADDED TO THE STUPA, STARTING THE TRADITION OF GILDING THIS SACRED MONUMENT.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN PERSONAL BUDDHA TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO HERE.
AROUND THE GOLDEN STUPA THERE ARE 8 BUDDHAS WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE ANIMALS, EACH REFERRING TO A DAY OF THE BUDDHIST WEEK.
PART OF THE CUSTOM HERE IS THAT YOU MAKE AN OFFERING AT A PLACE THAT REPRESENTS THE DAY THAT YOU WERE BORN, AND YOU POUR 5 CUPS OF WATER MARKING THE 5 PRECEPTS.
THE FIRST ONE IS AN OFFERING TO BUDDHA.
THE SECOND ONE IS AN OFFERING FOR DHARMA, WHICH ARE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS.
THE THIRD ONE IS FOR SANGHA, WHO ARE THE MONKS.
THE FOURTH ONE IS FOR TEACHERS IN YOUR LIFE, AND THE FIFTH ONE FOR YOUR PARENTS.
THIS IS FOR YOU MOM AND DAD.
YANGON'S RIVERFRON IS AS IMPORTANT TODAY AS IT WAS IN THE COLONIAL ERA.
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, PEOPLE STILL VERY MUCH RELY UPON THE RIVER SYSTEMS, FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOR IRRIGATION, EVEN AS A FOOD SOURCE THROUGH FISHING.
AT 1,350 MILES LONG, THE IRRAWADDY RIVER IS MYANMAR'S LONGES AND MOST IMPORTANT.
STARTING IN THE HIMALAYAS, THE IRRAWADDY RIVER BISECTS MYANMAR AS IT TRAVELS SOUTH, FLOWING OUT INTO THE BAY OF BENGAL VIA THE DELTA REGION, 1,000 SQUARE MILES OF WATERWAYS AND WETLANDS.
RIVER LIFE HAS ALWAYS DOMINATED THE COUNTRY.
THE FIRST INHABITANTS SETTLED ALONG THE IRRAWADDY, AND IT'S STILL THE ANCIENT ARTERY BY WHICH THE COUNTRY LIVES.
I'M TAKING A SHORT ONE-HOUR FLIGHT TO ANOTHER LARGE BODY OF WATER, INLE LAKE.
HELLO.
YOU'RE MA AYE, YES? I'M MEETING MY LOCAL GUIDE FOR THE DAY, MA AYE, WHO IS GOING TO TAKE ME ON A TRIP AROUND THE LAKE.
WHO'S ROCKING THE BOAT? OKAY, I GOT THIS.
OH, A FANCY ONE.
INLE LAKE IS LOCATED IN THE SHAN STATE, WHICH TAKES UP NEARLY A QUARTER OF THE COUNTRY'S LANDMASS.
ORIGINALLY, THERE WERE 4 DOMINANT ETHNIC GROUPS IN MYANMAR: THE PYU, THE MON, THE BAMAR, AND THE SHAN.
THE BAMAR NOW DOMINATE THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY, WHILE THE OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS ARE CONFINED TO THE OUTSKIRTS.
THERE ARE NOW 135 ETHNIC GROUPS HERE, AND INLE LAKE IS ONE OF THE MOST ACCESSIBLE PLACES TO VISIT TO GET A SENSE OF THIS DIVERSITY.
THE SHAN MAKE UP THE MAJORITY IN THIS STATE, BUT THE HILLS AROUND THE LAKE ARE HOME TO AT LEAS 8 DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS.
THE LAKE IS THE TERRITORY OF THE INTHA PEOPLE, WHO MIGRATED FROM SOUTHERN MYANMAR IN THE 18th CENTURY.
WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THE SURROUNDING LAND WAS ALREADY POPULATED, SO THE ONLY PLACE LEFT FOR THEM TO INHABIT WAS THE LAKE ITSELF.
THEY ADAPTED MARVELOUSLY BY BUILDING THESE STILT VILLAGES RIGHT ALONG THE SHORE, AND EVEN CREATING FLOATING VEGETABLE GARDENS.
INGENIOUS.
THE PRODUCE GROWN IN THE FLOATING GARDENS IS SOLD A THE LOCAL MARKET.
ITS LOCATION CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES AND ETHNIC GROUPS.
THAT WONDERFUL AROMA OF DRYING FISH.
THIS IS A GREAT MARKET.
MA AYE: YES.
MEGAN: I LOVE IT.
MA AYE: YEA.
MEGAN: IT'S SO BUSY, BU EVERYBODY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT.
SO THEY'VE ALL COME FROM DIFFERENT TRIBES? MA AYE: YES.
INTHA TRIBE AND PA-OH TRIBE AND SHAN TRIBE.
MEGAN: OH, OKAY.
SO SHE'S WEARING ALL BLACK.
WHERE'S SHE FROM? MA AYE: PA-OH TRIBE.
MEGAN: PA-OH? MA AYE: YEAH.
MEGAN: PA-OH.
LOOK AT THIS BOY! HELLO.
WOMAN: HELLO.
MEGAN: WHAT IS THIS THEY HAVE ON THEIR FACES? MA AYE: THIS IS THANAKA, ANOTHER NAME IS MYANMAR MAKEUP.
FOR BEAUTIFUL AND PROTECTION FROM THE SUNSHINE.
MEGAN: THE LOCAL MARKETS HAVE STARTED TO DRAW IN THE TOURISTS AS WELL AS THE VILLAGERS, AND EVEN THE MOST REMOTE HILL TRIBES FROM THIS AREA HAVE REALIZED THA FOREIGNERS ARE INTERESTED IN THEM AS MUCH AS THE LANDSCAPE.
THE PADAUNG PEOPLE ARE ONE SUCH GROUP.
ORIGINALLY FLEEING TO THAILAND IN 1988 TO ESCAPE FIGHTING BETWEEN BURMESE TROOPS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES, THEY BECAME A MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION.
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
.
HELLO.
FROM BEAUTIFUL WEAVINGS TO THEIR LOCAL DRESS, THE PADAUNG WOMEN ARE STILL FIRM FAVORITES WITH FOREIGNERS.
THEY START WEARING THEIR DISTINCTIVE NECK RINGS FROM THE AGE OF 9, STARTING OUT WITH 14 RINGS AND WORKING THEIR WAY UP TO 24.
