Bantian

Since I got back from Myanmar it has been well and truly into the rainy season here.

That means very high humidity accompanying the heat, as well as a lot of rain. It's a big change from Beijing which is very dry and rarely ever rained. Here going for a run takes forever to stop sweating afterwards (if ever), whilst a short walk in the middle of the day is not recommended. I've taken to riding to work in a different t-shirt and then changing at the office! That is of course the days that it is not pouring with rain (usually coming home actually, rather than in the morning, which i suppose is better as i can get changed once i get home) when i need to hide under a raincoat.

At weekends we thus often head to indoor malls that have playgrounds or activities for children as well as food options - both for the air conditioning and to shelter from the rain. If it doesn't rain we'll still try to get out to some parks and things. There are a lot of very good kids' playgrounds though. Way more than in Beijing, and certainly the large number of entrepreneurs in Shenzhen (plus the fact that the whole city is only recently built) means that is it well designed and has lots going for it.

The outdoor swimming pool downstairs opened in May, though only in the afternoons and evenings (even on weekends, strangely) and Hannah goes frequently after kindergarten with Andrea, Leah and the nanny. Obviously the pool closes during thunderstorms, and it has been pretty bad most weekends, but i have gone a couple of times. It is very strange to have a quasi-holiday experience from your doorstep... walking 5m to a wonderful outdoor, floodlit, pool in the heat.

We've not yet really explored Bantian, the area where we live as much as we had in Beijing. Obviously at 7 months old we can't really take Leah on a bike yet, though probably soon, and what with the rain and all, we've not been out too much. We know the immediate area, and the roads too and from the malls, downtown, my office etc, but the fun in China is exploring the bits in between, that you can't see from the main roads. And Shenzhen is all about the little villages near where we live, which was countryside very recently and very quickly gave birth to urbanization for factories and migrant workers to live. So there are a lot of little high streets, markets and things hidden away. I found a few of them when i was searching for a replacement part for a shower, but would love to spend more time exploring them in the future.

Actually another reason we don't explore that much is because online shopping is so easy in China - that is where i found my replacement shower part and it is where we buy a lot of our food and other stuff too. Plus, of course, 3 year olds are not known for their willingness to walk around for no good reason, and thus we tend to take Uber a lot (it is wonderfully cheap here due to nice subsidies as part of their growth efforts).

Generally there are some nice developments around, or going up, but a lot of the area is cheaply and quickly built housing from 15 years ago when Shenzhen was being built. They look much older! And they are very local with a very migrant worker feel to them with a lot of life on the streets. Recently I've been going further north from the office to play football, past wonderful roads, shabby buildings, and new developments. Nicely sums up China I suppose. I'm not sure who would want to live or work out there, or who will fill the space, but there is no lack of money for investing in building things in China, and especially in Shenzhen, the home of real estate.

We've never been fans of air conditioning, as we prefer to keep windows open, but what with the mosquitoes and the humidity, we've had to resort to air conditioning sometimes to the detriment of our health and the environment. But otherwise we all get hot and grumpy!

Back in Myanmar

It's been quite a 5 years since I was last here, with some semi democratic elections, the release of The Lady and lots of opening up to western governments and business.

And arriving at midnight, when it was still 30 degrees, I had a smoother ride than previously (with fresh tarmac on the road) and saw more neon, instead of paper versions of bill boards. Now they weren't just advertising Japanese construction companies but all the things you expect nowadays...air con, coke, hotels, and of course mobile phones. Even just 2 years ago a SIM card cost up to$1,500, but now it's $1! Though mobile penetration and network coverage is still low, it's advancing rapidly. Every other shop in Yangon sells mobile phones!

The main road into town even had a real Rolex shop, I think. And plenty of new apartment buildings and malls are under construction, though not as much as maybe I'd expected. As you get into town, the massive Shwedagon pagoda shines brightly as ever, not yet crowded out by high rises, though much construction is evident near the other main pagoda (Sule) right in the center of a roundabout downtown which I remember well from last time.

Another big change has been with banks. In between all the phone shops are all the banks, and they are everywhere. 5 years ago there wasn't a single cash machine and there were two different exchange rates, an unofficial one and an official one which meant we changed money in the city of some guy's car! There's now a single exchange rate and many many cash machines that accept western cards too.

New buildings and run down colonial buildings are sprinkled amongst the rest of the decaying buildings that form the majority. The pavements are still as busy as ever and as run down as ever, though there is evidence of some progress downtown. There is great snack food everywhere and lots of drink options, a necessity when it's 40 degrees!

I experienced a couple of short power cuts in the office elevator, the increasingly awful traffic despite the use of one way streets to improve road capacity, and the local market that is busier and cheaper than before now that there are more tourists and more handicraft manufacturing.

I stepped over a sleeping guard to visit the only synagogue around (I arrived 15 mins after it closed but managed to sneak in), and walked around the ethnic minority park, mostly just seeing locals playing there amongst the replicas of houses from across the country (not much explanations unfortunately). The park had a great playground, and I saw many other playgrounds in Yangon. That impresses me. I checked out Shwedagon pagoda again, though it was much more crowded than previously, and enjoyed lots of local food as part of a successful work trip. There is so much choice now: of restaurants, hotels, even flights to and from the country. There is even an e-visa! In fact the country is still a real bargain with good hotels still pretty cheap (I can recommend East Hotel for around 50 USD a night), taxis are everywhere and cheap, and prices are good.

The country is in an interesting place--the elections in November this year will be another turning point, hopefully for the better. There is a fairly well coordinated development drive going on and the main challenges seem to be capacity: the government has so much to do, so many reforms and policies to make; its institutions have so far to catch up; its infrastructure is woeful and cannot be solved overnight etc. But lots is going in the right direction with a people that are keen to make progress.

I didn't go to Bagan, the incredible site with hundreds of temples from thousands of years ago, though I am sure it is different. I'm almost afraid to go. A large city can only change so much in a few years but a small tourist site could be radically different. If i do go back again for work reasons it will enable me to continue seeing how this country changes from afar. It seems off to a good start.