InDepth Volume 2

InDepth Dec 2014

a passion for football Pye Phyo Tayza

Growing the future

more more more more

art music travel lifestyle

December 2014 / InDepth

TEAM MANAGING DIRECTOR Andreas Sigurdsson

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Daniel Alexander Roca

EDITORS

Leena Salim Lauren Greenlee

FASHION EDITOR Lauren Greenlee

CONTRIBUTORS

Ben Hopkins, Bob Percival Griffin Hotchkiss Daniel Alexander Roca Tet Ka Tho Soe Moe Naing Andrew Wood

COVER PHOTO

Gerhard Joren www.gerhardjoren.com

PHOTOGRAPHY

The Pictureman, Bob Percival Adam Nicholas, Griffin Hotchkiss Daniel Alexander Roca

ART & PRODUCTION

Kyaw Kyaw Tun, Jason Quirk

PUBLISHER

U Myo Aung Pyi Zone Publishing House Permit No: 04285

PRINTER

Shwe Naing Ngan Press Permit No: 05745 No.90(C), Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd., Bahan Tsp., Yangon.

SALES

Aung Pyae Phyo sales@myanmore.com

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fashion

A Wintery Mix Shooping ideas with gifts from around Yangon

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streets of

yangon 17th - A colorful journey in the produce capital of downtown

ABOUT MYANMORE

CONTENTS 3

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editor’s note

e are fortunate as a magazine to have the opportunity to write about a country transforming in such dramatic and colorful ways. Our food, our music, our passions, they have been given carte blanche, and from that opportunity a riot of personal and social stories has arisen.

This month, we sink our claws a little deeper into the underbelly of Yangon. What we have found are stories of the old and stories of the young and fresh—keeping our minds on history as we look forward into progress.

On the cover, we have the eager Pye Phyo Tayza, the youngest FIFA team owner in history who hopes to rebuild Myanmar’s once great football tradition. Myanmar rock legend, Zaw Win Htut of EMPEROR, shares with us his humble music beginnings and what being a Rock ‘n Roll musician meant thirty years ago. Further into the past, Bob Percival takes us on a textured tour of Ricardo Reyes, better known as the Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, who graced Rangoon with his presence shortly after the departure of George Orwell. For anyone unfamiliar with Pablo Neruda’s literary work, it can only be described as highly passionate, deeply engrossing, and effervescently pure. I highly recommend reading any of his collections.

Our other sections continue our attempts to reach outward and inward, through art, travel, adventure, and, my favorite, food. Truth be told, this issue is packed—a full thirty-six pages. It is my hope that as you read through it, you might question where it is all of this might be going, how much this city is changing, and, more importantly, what we want it to change it into.

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travel

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adventure

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food

Gems in the Sun - The exotic Republic of the Maldives, where luxurious resorts and endless ocean threaten to steal away your time

A Town Called Samkar An intrepid walk through the Inle/Kalaw/Heho region

Myanmar Food and Wine Pairing - Discover some new techniques to bring out the fullest flavor of local cuisines

28 chef’s profile Tapping into New Territory - Chef Kevin Ching at Port Autonomy is shaking up the Yangon food scene

With great pleasure, Daniel Alexander Roca Editor in Chief

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cover

Pye Phyo Tayza and his passion for rebuilding football

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art

Adam Nicholas and his ongoing project, The Myanmar Preservation Project

MYANMORE is a registered brand under Lychee Ventures (Myanmar) Limited that manage the leading lifestyle and entertainment website www.myanmore. com. On top of InDepth, MYANMORE also provides city maps, a privilege card, a weekly guide and two quarterly guides - EnjoyIt and KnowIt. The mission is to give visitors and residents of Yangon more to enjoy and explore.

DISTRIBUTION

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motor

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BUSINESS

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HOROSCOPE

Tapping into New Territory Chef Kevin Ching at Port Autonomy is shaking up the Yangon food scene

music

Zaw Win Htut of EMPEROR takes us back thirty years to the roots of his Rock ’n Roll fame

18 impressions

The Heat of a Dying Heart.

Journey to the last day of Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda

InDepth can be found in hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, business centres and embassies etc in Yangon. It is also distributed locally inside International New York Times, Nikkei, Bangkok Post, Nation, Straits Times, Business Times and Zaobao. Subscribe to any of these and get InDepth delivered every month. Contact successinternational2007@gmail.com for more info.

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DISCLAIMER

Streams of Whiskey Ben Hopkins interviews Chivas Brothers brand Ambassador Darren Hosie

Find love, find luck, just remember to look up the weekday of your birth

No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the Managing Director. All details are deemed correct at the time of print, the editor, employees and contributors can not be held responsible for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions that might occur.

Contact us at indepth@myanmore.com

December 2014 / InDepth

4 WHAT’S ON 08 | Monday ART & STAGE Let’s Speak Art - About Art and Around Art From 6.30 p.m. Free Entrance, just bring a pen!

Pansodan Scene, 2nd Floor, 144 Pansodan Street (Middle Block), Kyauktada, Yangon. (Entrance to the staircase in front of the temple)

10 – 12 NIGHTLIFE

Pun Hlaing Golf Club With a spectacular view over the 18th hole and a perfect place to watch Myanmar’s beautiful sunset, Horizons is the ideal venue for your Christmas Party.

Individual and table booking now being taken.

Ideal for Office Parties or Friends Night Out. Live Entertainment, Christmas Buffet and Lots of Festive Celebrating.

20,000 Ks per person. RSVP - bjornsidfeldt@spa-mm.com or call 68 77 68 Pun Hlaing Golf Estate, Hlaing Tharyar Ts., Yangon

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| Thursday NIIGHTLIFE

Parami Patio Party @ Parami Pizza Come join us on Parami’s terrace for great food and buy one get one free cocktails. Party starts 5:30 to late.

5:30 - late 11/8, Corner of Malikha Rd and Parami Rd, 7th Qtr, Myangone Tsp. BUSINESS Young Professionals Networking Cocktail @ Mojo FMCCI organized the Young Professionals Networking Cocktail event! Entry fees: 6,000 kyats (one drink, finger food) 6:00 - 9:00 pm 135 Inya road, Bahan Tsp (Opposite Savoy Hotel) Seize Opportunities Together! @ Strand Hotel Connect high-level Myanmar business owners and entrepreneurs from a vast range of industries and fields. The common goal: Seizing Opportunities Together!

7:00 pm 92 Strand Rd, Kyauktada Tsp (Next to the British Embassy)

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| Friday NIGHTLIFE

French (love) Friday #7 @ French Institute Women in the spotlight with only women DJ from France and Myanmar!

A light show and a photobooth will liven up the party as well!

340, Pyay Road, Sanchaung Tsp (Close

by Hanthar Waddy Bus stop) ART & STAGE The Music Man @ Sky Star Hotel Presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI)

Buy Tickets @ ISY secondary office main campus - 20 Shwe Taungyar, Bahan Township Ticket Price : 4,000 Kyats 7:00 pm 51/B/1 E Horse Race Course Rd

13 – 16 BUSINESS

The 2nd Housing & Living 2014 @ Tatmadaw Hall This expo is held to enable effective penetration of products and services into the market as well as promoting brand awareness.

9:00 am - 6:00 pm U Wisara Rd (Next to Minder Ground), Dagon Tsp

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| Saturday NIGHTLIFE

Jingle Boat Rock! - Winter Holiday Boat Party Yangon Boat Party is excited to announce our next great party cruise - the 1st Ever JINGLE BOAT ROCK - Yangon’s only Holiday Boat Party Join us for a three-hour sunset cruise that is guaranteed to be a jolly good time! Free-flow beer and party punch, exciting dance music, and assorted appetizers from Yangon Bakehouse.

Tickets are 25,000MMK and will be available at Wardan Jetty Pier on the day of the party.

The boat will open up at 4 pm, and we’ll leave the dock at 5:00 pm SHARP!

December 2014 / InDepth

WHAT’S ON 5

ACTIVITY Wine School @ French Institute Never understood anything about wine?

This course is for you!! The WSET Level 1 will teach you what you need to know to start your first steps into the wine world.

Price: $250, Time: 8 hours (1 day), Includes: 8 wines to taste + study manual & certificate.

340, Pyay Road, Sanchaung Tsp (Close

by Hanthar Waddy Bus stop)

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| Sunday ART & STAGE

Bunny Phyoe “Dreamworld Concert 2014” @ Kandawgyi Myaw Sin Island This is the first ever one man show of Bunny Phyoe, one of Myanmar famous pop singers. This year, theme of the show is “Space Dream”.

5:30 pm Nat Mauk Rd (Inside Kandawgyi Park)

The First Jam Vol: 3 @ Junction Maw Tin This year is 3rd year Anniversary of The First Jam in Myanmar. We have arranged 2 International judges and battle DJ from Vietnam. There are some changes on (Poppin 1 vs 1) to *All style 1 vs 1*. All style means not only poppin but also all kinds of dance forms involved.

11:00 am Corner of Anawrahta Road and Maw Tin Street, Lanmadaw Township, Yangon ACTIVITY Christmas in California @ California Skin Spa Come and enjoy the evening at California Skin Spa X’mas event with our complimentary face mapping skin analysis service, special promotions and fantastic X’mas music live from DJ Bay Tar. - Free face mapping skin analysis (skin check) by expert Dermalogica therapists.

- Special promotions and discounts Dermalogica products and California Skin Spa treatments Giveaway discount vouchers for Dermalogica products and Spa treatments 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm No.32 (B) InyaMyanin Road

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| Tuesday NIGHTLIFE

International Comedy Night @ 50th Street Bar Stand Up Yangon presents another International comedy night @ 50th street. this months comedians are local legend William Childress hosting with top class acts including Brian Aylward Matt Giffen Kristel Zweers its bound to be another amazing show!

9/13 50th St, Botahtaung Tsp (off Merchant Rd)

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| Saturday NIGHTLIFE

The Jungle @ Mojo Mojo & Stork Agency are going back to the roots for a party where your primitive senses are released in your natural habitat: Mojo’s Dance-Floor! Let your animal spirit take control, and get lost in The Jungle. The wild and exotic extravaganza will make you hope not to get rescued until sunrise… Free entrance until midnight for people in Jungle outfits Dress code: Tarzan, Jane & Co. 5000 Kyats entry fee 10:00 pm No 35 Inya Road, Bahan Township ART & STAGE 10th Anniversary: Flower & Music Festival Don’t miss this big event!

Big Hip Hop Festival – Popular Hip

Hop artists Sai Sai, J Me, Snare, Yan Yan Chan, Bunny Phyo, Ye’ Yint Aung, G-Family… on 20 Dec 2014 Rock show with Emperor Band with Zaw Win Htut, Ni Ni Khin Zaw, Idoits, Big Bag, S.I.R, Reasons, Aung La, Wanted, Wai La… on 21 Dec 2014 Pre-ticket: 5000 Kyats 12:00 pm National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden, Pyin Oo Lwin

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| Sunday ART & STAGE

4th Myanmar Otaku & Cosplay Festival by MMOtaku We always promise a better cosplay event than the last one.

Come enjoy our event together with many guest cosplayers.

Pre-tickets in December(or the second 200 tickets) - 5000 kyats Entry fees at Event Day - 6000 kyats 11:00 am – 5:00 pm CBC Ballroom - Corner of Sayarsan Road and New University Avenue Road, Bahan Township

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| Wednesday ART & STAGE

Rock Show! @ People’s Park organized by The Best Coffee Performances by Popular Rockers Lay Phyu, Ah Nge, Myo Gyi, Wine Wine with Iron Cross Band Pyay Road (same compound with Happy World Amusement Center)

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| Sunday ACTIVITY

Active Family Day Out This event, brought to you by City Mart Holding Co. Ltd. and 100 Plus, seeks to raise awareness of the importance of healthy living and lifestyle among Myanmar families while embracing fitness outdoors. Friends and families will come together for partner walks, games, competitions, prizes, celebrity talks and more!

Sunday 28th December between 6am to 6pm at People’s Park, Venue 1 and 2.

December 2014 / InDepth

6 WHAT’S ON

christmas

new year’s

18,– 19,– 20

24-– 25 DINING

DINING

Festive Family Dinner @ Parami Pizza Join us at Parami for an authentic Italian-inspired festive dinner.

