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.
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