THEY PUT THIS ON OVER THEIR HEAD, YEAH? AND THEN THEY TIGHTEN IT UNTIL THE COILS FORM.
AH, THAT'S HEAVY! MA AYE: SO HEAVY.
IT'S MADE OF COPPER.
MEGAN: AND SO THEY DO ONE AT THE BASE AND THEN LIKE THIS? MA AYE: YES.
MEGAN: YES, SHE'S LAUGHING.
DOES IT HURT? MA AYE: THE FIRST WEEK IS A LITTLE BIT HURT, AND THEN SO LONG, THEY CAN EASY.
THEY COMFORTABLE FOR THEM.
DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR YOUR, YOUR NECKLACE? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
THAT WAS AMAZING! HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOU MEETING THE TOURISTS? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MA AYE: SOMETIMES, THEY ARE VERY HAPPY.
SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY SAD, BECAUSE SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE LIKE ANIMAL, SO THEY ARE VERY SAD.
MEGAN: THEY MAY BE LABELED BY SOME AS "GIRAFFE WOMEN" AND "LONG NECK" AND SI IN SHOP ENTRANCES TO DRAW IN FOREIGNERS, BUT I ACTUALLY GE THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY ARE THE ONES HAVING THE LAS LAUGH OUT OF THE TOURIST TRADE.
IT'S AN EASY WAY TO MAKE A LIVING, AND THEY CERTAINLY SEEM HAPPY TO SHOW OFF THEIR TRADITIONAL CULTURE.
I COULD STAY HERE DANCING ALL DAY, BUT THERE'S ONE MORE TRADITION WHICH IS THE REAL HIGHLIGHT OF INLE LAKE, AND THAT'S FISHING.
THE INTHA HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN METHODS, ROWING WITH THEIR LEGS TO FREE BOTH THEIR HANDS TO WORK THE NET.
ASK HIM, "HAS HE CAUGHT ANYTHING?" [SPEAKING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MA AYE: FIVE FISH.
MEGAN: FIVE FISH? THAT'S DINNER FOR AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE.
HOW IS HE NOT FALLING INTO THE WATER WHILE HE FISHES, STEERING WITH HIS LEG? MA AYE: BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS TRADITIONAL.
FISHERMEN FIRST THEY LOOKING FOR THE BUBBLES FROM THE FISH.
THEY CATCH WITH THE LONG BASKET, SO THE FISH CANNOT GO OUTSIDE.
BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE NET INSIDE THE BAMBOO BASKET.
MEGAN: OKAY.
MA AYE: AND THEN THEY USE A SPEAR AND THEY FRIGHTENED THE FISH SO THE FISH CAN GO INTO THE NET.
MEGAN: THAT'S TRADITION, BUT THAT'S PRACTICE.
THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
I'M TRAVELING 300 MILES NORTH TO A SMALL RURAL TOWN THAT WAS ONCE ONE OF THE WEALTHIES AND MOST POWERFUL PLACES IN THE SHAN STATE, HSIPAW.
TRIBAL RIVALRIES HAVE INFLUENCED MYANMAR THROUGHOUT HISTORY, AND THE BEST PLACE IN TOWN TO FIND OUT MORE IS THE ROYAL PALACE, ONE OF THE FEW REMINDERS OF HSIPAW'S IMPERIAL PAST.
THE BAMAR MAJORITY HAS ALWAYS SEEN THE SHAN AS A THREAT, AND THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THEM HAS HAD DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HSIPAW ROYALTY.
I HEAR THAT THE SHAN PALACE OF HSIPAW IS JUST DOWN HERE.
IT LOOKS KIND OF, UH, CLOSED? HELLO? THE TURNING POINT CAME AFTER INDEPENDENCE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT SOUGHT TO SUPPRESS ETHNIC MINORITIES.
HELLO? THE LAST PRINCE OF HSIPAW WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND PROGRESSIVE SHAN RULERS, WITH HIS AUSTRIAN WIFE, INGE, AND HIS WESTERN IDEAS.
HE WAS ARRESTED ON THE EVE OF THE MILITARY COUP IN 1962 AND LATER KILLED IN PRISON.
THE SHAN LEADERS HAVE CONTINUED TO RESIST BAMAR DOMINATION, AND THE GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN HAD IT IN FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THIS PALACE.
FERN? FERN: YES? MEGAN: HELLO.
FERN IS A GUARDIAN OF THE PALACE WITH HER HUSBAND DONALD, A DESCENDEN OF THE HSIPAW PRINCE, AND SHE EXPLAINS TO ME WHAT HAPPENED.
AND SO YOU AND DONALD HAVE BEEN THE CARETAKER FOR THE PALACE? FERN: YES, EVER SINCE 1972 WHEN WE CAME TO LIVE HERE.
FROM '62 UP TO 1995, NO FOREIGNERS WERE ALLOWED.
FROM 1995 UP TO 2005, DONALD AND I, WE WERE RECEIVING TRAVELERS, BECAUSE THEY FOUND OUT SOMEHOW IN TOWN THA THERE'S A PALACE, SO THEY CAME TO VISIT TO SEE THE PALACE.
AND DONALD AND I, WE WELCOMED TRAVELERS, BECAUSE WE LIKE TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE HERE.
WE LEARN ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY, AND TRAVELERS, TOO, THEY LEARN ABOUT OUR COUNTRY.
SO WE'D BEEN RECEIVING TRAVELERS EVERY DAY, EVERY EVENING FOR 10 YEARS.
NO PROBLEM.
MEGAN: NO PROBLEM? FERN: NO PROBLEM.
THERE WAS A PERIOD WHERE I WAS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC? FERN: YES.
MEGAN: YEA.
FERN: THE MILITARY GOVERNMEN DIDN'T WANT ANY TROUBLE FROM THE SHAN LEADERS, BECAUSE THEY WERE PREPARING FOR THE 2010 ELECTION, SO THEY WANTED TO KEEP THE LEADERS QUIET.
THEY WANTED ALL OF THEM IN PRISON.
THEY ACCUSED DONALD OF GIVING INFORMATION TO TRAVELERS.
HE WAS GIVEN 13 YEARS, BUT HE SERVED 4 YEARS.
I HAD TO CLOSE THE GATE BECAUSE THEY USED TOURISM TO ARREST DONALD.
MEGAN: OH, OKAY.