Christmas Eve Dinner, Christmas Day Brunch, Christmas Day Dinner Hot & cold international dishes and dessert buffet. Live cooking stations. Free flow of drinks. Fresh seafood and authentic Christmas dishes. Christmas choir and Santa Claus visit. $55 per person - Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Dinner $50 per person - Christmas Day Brunch

New Year’s Eve Dinner @ Orchid Ring in the New Year with a fivecourse set menu, Live Jazz Music with free flow of Red, White, Sparkling Wine, Beer and Soft Drinks till Count Down. USD 79 net per person

DINING

5:30 to 10:00 11/8, Corner of Malikha Rd and Parami Rd, 7th Qtr, Myangone Tsp. 3-Course Christams Delight @ Union Bar Come celebrate the holidays with a delicious 3-Course meal and great company.

5:30 to 10:00 42 Strand Rd (Same building as Red Cross by Strand Road) A Very Sake X-Mas @ Gekko Love the holidays, but tired of traditional turkey? Come experience Chef Aung Myo Oo’s Japanese Inspired Set Menu and festive cocktails.

5:30 to 10:00 535, Merchant St, Kyauktada Tsp (same building with Lokanat Galleries)

24 | Wednesday NIGHTLIFE Pre Christmas Party @ 50th Street Bar There will be annual pre Christmas party with DJ`s and good Christmas dress ups!!

9/13 50th St, Botahtaung Tsp (off Merchant Rd)

25 | Thursday DINING Christmas Lunch @ 50th Street Bar Celebrate with friends and family!

9/13 50th St, Botahtaung Tsp (off Merchant Rd)

6:30 pm to 10:30 pm for dinner 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm for brunch Cafe Sule (Lobby Level) - Sule Shangri-La Hotel - 223 Sule Pagoda Rd (opposite Sakura Tower) Christmas Gala Dinner @ The Emporia International Buffet with roasted Turkey and festive dishes.

Complimentary glass of House Wine, Beer & Soft Drink.

US $ 45.00 nett per person Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon - 40, Natmauk Rd, Tamwe Tsp NIGHTLIFE Jonathan Ulysses @ Mojo Mojo is pleased to welcome Jonathan Ulysses, one of the longest running residents of the dance music Mecca, Space Ibiza. From Ibiza to Brazil, across Singapore and China, he is now stopping in Yangon for an unmissable night of pure dance & house music. Come enjoy the groove and party to celebrate Christmas Eve like in the best club of Ibiza!

15000 Kyats tickets with one drink included.

10 pm No 35 Inya Road, Bahan Township

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| Wednesday

8 pm to 10 pm Inya Lake Hotel - 37 Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd NIGHTLIFE New Year Party @ 50th Street Bar Yangon`s best New Years party with lots of bubble and a massive count down it will be one of the best ones so far!

9/13 50th St, Botahtaung Tsp (off Merchant Rd) 2014 Countdown @ Union Bar Celebrate the closing of 2014 at Union Bar and Grill. International DJs, Party Favors and lots of booze.

7:00 to late 42 Strand Rd (Same building as Red Cross by Strand Road) Pre New Years Party @ Gekko Set yourselves up with some prematch food and drink at Gekko for your last sake and sashimi combo of 2014.

7:00 to late 535, Merchant St, Kyauktada Tsp (same building with Lokanat Galleries) New Year’s Eve - Night Safari Countdown into 2015! @ Sule Shangri-La Gala buffet dinner and free flow of wine, beer & selected cocktails Allure Band, magic & dance performances Lucky Draw grand prize of Ks 1,000,000 Dress Code: Safari / Jungle outfit

US $ 160 per person 7:30 pm 223 Sule Pagoda Rd (opposite Sakura Tower) Gold New Year’s Eve @ Mojo Mojo & Stork Agency present a night where luxury is yours. Enter the world of sparkling decadence.

Here, diamonds are everyone’s best friend. Claim your Gold, your Silver, your Diamonds, tonight you shine! Golden Creatures will entertain you for your delight.

15000 Kyats entry with one drink included. Dress code: Gold, Silver and Diamonds.

10:00 pm No 35 Inya Road, Bahan Township ART & STAGE Happy New Year Eve Foam Party Brought to you by Bo Bo Entertainment!

Performances by Sai Sai, Snare, Wai La, Nine One, Jouk Jack, Kyaw Htut Swe, Hlwan Paing, Ki Ki, Yair Yint Aung, Thar Thar, Shwe Htoo, X-Box, Mi Sandi, Bobby Soxer.

Tickets available at Bo Bo Music Production, City Mart & Ocean Supermarket, Orange Supermarket, RUN YGN, GENIUS, OMG 5:00 pm Myaw Sin Kyun - Nat Mauk Rd (Inside Kandawgyi Park) New Year’s Eve Party Broadway @ Chatrium International Buffet Dinner with Free Flow of Wine, Beer & Soft Drinks. Special Performances by Chit Kaung, Htun Eaindra Bo, Irene Zin Mar Myint with Immortal Band.

Music by DJ Thaw Thaw and Stars & Models Int’l Dancers Group.

7:00 pm Ngapali Pool Garden - 40, Natmauk Rd, Tamwe Tsp

Organisations in Partnership with the MYANMORE Card:

myanmore card

DEAls

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TOBA REsTAURANT & CAFE

night Birds Promotion!!!

30% discount on normal menu price of total bill offer is valid from 12 am to 5 am monday to Thursday only!

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PORT AUTONOMY

20% off on your food bill. Free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink when ordering food.

(Small print) Limited to one drink per person.excludes wine. minimum of one dish per person.

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EDO ZUsHI JAPANEsE REsTAURANT

enjoy 20% off on total bill between 11 am to 5 Pm every day at edo Zushi Japanese restaurant & you can get 5% off on dinner seating.

THE MANHATTAN FIsH MARKET

enjoy Free serving of “Garlic Herb mussels” with minimum spending of 50,000 Kyats.maximum party size of 4. not valid on Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays.

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lA MAIsON 20

enjoy 20% off your total bill @ La maison 20 This deal is valid for the cardholder and up to 8 pax only.

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TITUs INDIAN BANANA lEAF

enjoy a free dessert upon presentation of the card. no conditions. 1 per card per person per day. choose among desserts like Gulab Jamun, Kulfi and Halwa.

GOlDEN KITCHEN TORI

enjoy 2 for 1 drinks from 6 to 8, every day.

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HOUsE OF sINGAPURA

enjoy 10% off on total bill monday-Friday dinner (from 5pm) and 20% off on food Saturday-Sunday all day.

VINO DE ZANOTTI

enjoy 15% off total bill for lunch a la carte, food and beverage.

ORZO ITAlIAN REsTAURANT @ sEDONA HOTEl

enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

DUFU CHINEsE REsTAURANT @ sEDONA HOTEl

enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

BRAssERIE @ sEDONA HOTEl

enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

lOBBY lOUNGE @ sEDONA HOTEl

enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

l’OPERA ITAlIAN REsTAURANT AND BAR

enjoy 10% discount on the a la carte bill (not valid for set menu, business lunch, and promotions), valid only for cash payments. maximum of 8 pax Valid monday – Sunday, for Lunch or dinner

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999 sHAN NOODlE HOUsE

enjoy 10% off of total bill and Get one dish of myanmar salad or seasonal fruit for 4 people and above.

PEPERONI PIZZERIA

10% off on total bill. everyday.

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GINZA TEPPAN-YAKI @ OCEAN sHWE GONE DINE

enjoy 20% off your total bill on monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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CHATRIUM lOBBY lOUNGE

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20% saving on Hi Tea Special from 3pm to 5pm at chatrium Lobby lounge.mon to Sun

THE EMPORIA REsTAURANT AT CHATRIUM HOTEl

15% saving on international buffet dinner at The emporia restaurant in chatrium hotel. advance Booking required/monday to Sundays/4 persons per card.

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OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

10% off all drinks anytime at this café/ Bar in downtown yangon, created for independent travelers to meet and exchange updated information on traveling in myanmar one person per card. no booking required.

ElIQ REsTAURANT

10% discount on total bill anytime. cannot be used with other promotions.

Unlimited number of people.

Booking required.

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KOKINE BAR & REsTAURANT

1 free cocktail or long drink from the menu for at least 1 european main dish ordered at this bright restaurant and bar with outdoor seating by the pool. deal is valid everyday. only valid for cardholder.

l’AlCHIMIsTE FRENCH REsTAURANT

enjoy discounts every day at this French dining restaurant which is located at the bank of Inya lake. It’s a great place to eat and celebrate birthday party and dinner party. mon, Tue: 25% Wed, Thu: 15% Fri to Sun: 10% *all discounts on total bill 4 people / card

MONsOON REsTAURANT AND BAR YANGON

enjoy multiple discounts at this southeast asian restaurant located in a colonial building.

Food & drink: Total Bill 10% off (mon – Fri: 10am – 5pm) afternoon Tea Set: 9,000ks ++ , 15% off, 2pm – 5 pm, 4 pax cooking class: 50,000ks / person, 15% off, 2 days advance booking (everyday except Tuesday)

DAGON lOUNGE @ sUMMIT PARKVIEW HOTEl

enjoy 5% discount on Food and Beverage @ dagon Lounge. not including outside catering. not valid for promotions and set lunch/ dinner. no discount for cakes.

PADONMAR REsTAURANT

Free glass of wine or beer with lunch or dinner. must order a minimum of two main dishes per person. not valid on Set menu.

Two person per card.

BAR & ClUB

KOHAKU JAPANEsE REsTAURANT, CHATRIUM HOTEl

15% saving on a La carte menu at chatrium Hotel’s Japanese restaurant minimum 2 people mon to Thu Booking required.

enjoy 5% discount on Food and Beverage @ Parkview cafe’. not including outside catering. not valid for promotions and set lunch/ dinner. no discount for cakes.

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TRAINING/EDUCATION

EAsY CAFE & REsTAURANT

10% off total bill with a minimum spending of 6,000 Kyats in a single receipt. only applicable from 5 pm onwards.

MWs BEVERAGE ACADEMY

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enjoy 10% discount on any WSeT wine courses

sPA -

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PHOENIX sPA

lithan University College

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30% off on PmI courses (PmP and caPm) starting on Jan 15, 2015 1 person per card

10% discount for one person. 20% discount for two person for facial treatment only.

Wednesday & Tuesday a week & 2 person per card Please kindly book the session.

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CAlIFORNIA sKIN sPA

a. 5% off the published rates (www. thahara.com) for all package booking in high season ( oct to april)

enjoy 20% off any treatment and services. max 3 persons per card.

THAYA DAY sPA

15% off SPa SerVIceS or 10% off THaI FULL Body maSSaGe. mon – Fri, 1 person / card

HOTEl THAHARA

B. 10% off the published rates (www. thahara.com) for all package booking in Green season (may to September), please note that all the properties are closed in annual renovation and maintenance.

D’lAX sPA

TIGER HIll CHINEsE REsTAURANT AT CHATRIUM HOTEl

15% saving on a La carte menu at chatrium Hills chinese restaurant, Tiger Hill chinese restaurant. minimum order 2 person. mon – Thurs advance Booking required 4 people / card

PARKVIEW CAFE’ @ sUMMIT PARKVIEW HOTEl

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MOJO BAR

enjoy 2 for 1 drinks from 2 to 7, every day and 2 for 1 on all food items on Sunday, all day.

- 10% discount for လ1 person and 15% discount for 2 person visit (at least 1 card holder) on Weekdays happy hours ( 1100-1500 on mon-Thu) - For Weekends: Fri-Sun – 5% discount for 1 person and 10% discount for 2 person visit (at least 1 card holder) - advance Booking required.

GEKKO

enjoy 20% off on Lunch 11 to 4pm monday to Saturday and Sunday’s all day at Gekko.

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15% off SPa SerVIceS or 10% off THaI FULL Body maSSaGe. mon – Fri.1 person / card

15% off on any room type at this hotel, strategically located in the heart of yangon city and the ideal place for your business and leisure needs.

