形容情绪很丰满的成语:探秘政治改革后的仰光

2011年 12月 21日 07:40
探秘政治改革后的仰光
Reuters
两个女孩在仰光湖畔等待日出。
这
是仰光周五的夜晚，看上去死气沉沉。外面漆黑一片，街灯稀稀落落。季风带来的瓢泼大雨让大多数人都躲在室内，街道显得分外凄清。我们乘坐的出租车小心翼翼地避开路面的大坑。在这个破败的殖民地风格的闹市区，我几乎看不到一丝生机。
但走进位于一座优雅洋房内的季风餐馆(Monsoon)，眼前则是另外一个世界。服务生端着盛满饮料和热腾腾菜肴的托盘，灵巧地穿梭在各桌之间。游客们在翻看着写有一长列东南亚特色美食的菜单，一群来此小酌放松的联合国雇员在喝着杜松子酒和汤力水。一张长桌旁慢慢地坐满了大约30个缅甸女性，她们互致飞吻，大声称赞彼此的漂亮衣裙──这不过是个平常的朋友聚会之夜。
Orient Express
总督府酒店池畔
然而，作为缅甸前首都的仰光如此平静，是我之前未曾料到的。我长期在曼谷居住，跑遍了亚洲许多地方，但还从没到过仰光。和许多人一样，我因反对党领袖昂山素季(Aung San Suu Kyi)呼吁抵制旅游业而打消了去缅甸旅行的念头。近年来，她的立场有所缓和。她所在的政党全国民主联盟(National League for Democracy)今年5月份发布声明称，欢迎游客到缅甸旅游，但强调要负责任地旅行。所以，今年夏季当我有机会与丈夫在仰光待上几天时，我便毫不犹豫地出发了。
从曼谷飞往仰光只需要一个小时，但仰光在很多方面给人的感觉就像是穿越回到了过去。经济管理方面的严重问题导致仰光的基础设施十分破旧。用作私人出租车的是已经开了20年的摇摇晃晃的丰田(Toyota)轿车，有些车门还是用绳子拴起来的。破败的房子里长出了藤蔓和树木。殖民时代曾是行政办公楼的宏伟建筑凋敝不堪，窗玻璃没了，石膏也发霉了。由于消费者抵制以及西方制裁，这里看不到有西方品牌。
不过，在亚洲城市越来越趋同的当下，这种破落而优雅的风貌赋予了仰光几分特殊的魅力。仰光就像一个没落的贵族，在勉力维持着昔日的尊贵。仰光当年作为大英帝国(British Empire)繁华前哨的遗迹随处可见。仰光市中心有东南亚地区最精致的殖民建筑群，其中包括前最高法院(High Court)和秘书处(Secretariat)所在的宏伟红砖建筑，昂山素季的父亲（一位缅甸民族英雄）1947年就是在这里遭到暗杀的。
这种时光倒流的氛围还有一种更直接的吸引力，这是我在总督府酒店(Governor's Residence)发现的。这家有48个房间的酒店位于草木葱茏的使馆区，由Oriental-Express运营。这家酒店的大堂和餐厅设在建于二十世纪二十年代的一座两层柚木小楼里，屋檐有精美的雕刻。我们到达酒店时，酒店敲响了铜锣，两名身着传统笼基（也叫沙笼）的门童陪同我们来到服务台前，冷毛巾和柠檬草茶已经备好。
Associated Press
清晨，游客来到仰光大金塔。
这里很少受到现代世界的干扰：无线网络信号时有时无，几乎没有车辆经过。在闷热的午后，我们躲到了扇形的池塘旁，凝望着滚滚而来的雨云，只有知了刺耳的叫声打破寂静。
不过，仰光正在缓慢地发生变化。今年早些时候，政府拍卖了几十幢老建筑。其中一些可能要改建成现代高楼。我还经常看到有覆盖着竹制脚手架、准备翻修的大型建筑物。仰光市政厅(City Hall)──拥有东方学家梦幻中的那种宝塔和华美柱廊──最近被漆成了朦胧的淡紫色。