FERN: AND I WAS ONLY IN AUGUST, I OPENED THE GATE TO RECEIVE TRAVELERS.
MEGAN: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE OPENING UP YOUR WORLD AND YOUR GATES AND YOUR HISTORY AGAIN? FERN: THE PRESEN GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING TOURISM AND AUNG SANG SUU KYI, TOO, IS WELCOMING TRAVELERS.
NOW WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO PRESERVE, UH, OUR SHAN HISTORY.
MEGAN: IT'S TIME TO LEAVE HSIPAW, AND THE MOST FUN WAY TO TRAVEL IS BY TRAIN.
WOMAN: WELL, WE FIRST TOOK THE TRAIN, AND IT WAS JUST SO HILARIOUS.
WE WENT INSIDE, AND THE TRAIN STARTED, AND WE REALLY THOUGHT, LIKE, "IS THIS NORMAL, IS THIS NORMAL?" BECAUSE THE TRAIN WAS, LIKE, SHAKING, AND WE WERE LIKE THIS SITTING ON THE SEAT, BUT IT WAS QUITE NORMAL, BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WAS SLEEPING, AND WE WERE LIKE, "OKAY, I THINK THIS IS IT.
" MEGAN: ONE TICKE TO MANDALAY, PLEASE.
MAN: $2.
00.
MEGAN: $2.
00? MAN: YES.
MEGAN: ALTHOUGH I MIGHT BE A SLOWER METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION COMPARED TO CARS AND BUSES, TRAVELING BY TRAIN IS A GREAT WAY TO MEE PEOPLE AND ENJOY THE SCENERY.
A LITTLE CROWDED.
NOTHING I CAN'T HANDLE.
YOU GOT TO BE CAREFUL OF THE BAMBOO, THE WATERMELONS, THE POTATOES.
[GRUNTS.]
I'M TAKING THE TRAIN FOR 7 HOURS, HEADING WEST TO MANDALAY, STOPPING ON THE WAY AT THE BRITISH HILL STATION OF PYIN OO LWIN.
RAIL LINES WERE FIRS INTRODUCED TO MYANMAR IN 1877 WHEN LOWER BURMA WAS A BRITISH COLONY.
THIS IS THE CRAZIEST TRAIN! CONNECTING MYANMAR'S SECOND BIGGEST CITY, MANDALAY, WITH THE BURMA ROAD LEADING INTO CHINA, THIS RAIL LINK IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST USED.
IN 2009, PLANNING STARTED ON A LINK EXTENDING THIS LINE ALL THE WAY INTO CHINA.
WHOA, WHOA! ARE YOU HUNGRY? DO YOU WAN SOME BANANA CHIPS? WOMAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH! MEGAN: PEOPLE ARE SO FRIENDLY.
IT'S REALLY FUN FOR A MISERABLY LONG, DELAYED TRAIN RIDE.
THE GOKTEIK VIADUCT WAS BUILT IN 1901 BY CONTRACTORS FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA STEEL COMPANY.
AH, IT'S REALLY SCARY TO ACTUALLY LOOK DOWN! THAT IS INSANE! IT JUST LOOKS LIKE IT HASN' BEEN MAINTAINED THAT WELL.
THERE'S A WHOLE LO OF CREAKING GOING ON.
AT 318 FEET HIGH AND 2,257 FEET ACROSS, IT WAS THE SECOND HIGHES RAILWAY BRIDGE IN THE WORLD AND REMAINS MYANMAR'S LONGEST.
AFTER SUCH A NERVE-RACKING EXPERIENCE, I DEFINITELY NEED A BREAK FROM THE TRAIN JOURNEY, BUT THIS IS SOMEWHAT BUSIER AND MORE COSMOPOLITAN THAN THE QUAINT BRITISH VILLAGE I WAS EXPECTING.
LET'S SEE THE SIGHTS! I DECIDED TO GET OFF THE TRAIN BEFORE MANDALAY BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE THIS TOWN.
IT'S CALLED PYIN OO LWIN, AND THIS IS WHERE ALL OF THE BRITISH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATORS WOULD COME FOR THEIR SUMMER RETREATS.
SO I THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENT STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE, AND DEFINITELY A DIFFEREN FORM OF TRANSPORTATION.
I'M IN A STAGE COACH! THE BRITISH HOUSES WERE BUILT IN THE TUDOR ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF THE ERA.
THEIR RED BRICK, STEEPLY PITCHED ROOFS, AND EXPOSED TIMBERS GAVE THEM A WONDERFULLY DRAMATIC APPEARANCE.
[SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
THANK YOU! WELL, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY BUMPY DAY, BUT NOW I'M ON MY WAY TO MANDALAY.
MANDALAY IS MYANMAR'S SECOND LARGEST CITY, AND WITH EASY ACCESS TO CHINA, IT IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE "CHINESE CITY.
" IT'S A CURIOUS BLEND OF ANCIENT AND MODERN, AND I'VE ARRIVED JUST IN TIME TO CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE, BURMESE STYLE.
WATER MAY BE A LUXURY IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD, BUT HERE IN MYANMAR, DURING NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS, IT SEEMS TO EXIST PURELY TO BE THROWN AT OTHERS.
OH, NO! PEOPLE KEEP THROWING CUPS OF WATER ON EVERYBODY AROUND, WHICH SYMBOLIZES THE WASHING AWAY OF ALL YOUR BAD DEEDS FROM LAST YEAR, SO YOU CAN START THIS YEAR FRESH! WHOA! IT'S SO LOUD, YOU CAN'T HEAR A THING! ALL BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT'S WHERE IT IS NOW! WATER HAS ALWAYS BEEN VITAL TO LIFE IN MANDALAY.
THE FORMER ROYAL CAPITAL IS SET ON THE EAST BANK OF THE IRRAWADDY RIVER, AND DAWN HERE AT U BEIN BRIDGE IS A POPULAR PLACE TO FIND SOME SERENITY AWAY FROM THE MODERN CENTER.
IT SEEMS EVEN THE LOCAL MONKS AGREE.
ALL BUDDHIST MEN IN MYANMAR ARE EXPECTED TO JOIN A MONASTERY FOR AT LEAST ONE WEEK, AND MOST OF THEM DO THIS BEFORE THEY TURN 13.
ON THE DAY THEY BECOME A NOVICE MONK, THEY WOULD TRADITIONALLY BE PARADED AROUND TOWN ON ELEPHANTS.