ORCHID HOTEl

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15% off on all published room rates applicable from Sundays to Thursday only advance booking required one person per card

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UNION BAR AND GRIll

Get 20% off lunch time, 11am to 4pm, at Union Bar & Grill, a popular and relaxed spot in downtown.

EsCAPE GAsTRO BAR

enjoy 40% off the total food bill and 10% on the drinks between 11am and 6pm during the whole week.

This offer can be used together with the 2-4-1 beer offer on Sundays.

KIPlING BAR @BElMOND GOVERNORs REsIDENCE

2 for 1 on drinks at the Bar from 18:00 – 22:00 during the week.

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BAlANCE FITNEss

15% discount for: 6 months or a one year membership contract monthly package for classes of $120 for 10 classes discount apply to Silver, Gold or Platinum membership discount cannot be added with other promotions

ClUB RIZZOlI

20% saving on total bill from 10pm onwards in the bar of chatrium Hotel.

Saturday and Sunday. Up to six people.

NERVIN CAFE AND BIsTRO

15% off total bill at this pioneering cafe & Bistro chain with outlet at Kandawgyi Lake. cannot be combined with other discounts or promos. monday to Friday. no booking required.

Up to four people on each card

Buy one get 10$ off second guest on any mini getaway tour.

HINTHA BUsINEss CENTREs

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one hour free wifi + a cup of coffee once a month per card.

BUY YOUR MYANMORE CARD HERE!

10% saving on daily rate/mon – Sun -

enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

20% off on total bill between 11am to 3pm every day at this institution amongst locals, expats and tourists. you will also get 10% on main course for dinner servings.

K & H TRAVEls CO.,lTD

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CHATRIUM HEAlTH ClUB

ICE BAR @ sEDONA HOTEl

50TH sTREET BAR

sERVICEs

GYM

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INYA DAY sPA

BUsINEss AllIANCE HOTEl

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BARIsTA lAVAZZA

PATRICK ROBERT THE GAllERY

enjoy 10% discount on any product

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VEsTIGE MERCANTIlE & RElICs

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Get 10% discount on total bill. discounts can only be claimed at: Vestige Flagship Store, yangon ( coming soon) Vestige Flagship Store, nay Pyi Taw Vestige Kiosk, avenue 64 Hotel.

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MONUMENT BOOKs

10% discount on any purchased superior to 50,000 ks,mon – Fri,1 people / card

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sEVEN FRIDAY sWIss WATCHEs For each purchase of a watch you get a Food voucher worth 20,000 ks to be used at House of Singapura, Peperoni and ya Kun.

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ElEGANT GEMs JEWEllERY & sOUVENIR

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15% off on selected items excluding Pearl, Jade, Loose gems and 18 K Gold

ACTIVITY

- 10% off of total bill at the exclusive seller of Lavazza brand coffee in myanmar. available every day.

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HOlA

enjoy 15% discount on F&B when doing a private event at Hola Bar & 15 min private lesson sampling or 1 hour group lesson trial

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MYANMORE Office

1st Floor, annex Bld, Strand Hotel, 92 Strand rd, Kyauktada Tsp 01-375680

50TH sTREET BAR

9/13, 50th Street, Botahtaung Township 1-397 060

Balance Fitness (Avenue 64 Hotel) 64 (G), Kyaik Wine Pagoda road,yangon 01 656 916

Monument Bookstore

150, dhamazedi road, Bahan Township, yangon

Inya Day spa

16/2, Inya rd, yangon 1 537 907

Padonmar Restaurant

no.105/107, Kha-yae-Bin road, dagon Township, yangon Between Pyin daung Su yeik Tha (Halpin road) and manawhari road/ahlone road.

Tel/Fax : +95 1 538895, +95 9 73029973, 73108606

Orchid Hotel

91, anawrahta road, Pazundaung Township, yangon 01-399930, 01-704740

8 FASHION

a wintery mix Satisfy your holiday shopping hunger with gifts from around Yangon

December 2014 / InDepth

December 2014 / InDepth

FASHION 9 1. Lacquered burmese offering vessel ($65) 7. Laquered bowls - Set of 3 ($48) 8. Natural cotton bathrobe ($42) 11. Blue printed bedspread ($50) Hamilton Yangon Tel : (+95) 9 250 042 311

2. White gold sapphire and diamond earrings ($1,750) 5. Natural dyed hand-spun raw silk shawl ($110) 6. Silver lapis lazuli ring ($110) 9. White mother of pearl and silver brooch ($170) 14. Sapphire and white gold pendant ($1,340) Thiripyitsaya Sakura Residence No.9 Inya Road, Kamaryut Township Tel : (+95) 1 525 001

4. Louis Vuitton handbag ($4,690) 12. White Valentino Ruby handbag ($268) 15. Men’s belt ($199) 16. Polarized Ray Bans sunglasses ($228) 17. Dior color blocked sunglasses ($325) Le Vangee 224/A, G Flr, U Wisara Rd., Shwe Gon Daing (West) Ward Tel : (+95) 942 1 011 952 10. Men’s neckties ($50) Van Heusen Myanmar No. 74D Than Lwin Rd., Bahan Township Tel : (+95) 1 230 438 3 & 13. Watches by SEVEN FRIDAY ($1,193)

House of Singapura,

Union Business Centre,

Nat Mauk Road, Bahan Township

Tel : (+95) 9 336 11110

10 STREETS OF YANGON

December 2014 / InDepth

17th Street

A Cornucopian Morning Bob Percival takes us on a stroll through 17th Street in downtown Yangon, renowned for its endless bounty of early morning sounds, colors, and purchasable goods.

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t’s time to shop for fresh vegetables and meat. In downtown Yangon, there is only one destination for produce: 17th Street—in the heart of Chinatown. Some good Burmese friends, Phyo and Daisy, have come along to help.

We start on the Lower Block at Strand Road. On the corner stands the magnificent Sit Teik Tong Temple, a Clan House (or Kongsi) to twenty-three generations of descendants of Teik Khen who became prosperous in the village of Ho Yong in Mainland China. At the entrance door an exquisite white marble staircase, lined with green tiles and mounted teak bannister, stretches up to the first floor. Another two floors of temple and meeting rooms, all with original early 20th century floor tiles imported from Manchester in England—antique wooden furniture and wonderful tile mosaics— rests above. On the top floor there is a lavish verandah with a superb view looking over the Yangon River.

A carved marble tablet states that the placement of the building was especially selected, “with its front facing the Rangoon River and the hill of Shwedagon at its back, with the tides ebbing and flooding in the river the spiritual communion of our clansman in the that distant village of Na Yong is thus maintained ‘by drinking the water we think of its source’ and the idea of selecting this site was magnificent indeed.”

Outside, shops overflow with fresh bananas that have come from as far away as Mandalay, Kyon Paw and the Delta. The owner of the shop nearest the Sit Teik Tong Temple is Mt Hla Min Kyaw. He is happy to chat about Yangon life, and will sell you a hand of ten bananas for 700kyat and a fresh coconut for the same price. A bit further along the street, a shop displays numerous baskets of eggs in a bamboo hamper.

The eggs have come from Taungyi, Mandalay and the Ayeyarwady; one chicken egg is 100kyat and a duck egg 120kyat. Daisy buys a tray of twenty eggs for her mother.

Bananas from Mandalay, Kyon Paw and the Delta

Moving further up the street, we pass a shop full of aluminium kitchenware made locally in Yangon, and in Bago. We pop in at the Man Myo Taw Chinese teashop for a quick breakfast. The food is delicious and cheap: pork dumplings 350kyat, chicken & pork steamed bun 400kyat, and Shan noodle 500kyat. Phyo also needs to buy some rice, so we cross the road to Shwe Lar Thar (Golden Moon) that sells rice from all over the country. The best comes from Shwebo (2150kyat); there is also rice from Sin Thwe Town on

December 2014 / InDepth

STREETS OF YANGON 11

Fresh spring roll skins, an elaborate production

We cross Mahabandoola Road into the exuberant and crazy bedlam of the Chinatown open market—a cornucopia of fruit, vegetables, seafood, and meat products. the Ayeyarwady (1200 kyat), Pathein (1800 kyat), and the cheapest rice from Tee Yar (750 kyat).

The jewels of 17th Street are the rows of original Chinese style terrace houses that line the western side, with their distinctive façade of wooden shutters and old world charm. There is one block of eight three-story terraces centered on No. 61, and another block of eight four-story terraces that stretches from Nos. 6780. This is a part of Yangon’s architectural and cultural heritage that is sorely neglected and under real threat of extinction. These frontages of faded turquoise shutters set amongst chipped orange & white stucco are unique to Yangon and should be saved and preserved; it is not just the buildings but also the residents and their lifestyle that is an essential part of what makes Yangon such a rich and culturally diverse city.

At the foot of the terraces are rows of shops providing a singular assortment of family run businesses making food supplies with simple technology and methods.

At No. 63 fresh coconut cream is made on-site. We select a coconut, which is split in two, the inner wa-

ter poured out and saved. The inner copra of the nut is then ground out by machine, and remixed with the coconut water to make the cream, all for 700ks. The shop also sells coconut jelly (kyat kyaw & kyaw sein).

At No. 81 is the Kim Kwein Heinn noodle shop—in business here for over seventy years. The owner Mr. Win Aung offers piles of fresh noodle, made early that morning, at prices ranging from 100-140kyat a viss (about 1.6 kg). Phyo buys two viss for his mother, as these are her favourite noodles.

We cross Mahabandoola Road into the exuberant and crazy bedlam of the Chinatown open market—a cornucopia of fruit, vegetables, seafood, and meat products. The street is packed with locals buying produce for Yangon’s thousands of restaurants, teahouses and street stalls. Here you can get prawns, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, rice, flowers, legumes, clams, large slabs of mutton bright red against white fat, corn fed chicken with bright yellow feet, fish beautifully displayed as though out of a Renaissance still-life painting, fresh local eggs piled high in small woven cane baskets, two-feet high stacks of fresh corn cobs, and piles of green okra, dried fish, trays of fresh lime and lemon, semolina cake, white-shell mushrooms, coriander, chili, lemon grass, freshly killed squab, noodles displayed in large round bamboo trays stacked six high, and small bundles of htin shoe pind to start your fire. A man passes by selling small bundles of paddy rice to feed sparrows for Buddhist merit. At the end of the block we reach Phyo’s favourite shop where they make fresh spring roll skins. Here there are two men working along two rows of seven hot-

plates fired by charcoal. The dough mix falls out expert hands onto a hot griddle, in one skilled elastic movement. The two men work together as one. Phyo buys 25 skins for 500kyat.

Finally, at the top of the block are numerous flower vendors selling orchid, rose, iris and daisy. Buying a bunch of yellow roses to take home and fill the house with colour and scent is a perfect way to finish the morning. Please visit and enjoy 17th Street. It is an experience that is pure Yangon. g Bob Percival is based in Myanmar, after spending four years in China. He is completing his Creative Writing PhD from Southern Cross University in Australia. Bob leads regular walking tours of Yangon and can be reached on 0925-011-6543 or projectsdada@ mac.com

12 COVER STORY

A Passion for Football

Elected president of Yangon United Football Club in 2009 at the age of 24, Pye Phyo Tayza holds the record as the youngest FIFA team President in the world. Five years later, he shares his views with InDepth on the difficulties that lay ahead for football in Myanmar, and what it will take to elevate Myanmar football to a global level.

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passion for football often runs in the blood, bonding father to son, transcending generations and forming one of life’s few constants. In the UK it’s often said that you’re more likely to change your wife, career and religion than allegiance to the football team of your childhood. For Pye Phyo Tayza, whose other business interests include oil and F&B, it seems football is where the heart is. “My passion for football came from my father and runs in the blood,” he says before a photo shoot that has him chasing a ball around the grounds of Yangon United Football Club, who last year finished second in the Myanmar National League. “We tried our best, but you win some and lose some. I was ashamed I couldn’t make 6,000,000 people happy in Yangon”.