中产阶级的生活方式也在兴起。我们住的酒店附近有一家购物城，里面满是来自韩国的最新时尚商品。仰光市随处可见宣传本地嘻哈歌手芮利(Ye Lay)演唱会的广告牌，他用发胶做了造型，身穿一件黑色防弹衣，还有一些广告牌上打着化妆品、食用油和佐丹奴(Giordano)马球衫的广告。白天，时尚的职业人士在Sharky's吃披萨和三明治，这是一家宽敞的咖啡和熟食店，自制奶酪和冰淇淋味道好得让人惊喜。晚上，缅甸新贵阶层的青少年聚集在Ginki Kids餐吧，那里的音响大声放着摇滚民谣。
有一天，我们与一位很有名望的商人以及他的家人在盛贸饭店(Trader's Hotel)共进早午餐，当地的富人家庭周末时常会来这里。我们的朋友说，缅甸的环境开始放松了。西方评论家也许会说去年的大选只是走走形式，但文官政府确实已经采取了一些改革措施。
昂山素季──不受军政府欢迎的人物──去年软禁获释以来，已经与政府高级官员进行了会晤。抵制2010年大选的全国民主联盟将参加即将进行的议会补选。缅甸的破冰行动也得到了其他国家政府的认可：美国国务卿希拉里?克林顿(Hilary Clinton)前不久访问了缅甸。这些变化让早已心灰意懒的仰光居民产生了一种谨慎的乐观情绪。这位商人的夫人说，“缅甸正在变化，但是很慢。”
次日，我在Lokanat画廊参观画家觉漂山(Kyaw Phyu San)作品展时看到了气氛趋于宽松的迹象。在这些感伤的水彩画中有一幅柔和的风景画，画面一角是昂山素季的面孔。这幅画名为“母亲”(Mother)。
尽管面临压制和孤立，但这些年来仰光的艺术之花仍在默默地绽放，艺术界的政治色彩不太浓，但一些画家在作品中含蓄地表达了对社会的看法。在豪华的Strand酒店高雅的河畔画廊(River Gallery)里，钦梭喇(Khin Zaw Latt)的作品《雾中的人群》(Crowd in the Fog)描绘了一些在归途中跋涉的灰色身影，画中人背对着观众。金谷艺术中心(Golden Valley Art Centre)一幅貌温作(Maung Win Cho)的风景画引起了我的注意；画中的田野是猩红色的，一棵光秃秃的树下有一辆侧翻的马车。英文名叫彼得(Peter)的画廊主人尤敏伦(U Myint Lwin)说，“这些是掸邦的芝麻地。”我丈夫问，“为什么田野是红色的？”彼得耸了耸肩，用沉默来表达他的想法。
River Gallery
钦梭喇和他的作品《雾中的人群》，摄于河畔画廊。
经过一番讨价还价，我们买下了这幅画。和亚洲其他地区价格高昂的现代艺术市场不同，仰光的艺术品价格适中，如果加一些钱，你还可以在画廊里与艺术家见上面。不过这种情况也在变化。新宝画廊(New Treasure Gallery)主人、缅甸最著名的画家之一明维昂(Min Wae Aung)说，“来自新加坡和香港的收藏家多起来了。”
我们见到的一些人把这种更为宽松的氛围归因于缅甸前统治者2006年的迁都决定。政府和军队高官搬到了距仰光三小时路程的内比都。我的导游兼司机冯觉(Phone Kyaw)说，“我希望我们这儿重新变成乡村。”
普通缅甸人的娱乐要更平民化一些。要体会仰光的真实生活，不妨在周末的足球比赛中加入疯狂的球迷队伍。我们看了一场仰光联队(Yangon United)的比赛，现场气氛非常火爆：一排喧闹的青少年起劲地打着鼓，男男女女一边痛饮啤酒一边大骂球员踢得臭。有两名外籍球员的仰光联队以4比0轻取拉卡普拉联队(Rakhapura United)。每一次进球都激起一阵胜利的欢呼，而为数不多的拉卡普拉联队球迷则在座位里蜷缩得更深一点。
比赛结束后，球迷们围在球队的大巴周围想和球员合影，一些人脱下衬衫，露出覆满背部的巨大的仰光联队队徽纹身。这再次提醒我们，缅甸的面纱之下隐藏着太多东西，等待着人们去发现。
仰光之旅2011 年 12 月 21 日 12:06:59
置身缅甸仰光，感觉就像穿越时空回到过去。如今亚洲的城市越来越千篇一律，仰光有些破旧却优雅的风貌展现出独特的魅力。