THESE DAYS IT'S LIMITED TO HORSEBACK, OR EVEN THEIR FATHER'S BACK! BATHED IN GOLD, THEY ARE DRESSED TO RESEMBLE ROYAL PRINCES.
GOLD IS A VERY IMPORTAN PART OF THE CULTURE HERE, AND THERE ARE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY STILL BEAT THE GOLD IN THE TRADITIONAL MANNER, AND I CAN HEAR IT IN HERE.
[RYTHMIC POUNDING.]
GOLD ARRIVES HERE IN A BLOCK THAT THEY CALL A VIC, WHICH IS 2 KILOGRAMS.
THEY BREAK THAT DOWN INTO A UNIT OF MEASUREMEN CALLED A TICKLE, WHICH IS ABOUT 20 GRAMS.
THEY THEN PUT IT THROUGH A MACHINE THAT MAKES IT THINNER, SO THAT THESE GUYS CAN THEN POUND IT INTO THESE BEAUTIFUL THIN PIECES OF GOLD THAT YOU SEE AROUND TOWN.
MAY I SEE THAT PLEASE? WOW? DO YOU WANT TO SHOW ME? SO THIS IS A PIECE OF BAMBOO, AND THEN IN BETWEEN EACH ONE IS A PIECE OF GOLD.
AND THEY USE THE BAMBOO TO KEEP EACH PIECE FROM STICKING TOGETHER AS THEY SPREAD IT THINNER AND THINNER.
THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF POUNDING TAKES ABOUT 6 1/2 HOURS.
ACTUALLY, I SHOULDN'T SAY "ABOUT" BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY PRECISE ABOUT THIS.
THEY HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE MEASURING SYSTEM.
THERE'S A BOWL IN THE MIDDLE WITH SOME BAMBOO, AND AS THE BAMBOO FILLS UP WITH WATER, THE STICKS SUBMERGES, AND THEY KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN POUNDING THIS ONE PARTICULAR SECTION FOR 15 MINUTES.
AT WHICH POINT, THEY KIND OF, STOP, I HOPE REST A LITTLE BIT, SHIFT IT AROUND, AND THEN KEEP POUNDING SOME MORE.
CAN I SEE HOW HEAVY THAT IS? CAN I SEE, IS THAT OKAY? OH, WOW, ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS REALLY, THAT IS REALLY HEAVY! [BELL RINGS.]
.
MANDALAY'S MOST POPULAR BUDDHIST RELIC IS THE 13-FOO MAHAMUNI BUDDHA STATUE, SO REVERED THAT PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO VISIT IT.
BY PLACING GOLD LEAF ONTO THE BUDDHA STATUE ITSELF, IT'S SEEN AS A WAY TO EARN MERIT.
EARNING MERIT IS A WAY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR NEXT LIFETIME IS BETTER THAN THIS ONE.
SO MUCH GOLD HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE STATUE OVER THE YEARS THAT IT IS NOW 25 CENTIMETERS THICK, AND THE LOWER PART OF THE STATUE LOOKS RATHER LESS DEFINED THAN IT ONCE DID.
I CAN'T ACTUALLY GO UP AND PLACE GOLD LEAF BECAUSE THAT'S RESERVED ONLY FOR MEN, AND THE WOMEN ARE ASKED TO STAY HERE TO PRAY.
WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT GOLD LEAVES ARE INSTEAD ASKED TO PU THEM IN THE DONATION BOX.
MANDALAY LOST ITS IMPERIAL SEAT WHEN IT FELL TO THE BRITISH IN THE THIRD ANGLO-BURMESE WAR IN 1885.
THE GOLDEN ERA WAS OVER.
THE BRITISH EXILED THE KING, KING THIBAW, TO INDIA, WHERE HE DIED IN 1916.
HIS OLD PALACE, NEARLY 1 1/2 MILES SQUARED AND SURROUNDED BY A MOAT, WAS A NATURAL DEFENSIVE LOCATION.
THE BRITISH STATIONED THEMSELVES THERE AND RENAMED IT FORT DUFFERIN.
ANOTHER WAR ENDED BRITISH RULE, BUT THIS TIME, THE REACH AND IMPAC WAS FAR MORE DEVASTATING.
WORLD WAR II HAD ARRIVED IN BURMA.
BY 1942, JAPANESE TROOPS HAD MARCHED THE 400 MILES HERE FROM THE NOW OCCUPIED RANGOON.
THEY FINALLY CAPTURED MANDALAY AFTER BURNING MUCH OF THE CITY.
ONCE THE JAPANESE HAD TAKEN THE FORT FROM THE BRITISH, THEY WERE DETERMINED TO KEEP MANDALAY AT ALL COST.
HELLO! NYI: HELLO, HI.
MEGAN: I'M MEETING AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN NYI SAW MIN, WHO IS AN EXPERT ON THIS ERA.
MOST OF MANDALAY WAS BOMBED DURING THE WAR, INCLUDING ALL THE ORIGINAL WOODEN BUILDINGS OF THIS PALACE.
BUT IT WASN'T JUST MANDALAY'S BUILDINGS BEING DESTROYED.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WERE AT BREAKING POINT, TOO.
NYI: AT THAT TIME, BURMESE PEOPLE HATED BRITISH GOVERNMEN BECAUSE THEY THOUGH THEY MADE THEM SLAVES AND TOOK OVER THEIR COUNTRY.
SO THEY FOUGH AGAINST BRITISH ARMY.
THE JAPANESE, THEY MADE AGREEMENT.
IF BURMESE PEOPLE HELPED THEM TO OCCUPY OUR COUNTRY THEY WILL GIVE US OUR FREEDOM.
SO THEY COLLABORATED WITH JAPANESE.
BUT, THEY GAVE US FAKE INDEPENDENCE.
ALL THE MAIN POINTS ARE CONTROLLED BY THE JAPANESE.
MEGAN: SO AT THAT POINT, WHICH MASTER WAS WORSE, THE BRITISH OR THE JAPANESE? NYI: JAPENSE, YES.
THE BURMESE PEOPLE CAME TO KNOW THE TRUE FEATURES OF FASCISM.
THE JAPANESE TORTURED PEOPLE, EVEN THE BUDDHIST MONKS.
SO BURMESE PEOPLE HATE THEM, SO THEY WANT TO RESIST.