A keen footballer himself, Pye Phyo Tayza plays the recreational league every Sunday, fuelled on, perhaps, the memories of one of football’s all-time greats— the Brazilian, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, his childhood hero who scored twice in the 2002 World Cup final against Germany in Japan. Clearly under no illusion of emulating the great Brazilian, his dreams are instead focused on guiding a new generation of Myanmar footballers to reach their potential and reinstall a passion amongst his fellow countrymen for the beautiful game - something that has been on the wane in recent years.

However, hope for a resurgence in national football pride looms on the horizon. Recently, Myanmar’s Under 19 football team qualified for the 2015 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand, defeating the United Arab Emirates. It brings to mind, in financial terms at least, a David and Goliath showdown, one that will hopefully help reverse a decline in support for football in Myanmar.

“Back in 2009 we’d get 18,000 to 20,000 spectators per game and up to 30,000 for the big games”, Pye Phyo Tayza laments, “now, on average, we get 3,500 people”. There are several reasons for the decline in numbers, one being the impossible gridlock that puts people off traveling to the stadium and another, the declining form of the national team. “Enthusiasm for football is driven by the national team. During the South East Asia Games, which Myanmar hosted, fans were hoping to see something special but we got no-where”.

Four decades ago Myanmar was a major soccer force in the region, winning five Southeast Asian Games

December 2014 / InDepth

December 2014 / InDepth

COVER STORY 13 portunity to attend coaching courses and once they obtain necessary licenses, we will have them join our coaching staff.

When we do our youth scouting, we invite all the kids from all the villages. Not just from Yangon, but from all over the country. Come for a trial. If you are capable, we'll sign you. I believe in youth development.

I'm investing a lot in grassroots development”.

Football’s a sport that can transcend a nation’s mood from gloom to glory in the flash of a second. Should Myanmar’s national youth team topple the Goliath’s in next year’s U19 World Cup finals in New Zealand?

Who’s to say Myanmar won’t ascend once again as a footballing nation to be reckoned with? Win or lose, their return to international football competition will bring positive results.

Photos by between 1965 and 1973. Since then, the national team has suffered a precipitous decline as poor governance laid waste to the economy. And as anyone who reads the headlines will know, soccer feeds on money like a sumo wrestler on carbs, a fact not lost on Pye Phyo Tayza.

“If you look at football teams in Thailand, their yearly budget is around 10-15 million USD for the top teams and 2-3 million USD for the lower clubs. Here, we are 13 clubs and each club's average expenditure per year is 800,000 - 1,300,000 USD. In terms of professionalism, Japan has over 300 professional licensed coaches, licensed by FIFA. Thailand, next door, has over 100 AFC Pro Licensed pro-

Photo by

Gerhard Joren

Gerhard Joren

fessional coaches. In Myanmar, we have zero AFC Pro Licensed local coaches and 34 AFC A License holders, but that number will grow.” Despite the imbalance with neighbouring countries, Pye Phyo Tayza is confident that things are improving.

“When it all started, there used to be days when a player couldn't even afford transportation from their village to the training ground to acquire the dream of making it to the national team. Now, with all the support that has been given to the youth, it’s just one click away for them to train in Germany, which is what the Myanmar U-19 National Team did”.

Youth development is another important element for Phyo, with the establishment of Yangon United Football School providing training programs for U-16, U18 and U20 year olds. “When the senior players come to the end of their career, you need young ones to take over. However, it doesn't mean their career ladder does not stop with YUFC. We grant them op-

“I've always told my players that its an opportunity for you to grow. Grab it. Play abroad. It will expand your comfort zone. You'll see more things than playing here. Not only for monetary issues. You get to see and play with foreigners.”

By the same token, nothing happens as if by magic.

Investment, hard work and belief also come into the equation. Knowing where and how to channel these elements is the key to success. Anyone who’s spent time in Yangon will have noticed scores of youth playing street football, many of them barefoot, night after night on Sule Pagoda Road. The passion, energy and skill is clearly there in abundance. The only thing missing is a football pitch.

“What I wish to happen here is... we need more budgeting, more financial support, more infrastructure.

You cannot play football without a pitch. We need stadiums all over the country. My only wish is to see proper grass pitches all over the country—in districts, villages, and cities. Only then can we let the kids grow.” g

14 ART

December 2014 / InDepth

Bonds Between People Across the country, Adam Nicholas captures the Myanmar tapestry of sound, culture, and tradition in hopes of preserving ethnic diversity through The Myanmar Music Preservation Project

December 2014 / InDepth

ART 15

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n a small village deep in the Shan State, near Hsipaw, around forty Lisu people are singing and dancing. The movement, slow, rhythmic, almost lethargic, moves in circles around a single tree at the center of village. The celebration has already consumed two days and will continue for another. Four men play stringed instruments, which are all locally handmade. The participants, mostly women and children, are all dressed in full traditional costume—most of the men are out in the fields working.

The person who has filmed and sound recorded this event is Adam Nicholas. Adam formulated the Myanmar Music Preservation Project to document and preserve the rich oral musical tradition practiced within Myanmar’s 135 ethnic tribal groups. Brought up in London with a Jamaican dad and a Ghanaian mum, he studied electronic music in London at the Guild Hall School of Music for four years while helping run a record label, The Forge.

Adam came to Myanmar because of the country’s high ethnic diversity and believed that he could learn a lot from this rich cultural heritage. The government states in its constitution that Myanmar citizens have the “right to preserve culture and carry on tradition”.

Music and language are an essential part of that tradition, especially at a local level.

Not far from the capital of Kayah State, Loikaw, Adam has ridden into the thick of the eastern Myanmar countryside. This is deep country, where there are no major roads. It takes a couple of hours driving along a battered dirt track to get to the village. Here a Padaung (Kayan) woman holds a wooden four-string guitar made from local wood.

“It’s in the music that the local language is contained,” says Adam. “Here in Myanmar there is an opportunity for communities to express their identity and preserve their language through song and music. There is a resilience happening here, for local ethnic groups to still want to practice their own music and language. Music preserves dancing, it binds communities, and supports the craft of making musical instruments. Cultural activities like this are the softest and least offensive to share and be joyful with your culture. Music transcends language”.

“When I got to her house she said hi, then quickly went into her room and came back in full tribal gear,” Adam recalls. “I think she thought I was a tourist and even asked for a gift. I told her that’s not why I was there. We needed to differentiate between being a tourist, and talking about music. That changed our relationship to one where we could celebrate the culture and preserve the music; where we could cooperate and work together. She was very happy about this and instantly started playing music. … It’s the start of a long process. So far twenty villages of individual musicians have been contacted”.

The village leader from this Lisu village was so pleased about Adam’s interest in recording their ceremony that he broke open some corn wine (he hadn’t had a drink for thirty years) and had a small sip to celebrate. No one had ever come to their village to ask about their culture.

This tree ceremony has taken place each new-year for as long as people can remember. Legend states that long ago when there were wars with other tribes, one of the men from this village went out into the mountains to seek safety. He carried one child on his shoulders and another young boy walked by his side. High in the hills he ran into an enemy fighter. The fighter asked the man why he was carrying one of his children on his shoulders. The man said that the child on his shoulders was in fact an orphan who he’d recently adopted from the village; that the child was crippled and could not walk. The enemy fighter was so impressed with the man’s generosity that he told him to go back to his village and plant a tree in front of every house, then if he and his men ever came down to fight and saw these trees they would know to leave the village alone. The dancing and singing taking place today commemorates this event and acts as a cultural bond for the community.

The next stage of the project is completing a needs assessment of the country’s ethnomusicology, and building a network of good leaders and focus groups, finding what’s actually out there. “It’s their country and their music and you’re doing it for them so you better research properly,” Adam says.

Now funding needs to be secured to get the project off the ground so that high quality methods can be implemented, making it easy for people to have access to their music, and a means to store it securely.

Funds will be sought from private and public bodies; those people who are genuinely interested in cultural preservation.

Another aspect of the project is is working with traditional dancers and experimenting with remixing their music; most have never worked with contemporary electronic music. It is an effort to get away from the paradigm that modern technology has to result in homogenization, where in fact it has the potential to bring people together in a commonality. There is inter-cultural conflict in Myanmar that threatens the road to democracy and national security. It is through projects such as the Myanmar Music Preservation

Project that culture can act as a savior of ethnic diversity and understanding; where traditional music, and its incorporation into the modern music scene, can act as a bond between all people.

Adam is no stranger to the power music has to transform a community. He has come to Myanmar, via Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was head of sound in a studio that recorded jazz and world music. He also set up the Rock School where local musicians could record an album, giving voice to Afghan kids who were brave enough to play music and express themselves.

He helped organize peace concerts in a country where rocks were thrown down on stage because women were performing, and protection was provided by AK47s at peace concert (playing and performing music was considered un-Islamic by the Taliban). Adam adds, “The Afghanistan music scene was stuck in 80s synthesizers. We helped modernize the scene, using traditional music from fifteen tribes with Afghanistan instruments playing Reggae for first time. This was in February of this year, with the Taliban influence growing. More music was more courage.”

“The loudest voice is not always the most important,” Adam emphasizes. “A lot of these guys have the right to have their culture preserved but don’t have the strength in resources to do that. They have things that we can learn from that we don’t even know about.

We’ve been lucky enough to have the resources and equipment to save our music and hybridize it.” g For more information about the Myanmar Music Preservation Project, contact Adam at adam@developingmusic.org

December 2014 / InDepth

16 MUSIC

THREE DECADES OF ROCK Myanmar music legend EMPEROR has been captivating their listeners for thirty years, dominating the rock music scene in Yangon. Lead singer, Zaw Win Htut, met with InDepth to share the story of their beginnings, their difficulties, and what it feels like playing in a band for thirty years.

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og machines billow out a wave of the whitegrey vapor across a stage, catching in its murky cloud shafts of multi-colored light zig-zagging like hashtags mid-air. Within this pool of brilliant smoke a voice emerges that reaches out across the night coupled with an electronic score of a distinctly familiar tone. As the voice rises with the music, the audience buckles into a frenzy of impulse and yearning, reaching out as if desperate and hungry.

It is a scene very familiar to Zaw Win Htut, lead singer of the iconic Myanmar classic rock band, EMPEROR, who have just celebrated their 30th Anniversary.

It is a number few bands ever see much less experience in the same glory as their younger, more energetic selves. Simply, EMPEROR continues to claim the hearts and ears of Myanmar’s rock music scene.

Born in Yangon but raised in Mandalay, Zaw Win Htut began his music development in the 5th grade when his father, a doctor at Mandalay General Hospital, was sent to London to study blood transfusions.

“He was the first doctor to learn blood transfusions here,” he recollects. “When he came back he brought back some LP’s—Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and The Beatles.” It was from these first albums that Zaw Win Htut began to experiment with music.

“My father used to party every weekend. Every Friday there was a band in Mandalay. They built their own guitars, their own effects, and they used to jam at my father’s house every Friday. They built everything. Wood and strings and pickups. They built it all. After they left, they would leave the instruments for the weekend at my house. So me and my brother would try some drums and guitars.”

By the age of 12, after moving back to Yangon, Zaw Win Htut and his brother had started a band. By 1980, at the age of 16, they had formed EMPEROR, covering musicians like John Cougar Mellencamp, Rusty Waters, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple.

“Our audience doesn’t see much difference between the original and our cover,” says Zaw Win Htut. “For instance, my father loves Clapton a lot. So my brother plays like Clapton. The sound is not too different. On my first original album, I covered three tracks; Motorhead, UFO, and The Beatles— Norwegian Wood. Nobody knows if its a cover or original or anything, because in our country people don’t know all this. They only know the songs and the lyrics and they love it.”

Yet, despite their national popularity, the themes of classical rock music often clashed with the ideals

of the time. They were forced to alter album covers and change lyrics while complying with strict dress codes. “When we started playing … censorship for lyrics started at that point. We were not allowed to wear pants. We had to wear longyi’s and we could not have long hair. It was so un-rock and roll.”

Their concerts, often played at the National Theatre for lack of an alternative venue, would often break out into violent uproar. “It was first built for orchestra, not for rock concerts. But we had that place and we played two or three concerts. And every concert ended with riots. Glass was broken. ... Sometimes, when the crowd would go crazy, it would be a problem for the people on stage. We would get shut down. Sometimes there would be riots between the police and the audience. When we finished, there would be chaos.

