CHAPTER 130 Myanmar Spring: “Look, Listen, Learn, and Leave”1
These are early days still in Myanmar, the “final frontier.” In the 30 months since the new regime assumed power, Myanmar has undergone a remarkable transformation. Rich in oil and gas, and minerals, investors are equally interested in what Myanmar does not have, which is pretty well everything else. So far, change has come largely to the center—the capital, Yangon. Around the periphery, home to numerous ethnic groups that make up two-fifths of the population, little has changed. Chapter 129, “Myanmar: Not the Burma I Used to Know,” was written in April 2012. I revisited Yangon a month ago (January 2014). What really surprised me was the enormous traffic—full of jams, too many cars, and just not enough roads and bridges. Considering cars are not cheap, it’s quite unbelievable. Except for the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda, lovingly regilded for the benefit of visiting pilgrims and tourists, most of the city seems to have remained untouched for decades (reminds me of downtown Kuala Lumpur in the 1950s)—other than demolitions at strategic locations to make way for new shopping malls, offices, and high-rise residences, as well as hotels.
But my yearning was for a bowl of arguably Myanmar’s national dish, Mohinga (mont-hin-gar)—a luxuriously rich and creamy fish-based broth with thin rice noodles (vermicelli), usually served steaming hot from massive cauldrons along the roadside (that’s where I had my first taste of it ...