AND THE BURMESE PEOPLE MADE ALLIANCE WITH THE BRITISH ARMY.
BUT MANDALAY PEOPLE ARE VERY KIND AND GENEROUS.
WHEN THE JAPANESE LOST THE WAR IN IMPHAL, MANY OF THE SOLDIERS GOT MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES.
WHEN THEY CROSSED TO MANDALAY, BURMESE PEOPLE HELPED THEM, GAVE THEM FOOD AND CLOTHING.
MEGAN: SO EVEN AFTER ALL THE JAPANESE HAD DONE IN DESTROYING THEIR CITY AND TORTURING THEM, THE BURMESE STILL TOOK THEM IN AND TOOK CARE OF THEM? NYI: YES, THEY CAN EVEN FORGIVE THEIR ENEMY.
MEGAN: IT SOUNDS QUITE BUDDHIST.
NYI: YES, QUITE.
MEGAN: TAKE CARE OF THE SUFFERING.
NYI: SOME OF THE JAPANESE CAME BACK AND MADE A DONATION TO BURMESE PEOPLE.
THEY NEVER FORGE THE GRATITUDE OF OUR PEOPLE.
MEGAN: DESPITE BEING OCCUPIED BY SO MANY FOREIGN POWERS, MANDALAY HAS REINVENTED ITSELF AS THE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF MYANMAR.
5, 6, 7, 8.
ROCK 'N' ROLL! PUPPETS, YES! MANDALAY IS KNOWN FOR PRESERVING THE ART OF PUPPETRY.
IT'S BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR AT LEAST 700 YEARS, BUT IT WAS REALLY IN THE 1800s THAT THIS WAS THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.
THEY WERE THE GREA STORYTELLERS OF THEIR DAY.
LIKE THE RES OF BURMESE CULTURE, ITS PUPPET SHOWS ARE STEEPED IN BUDDHIST FABLES, LEGENDS, AND FOLK TALES.
TRADITIONALLY, A MARIONETTE SHOW WOULD LAST ALL NIGHT, BUT THESE DAYS THE TOURISTS JUST GET THE HIGHLIGHTS.
THE SHOWS WERE NOT ONLY USED TO TEACH THESE STORIES, BUT THE SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS OF THESE PUPPETS HAVE BEEN IMITATED BY PEOPLE OVER THE CENTURIES AND ARE NOW INCORPORATED IN TRADITIONAL BURMESE DANCE.
HELLO, YOU MUS BE MA MA NAING, YES? MA MA NAING: HI, HELLO, GOOD MORNING.
I'M MEETING MA MA NAING, WHO FIRST STARTED THIS THEATER AS A WAY TO INTERAC WITH TOURISTS SHE TELLS ME HOW THE PUPPETS WERE USED TO COMMUNICATE BOTH THE HISTORICAL LEGENDS AND THE COUNTRY'S CURRENT AFFAIRS.
SO THESE ARE YOUR BEAUTIFUL PUPPETS? MA MA NIANG: YES, THE PUPPET TROUPES ALWAYS TRAVEL FROM TOWN TO TOWN, AND THE PUPPETEERS GATHER INFORMATION, EVEN THE LATEST SCANDAL.
MEGAN: EVEN THE LATEST SCANDAL? MA MA NIANG: YES! MEGAN: WOW.
DID THEY PUT THA GOSSIP INTO THE SHOW? AND SO THAT'S HOW INFORMATION SPREAD WAS THROUGH THESE PUPPETS? MA MA NIANG: YES, MARIONETTES BECAME REAL MEN AND WOMEN ACTING IN REAL-LIFE DRAMAS, BECAUSE EACH MARIONETTE WAS POSSESSED BY THE SPIRITS OF ITS MANY TRANSLATORS.
MEGAN: WHILE SHE TELLS ME THIS HISTORY, HER PUPPET IS STILL, LIKE, TALKING TO ME AS WELL.
EVERYTHING SHE'S SAYING, THIS PUPPET IS ACTING.
MA MA NAING HAS AGREED TO GIVE ME A QUICK LESSON IN MAKING THESE AMAZING PUPPETS COME TO LIFE.
MA MA NIANG: THIS HANDLE MUST BE ON THE INDEX FINGER.
MEGAN: OKAY.
MA MA NIANG: IT MUS BE, NO, IT MUST BE HERE.
MEGAN: NO, YOU'RE LAUGHING AT ME! THIS IS MY FIRST DAY, LADY, GIVE ME A BREAK! MA MA NIANG: YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS, LIKE, STRING TO DANCE, HERE, LIKE THIS.
1, 2, 3, YES.
[LAUGHS.]
.
YOUR PUPPE DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT.
MEGAN: NO, NO, I'M VERY SORRY, SPIRIT OF THE PUPPET.
MA MA NIANG: 1, 2, 3, 4.
MEGAN: I GOT IT.
MA MA NIANG: 1, 2, 3, 4.
MEGAN: THIS IS INCREDIBLE, WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
MA MA NIANG: I'M TOO MUCH SWEATING.
MEGAN: THAT'S OKAY, ME TOO.
IT'S HARD WORK BEING A PUPPET MASTER.
TOO HARD FOR ME, SO TONIGHT I'VE OPTED FOR A DIFFERENT FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT, COMEDY.
IT WASN'T JUS PUPPETS THAT WERE USED AS A CLANDESTINE COMMUNICATION WEAPON.
THERE WERE THREE BROTHERS BELONGING TO A THIRD GENERATION OF COMEDIANS THAT USED TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY DOING POLITICAL SATIRE.
THAT IS UNTIL THEY WERE PUT ON THE BLACK LIST FOR PERFORMING.
MAN: WHY IS YOU'RE BURMA HERE? PLEASE TAKE CARE.
I REQUEST, PLEASE DON'T TAKE ANYTHING.
PLEASE DON'T STEAL ANYTHING.
GOVERNMENT, THEY DON'T LIKE COMPETITION.
YEAH.
MEGAN: IN 1996, TWO OF THE TRIO, PAR PAR LEY AND LU ZAW, WERE ARRESTED AND PU IN A FORCED LABOR CAMP.
MAN: PAR PAR LEY, THREE TIMES IN THE SLAMMER, IN THE CLINK.
MEGAN: THEIR ARREST GAINED INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY.
ACTIVISTS, FILMMAKERS, AND HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STARS ALL CAMPAIGNED FOR THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE THEM.
