Category: May 2004 China Yangtze Burma

June 2, 2004
JR and I have returned from the upcountry and are beginning our trip home. We left Inlay Lake for Rangoon, where we leave tomorrow morning for leg 2–to Bangkok, and then Friday am for home.

Here’s some thoughts on Myanmar:

1) We spent the first three days in the historical setting–the golden land of pagodas and kingdoms–Yangon, Mandalay, and Bagan. The

historical relics (Bagan especially) reflect a powerful nation frequently at war with its neighbors. The country is Buddhist (we spent two hours in a Buddhist monastery whose claim to fame is that it has jumping cats remaining out of the heavy rain–we are almost in the monsoons, and the barometer was 26″).

 

2) We spent the next three days in the Shan States, the largest non-Myanmar ethnic majority, exploring some history, but more the ethnographical aspects. We were on a lake 20 miles long where people grow crops on floating masses, anchored by bamboo.

3) The country is 75% or more agricultural. When you are at the Jensen place think about mechanized agriculture–we saw water buffalo and oxen. One picture in my mind is of an oxcart bringing cabbage to the truck taking it to Mandalay.

4) China is not just our outsource for manufacturing; it is theirs too. The road to China (of the Burma Road fame) is open, and we stopped at a small village to see what was for sale. We saw many of the same products we saw in China; even the silk they use for textiles here comes as yarn from China.

5) They are power strapped. In Mandalay, our guide had electricity only from 2 p.m. to 7a.m.—and she was lucky because she knew when they’d stop power on her. Our power went off periodically. Phone to the US (when available) is $8 a minute; email is censored and we could not get our titan account. Imagine trying to do business under these conditions.

Well, I do have to pack for the ordeal. Tomorrow is an hour flight, but in and out of two countries. Then Friday we begin the longest day–looking forward to visiting with you on Monday at the PLC meeting. You will recognize me–I will be the one falling asleep

May 26, 2004

As I have mentioned, Hong Kong has one of the best settings of any city in the world. It is devoted to business, and shopping. We did our part to help the economy here, even though it is a sticker price shock coming from China to Hong Kong. They tell us the mainlanders who come here (in
increasing numbers) come to shop for luxury goods. They are here.

We have had an exciting few days. Here’re some of the highlights:

1. Last night, we went to the Chinese University of Hong Kong to visit with one of our alumni who heads the Yale–in China program. He got us a speaker who was very interesting—from the US Department of Commerce. Hong Kong is still the dominant player for US business in south China. Mark’s apartment overlooks a harbor in the new territories, and he catered a wonderful Indian dinner.

2) Today was the Buddha’s birthday–something over 2500 years ago, a holiday celebrated by over 300 million people. One of my friends who teaches at Hong Kong City University met several students and me. She took us to a Buddhist temple, where the “local people” go. Not many tourists there! Buddhists tend to pray on specific days for specific things, rather than having “church services” like we do., so being there today was special. We got to “wash” the Buddha.

Because it is a holiday, there was a party on one of the outlying islands, Cheung Cheu, which required us to take a ferry. There were 100,000 people there, including us. The festival honors the Daoist gods, one of the three main religions of China, and features children in costume providing food for the ghosts on the island. In the 90-degree heat and 87% humidity, it was a challenge, but since it happens only one day a year, and that was today, some of us went.

Finally, we went to a non-touristy restaurant with my teacher friend. She ordered for us–probably the best meal of the trip. We each had a lobster, scallops, and roast duck, —I’m almost hungry again. I know I ate differently than you did tonight.

3) We just got back from the Felix, a sightseeing place atop the Peninsula Hotel overlooking the harbor–a fitting way to end the trip.

It is about 1:30 am right now, and I am about packed for my next adventure. The class flies to Chicago at 12:30 tomorrow, and JR and I leave about 2 hours later for Myanmar. That is a new country for me, and I am eager to go there.

I may not have as ready access to the email there–it is one of the poorest countries in the world

May 25, 2004

One of the passengers on the boat was Leo Pondelik. He was a Professor of Music when I came to Millikin. Even more coincidental is that he had rented the house on William Street just before us—34 years ago.

We are still in “China” but in the special administrative region of Hong Kong—a free market society in the market socialist China. It’s a Sunday night so the streets are teeming with people shopping. As someone pointed out, Hong Kong people go to China for good prices; mainland Chinese people come to Hong Kong for real luxury goods. The North Face items here are
real, which is not true of many of the “North Face” items in China.

Whatever Mainland China has, it has no setting with a location as beautiful as Hong Kong–the ocean and the peak are what the Chinese describe when they say “scenery”–combination of the characters for mountains and water. We will tour the city tomorrow and I hope to have time
to visit the Scout Shop.

I understand my postcards have not yet arrived. The delay demonstrates one of the values of the internet–the connection in real time. If someone were on line when I am (and I’m not on long because it’s expensive), I could answer you in real time. Right now it’s nine am Saturday in Bloomington.

May 24, 2004
It is hot and humid here, as it usually is during the summer. It is also the city China would love to be like. I did get to the Scout shop last night, and you will have new slides when I return.

Hong Kong consists of over 200 islands. Yesterday, some of the students and I took a ferry to one of the outlying islands where we ate at a fresh fish restaurant–lobster, grouper, joined minced quail and roasted chicken. I doubt that 1% of the 16 million tourists ever get off Hong Kong (the main island) or the Kowloon peninsula. Ninety percent come only to shop.

May 25, 2004

I am now in Shanghai, city of 16 million, China’s industrial, financial, and fashion heart. It is another case of not recognizing a place I have been many times before, but not in the last four years. Shanghai has become modern high rises, more recent than Hong Kong (but not the setting!). There are some of the wonderful old buildings that I have got on picture postcards I collect, but then, as I went for a walk this morning, I realized it’s not my century anymore. Nor, I wonder, is it yours—what I have been thinking for some time may be coming to pass: this is the Asian century, led by China. And it’s not just Shanghai–it’s Chongqing, 700 miles west, the sleepy World War ii capital of China.

The countryside, by contrast, is still farming as it has probably for centuries. There is still water buffalo and manpower, but the young people (as they are everywhere) head for the big cities, where they find hard labor jobs that those who have rising standards of living have abandoned. While the government owns the land (so I understand), they have just passed a law that makes the private assets possible. That should make foreign investors more likely to invest.

Almost every hotel where we have been at, and we have been at some wonderful places, has had MBA students from the US visiting. As I said at the beginning, they should be here to see what I have seen. If China can master distribution (which is improving; when I first came there was one ten mile long expressway), watch out.

The business we visited today captured it best when the owner, a Taiwanese, pointed out that China has a communist government, but a capitalist economy.

Enough of the philosophical. We have had a great time touring the historical and cultural sites. Those are quite different (of course) than anything in the West. And the food is great.

JR Glenn, who is one of my students, an Eagle Scout from Lincoln, said, “It’s just like Scout camp.” In the sense that every day is an adventure, and I’ll tell you about some of them when we return), he’s right.