Burma November 2007
It was my second trip to Burma and at that time Rangoon
didn’t really interest
me photographically.
That has since changed. Anyway I
booked a flight from Rangoon to Myitkyna in Kachin state in the north of the
country. I don’t know
why but it doesn’t matter, I know everything happens for a
reason. And it was a good one.
I liked the busy market town immediately. It was humming with old cars, trucks and
motorbikes all seemingly on their last legs. The Burmese are masters of keeping
old vehicles on the road. On every street there was some kind of engine being
dismantled or reassembled. The locals
were open and friendly and giggled shyly when I took their photos.
My hotel was on the main street. I didn’t find it, it found
me. The owner who like most sat chewing bettle jumped up when he saw me and
told me how lovely his hotel was. At that time lovely was not a word I used to
describe Burmese hotels. Everything else in Burma can be described generally as
lovely (my opinion}. I left my heart in Burma so my opinion is hugely biased.
The upshot, I stayed in his hotel which turned out to be
very good in fact as Burmese hotels go.
I managed to procure a motorbike from the young manager in the hotel.
I was on my way! It
was and still is my fondest memory of Burma.
I got out into countryside and jungle and into villages the like of
which I never imagined existed except in Hollywood movies.
The locals would run and hide as I arrived, the children
were very afraid. I had been advised to bring pencils, pens and sweets {good
advice}, and slowly the adults and children would emerge from behind their
homes which were built of beautiful teak wood with banana leaf roofs.
I’m always struck by how different people look in
photographs after a bond of trust has been formed. I don’t recognize them. It’s
beautiful to see.
In Kachin state many people are roman catholic 40%, Baptist
44% having been converted by the British. The first mission building was built
in 1868. The Kachin people took to the bible quickly because they believed it
was the return of their own lost
scriptures.
As a photographer I also wanted to see the new hydroelectric
station being built by the Chinese at Myitson. I did not know how bad the road
would be. It was only 40 kms away yet it took me 2 hours to get there. Though
of course I stopped for photos and also to stop my arms from shaking.
When I got there to the confluence of the Irrawaddy I
noticed a large military presence and they noticed me. The confluence which is
made up of the rivers Mali Hka and the N’Mai Hka flow down through a once
densely forested area. The teak has been devastated for profit. The land
revealing it’s rich ochre soil to the wide blue sky. A sad sight.
I took a boat over to the island and trekked for hours thru
the thick jungle. I was ill equipped for such a trek and in hindsight
completely crazy. I had 2 cameras, flip
flops and shorts. I woke up to my craziness on arriving in front of a thick
spiders web and in the middle of it a huge spider. I have few phobias but guess
which one I know I surely have? Yep that spider woke me the fuck up!
I backed up and changed course. I began to feel lost and very tired having
run out of water hours earlier a hint of panic started to set in. Luckily it
wasn’t long after that I started to hear noises and realized I was getting
close to the hydroelectric station. I was but so were the military, they were
patrolling up and down the river. So once more I backed up and not so long
after came across some boys hunting and trapping birds.
They laughed with fright or embarrassment but
I guess from the look on my face they knew I was completely lost and close to collapsing from dehydration.
They signaled me to follow them and I did but at a much slower pace. We
eventually came out of the jungle into a wide open space with some huts that
made up a school. The lady in charge had
a baby in arms and greeted me warmly. She spoke some English and on noticing my
lips stuck together she quickly scooped up a cup of water. I didn’t care at that
moment about bacteria I drank with it dry instantly. And no I was not sick
after it!
It was a long day. When I got back to Myitkyna it was dark
and the road into town was thick with smoke from all the fires being lit in
preparation for dinner, I thought I'd never find my way back to the hotel or that I’d hit or be
hit by a car, truck or speeding motorbike. The beeping was non stop.
I stayed in Myitkyna for 6 days, everyday I went back to the
same villages and sat down with them. They invited me into their homes, they
fed me in so many more ways than with food.
We never spoke but we communicated and it was the most special time of
my life. I didn’t want to leave.