MAN: FOUR YEARS AGO, WE HAVE OVER 2,000 POLITICAL PRISONER.
NOW OVER 1,000 RELEASED.
GAN: THE PRESSURE PAID OFF.
MAN: JENNIFER ANISTON, SHE'S MY SECRET LOVER.
DON'T TELL MY WIFE, OKAY? MEGAN: THE SHOW IS STILL OFFICIALLY BANNED IN PUBLIC, AND THE TRIO ARE NOW WELL KNOWN AS DISSIDENTS.
MAN: I LIKE OBAMA.
OBAMA KISS OUR LEADER, OKAY? NEXT TIME, IF YOU COME TO BURMA, PLEASE DON'T COME ALONE.
YOU BRING YOUR WIFE.
FIRST LADY BRING HERE.
I WANT REVENGE, YEAH? PAYBACK! NOT CHEEK KISS, LIP KISS! [LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE.]
.
AUNG SAN SUU KYI VISIT OUR HOUSE.
SHE WATCH MY PERFORMANCE, 2002.
THERE'S MY BROTHER, PAR PAR LEY.
MEGAN: PAR PAR LEY! MAN: NUMBER ONE MOUSTACHE, PAR PAR LEY! MEGAN: NUMBER ONE! NUMBER ONE MOUSTACHE, PAR PAR LEY! OKAY, LET'S KNOW, WHY DID HE GO TO JAIL? WHY? MAN: FOR SATIRE AND THE SLAPSTICK! MEGAN: SO HE MADE SO MANY JOKES.
ABOUT THE LIFE THA THEY PUT HIM IN PRISON.
WHY DIDN'T YOU GO TO PRISON? MAN: I STAY HERE, I WATCH MY FAMILY, NO MORE, HOLDING THE FORT DOWN HERE.
MEGAN: I WANT TO KNOW.
HOW, WHEN YOU LIVE SUCH A DIFFICULT TIME, A VERY SCARY TIME, HOW COME EVERYBODY'S STILL LAUGHING AND SMILING? MAN: THIS COMEDIAN HEART.
MEGAN: HOW, WHY? MAN: COMEDIAN HEART.
MEGAN: COMEDIAN'S HEART? MAN: YEAH.
MEGAN: I'M NOW HEADING INTO THE CHIN STATE, WHICH BORDERS INDIA AND BANGLADESH, VISITING THE HILL TOP TOWN OF MINDAT.
THE CHIN STATE IS ONE OF THE LEAST DEVELOPED AREAS OF THE COUNTRY, AND TRAVEL HERE WAS RESTRICTED UNTIL RECENTLY.
I'M TRAVELING THE ONLY WAY POSSIBLE BY 4-WHEEL-DRIVE.
EVEN TODAY, YOU STILL NEED A SPECIAL PERMI FROM THE GOVERNMENT, AND TO GET ONE, YOU NEED TO TRAVEL WITH A REGISTERED GUIDE.
MR.
SAW IS THE GO-TO PERSON FOR THE CHIN STATE AND KNOWS MOST PEOPLE IN THE AREA, WHICH IS KEY TO GETTING A REAL SENSE OF THE CULTURE HERE.
YOU CAN NOW VISI ALMOST ALL THE CHIN STATE, BUT MINDAT IS ONE OF THE MORE ACCESSIBLE TOWNS, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING.
THE TOWN IS SPREAD OU ACROSS THE SIDE OF A HILL AND IS SPECTACULAR.
THE CHIN STATE HAS A POPULATION OF 1.
5 MILLION PEOPLE, BUT THEY'RE BROKEN DOWN INTO 52 DIFFERENT SUB-GROUPS, 12 OF WHOM YOU CAN GET TO KNOW HERE IN MINDAT.
I'M MEETING PEOPLE FROM A COUPLE OF THE MORE DISTINCTIVE ONES.
MR.
SAW: THIS IS ONE OF THE LADY.
MEGAN: YES.
MR.
SAW: SHE IS PLAYING THE FLUTE.
MEGAN: YEA.
MR.
SAW: BUT IT'S THE LAS GENERATION FOR THEIR TRIBE.
MEGAN: HOW DOES SHE PLAY? MR.
SAW: OH, BY NOSE.
MEGAN: BY HER NOSE? MR.
SAW: YEAH.
MEGAN: THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
WHY NOT CLAP FOR YOURSELF? HOW OLD WAS SHE WHEN SHE STARTED PLAYING? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MR.
SAW: 18.
MEGAN: SINCE SHE WAS 18? MR.
SAW: YES, 18.
MEGAN: AND WHICH TRIBE IS SHE? MR.
SAW: IT'S MAKHEN.
MEGAN: MAKHEN? MR.
SAW: THE SAME AS YOUR NAME, SIMILAR.
MEGAN: I CAN TRY, YES? [HUMMING MELODY.]
.
I CAN'T DO IT.
ARE YOU IMPRESSED? I THINK I HAVE TO LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY CHRONICLES FROM CHINA FROM THE 8th CENTURY THA TELL OF THE PU PEOPLE, AND ESPECIALLY NOTE THA THEIR WOMEN HAD TATTOOED FACES.
ONE THING THAT IS INCREDIBLE ABOUT VISITING THIS AREA IS THAT ASPECTS OF THEIR LIVES HAVE NOT CHANGED IN CENTURIES.
THESE WOMEN ARE ALL FROM THE MUNN TRIBE, DISTINGUISHED BY THE HALF-MOON SHAPES ON THEIR CHEEKS.
MR.
SAW SAID I WAS INVITED TO DINNER, BUT I DIDN'T REALIZE IT MEANT THAT I WOULD DO PART OF THE COOKING.
[LAUGHING.]
.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE COOKING A BEEF DISH, WITH LOTS OF FLAVOR TO IT.
THERE'S GINGER, GARLIC.
SHE'S TAKING MY JOB AWAY BECAUSE SHE'S DISSATISFIED, I DO BELIEVE, WITH MY GARLIC PEELING EFFORTS.
AND SOME KIND OF HERB.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
PREP DONE, INGREDIENTS IN THE PAN, NOW IT'S TIME TO RELAX.
WHAT KIND OF WINE IS THIS? MR.
SAW: IT'S MADE OF MILLET.
MEGAN: MILLET WINE? [LAUGHING.]
.
