Our next
stop was Mandalay in Myanmar. After years of military dictatorship, political
unrest and protests, this former British colony – that many still call by its
old name ‘Birma’ – is starting to regain interest amongst tourists from around
the world. Myanmar got a new constitution in 2008 and further political reforms
between 2010 and 2012. However, Myanmar is still a country riddled with
conflict between minorities and religions, corruption also remains a key issue
in the country. Like Ulrike said before, Buddhism is a very important aspect of
everyday life and communities throughout these parts of Asia.
No matter
how dire the past paragraph may seem, most of the recent protests leading to
the change between 2008 and 2012 were non-violent. One of the main causes of
this non-violent approach was spearheaded by monks and others with an
unshakable Buddhist conviction. Nevertheless, the military often retaliated
with hard actions and opened fire on the protesters. Despite the democratic
reforms, there are several rebelling groups in the more remote parts of the
country.
As a
result, tourism is still in its infancy and most activities are concentrated
around the capital; Rangoon. In other cities, mostly smaller businesses try to
make a living by guiding tourists around city centres and historical buildings.
Perhaps one of the most important tourist attractions is the Mandalay cultural
museum which is full of ancient objects which belonged to former rulers of
Myanmar as well as tools and artwork often dating back many centuries. Another
aspect of the local tourism are the many pagodas, temples and monasteries which,
again, show the omnipresence of Buddhism in everyday life. There is of course a
reason for this display of bygone glory. Mandalay was once the capital of the
old Burmese kingdoms and remains the second most important city of the country
to this day.
Thomas
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