Where’s Next (Update)

A few months ago I came up with a list of places I wanted to visit “that are still extremely different from the West and will look very different in 15 or 20 years.”  

Shay and I can now cross Myanmar off that list.

Some thoughts:

Go.  Now!  As in right now, stop reading this and go book a trip before anyone else figures out how incredible it is.  

For those of you who don’t know, Myanmar (once called Burma, still called Burma by lots of locals) is a fairly large, devoutly Buddhist, country sandwiched between India and Thailand. A harsh military regime, subject to decades of international sanctions, is finally loosening its grip, making tourism a real possibility. 

If you’re going to go, you better like planes.  For most Westerners, you’re looking at three flights just to get into the entry point at Yangon.  And once you’re there, you’re going to take at least three more flights on airlines you’ve never heard of to get to see the real magic of this country.

On account of the sanctions, tourism infrastructure is under-developed and Western tourists are few and far between.  You’ll need a tour operator to book hotels and internal air travel.  I’d suggest going with the company we used, Myanmar Shalom.  They are extremely reasonable and run by the most interesting people: the father / son duo of Moses and Sammy Samuels.  They are Burmese Jews of Baghdadi decent, who, in addition to operating the agency, also look after Yangon’s only synagogue, an amazing structure built in the 1890s.

Beyond the (very small) community of Burmese Jews, you’ll quickly realize that this is a deeply spiritual country.  Buddhist Monks in bright red robes are everywhere.  Gigantic pagodas adorned with gold and diamonds glitter over the skylines while tens of thousands of Buddha statutes watch over your every turn.  It’s only a matter of time before Hollywood realizes that Bagan is a dream set.

The cities are clean and the streets are vibrant but they feel trapped in the 1980s—pre international sanctions. One person we met said that the only noticeable differences are that people now carry mobile phones and Korean film stars are setting fashion trends.  

The villages are a whole different story.  In many cases, they have no electric or running water and it genuinely felt like you stepped back in time to the 1800s.  But you didn’t get a sense that they were impoverished.  Food seemed plentiful, the children were smiling, and everything was spectacularly clean.

The people are wonderful, innovative and curious.  Many still wear traditional clothing and most women apply at least a dab of Thanaka—a yellowish cosmetic made of tree bark.  The cooking style is uniquely Burmese and all of the ingredients are fresh.  Almost everything they have, especially in the villages, is made in Myanmar—and they are extremely proud of this.

Say you’re from the US and they smile like you’ve never seen.  As a frequent traveler, I can say that this is perhaps the only place I’ve ever been where sharing that you’re from “the USA” gets you more mileage than saying “New York.”  I can’t remember how many times I was asked if I thought Obama would visit one day.

It’s true, there are no ATMs and nobody accepts credit cards.  At ~850 Burmese kyat to the dollar, everyone wants USD—but only if they are clean, crisp bills, fresh from the bank.  I expect credit cards to come soon, but in the meantime, “cash only” added another dimension to the trip.

Most surprising, we’ve never felt safer.  And unlike the rest of SE Asia, even the wild dogs were relaxed.

A lot of what we read before the trip suggested that we’d be flying into a military state where guns ruled and the people were terrified.  Maybe others had different experiences, but aside from the heavily armed airports and the high fencing around government buildings, we just didn’t see that side of the country.  In fact, everyone we spoke with about politics was very open about their position: They hate the current government and consider Aung San Suu Kyi to be their true leader.  Affectionately, many called her “the Lady.” 

While I could go on and on about the art, the temples, the time-trapped logos, the sunsets or the people, this is a photo I took near a small village on Inle Lake, deep in the hills of Shan State.  Getting there involves a two hour flight from Yangon to Heho, followed by a one hour drive to the commercial docks in Nyuang Shwe and finally a one hour plus boat ride to the southern tip of the lake.  For Shayna and I, this was about as far away from the West as we’ve ever been.  It was kind of like a fairytale you read about when you’re a kid but never thought you’d actually see.

  

Alright.  Enough about that.  So where’s next:  

  • Cuba
  • Bhutan
  • Mongolia
  • Myanmar
  • The Serengeti
  • The Amazon
  • Madagascar

Drop me a line if you want to organize a trip to any of the above or want to hear more about Myanmar.  

Looking forward to the next adventure!

Earlier today I was paying for breakfast in cash.  I handed the waiter a $20 bill and he returned with change, looked me in the eye and thanked me for coming to his restaurant.  I thought about how quaint this was and how there is a real human connection that a cash transaction facilitates that doesn’t quite translate to cards and mobile. And there’s nothing that could have changed my thoughts on this topic faster than a visit to the Apple store; a venue that has perfected the art of making you feel fantastic about parting with your money—cash, credit, mobile or otherwise.  After selecting a cover for my new iPad, I was approached by an Apple “Specialist” named Kim Paulk.  With a huge smile on her face, Kim asked me how I was doing on this beautiful day and if I needed help finding anything.  I quickly noticed that to Kim’s left was a gorgeous Golden Retriever—her guide dog—with a sign that read “She Is Hard Of Hearing and Low Vision.  I am working, Do Not Touch, this helps me do a good job guiding her.”   I told Kim I’d found everything I was looking for and I just needed to pay—remembering that Apple reps can swipe you out from their device.  Without hesitation, Kim asks if I had an iPhone and US iTunes account.  I answered “yes” and she then said, “would you like to check yourself out with your own iPhone?  This way, you don’t have to wait for us in the future.”   It took me a second to respond, saying, “sure, awesome,” because my brain was overloading with how awesome Apple is.   In less than two minuets, Kim showed me how to download the Apple Store app, scan my purchase and confirm payment.  After grabbing a bag, Kim smiled again, asked me if she could hand me her card, and said “mine’s a little different, it’s also in Braille.”  We shook hands, thanked each other, and I was on my way. So as it turns out, cashless transactions can have a human connection too.