OH! LEGEND STATES THAT THE WOMEN FIRST STARTED TATTOOING THEIR FACES TO MAKE THEMSELVES UNATTRACTIVE AS PROTECTION FROM SLAVERY AND FOR IDENTIFICATION IF THEY WERE CAPTURED.
IT'S VERY SWEE AND VERY STRONG.
THEIR PERCEPTION HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE YEARS.
THIS SYMBOL, DOES THIS MEAN SOMETHING, THE SHAPE? [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MR.
SAW: THE SPO AND THE LINE HERE, THIS DEPENDS ON HER WISHES.
MEGAN: WHY DID SHE DO THE TATTOOS, OR WHY DO THEY? MR.
SAW: THEY THOUGH THAT THEY'RE PRETTY FACE.
MEGAN: YES.
HOW OLD ARE THEY WHEN THEY HAVE THE TATTOO THE FIRST TIME? MR.
SAW: AT THE AGE OF 10 YEARS.
MEGAN: AT 10 YEARS OLD, YES? DO THEY STILL GIVE THE TATTOO TO THEIR CHILDREN? THEY DON'T WAN THEIR FUTURE GENERATION, NO MORE TATTOO ON THEIR FACE.
NO MORE HURT.
AFTER A FEW TOO MANY WINES, IT'S NOW TIME FOR SOME MUSIC AND DANCING.
THEN IT'S TIME TO ENJOY THE SPOILS OF OUR LABOR.
THE DINING ETIQUETTE AROUND HERE SEEMS TO BE THA YOU WILL EAT, WHETHER YOU WANT TO OR NOT.
THEY ALL JUST CAME OU AND THEY STARTED PUTTING FOOD IN PEOPLE'S MOUTHS.
FOR ME? I EAT IT? THANK YOU.
WOW, THAT'S DELICIOUS.
YOUR TURN! THEN IT'S DANCE UNTIL YOU DROP.
IT'S ANOTHER LONG 4-WHEEL-DRIVE JOURNEY TO REACH MY NEXT DESTINATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE MORE FUN ON THESE BUMPY ROADS.
I'M HEADING TO THE SITE OF THE FAMOUS ANCIEN CIVILIZATION, BAGAN.
BAGAN IS A TOP VISITOR'S DESTINATION IN MYANMAR.
NOW, TO SEE THE PLACE, YOU CAN TAKE AN AIR CONDITIONED MINIBUS, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE BECAUSE IT CAN BE OVER 100 DEGREES IN THE HEAT.
OR IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET LOST, YOU CAN TAKE ONE OF THESE.
YOU ARE MY GUIDE, YES? MIMIN: YES, MY NAME IS MIMIN.
MEGAN: MIMIN, NICE TO MEET YOU.
MIMIN: NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
MEGAN: SHALL WE? HELLO.
MAN: HELLO.
[SPEAKS NATIVE LANGUAGE.]
.
MEGAN: FROM THE 9th TO 13th CENTURIES A.
D.
, THIS WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM OF PAGAN.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRS KINGDOM TO UNITE THE COUNTRY.
BUDDHISM FIRST TOOK HOLD IN THE 11th CENTURY WHEN THE KING WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS BROUGH OVER FROM SRI LANKA.
HE GAVE ALL HIS SUBJECTS AN ULTIMATUM, CONVERT TO BUDDHISM OR LEAVE THE KINGDOM.
BAGAN IS NOW HOME TO THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN THE WORLD, DESPITE THE FACT THA IN THE 13th CENTURY, THE MONGOLS, LED BY KUBLAI KHAN, INVADED AND DESTROYED MUCH OF THE SURROUNDING AREA.
FOR MANY YEARS, PEOPLE LIVED HERE JUST AMONG THESE INCREDIBLE PAGODAS AND TEMPLES? MIMIN: YES, YOU'RE RIGHT.
THE OLDEN DAY, ALL THE PEOPLE LIVED AROUND THIS AREA.
MEGAN: HOW MANY TEMPLES ARE HERE, ALL IN ALL? MIMIN: 2,200 SOMETHING PAGODAS ARE STILL STANDING NOW HERE.
MEGAN: ONLY 2,000, THAT'S ALL.
THAT'S NOT MANY.
THAT'S A LOT.
MIMIN: YES.
THE OLDEN DAY ALMOST OVER 4,000.
MEGAN: WERE ALL OF THESE BUILT BY THE KING? MIMIN: NOT ONLY KINGS.
SOME ARE MADE BY THE QUEENS AND THEIR ROYAL FAMILY.
THE OTHER SMALL PAGODAS AND TEMPLES ARE MADE BY NORMAL PEOPLE.
MEGAN: AND THAT WAS A THING OF HONOR TO BUILD A TEMPLE? MIMIN: YES.
MEGAN: IT'S A PRETTY MAGICAL PLACE TO LIVE.
MIMIN: YEAH, YOU CAN IMAGINE, YES.
MEGAN: ANANDA IS AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF BAGAN'S ARCHITECTURE.
RICH IN DECORATIVE DETAIL, THIS TEMPLE EVEN HAS TWO ORIGINAL STANDING WOODEN IMAGES OF BUDDHA FROM THE 11th CENTURY.
THAT IS INCREDIBLE, WOW.
MIMIN: IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL ONE.
MEGAN: VERY BEAUTIFUL.
EVERYBODY LOVES THIS ONE.
MIMIN: SURE.
MEGAN: EVERYBODY'S HERE TO SEE.
MIMIN: THAT'S WHY THEY CAME.
MEGAN: THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY.
VISIBLE FROM ALL OVER BAGAN, DHAMMAYANGI IS THE LARGEST AND ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TEMPLES HERE.
MIMIN: THERE WAS A EARTHQUAKE IN 1975.
ALL THE MONUMEN WAS COLLAPSED, BUT THIS ONE, NO COLLAPSED.
THE KING, HE DOESN'T WAN ANY GAP BETWEEN THE TWO BRICKS, AND HE MADE STRONG DECISION TO HIS WORKER.
IF HE SEES SOME GAP, HE WILL CUT ALL THE FINGERS FROM THE WORKER.
MEGAN: ARE YOU SERIOUS? IF HE SEES A GAP? MIMIN: VERY SERIOUS, YES.
MEGAN: OFF WITH YOUR FINGERS? MIMIN: YES.
DURING THE CONSTRUCTION TIME, THE KING DIED.
