Dispatches from a complex country

The colonial architecture of old Rangoon (Yangon) is slowly losing its battle with the tropics. From the street you can see the jungle emerging sheepishly from blocked gutters, the cracked pastel cladding peeling away and the broken filigree that hints at a former grandeur. In the stifling midday heat, the deserted streets and crumbing scene leave you with the impression you’ve stumbled into a post-apocalyptic disaster film. The only sign of life is from three-man road gang dealing with a craterous pothole. One of them is sporting a t‑shirt emblazoned with a large Nazi swastika — complete with an S.S. eagle and oak leaf cluster. Taking in the scene, Kipling had a point when he said: “This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about.” Read more...