We had to go to court many times...a lot...to sign that we would not do it again. But then we did.”

Thirty years later, they still attract large crowds of loyal and passionate fans. Though their concerts no longer incite such violent outbursts, the current openness to new music also brings its own set of issues for the band, recognizing what the new generation of Myanmar musicians must face.

“A lot of very talented young artists can write and play their own stuff. But its difficult to find a place to play. It’s a real problem. The distribution market is finished. You cannot distribute, except online. But not physically. There are no stores and no music distribution system here... Also, copyright. We don’t have proper copyright laws. Our fellow musicians are very unpredictable. The copyright laws here are not on the international level. So, the problem is we have one song that was a hit song for 20 years but we received no royalties for the song.”

Regardless of their past or current struggles, the band plays on, forged by three decades of change. It has bonded them into something more than friends, more than bandmates. “We don’t feel anything special for being thirty. Time flashed by so quickly and I have no idea how it happened for thirty years. The great thing about our band members is that we have been friends since the 10th grade. We know each other very well. ...We are like family.” g

Screaming fans are the norm for Zaw Win Htut

December 2014 / InDepth

18 IMPRESSIONS

The Heat of a Dying Heart Ricardo Reyes, AKA Pablo Neruda (would-be Nobel Prize winning poet) landed in Rangoon where he learned lessons in love, anger and passion.

Bob Percival takes us on a kindred journey of Ricardo’s last day in the city.

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ANGOON, Burma, November 1928 — Ricardo Reyes looks out the window of the Chilean Consulate, the view subsumed by the grand edifice of the Secretariat building, the architectural stamp of the British Empire. He hates the British; he thinks them stodgy and conservative, and he hates their parties—full of monotonous and ignorant colonials, none of whom can speak Spanish. Here in Rangoon the heat is unbearable—a damp oven. The city is fetid … a city of blood, dreams and gold ... with a white hotel for whites and a golden pagoda for the golden.

In the office there is nothing to do. He has wasted eighteen months here, with only the occasional boat arriving from Calcutta giving him papers to fill out for paraffin and tea to be shipped off to Colombo. All he could do was escape to the temples and markets to think and write.

Then he met Josie Bliss, the furious one.

It was in the bed of his small apartment, not far from the office, that the boredom and pain finally ended.

Now after eight months he would have to walk out without telling her; Josie the love terrorist, Josie the secretary, lover, and sorcerous. Outside, fig trees cast shadows across the empty road. It was time to leave.

He walks down the wooden stairs, carrying the small leather suitcase he bought in Calcutta. He feels the gentle curve of the worn teak as his hand slides down the banister. He can almost smell the jungle where those massive trees had been felled, brought down on the river by barge … a river that descended from the cruel jungle in to the stifling city, and its leprous streets.

Out into Mahabandoola Street, the light and heat is tempered by the insipid winter; a horse-drawn gharry languishes by—the sound of the hooves lost in the backdrop of Victorian splendor. Ricardo wonders whether the Secretariat will still be there in a hundred years, if his poems will survive these red clay bricks made by Indians darker than the already dark girls who wear their hair up high, stiffened with lacquer, a hardness against the soft skin.

Those stupid British. They advised him never to ride

in the gharry, that these vehicles are used for illicit meetings; not the proper look for a colonial gentleman. No brothels, no opium dens, no Persian restaurants serving the most wonderful tea. To his delight he passed through all of them last night, his last night in Rangoon … the flower of the opium’s sloth, the immobilized joy of our act transcending all motion.

When he arrived home, the crows were already waking up the city. Josie was furious with jealousy. He looked for the silver knife that she often cupped in her delicate hands while circling the bed, raging with passion … I hid because I feared you’d kill me and now suddenly I would like to smell its kitchen steel so accustomed to the weight of your hand and the shine of your foot.

He walks towards Sule Pagoda. A tram rumbles past full of monks on their way up to Shwedagon. What would they think of Josie? And what would they think of him leaving her here alone with a savaged heart?

There must be forgiveness there. There are so many gods in Burma, it is a city of gods ... naked and elegant buddhas smiling at the cocktail party of empty eternity. He passes the Sunni mosque—the call to prayer. Mecca covering Rangoon five times a day with the sound of another God. A God who cannot be seen. There is no room to sleep in this noise of belief.

He nears his apartment. The tower of the fire station rises above. The highest building in Rangoon. The other day Alvaro had shown him a photograph of those colonial civil servants burning an effigy of the Kaiser, on this same spot; even the Indian workers had joined in—loyal to the King, all God’s men. In Chile, royalty is traded for military juntas. Now he doesn’t

even talk to Alvaro, only silence for his best friend.

There is nothing to say.

One more block. The footpath is crowded with fruit sellers. He loves the streets of Rangoon … the Chinese quarter with its open-air theatres and paper dragons and splendid lanterns … the Hindu street, the humblest of them, with its temples … and the poor people prostrate in the mud outside. A rat scrambles into the broken drain with open sewer. He comes to his doorway and walks up the steep wooden steps for the last time, unlatches the padlock, and sits down, exhausted, at the kitchen table. It’s bare except for a porcelain vase containing six yellow roses. He writes the letter. He knows that when Josie reads it she will curse everyone, especially his own mother … calling her a mother of dogs.

He will tell Josie, La Magnila, the evil one, where he hid the knife, buried at the base of the coconut tree; the weapon that was the endpoint of her love. He lays down the pen and looks around. This is where she killed his boredom and taught him that love, anger, and passion shared the same bed. He is twenty-four years old.

He leaves the letter on the table with the six yellow roses, locks the door and leaves the key in its hiding place. He moves forward, down Sule Pagoda Road to Strand Road, then across to the wharves where the steamer is docked, its funnel already spewing black smoke ready to head south to Colombo. The high water ebb of the river has reached its peak, held up by the incoming flood tide. A brief period of slack water forms across the river. He walks up the wooden gangway and looks down at the stillness, and he felt a slight shudder … the river murmured things that I might have said to her in tears. g

Josie followed Ricardo to Colombo soon after. She boarded a steamer, carrying a bag of rice, some blankets and the Paul Robeson records they loved listening to. On arriving at Colombo she set up camp outside Ricardo’s suburban bungalow, playing records, cooking meals and harassing any woman that landed on Ricardo’s doorstep. Threatened by police action, Josie was finally convinced to return to Rangoon, but not before demanding that Ricardo be there at the wharf to say goodbye. Pablo Neruda writes that at the last moment of leaving ... she was seized by a gust of grief and love. We do not hear Josie’s story. Josie Bliss was never heard of again and her real name was never revealed. Pablo Neruda returned to Rangoon thirty years later. He searched for Josie, but all had gone. The apartment they had shared together, and the Chilean Consulate, had both been demolished, and Josie could not be found.

When you die, she used to say to me, my fears will end.

20 TRAVEL

December 2014 / InDepth

GEMS IN THE SUN

More than a thousand islands running 960 kilometers from North to South, the Republic of Maldives glistens in a remote corner of the Indian Ocean like an exquisite strand of emeralds. Ben Hopkins flew to the ocean’s edge to discover an island destination where extravagance comes standard.

December 2014 / InDepth

TRAVEL 21

Indegeribable Beauty and solitude await you on the islands of the Maldives

December 2014 / InDepth

22 TRAVEL

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fter a four hour flight from Bangkok the Maldives finally comes into view. From an altitude of 30,000 meters there are no eyesores, each island glistening green in an ocean of cobalt blue that stretches to the horizon on all sides.

with coral stone walls and palm thatch roofs. There were brackish water showers, basic amenities and barbecues on the beach. When it was first established, Kurumba was reachable only by dhoni, a type of native open-air vessel with an outboard motor.

That is until the plane begins its descent and the nation’s capital city of Male comes into focus, a densely packed island of concrete buildings providing home to about a third of the Maldives growing population of around 330,000 people. There seems barely enough room to swing a cat on Male, but that doesn’t stop the people constructing new buildings and filling the air with smog, seemingly oblivious to concerns of overpopulation and rising sea levels that many scientists believe threaten the island’s very existence.

From this modest start, the tourist business in the Maldives has rapidly expanded to the point that there are now more than 100 resort islands and up to a million visitors each year. A third of the resorts define themselves as deluxe and offer amenities such as underwater spa treatments, private yacht cruises and wine dinners in the company of your own wine guru.

Few tourists have cause to visit Male as they’re quickly whisked away to an island resort. And so it is, within five minutes of landing a uniformed porter steps forward with a name-check, takes my bag and leads me to a speedboat. Thirty minutes later I arrive at Anantara Dighu Resort and Spa, an island paradise where the warm coral sand is white as snow and the adjoining lagoon plays host to more fish than your average aquarium; octopus, sting rays and baby reef sharks casually swim by the jetties and boardwalks that connect Dighu to its two neighbouring islands of Veli and Naladhu. Male is now firmly out of sight and mind.

International guests have been passing through the Maldives since 1972, when George Corbin, an Italian travel agent opened the country’s first resort on a tiny island not far from Male. Working with a team of local partners, George Corbin built two dozen rooms

Dreaminess comes standard

Every resort in the Maldives is its own private island, and with so many to choose from the only problem is selecting where to stay. Anantara Dighu falls in the deluxe category, offering thatched roof villas complete with a private plunge pool, outdoor marble bathrooms that would have satisfied Cleopatra and your own pillow menu. Other villas stand on stilts rising up from the sea bed with steps leading from the veranda into the ocean and glass floor washrooms where you can watch the fish swim by while freshening up.

People-watching around the infinity pool provides hours of entertainment in itself. The clientel consists of a truly international mix of people united by a desire for luxury with the money to afford it. Famous footballers and tennis players are spotted from time to time, supermodels with their try-hard boyfriends are equally noticeable while the newly-minted from Russia and China continue to arrive in droves, helping to boost the nation’s GDP, almost 50% of which relies upon tourism – the second largest sector being fishing.

For many guests money is immaterial. Previous to my

stay, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia hired all three islands for a three-week state visit under tight security. The three-week shutdown was reported in media sources as fetching around US$26,000,000; making the most expensive villa on the resort, at its optimum price a staggering US$25,000 a night, seem like a drop in the ocean.

In many respects, the Maldives are two countries in one; one for the locals and one for the tourists. Maldivian citizens, who are mainly Sunni Muslims, cannot practice any religion other than Islam. Outside of the resorts alcohol and pork are banned. Last November saw the election of President Abdulla Yameen whose platform, now enacted, included a plan to institute the death penalty — even for children — under Shariah law.

However, the good news for the independent traveller is that the Maldives are finally opening their locally inhabited islands to tourists. For decades, only resort islands were open for tourists. Now intrepid individuals can now choose their own itineraries and travel from island to island, living among the devout but extremely friendly local population and staying in guest house accommodation at a fraction the price of the resort islands.

On my third day I took a boat ride to a locally inhabited island called Maafushi, where narrow sand paths cut through rows of brightly coloured but dilapidated buildings. Sparsely stocked convenience stores and neglected neighbourhoods suggest much of the revenue from tourism goes elsewhere. On one end of the island a tall iron fence is all that separates a local prison from a row of houses. “They’d have to be good

December 2014 / InDepth

TRAVEL 23

swimmers if they ever escaped,” my local guide, the boatman, joked. When I eventually meet a couple of young Australian backpackers, their reaction to island life is mixed. “The surf’s great, the people are friendly and the food’s incredible,” one of them said, “but there’s no alcohol, so we’re heading back to Goa, I’m gagging for a beer.”

Back on the resort island of Dighu, an ice cold beer on the sun deck has me making plans to move on to the next island resort. After four days of extravagant indulgences that included luxurious spa treatment, copious amounts of red wine and fresh lobster, and the thrill of swimming with a giant eagle ray during a two-day diving exertion, I take a seaplane 30 minutes North to Anantara Kihava Villas. The captain and co-pilot, both dressed in shorts and flip-flops leave the cabin door open as we fly at an altitude of around 5,000 meters, low enough to pick out the infinity pools and beach villas of the island resorts below.

