A Country On The Cusp

Myanmar is at a turning point as outside money flows in and tour companies scout out the territory. Tanya Harrod gets in first.

It was October, the end of the rainy season, before tourists begin to appear in force. Unless you want to observe a world at a distance, sequestered on a teak river boat cruising up the Irrawaddy, it is best to make your own arrangements for travel in Myanmar. When I arrived, my sister had worked everything out. We were not going to rough it, however, like the Lonely Planet lot, pedalling round on pushbikes in the blazing heat. Luxury was to float up, but intermittently.

The U Wisara housing estate, built in the 1960s for government officials, was my sister’s home. It looked terrifying in the dark but in the morning became a place of fascination. It is run-down, with grim stairwells and its fair share of cockroaches and geckos. Outside, swarms of pigeons huddled on the windowsills with feral dogs down below. In this Buddhist land, both birds and dogs are well fed and healthy although the dogs tended to get into alarming packs in the small hours. U Wisara had been conceived in a modernist spirit but the climate quickly turns white buildings black with mould. There were plenty of trees, a scrubby football pitch and a lively market. Monks walked through the city on their daily alms rounds to the cry of traders selling street food and the quiet hum of talk from the teahouse at the end of the street. Once this had been a lawless downtown area known as Min Ma Naing – ‘where Kings do not rule’. Now it is a tightly knit community with a few spirited expats as committed residents.