Earlier today I was paying for breakfast in cash.  I handed the waiter a $20 bill and he returned with change, looked me in the eye and thanked me for coming to his restaurant.  I thought about how quaint this was and how there is a real human connection that a cash transaction facilitates that doesn’t quite translate to cards and mobile.

And there’s nothing that could have changed my thoughts on this topic faster than a visit to the Apple store; a venue that has perfected the art of making you feel fantastic about parting with your money—cash, credit, mobile or otherwise. 

After selecting a cover for my new iPad, I was approached by an Apple “Specialist” named Kim Paulk.  With a huge smile on her face, Kim asked me how I was doing on this beautiful day and if I needed help finding anything.  I quickly noticed that to Kim’s left was a gorgeous Golden Retriever—her guide dog—with a sign that read “She Is Hard Of Hearing and Low Vision.  I am working, Do Not Touch, this helps me do a good job guiding her.”  

I told Kim I’d found everything I was looking for and I just needed to pay—remembering that Apple reps can swipe you out from their device.  Without hesitation, Kim asks if I had an iPhone and US iTunes account.  I answered “yes” and she then said, “would you like to check yourself out with your own iPhone?  This way, you don’t have to wait for us in the future.”  

It took me a second to respond, saying, “sure, awesome,” because my brain was overloading with how awesome Apple is.  

In less than two minuets, Kim showed me how to download the Apple Store app, scan my purchase and confirm payment.  After grabbing a bag, Kim smiled again, asked me if she could hand me her card, and said “mine’s a little different, it’s also in Braille.”  We shook hands, thanked each other, and I was on my way.

So as it turns out, cashless transactions can have a human connection too.

Last week I was having a conversation with a young band who didn’t want to listen to their producer about a particular change he wanted to make.  I’m all for bands having complete and total artistic freedom, but at the same time, I respect the role a producer can play in shaping a masterpiece. 

I was reminded of this tonight as I was listening to Pearl Jam “20” and was blown away by the crowd participation in “Better Man” (see above).  It reminded me of a story I once read by their producer, Brendan O’Brien:

There’s a great song we recorded for Vs., “Better Man”, which ended up on Vitalogy. One of the first rehearsals we did they played it and I said “man, that song’s a hit.” Eddie just went “uhhh.” I immediately knew I’d just said the wrong thing. We cut it once for Vs., he wanted to give it away to this Greenpeace benefit record, the idea was that the band was going to play and some other singer was going to sing it. I remember saying to the engineer, Nick [DiDia], “this is one of their best songs and they’re going to give it away! Can’t happen!” It took us to the next record, recording it two more times, before he became comfortable with it because it was such a blatantly great pop song.

Despite being buried as track eleven and the lack of a commercial single release, “Better Man” managed to reach the top of the rock radio chart in 1994, where it spent eight weeks at number one.  And seventeen years later the fans are chanting along like it’s still there. 

Note to bands: Sometimes, maybe, listen to the producer.

One of the greatest soul singers of all time singing one of the greatest songs of all time.  Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Mr. Sam Cooke. 

A song paints a thousand pictures.
Anonymous
American Airlines does not serve Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in styrofoam cups.  Worse, they serve it in polystyrene cups, manufactured by DART. While they can potentially be recycled: “No known microorganism has yet been shown to biodegrade polystyrene, and it is often abundant as a form of pollution in the outdoor environment, particularly along shores and waterways especially in its low density cellular form.”

American Airlines does not serve Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in styrofoam cups.  Worse, they serve it in polystyrene cups, manufactured by DART. While they can potentially be recycled: “No known microorganism has yet been shown to biodegrade polystyrene, and it is often abundant as a form of pollution in the outdoor environment, particularly along shores and waterways especially in its low density cellular form.”

Where’s Next

Following a recent trip to Asia, where I was impressed with Hong Kong, underwhelmed by Shanghai and reminded why I love Tokyo so much, I’ve been thinking a lot about where I want to travel next.  After a few dozen conversations and a lot of catching up on long reads, I’ve settled on the following answer: “places that are still extremely different from the West and will look very different in 15 or 20 years.”

So far, I’ve added the following to the urgent list:

  • Cuba
  • Bhutan
  • Mongolia
  • Myanmar
  • The Serengeti
  • The Amazon
  • Madagascar

Looking forward to the next adventure. 

NYC Subway, no filter (Taken with instagram)

NYC Subway, no filter (Taken with instagram)

For big cities like New York it is high time to abandon outmoded zoning codes from the auto-boom days requiring specific ratios of parking spaces per housing unit, or per square foot of retail space. These rules about minimum parking spaces have driven up the costs of apartments for developers and residents, damaged the environment, diverted money that could have gone to mass transit and created a government-mandated cityscape that’s largely unused.
Taking Parking Lots Seriously, As Public Spaces

Book Recommendation

Just finished reading “The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising In Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda,” by WSJ Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov.  It’s a stunning account of events that have seemingly been erased from history.  If you ever find yourself wanting to understand the world we live in, this is required reading.  Unfolds like a thriller, except it’s real.  Especially recommended for fans of Syriana.