Few places in the world have such consistently perfect beaches with whiter-than-white sand and luminous blue water. The island’s interior constitutes a series of meandering sand paths that cut through lush green vegetation and trees that reach into the sky. Private villas step out onto circus sands lending the feeling you’re in the midst of an elaborate fantasy.

If it all gets too dreamy and slow, which it can, there’s also a full range of water-sports to choose from including: big game fishing, diving, snorkelling, windsurfing, sailing and more. Many water-sport enthusiasts are known to surface only when they smell dinner wafting across the island waters. Wining and dining is an integral part of any holiday in the Maldives and most resorts lure high calibre international chefs not afraid to add their creativity in conjuring up exciting and unique dining experiences.

On my final night in Khihava I’m invited to a wine dinner in an underwater restaurant and cellar stacked high with old and new-world wines spanning nine decades. The island’s wine guru is on hand to talk us through each course but it’s difficult to concentrate on worldly things when a brilliant array of fish dance, dart and float before your eyes. When I step out and make my way back to the villa, the moon’s underwater and my head’s swimming with the image of a giant grouper fish floating slowly towards me. Black eyed and menacing as if to say, “Hey, mister, that was my cousin you just ate.”

The following day, before returning to Male on the seaplane, I ask a Maldivian security guard if he’s ever had to deal with a heinous crime or scenes of drunken violence. “Yes,” he says in a serious tone, “once I had to ask a newly-wed to unlock the door of her villa and allow her husband back in after a domestic quarrel, but that’s about the worst thing that’s happened.” In paradise, there is no escape and no in-between, you either embrace it and love it or fight it and loath it.

Needless to say, most of us succumb. g For more information on Anantara resorts go to: www.anantara.com

5-star dining at it’s finest

GETTING THERE The neanest gateway to Male is via Bangkok,where several carriers offer daily flights starting around $300USD. WHEN TO GO The Maldives has a benign climate, with yearround temperatures between 79F and 86F (26C-30C). It never suffers from tornadoes though it does have a monsoon season in November, which is best avoided and unsettled weather can persist well into December, though then the rain tends to be in short, afternoon bursts only.

The high season stretches from November to April, with Christmas and New Year being the most expensive time to travel. The perfect months are January, February and March when the sky is blue and the water so calm it could be glass. As April is a ‘shoulder’ period, the prices are lower. May sees the start of the low season when the weather is less predictable but rarely bad enough to disturb a holiday.

TRANSFERS Transfers used to be a matter of jumping into a dhoni and chugging off to your resort. These days the resorts span the whole archipelago so your transfer could be by boat, by plane, or both.

Speedboats have replaced dhonis for the nearer resorts; seaplanes take guests to the more distant ones, and fixed wheel planes carry guests to the five regional airports, from where it’s another trip on a speedboat.

But there are two more hurdles to negotiate before you can be whisked off to your resort: the queues at immigration and sometimes longish waits for transfers. Be patient and know that once you reach your resort, the frustration and anxiety soon slip away.

GETTING AROUND Once you’re at your resort, you’re almost certain to want to stay put, bar the odd excursion. Even a two-resort holiday is not recommended – the transfers waste too much precious holiday time, not to mention the hassle and the cost.

CRUISES If you’re determined to see more of the region, consider a cruise. For historical reasons, the pleasure cruise has been slow to take off but dive safaris have been the core of non-resort holidays since the beginning of tourism here and almost all ‘liveaboards’ are concentrated on this aspect.

Surfing safaris are a fairly recent innovation and fast growing as more excellent breaks are found and the Maldives’ reputation for surfing spreads.

There are fishing safaris, from casting for a giant trevally in a lagoon to fishing for big game from an anchored chair. There is even a whale and dolphin-watching safari.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO CURRENCY The Maldivian currency is the Rufiyaa but tourists have no need of it. Resort bills are best paid by plastic at the end of the stay and other expenses, such as tips and purchases when on excursion, are best paid in dollars.

LOCAL LAWS, ETIQUETTE As tourists remain ensconced on separate islands, local laws and customs do not apply. But do be aware that topless sunbathing is not permitted.

When visiting local inhabited islands, it is recommended that you dress modestly. It is not a matter of covering your head but simply means not showing too much flesh.

December 2014 / InDepth

A Town Called Samkar On a tour of the Inle/Kalaw/Heho region Griffin Hotchkiss walks for alms, waxes philosophical, and discovers the real origins of a bad knee.

“Pon Pon” feeds birds during the clunky 3 hour boat ride

December 2014 / InDepth

I

n the back of a sawmill close to the center of Nyaung Shwe, our guide ‘Pon Pon’, a nickname derived from the word ‘Ponggyi’ (which means ‘monk’), met us for noodles and tea at the start of our journey. In the back of the sawmill, we found a canal stuffed with docked longboats; one of these boats awaited us to climb aboard.

‘Pon Pon,’ or Bhikku Eindaka, grew up in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan state. He lived in Yangon and taught English for a time, but after he was ordained he decided to move to the Inle region to teach English to the children around the lake. U Eindaka was taking us on a tour of 2 villages located about 75 kilometers south of Nyaung Shwe, the main tourism hub for the Inle/Kalaw/Heho region, to meet his students and explore the area.

The morning sun and country wind pressed against our faces during the 3 hour boat-ride; water splashed occasionally, and gulls squawked overhead; all while the clunky, endlessly-repaired outboard motor chugged along in the background - a welcome change from the frigid air- conditioning and vibrant Burmese music videos of the night bus during our previous day’s travel. During the trip, Pon Pon entertained us by breaking apart pieces of bread and tossing them up in the air for the gulls to catch mid-flight.

Pon Pon’s students were already waiting when we arrived at the first village. All girls between the ages of 7 and 14, we surmised that the boys of the town were not keen on studying English. We had brought with us several bags with food, clothes, and school supplies to give to the students.

After removing our baggage, Pon Pon promptly announced to his students in Burmese, “Our guests will need a place to sleep for tonight. Tell your parents after lunch.” He pointed to a young girl at the front of the group and said, “The foreigner will stay with you.”

Immediately, she smiled, grabbed my hand, and led me away from the group towards her family’s house, a modest hut built on stilts over the edge of the lake.

I spent the afternoon out on the water in a small boat with her and her sister, collecting flowers and reeds to make into necklaces and crowns. The girls, who had grown up piloting the slender and flat boats, giggled as I struggled to maintain my balance on the craft. After sunset, I met the rest of her family, who cooked me a relatively lavish dinner of pork belly fat and dried fish. They politely tried to engage me in conversation—a complicated exchange given my rudimentary Burmese.

The next morning, after Pon Pon had made his alms round, we departed on a picnic excursion to a waterfall in the foothills to the west. I had the opportunity to walk with Pon Pon the whole way up, and help him over the more difficult obstacles (he is hindered by a bad knee). Pon Pon’s English ability is superlative, no doubt in part because he grew up in Taunggyi, which had been a British military administrative capital.

Our conversations meandered with our trail, from

ADVENTURE 25 Buddhist philosophy to the history of the Shan Sabwah, and finally to current problems of development in the region. “Opium.” he said as I helped him up from a small ditch we had crossed. I thought he was speaking in generalities, until I realized he was pointing to a patch of plants behind me. Sure enough, beyond that small patch there were large plots of poppies, with bulbs at the top that had been scored by a blade - the scores were turning black, indicating that the milky latex had already been harvested from them several days or weeks before.

Sure enough, beyond that small patch there were large plots of poppies, with bulbs at the top that had been scored by a blade - the scores were turning black, indicating that the milky latex had already been harvested from them several days or weeks before.

“The opium is so much more lucrative than other crops,” he elaborated. “I wish these farmers could grow something else, but I understand why they choose to grow poppies. Sometimes the farmers are paid partially in Yaba (Methamphetamine), and it has become a problem for the young men in these areas.”

We moved on from there, and up into some thicker vegetation where the waterfall was. After a couple hours of swimming and eating, we returned to the village the way we had come. We said goodbye to some of our kind hosts, while the rest of the students hopped in the boat with us for our next leg: a short ride across the lake to a larger town called Samkar.

Samkar was founded over 130 years ago, and is named for the flowers that grew on a tree nearby the first Pagoda that was built. Until 1950, Samkar was governed by the 11-13 Sabwah, or ‘Lords of the Sunset’; in contrast to the Burman kingdom, Shan state has a history of feudalism dating back several hundred years. After Burmese independence, the region was the location of much sectarian conflict, including but not limited to Chinese Nationalists, the Shan State Army, and Shan communist militias. There was no real peace in the region until the early 1990s.

Our reception in Samkar was along the same lines as our previous stay; A 7 year old girl happily took me to her family where they had already prepared me a full meal of dried fish, ‘shin shin toke’ (tomato salad in the Shan language), and seasoned boiled eggs. I ate until I was stuffed, and then a little bit more to be polite -- but I later learned that the family had misunderstood and cooked for 5 people, so they were quite

surprised when only I showed up and still managed to eat everything!

We visited the Pagoda and the humble dwelling of Pon Pon, a hut where he had set up a bed, latrine, and a few solar panels to charge his mobile phone and computer. We then went to the small schoolhouse and library that he had fixed up to hold his lessons.

The library contained a pretty sparse collection of used/donated English texts, as well as some Buddhist teachings in Burmese. Pon Pon holds regular classes during the week, and then uses the weekends to roam around to smaller villages around the region to teach the students that cannot make it all the way to Samkar.

“Sometimes,” he said, “I walk for 3 hours or more to reach some of the remote mountain villages.”

In the evening before bed, Pon Pon invited me to meet him at sunrise and followed him on his alms round as a ‘monk helper boy’. I warned him that I was not Buddhist and in fact have a natural doubt towards all religious beliefs -- he laughed and told me he simply wanted someone to have a conversation with as he walked around the town. I cheerfully accepted.

The next morning I followed him through the dirt streets carrying a bowl to put the rice and various food offerings that were given to monks for merit. Monks, in fact, are not allowed to consume any food or drink that have not been offered to them - something I learned when we were having tea in Nyaung Shwe; the waitress poured tea for everyone, and then picked up Pon Pon’s cup to hold in front of him to take.

The alms round took a few hours, during which we had an unforgettable conversation into the finer points of Reincarnation, Karma, and Thermodynamics (the latter was my idea). Because he was such an amiable fellow, I felt very comfortable asking him direct ques-

nyaung shwe

samkar

Yangon

26 ADVENTURE

December 2014 / InDepth

Modesty and simplicity typify the lifestyle tions about the logic of meritorious deeds, enlightenment, and the relationship between core Buddhist philosophies and the seemingly unrelated world of spirits, dragons, and demons.

He too, was very direct with me and insisted that I do in fact believe in reincarnation, but that I had lost my way and allowed doubt to take over. He said that we were continuing an unfinished conversation that perhaps had begun many lifetimes ago. Although neither of us shifted our positions, I felt a very satisfying mental fatigue at having my own worldview eloquently stretched and pushed from another completely different perspective.

We spent the rest of the day sorting the donated items we had brought to Samkar. We had brought with us several bags with food, clothes, and school supplies to give to the students. There were around 150 students in the town, and each one was going to receive a small present that evening when we cooked dinner for them and their families. Among the most valuable prizes were pens and pencils, backpacks, and jackets.

At the dinner gathering, the students all were assigned a number, and I handed each a corresponding bag as the numbers were pulled from a bowl. After dinner, I learned that the students had been calling me by a nickname coined by my first host: U Pein She, which translates to ‘Uncle skinny and tall’ -- I am indeed a rather lanky fellow, so I was amused and touched that they had given me a title of endearment.

I joined Pon Pon the next morning for his alms round

again. This time, we followed a different route towards the quarter of town inhabited by Pa-oh. Samkar, like many regions in Myanmar, is quite diverse; in the same town or region there are many ethnicities that have quite distinct languages and traditions. The Pa-oh neighborhood had a different vibe than the predominantly Shan part of town that I was staying in.

The Pa-oh language, as well, is phonetically very different than Burmese, such that some sounds like ‘Tha’ and ‘Hta’ come out as something like ‘tsa’ or ‘Zha’ when spoken by the Pa-oh. Even I was able to notice this difference in the few conversations we had with the people over the course of the morning.

