The show I did in Myanmar was for the cosmetics giant, Shiseido. It was their 10th anniversary there.
Myanmar is a land of contrasts and I could not be more explicit here .. only seeing is believing but I will try..
It was peaceful but the military still patrol some areas. I can't help but wonder if the peace was imposed upon by the presence of the military or can it remain with the absence of the same?
There were dilapidated buildings next to new, modern ones complete with occupants that looked like they were wearing the same clothings from 10 days ago and men clad in suits respectively.
The people drive on the right side of the road but instead of left hand drive, the vehicles are right hand driven. Strange.... Talk about contrasts.
Our show was held in Dusit Inya Lake Resort in Yangon which was where we stayed. The rooms were big and comfortable with a beautiful view of Lake Inya. The hotel reminded me of an era gone by.. old with minimal decor, bathtubs were a little rusty at the bottom, some power sockets had no electricity running through them. The banquet staff came in for rehearsal holding hands in two lines. ( only the ladies, of course ) .
I choreographed 3 dance items and one of them was supposed to be a collaboration between Singapore and Myanmar. We taught some of our dance steps to the three Myanmese dancers and all they could do was stand there with mouths wide opened and unblinking eyes. So I decided that we do the first half by ourselves and joined them in the second half. We learned their choreography in 15 minutes ! :) It was a folk dance and the steps were quite simple. They had elaborate and beautiful hand embroidered costumes, though.
The organizing committee was really happy with the show and took us on a half day tour to visit the Shwe Dagon Temple. My, what a temple - the area was so big and there were many different temples in the same place. So many different Gods - harvest, fertility, luck, fortune, love etc. We walked barefoot on the hot concrete floor in the sweltering heat. The numerous faces of Buddha can be seen everywhere.. awesome..
Things were cheap in Myanmar, needless to say. A meal cost less than US$0.50 on the streets and a little more in air conditioned places. The shopping centre we went to had security at the entrance to run a bomb sweep on shoppers before they can go inside. The things for sale looked like discarded clothes and some foodstuff on the supermarket shelves were covered with dust. Shopping in the markets was relatively cheap too. No matter how hard we haggled, T-shirts cost about US$3. There were interesting local crafts starting at that price too.
Some vendors sold deep fried grub and crickets along the food street. Urgghhh.... Tell me again.... these creepy crawlies are supposed to be nutritious? Double urghhh.. yikes too...
Nevertheless we took in some shopping and below was my story.
Why do we buy the things we bought?
Is it to satisfy an inherent need
to own some things we've sought?
Or is it our ego we need to feed
Take, for example, the el cheapo sandals
in Myanmar that I bought
At first, aimlessly I strolled in with friends
The shop was full of shoes for ladies and gents
One by one they each bought a pair
I think I should pamper my feet to be fair
For they haven't seen the sun in a day
So I let my eyes lead the way
Aha, there's one screaming to be worn
Pretty sandals no one would scorn
Paid US$4 after a quick fit
Happy to know the next day I'll wear it
Two weeks of bliss went by
Then in town I let out a cry
When I noticed the sole was halfway out
I was staring at the 'crocodile mouth'
Now I wondered why I bothered
With el cheapo shoes and suffered
The wrath of my el caro pair
Which has lasted 4 years of wear.
P.S. el cheapo = a slang which means cheap in spanish
el caro = expensive in spanish
Anyway, I was glad for the opportunity to go to Myanmar. The people led a simple and hard life. I hadn't noticed any despondency but in my opinion it is a nation caught in between the basic needs and the numerous wants of the poor vs the rich. It has given me the chance to give gratitude to my existence. People need to see this part of the world to appreciate the human spirit in its glory.
March 2006
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