Ted (Burma): Yes, I am actually in Burma

I touched down in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)
yesterday at 8:45 Thai time, but 8:15 Myanmar time. I had
no idea there were half hour time zones. That's too much
math.

There was a free shuttle to a guesthouse with $4 dorm rooms,
and since three Americans had already made reservations
there, I figured it was a safe bet, especially since taxis
from the airport cost at least that much. They threw in free
breakfast even though we hadn't stayed, and what a nice
place. I think it's going to be a common thing here, but
they're also very overstaffed with possibly more staff than
guests, so at least 20 in a small place. Some of the nicest
people I've ever met. I hear that the average wage at the
guesthouse is $40 a month.

After changing money on the streets with a sketchy guy (the
black market rate is nearly twice as good as the official
rate) I went to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the massive golden
religious center of Myanmar. There were a ton of locals
there, and my bare feet were burning from the sun-heated
tiles surrounding the pagoda. The heat is crazy here!

The highlight of the day was when I went out drinking with a
guy from Wales and a girl from Germany, and after a little
bar hopping, we ended up at "Music Pub" where we were the
only foreigners. After passing tons of neon lit signs that
all turned out to be fashion stores, and wading through
crowds of people selling old clothes, eating, drinking and
socializing on the streets in the city center, we were
overjoyed to find an actual "pub". But what a strange pub.
It was almost all guys sitting at small tables facing a
stage. And the entertainment? Dance music would be turned on
for several minutes, and about 7-8 girls would come on the
stage and do little model walks. They would walk forward,
turn around, tilt to the right, and then walk back. The
whole time, looking unhappy at best, and miserable at worst.
After each "set" they would go into a tiny room and change
their clothes. Sometimes they wore matching dresses and
other times they wore varying styles. We couldn't figure out
if this was plain entertainment or some kind of fashion
show, but we eventually decided it was as close to a go-go
bar as you can get in Burma since the girls were all young
and wearing tight clothes. Never seen anything like it.

We also talked to two Burmese guys sitting at our table, and
the conversation really depressed me at one point for
reasons I won't get into now, but which are probably
obvious. They were good guys though and we had a lot more
laughs then serious moments.

On a final note, I'm very very sad that the government
pretty much has a monopoly on beer in the country. There is
Myanmar Beer, and Mandalay beer. The former is great, but
definitely run by the government, and Mandalay is supposedly
sketchy and possibly run by the government as well. But
cruel world! Not the beer!

The semester is almost over! Can you believe that? Looking
forward to seeing you all in Fall.