THE WORKER, THEY DIDN'T CONTINUES TO COMPLETE THE TEMPLE.
AND NOBODY CAME IN TO FINISH IT.
SO IT'S AS ORIGINAL AS IT WAS.
IN THE 12th CENTURY? MIMIN: YES, 12th CENTURY, YES.
MEGAN: WOW.
MIMIN: UNESCO PROTECTED THIS ONE, BECAUSE THE MOS IMPORTANT PAGODA IN BAGAN.
MEGAN: ORIGINAL OR RESTORED, THESE TEMPLES ARE AN INCREDIBLE LEGACY OF THE RISE OF BUDDHISM IN MYANMAR.
TRAVELING AROUND MYANMAR HAS BEEN INTENSE, SO I'M HEADING 600 MILES SOUTH FOR SOME R & R AT THE COASTAL TOWN OF THANDWE.
WITH MANY OF ITS ETHNIC GROUPS MIGRATING FROM NORTHERN INDIA, THE RAKHINE STATE HAS ITS OWN CULTURAL IDENTITY.
ASIDE FROM A BRIEF PERIOD WHERE THE RAKHINE FELL UNDER THE DOMINANCE OF BAGAN, THIS WAS AN AUTONOMOUS REGION UNTIL INDEPENDENCE.
PEOPLE HERE DON' CONSIDER THEMSELVES BURMESE.
BUT I'M HERE FOR NGAPALI BEACH, AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO TRAVEL THAN BY BOAT? THIS PART OF THE COASTLINE IS SET ON THE BAY OF BENGAL, AND THE ENTIRE AREA IS DOTTED WITH SMALL FISHING VILLAGES.
IT IS STILL DEVELOPING, BUT WITH NEARLY 1,400 MILES OF COASTLINE IN THIS COUNTRY, I'M SURE THE FEELING OF BEING IN A SECLUDED HAVEN WILL BE SUSTAINED FOR A WHILE YET.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE! THE THING ABOUT MYANMAR HAVING BEEN SO SHUT OFF FOR SO LONG IS THA PLACES LIKE THIS ARE STILL RELATIVELY UNSPOILED.
THIS IS APPARENTLY THE MOST DEVELOPED PART, AND IT STILL LOOKS PRISTINE TO ME.
MYANMAR.
ON THE ONE HAND, THE COUNTRY IS OPENING UP.
ON THE OTHER, THERE ARE STILL LARGE AREAS THAT ARE RESTRICTED TO FOREIGNERS AND IN SERIOUS CONFLICT.
BUT, THAT SAID, THERE IS A FEELING HERE THAT THINGS ARE CHANGING FOR THE BETTER, AND I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT THAT CONTINUES.
ANNOUNCER: STAY TUNED FOR A SPECIAL "GLOBE TREKKER" EXTRA.
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SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
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MEGAN: THIS IS BOROBUDUR.
IT'S ONE OF THE HOLIEST SITES IN BUDDHISM, AND JAVA'S NUMBER ONE TOURIST DESTINATION.
BOROBUDUR IS A 3-TEMPLE COMPLEX MADE OF VOLCANIC ROCK.
THE MAIN BUILDING IS A COLOSSAL MULTI-TIERED BUDDHIST STUPA.
IT WAS BUILT IN THE 9th CENTURY AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE BUDDHIST COSMIC MOUNTAIN.
FROM THE LOWEST LEVEL, THE REAL EARTHLY WORLD OF SEEDY DESIRES AND BASE PASSIONS, BUDDHIST PILGRIMS WOULD HAVE WALKED CLOCKWISE, ASCENDING TO THE NEXT TIER, AND REPEATING THIS PROCESS TO THE TOP, NIRVANA.
THE DETAILS IN THESE RELIEFS IS JUST, JUST AMAZING.
THERE ARE OVER 3,000 OF THEM HERE.
HALF OF THEM ARE JUS MEANT FOR ORNAMENTATION.
THE OTHER HALF DEPIC THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA AND DIFFEREN BUDDHIST PARABLES, ALL MEANT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON.
AT THIS POINT, THE BUDDHA HAS COME A LONG WAY ON HIS JOURNEY.
YOU SEE, HE WAS BORN AS A PRINCE, AND, THEREFORE, HAD EVERY EARTHLY DELIGHT, DESIRE FULFILLED.
HOWEVER, HE KNEW SOMEHOW THAT THIS WASN'T ENOUGH.
HE ALSO REALLY HATED TO SEE HUMAN SUFFERING.
THIS IS WHAT MOTIVATED HIM ON HIS JOURNEY.
HERE, IT SHOWS THA HE'S ALMOST THERE.
PEOPLE ARE ATTACKING HIM.
HE'S BEING ATTACKED BY TEMPTATION IN THE FORM OF SWORDS AND WEAPONS AND ARROWS, BUT THEY ARE TURING INTO LOTUS FLOWERS, WHICH SHOWS THAT HE'S ALMOS NOW IMPERVIOUS TO TEMPTATION.
IN THE MID-80S, ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS TRIED TO BLOW UP THE TOP LEVEL, BUT TODAY, MOST OF THE VISITORS ARE MUSLIMS WHO TAKE A BROADER VIEW OF THEIR COUNTRY'S TRADITIONS AND ARE EVER WILLING TO SEEK GOOD FORTUNE WITH THE BUDDHA.
THERE ARE 504 DIFFEREN STATUES OF THE BUDDHA HERE.
MANY OF THEM ARE ENCLOSED BEHIND THESE STUPAS.
NOW, IF YOU ADD 5 PLUS 0 PLUS 4, YOU GET 9, AND IN EACH DIRECTION, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST, THERE ARE 99, AND 9 PLUS 9 IS 18, AND 8 PLUS 1 IS 9.
AND THEN IN THE CENTER, YOU HAVE 72, AND 7 PLUS 2 IS 9.
9 IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER, BECAUSE 9 REPRESENTS THE NINTH DIRECTION, WHICH IS HEAVENWARD.
SOME OF THEM ARE CONSIDERED LUCKY.
THIS IS A LUCKY BUDDHA, SO, APPARENTLY, IF YOU REACH IN, TOUCH ITS LEG, MAYBE ITS FOOT, YOU GET TO MAKE A WISH, AND, HOPEFULLY, IT WILL COME TRUE.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO LIKE THIS AS WELL.