By the end of the day, though, I was exhausted from having woken up at sunrise the last four mornings. We decided to take a short break at a small guest house, fittingly called ‘A little lodge in Samkar’. The eldest

sister of my host family was employed as a cook there, and it was a nice place to get a cup of real coffee and enjoy the rooftop cafe overlooking the lake.

As we set off in mid-afternoon back towards Nyaung Shwe, I couldn’t help but smile and reflect on something Pon Pon had told me on our walk to the waterfall: “I have terrible knee pain, which prevents me from walking as well as I did in my youth, you know.

Now what do you think is the best explanation for my pain? You might tell me that a ligament or nerve is twisted in my joint due to some injury or other, or that perhaps I have not kept the best diet and developed gout, or that I am simply getting old, and that’s what happens when you age. But the true explanation for my knee pain is much more simple than that: It’s because I have a knee.” g

Note: Inle Lake, like the rest of Myanmar, is undergoing dramatic changes due to increasing international attention. Please remember to be conscientious and respectful if and when you visit. If you would like to visit Samkar, the trip can be easily arranged from Nyaung Shwe with a guide. The cost of hiring a long boat for the journey is around 30,000-50,000 kyatts, depending on whether or not you’d like to stop at some of the many sites on the ride down, which include floating gardens, a tailor that specializes in fabrics made from lotus flower, and a few different pagodas and markets. A room in the little lodge in Samkar cost $80 per night at the time of my visit for a private bathroom and breakfast on the open rooftop restaurant. There are many opportunities to support sustainable tourism in the Inle Lake region; if you’d like to make a donation to Bikkhu Eindaka and his students, simply ask anyone in Samkar to introduce you. Additionally, I recommend investigating the Inle Hospitality Vocational Training School supported by Partnership for Change; for more information on their projects in the Inle Lake region, visit pfchange.org

December 2014 / InDepth

FOOD 27

MYANMAR FOOD AND WINE PAIRING Melanie Grillon guides us through the principles of wine tasting and gives her advice on how to pair famous Myanmar dishes with wine

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yanmar food is very diverse making it a fun challenge to pair with wines. Moreover, possibilities of pairing are endless. Therefore, we will focus on some famous local dishes. Food consumed with wine has an effect on the way a wine tastes, and wine can do the same for food. Generally, food has a more significant impact on the way a wine will taste than the other way around. The purpose of food and wine pairing is to take advantage of these effects, so that ideally both the food and wine provide more pleasure together than either would when consumed separately.

General Food & Wine Pairing principles There are four components in food to take in consideration when pairing a wine with food: Sweetness in a dish can make a dry wine seem to lose its fruit and be unpleasantly acidic. With any dishes containing sugar, a good general rule is to select a wine that has a higher level of sweetness.

Umami in a dish can make your wine dryer and bitter, more acidic, and less sweet and fruity. You should take care pairing with high tannins or oaky wines.

Food pairing Salty: If your dish is salty, your wine will seem less

dry and bitter, less acidic, smoother and richer. The wine selected has to be high in acidity and in tannins.

Acidity: If your dish is sharp tasting or sour, your wine will be less bitter and acidic, fruitier, sweeter and richer. If the level of acidity in the wine is low, high levels of acidity in foods can make wines seem flat, flabby and lacking focus. Make sure to pair with a wine that is high in acidity.

Additionally, when your food is highly flavoured, make sure to pair with wines that have similar intensity of flavour. When your food is oily or fatty, the best pairing will be with high acidity wines. Finally, when your food is spicy, pair with light alcohol and very fruity wines.

Curry based dishes (Myanmar chicken curry, eggplant curry, duck curry, etc.): You need to find a refreshing contrast to the heat of the food, a touch of sweetness, as well as a fresh and clean acidity in the wine paired.

Suggestion: white wines such as off-dry Rieslings, aromatic whites (Torrontes, Muscat), and fruity Chardonnay.

Burmese-style chicken Biryani: Cinnamon, saffron and cloves present in this dish will encourage to you pair it with very ripe, full-bodied and oaky reds, to contra-balance the strong flavours of these spices.

Suggestion: Grenache based from Rhone Valley, Rioja or full-bodied Spanish reds.

Shan Fish Cake: Usually smooth and sweet, the ideal pairing should be a sweet, high in acidity and mineral wine with a touch of citrus to complement the fish flavor.

Suggestion: Chenin Blanc from Loire Valley or a Viognier from South of France.

Bon Appetit. g Melanie and Laurent of MWS Beverage Academy are both wine and hospitality professionals now based in Myanmar after living in China for 3 years. MWS Beverage Academy is dedicated to provide training for those in the hospitality industry as well as for those interested to have a deeper knowledge in wine, cocktails or coffee.

26 HOROSCOPE

The New chef in town - Kevin Ching

December 2014 / InDepth

December 2014 / InDepth

CHEF PROFILE 29

TAPPING INTO NEW TERRITORY Chef Kevin Ching shares his tastes and experiences as the man behind the flavors at Yagon’s newest restaurant, Port Autonomy.

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cross the river, the shifting sun drips shadow over the silhouettes of a dozen churning motorboats, their captains staunch at the rudder, twisting in the current, meandering across the marbled mixture of sunlight and water. Its a view Kevin Ching enjoys daily.

“I think its such a cool part of town,” he says. “On the weekends when the river traffic dies down its so peaceful here and you have this great view of this dynamic jetty life.”

Kevin is the Head Chef at the new and bustling downtown restaurant, Port Autonomy. His excitement is noteworthy. “This is the first place where I’ve been at the helm of the kitchen. So its really exciting for me.

I spent a good deal of time thinking about the type of food I wanted to cook.”

Born in Hawaii, but having lived across the globe, Kevin’s tastes blend a collection of styles and cuisines from various regions around the world. “I love regional American food,” he says. “My mom’s family is from the south. So I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas, some time in Alabama. I went to school in New England, spent a lot of time in California... . And then Hawaii... Pacific Rim is something I grew up with.

You take things from Japan, you take things from California. I think I’m pulling from everywhere.”

His menu reflects this twisting amalgamation of food, listing items like Crab Curry Melt, Burmese Buffalo Fried Chicken with Dilled Ranch Dressing, and a Shan Potato Cake with braised cabbage, poached egg, and buffalo sauce.. It’s a menu still changing, developing. Each Sunday Brunch, Kevin has released a newly hatched, surprising yet familiar dish.

He started cooking in New York, where cooking for oneself is cheaper than eating out. In Beijing, he started throwing dinner parties for friends all the time. Before long, he realized that he enjoyed cooking more than anything else he was doing.

“I was a total amateur to begin—reading cookbooks and looking up recipes online. Once I started getting more into it in Beijing, I started doing some private catering, some paid gigs. I had a stint when I was cooking for the US Ambassador for a little while...

That’s when it really started to get moving for me. I did that for about a year and a half and it was at that point where I decided if I was going to really commit I needed to get some formal training.”

In Bangkok he went to school at Le Cordon Bleu, where he learned traditional French cuisine. “It’s all about technique,” he recollects. “French technique is the industry standard.” Despite this, Kevin prefers more rustic, Italian cooking. “French cuisine to me is very elegant and a bit fussy sometimes, and I respect that, but its not my style.”

Appropriately, as the Head Chef of Port Autonomy, he gets to define exactly what that is. Or, perhaps, one version of what that might be. “We’re on the water so I knew I wanted it to be seafood driven.” he says. “We knew the concept was kind of a pop-up, so the menu had to be edited; this wasn’t going to be a massive production. I wanted to do a few nods to Burma.”

But that is easier said than done.

Kevin remarks, “Frankly, that has been a challenge— to try to translate Burmese food, which I find very fermented, pickled, weighed-down, and fried. Its the opposite of the kind of food that I like, which is California and fresh and vibrant. Of course, Burmese cuisine has these moments of freshness and lightness, especially in their salads. I’m trying to take stuff from where I can, but its been hard.”

Atop those struggles, Kevin devises his meals from the belly of a food truck, a massive shiny rectangle wedged into the rear corner of the restaurant, Kevin and his staff visible to the patrons, calling out orders and passing plates through to be delivered. “I have everything I need. We have a deep frier, a griddle, an oven, and a six burner. And I have a gastronome up front. Its kind of everything you need.”

Except that it’s not.

Kevin lacks 24 hour electricity. So every day he and his crew must pack up the entire kitchen and put everything on ice or in offsite cold storage. He also lacks adequate tap water to clean and wash the vegetables.

“We wash everything in bottled water,” he says, “which is rather expensive but something we have to do if we want to operate down here... Sometimes you’re lucky if you can even get one thing done in a day. Its a struggle I think everyone faces.”

As the first western style restaurant in the jetty, the contrast of cultures is readily apparent— simultaneously comfortable and jarring. It is a child in a schoolyard out of place, where everyone else around you knows what they’re doing, and you’re just trying to

define your place. They are tapping into new territory, and it might not last. “This is a new part of town and we’re clearly the first people on the ground here,” says Kevin. “I hope we have longevity. I hope we can stay. And if we can’t, maybe we can find a more permanent space.”

In the mean time, Kevin is keen to enjoy the nightly views outside his office doorstep. “Everyday when the sun sets and the lights go up in this place I’m surprised on how well done we made it. This restaurant would be really cool anywhere in the world.”

When asked about his favorite aspect of living in this country, his reply mimics the sentiments of the many of us in Yangon trying to capture a little piece of growth and opportunity, the kind that excites and colors our lives.

“What I love about this place is that there’s so much room to do whatever you want now. Some of our early success, I think, is attributed to what a vacuum exists here in terms of food and cuisine and cool places to hang out. We have this space to really make these places our own. We don’t have to fit into a niche that happens to be unoccupied. Thats what I love—the creative room that people have here.”g Port Autonomy Lanthit Jetty, Oo Pa Street, Saik Ken Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar.

09 253 710 651 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

December 2014 / InDepth

A Beast Under the Bonnet We visited the Jaguar showroom on Insein Rd. to test drive their 2014 XJL—a long bodied saloon with superior luxury that disguises a tenacious appetite for speed and agility.

The 2014 Jaguar XJL

December 2014 / InDepth

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ressing the accelerator to the ground, a palpable growl rips the air behind me, violating the serenity of the quiet neighborhood surrounding, evoking a dastardly grin across my guilty face.

With each banking turn around a curve, the rumble of the steering wheel coaxes my palms tighter as my eyes peek at the dash, its gauges a bright and incendiary red.

The beast under my foot is the 2014 Jaguar XJL, the company’s flagship sports saloon. It is big, and it is hungry.

From the outside, the XJL looks like most luxury saloon’s should; clean, dynamic lines encase a spacious interior without the garish addition of spoilers, scoops, or other such frivolities that usually cause one to question what you’re trying to prove. Rather, the sleek styling preserves Jaguar’s image as a vigorous, finely tuned machine in the guise of a sophisticated British automobile.

At the heart of the XJL’s performance is Jaguar’s latest ALIVE technology, which boasts accelerated response and heightened performance in an intelligent system that reads the driving conditions and adapts suspension 500 times a second. Shifting into Sport Mode and toggling the car’s “Adaptive Dynamics” (appropriately styled with as a checkered flag button), the gauges turn red and the car’s driving experience immediately tightens, giving the sensation of claws tearing across the road in an ongoing chase for more asphalt to devour, the screeching whines behind every turn like the bleating cry of fallen prey. It’s a joyous feast of the road.

While in Sport Mode, drivers can maximize the car’s eight-speed automatic transmission by utilizing the built-in, steering wheel-mounted, flappy-paddle gearshifts. While I do miss the satisfying sensation of tackling a curve with a pop of stick and clutch, the paddles provide a seamless integration of what this car seems to embody: city and sport, the conservative and the daring.

Outside of Sport Mode and “Adaptive Dynamics,” the car becomes a different beast altogether. Power and rigidity are minimized in lieu of a smoother, more comfortable ride that bodes well for the constantly disruptive nature of Yangon traffic. Pick-up off the line feels flush and paced, while cuts and turns remain smooth and balanced. Jaguar’s “Intelligent Start/Stop System” maximizes fuel economy in the city by shutting down the engine whenever the car comes to a halt. Yet with the ability to restart the engine in less time than it takes for you to switch your foot from the brake to the accelerator, the XJL is still capable of pouncing at a moment’s notice in the event that you want to exploit a sudden gap in the traffic.

