Surreal - Inside Myanmar's capital

Surreal - Inside Myanmar's capital

Lorna tan

Jun 01, 2008
The Straits Times

Nyapyidaw - Even a calamity the size of Cyclone Nargis has not stopped construction in the newly built Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw.

The junta's rising Shangri-La of officialdom contrasts starkly with the misery in the rest of the country.

A small group of foreign journalists got a rare glimpse of the city recently after UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon met the junta's leader, General Than Shwe, in his palatial compound.

The journey began with a one-hour flight aboard a chartered government plane from Yangon, the former capital known as Rangoon. From the airport, it was a 40-minute drive on a Los Angeles-style eight-lane highway - the widest and smoothest road in the country - to Gen Than Shwe's opulent meeting room.

Virtually no cars or people were seen, aside from workers hand-sweeping the roadside.

Entering the city required passage through a fenced checkpoint along the highway. The capital has 24-hour electricity, a rarity in Myanmar.

Soldiers greeted the VIP motorcade with salutes as it moved along the main road, passing sprawling new golf courses and resorts with signs like 'The Thingaha - uber cool'. Few people were spotted anywhere.

Inside one resort, wellgroomed waiters served cool green melon drinks. At another stop, the group was offered a buffet of seafood, noodles and other local fare on elegant wooden tables. The five-star luxury hotels featured circular driveways, gleaming fountains, shady foyers and sunny pools.

The capital, segregated into military and civilian districts, is surrounded by hills believed to hold a hive of bunkers.

Inside the military area were a shopping mall, a high school built like a fortress and a stadium described by one local official as 'a training ground for parading'. International reporters are rarely allowed into the country, except to cover the annual military parade.

A sightseeing tour of half-built government buildings led through a massive construction site of unfinished Soviet-style facades. Workers lined up to wave at the passing UN diplomats and foreign press.

There was also little sign of life near some of the city's 1,200 new four-storey apartment complexes. The authorities, however, insist that nearly one million people now live in the city.

Few people are allowed phones inside their homes, and the city has no cellphone service - military officials use walkie-talkies to communicate.

Once at Gen Than Shwe's pillared compound, armed guards greeted the group of foreign visitors, leading them through a two-storey entrance hall that opened onto a 4.6m rock sculpture topped with a serene alpine mural.

Gen Than Shwe and the UN chief sat side by side on throne-like chairs with floral upholstery, separated by a bouquet of pink and white flowers and a silver tea set. Chandeliers and ceiling-high depictions of golden pagodas adorned the room.

The generals clearly imagine their city as a place of royal grandeur.

Enormous statues of ancient Burmese kings line the military parade grounds, and work is under way on a replica of Yangon's famed Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's holiest Buddhist shrine. Naypyidaw means 'abode of kings' in Burmese.

AP, AFP