On the inside, key amenities ensure that riders feel the luxury they expect from a brand like Jaguar. For rear passengers, leather-surfaced tables fold out from the front seats and electric rear-side window blinds shade you from the ever-worsening sun. The XJL’s spacious interior and enhanced rear suspension ensures a gentle, almost pampered experience for all passengers.

MOTOR 31 External noise is nearly nonexistent, save the gratifying resonance of the engine.

Summarily, the 2014 XJL is a classy, sophisticated machine designed to provide driver and riders with an indisputable level of comfort and ease. Break into some open road, however, and you’ll be aching to feel the grip and response that’s difficult to find in this class of luxury saloon. There is a beast under this bonnet, and it wants to run to the sound of high-octane, turbo charged petrol thundering down the countryside. g Test drive your own Jaguar at: Capital Automotive Ltd. No.3, Ward 12, Insein Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar. +95 1 966 9034 http://jaguarmyanmar.com/

Price:

from 220 million MMK

Top Speed:

241 kph

0-100kph:

7.5 seconds

Economy:

19 mpg city/ 30 mpg highway

Engine:

2.0L gas

Power:

240 hp @ 5,500 rpm

Torque:

251 ft-lbs @ 2,000 rpm

Transmission: 8 speed shiftable automatic Weight:

4,916 lbs gross/3,660 lbs curb

December 2014 / InDepth

32 BUSINESS

Oak Casks from Spain and New Orleas are what give whiskey its distinctive flavor

STREAMS OF WHISKEY As brand Ambassador for Chivas Brothers throughout the Asia Pacific region, Darren Hosie knows a thing or two about whiskey. Ben Hopkins caught up with him during a recent whiskey dinner at Vino di Zanotti’s.

H

osting whiskey dinners and waxing lyrical on the qualities of a fine blend is all in a day’s work for Darren Hosie. Since relocating from Scotland to Hong Kong in 2007, the 41 years old Scot has traversed the Asia Pacific region, introducing the brand to people from a diverse range of nations; from Columbia to Beirut, Hawaii to China and most recently, here in Yangon. “I’ve been to more Chinese cities than most Chinese people,” he jokes in a thick Scottish accent, “and loved every moment of it.”

Originally from Scotland’s second city of Glasgow, Darren clearly remembers drinking whiskey with his family as a young man. “My father, my grandfather and my brother were all whiskey drinkers so it was natural I’d follow suit.”

While half a world separates the distilleries of Scotland from the dining es-

tablishments of downtown Yangon, the pleasures of sharing a decent blend will always break down barriers. As Darren says, introducing Chivas to potential customers is generally fun. If something goes wrong with a presentation you simply fill up their glass with a liberal dose of the strong stuff and everything’s quickly forgotten.

Whiskey legends then and now In folklore and legend the history of Scotland has been juiced in Scotch whiskey. Documents from 1494 reveal the release of 1,500 bottles of whiskey by order of the King, proving that distilleries were producing large quantities as early as the 15th century. Later, in the 1700’s Scotland’s national poet Robbie Burns linked whiskey to the spirit of independence in his poem, “Whiskey and freedom go together.”

For Darren, the business of drinking

whiskey is less about national identity and more about spreading the Chivas brand across the Asia Pacific region.

At a recent whiskey dinner held in Yangon, on the eve of Scotland’s referendum on independence from the UK, he was more interested in explaining the difference between a single malt and a blended whiskey than separating Westminster from the Scottish Parliament.

“Think of it in musical terms,” he explained to fellow diners at Vino di Zinotti’s restaurant. “I’m a huge Metallica fan. Metallica, like the Beatles, create a great sound by blending together several elements—the bass, drums, guitar and vocals—all working together. Chivas Regal, a blended whiskey, is the same; we carefully select single malt and single grain whiskies and blend them together for that big effect.”

By contrast, he says, a single malt, one

barley and one water, can be compared to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon or any solo performer. “It’s a different way of enjoying the same thing”.

Chivas Brothers Five years after the death of Robbie Burns, in 1801, the Chivas Brothers opened a grocery store in north Scotland’s city of Aberdeen selling Caribbean rums, French brandies and exotic spices. Queen Victoria was amongst their earliest customers and like many a royal was said to have had a thirst for the strong stuff. By the early 1900s, Chivas created a blended Scotch to export to the US where the booming economy was fuelling demand for luxury goods. The whiskey was named Chivas Regal.

After WWII and the end of Prohibition, Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 Year Old in the US and

December 2014 / InDepth

quickly became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, famously becoming the sponsor for Frank Sinatra’s Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.

Today, the Chivas brand continues to expand globally along with its biggest competitor, Johnnie Walker. But for Darren it’s not really about competing with local brands. The high cost of a bottle of Chivas Regal makes it out of reach for the vast majority of whiskey drinkers in most parts of Asia, particularly in rural China and Myanmar.

“Ours is a very small niche market,” Darren says. It’s also a new market, particularly in cities like Yangon and some of the less travelled corners of China where introducing a decent Scotch becomes something of a cultural challenge.

In China, the whiskey of choice is ‘baijui’, a clear spirit usually made from pulverized wheat grains, served in ceramic cups and downed in one. Baijui has been enjoyed for 5,000 years in China so introducing new blends and different ways of drinking is no simple task. “It takes time to explain that you can add water to neat whiskey and that the flavours are best enjoyed by drinking slowly”, he says. “People are afraid of looking uncultured but it’s important to remember that drinking whiskey is all about having fun and finding what suits you best.”

Perfecting the blend At the risk of sounding obvious, any whiskey that has the word Scotch in its name has to have been distilled in Scotland. That said, much of what lends Chivas its unique and complex flavours depends on the oak casks the whiskey is blended in.

BUSINESS 33 Two types are used, sherry casks from Spain and Bourbon casks from New Orleans. “Oak is a porous wood,” Darren explains, “meaning the spirit in the cask interacts with the air in the warehouse and the climate. For example, if you age it close to the sea, the whiskey will take on a sea air characteristic.”

US law states they can only use a cask once in brewing Bourbon, after that they’re sold onto Chivas, along with sherry casks from Spain. Both lend different flavors, aromas, colors and textures to the whiskey. A Bourbon cask will lend a slightly sweeter flavour with hints of oak, vanilla and ginger. Sherry casks result in dried fruit and nutty flavours with hints of dark chocolate and a darker colour.

Another important factor is aging. The longer a whiskey is aged, the more mellow and complex it becomes. However, for each year of maturing in a barrel, a whiskey will lose 2% of its volume, meaning a Chivas Regal 12 Year Old will be reduced by a quarter while also losing some of its strength. For most whiskey drinkers the reduction in volume and strength is worth every penny as the flavours take on a regal quality.

After around 55 years the whiskey gets close to dipping below 40% in strength, meaning it’s no longer marketable as a Scotch whiskey. Many connoisseurs claim whiskey to be at its finest around the 50 year mark, including Darren.

“We once had a roster of 255 bottles of 50 year malt, priced at USD 9,000 per bottle,” he explains. “I had one glass.”

So how was it? At the memory his eyes mist over, “Smooth, mellow, complex… beautiful.”g

Chivas Regal 12 Year Old - smooth, rich and fruity with delicate floral flavors, a gentle honeyed sweetness and long finish.

• Private offices • Meeting rooms • Short-term leases • Hot desks • Fast Internet

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old - a welcoming, rewarding whiskey whose exceptional richness results from multi-layered aromas of intense dry fruits, buttery toffee and dark chocolate. The voluptuous, velvety palate develops into a long, warm finish.

T: +95 1 441 3414 E: 608merchant@hinthabusinesscentres.com w: www.hinthabusinesscentres.com

The Chivas blends

Chivas Regal 25 Year Old – Elegantly smooth and perfectly balanced.

Rich character yields an abundance of flavor and aromas. Enticing fruity aromas of sweet orange and peach, followed by notes of marzipan and nuts. Hints of rich milk chocolate orange and a fondant creaminess. The finish is smooth, rounded and luxuriously long.

December 2014 / InDepth

34 HOROSCOPE

Myanmar

Horoscope I got the Degree of Science majoring in mathematics from the Yangon University. Then I studied Applied Psychology at the Yangon University. I am curing patients with Myanmar traditional medicine. In the present time, I am writing articles and prediction horoscopes in monthly magazines and weekly journals in Myanmar.

Tetkatho Soe Moe Naing DAY

DIRECTION

PLANET

ANIMAL

Sunday

Northeast

Sun

Garuda Tiger

Monday

East

Moon

Tuesday

Southeast

Mars

Lion

Wednesday

morning

South

Elephant

Thursday

West

Jupiter

Rat

Friday

North

Venus

Guinea pig

Saturday

Southwest

Saturn

Naga

many exhibit admirable powers of concentration.

Lucky number-2.5.0 Lucky color-white

Slow and Steady Time.

Travel time.

You will be doing a lot of moving about in connection with work and personal affairs. This month is best for overseas journeys either for business or pleasure. That is also the time when a foreigner may enter your life as a romantic partner or financial associate. Sometimes you will be a bit too stubborn.

Love–You share many things with your lover. You pay more attention to your lover.

Business–Self confidence will be the key to getting ahead, whether you are employed or in business for yourself. Sharpening current skills and developing new ones should be a major goal in this month.

Lucky number-3.6.9 Lucky color-Yellow

Although this month may seem a dull, slow and steady effort will bring significant rewards. You will be pleasantly surprised by what a friend or colleague reveals to you.

Love–You could have many problems in marriage with your lover.

Business–You are a responsible person. In work situations, you will try to do your best. You will not be interested in second place; only the top position is good enough for you.

Lucky number-1.4.7 Lucky color-brown

Happy Time.

It is also starred month for financial luck; unexpected income is foreseen, perhaps as the result of an inheritance or prize. But counting on receiving such money will not be wise; just use it wisely if you get it.

Love–Your love of material things sometimes makes you rather pretty.

Business–You will be an outstanding worker and

You will be kind, gentle, and fair. You do not showoff.

You will be well-balanced. You usually know how to handle position of authority well. You generally know how to direct your energies so that you will be able to achieve your ends. Your do not shy away from conflict or troubles.

Love–You should find great happiness with your beautiful lover as you are well suited to each other.

Business– You try to anticipate the rival’s movement.

You know how to do and what to do in your job.

Lucky number-1.4.5 Lucky color-green, black

FRIDAY

You can look forward to a happy, enjoyable day for spending more time with friends and family. Write thank you letters to people who send you presents.

You are fond of children. You love your children so much that you are blind to their fault. You are outgoing, open and helpful. You are warm, friendly, and considerate. You have no trouble making friends.

Love–Your love story will be quite a dream. You fall in love with green eyed lover. You will take good care of them.

Business–This will be a good month to start a new one. You will easily to separate business from pleasure. Influential people will be very helpful. People will be willing to give you the benefit of their experience without making any charge of it.

Lucky number-3.6.5 Lucky color-pink, red

SATURDAY WEDNESDAY Easygoing Time.

MONDAY

Responsibilities Time.

Satisfactory Time.

TUESDAY SUNDAY

THURSDAY

You are generally very easygoing and agreeable, and get along well with other people. You are usually happy and fun-loving and have a very stable personalitie.

Nothing upsets you easily, but you may reveal violent tempers when you eventually become angry.

Love–You can be tolerant, sympathetic and understanding for your lover.

Business– You will be a successful businessman. You will have good opportunities. You can make good use of your imagination and persuasive abilities to win business people around to your way.

Lucky number-1.7.2 Lucky color-orange

Disquieting Time.

Speculation must be avoided at all costs. You are likely to pay a very high price indeed if you try to make easy money through gambling today. Tips and information that are passed to you –however well-meaning the source- will not pay the dividends that you had wanted.

You may be a little bored with routine matters.

Love–There should be great affection between your lover and you.

Business–Expect an excellent start to this month. You will have plenty of time with all of the jobs that you wish to wind up, including the payment of outstanding bills that should have been settled before month ended.

Lucky number-5.2.4 Lucky color-black, grey