仰光日出之时，两个女孩坐在湖畔长凳上。
探秘政治改革后的仰光
Reuters

图为仰光大金塔(Shwedagon Paya)，以前又称瑞光大金塔(Rangoon)，是仰光的标志性建筑。
探秘政治改革后的仰光
Luke Duggleby for The Wall Street Journal

每天一大早就有游客来到仰光大金塔。
Associated Press

东方快车酒店集团(Orient-Express)旗下的总督府酒店(Governor’s Residence)拥有48间柚木房，室外还有一个扇形池塘，池边摆放着躺椅供客人们躺卧休憩。
Orient Express

总督府酒店池边一隅。
Orient Express

仰光一家服装零售店，镜子映出一个导购女孩的身影。
Reuters

游客和佛教僧侣从仰光樱花大厦(Sakura Tower)前走过。
Reuters

仰光新宝画廊(New Treasure Gallery)陈列的该国著名画家明维昂(Min Wae Aung)画作，该画廊开设于1990年。
New Treasure Gallery

图为新宝画廊外景。明维昂的妻子Than Than Maw管理着这家画廊。
New Treasure Gallery

钦梭喇(Khin Zaw Latt)和他的画作《雾中的人群》(Crowd in the Fog)。照片摄于河畔画廊(River Gallery)。
River Gallery

盛贸饭店(Trader’s Hotel)外景，富裕的缅甸家庭周末时常在这里聚会。
Trader's Gallery

盛贸饭店内景。
Trader's Gallery

仰光某商场里一家售卖Polos衫的店铺，导购员头上戴着圣诞帽。
Getty Images

仰光日出之时，两个女孩坐在湖畔长凳上。
探秘政治改革后的仰光
Reuters

图为仰光大金塔(Shwedagon Paya)，以前又称瑞光大金塔(Rangoon)，是仰光的标志性建筑。
Myanmar's Reforms Take Hold, And Tourists Follow
Friday night in Yangon, and things didn't look promising. It was pitch black outside, street lamps being scarce. A monsoonal downpour had driven most people inside, making the streets even more desolate. As our taxi slowly swerved around the giant potholes that pockmark the roads, I noticed little sign of life in the dilapidated colonial-era downtown.
Inside Monsoon, a restaurant situated in a gracious townhouse, it was a different story. Waiters deftly maneuvered between tables with trays loaded with drinks and steaming dishes. Fellow tourists perused the long menu of Southeast Asian specialties, while a group of United Nations workers relaxed over Gin and Tonics. A long table slowly filled with 30-something Burmese women blowing air kisses and exclaiming over each other's smart frocks -- just a regular night out with friends.
Normalcy, however, isn't what I had expected in the former capital of Myanmar. A long-time Bangkok resident, I've traveled extensively in Asia, but hadn't yet made it to Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon. Like many travelers, I was deterred by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's calls for a tourism boycott. In recent years, she has softened her stance. Her party, the National League for Democracy, issued a statement in May saying it welcomed tourists but underscored the importance of responsible travel. When the chance to spend a few days in Yangon with my husband came up this past summer, I shrugged off my reservations.
Though only an hour away by plane from Bangkok, Yangon in many ways feels more like a journey back in time. Epic economic mismanagement has left its infrastructure in shambles. Rickety, 20-year-old Toyota sedans serve as private taxis, their doors sometimes held together with wires. Vines and trees sprout from decrepit bungalows. Stately edifices that once housed colonial administrative offices look forlorn with missing windowpanes and moldy plaster. Western brands are absent, the result of consumer boycotts and Western sanctions.
Yet Yangon's decrepit gentility exerts a certain charm amid the increasing homogeneity of urban Asia. It's like an aristocrat gone to seed, fiercely hanging onto respectability. Traces of its status as a thriving outpost of the British Empire are everywhere. Downtown Yangon has the finest collection of colonial architecture in Southeast Asia, including the imposing redbrick former High Court and Secretariat building, where Aung San Suu Kyi's father, a nationalist hero, was assassinated in 1947.
The time-warp ambience also has a more straightforward appeal, as I discovered at the Governor's Residence, a 48-room hotel in the leafy embassy district, operated by Oriental-Express. The hotel's lobby and restaurant are situated in a two-story teak house from the 1920s with elaborately carved eaves. A brass gong was struck when we arrived, and two porters in traditional longyi, or sarongs, escorted us to the reception desk where cold towels and glasses of lemongrass tea were waiting.
The modern world seldom intruded here: the Wi-Fi signal was patchy and few cars passed by. During the sultry afternoons, we took refuge by the fan-shaped pool, gazing at the thunderclouds rolling in with only the rasping of cicadas interrupting the silence.
Change, however, is slowly creeping into Yangon. Earlier this year, the government auctioned off dozens of heritage buildings. Some are likely to be replaced by modern high rises. But here and there, I spied grand structures wrapped in bamboo scaffolding in preparation for restoration work. The City Hall -- an Orientalist fantasy with pagoda-like towers and ornate colonnades -- was recently painted a dubious shade of lilac.
The trappings of middle-class life are also popping up. Near our hotel was a mall filled with the latest fashions from South Korea. Billboards touting a concert by local hip-hop star Ye Lay -- hair gelled and dressed in a black bulletproof vest -- plastered the city, while others touted cosmetics, cooking oil and Giordano polo shirts. During the day, fashionable professionals dine on pizzas and sandwiches at Sharky's, an airy cafe and deli with surprisingly good house-made cheese and ice cream. At night, the teenage children of Myanmar's nouveau riche gather at Ginki Kids, where the sound system blasts rock ballads.
One day, we joined a prominent businessman and his family for brunch at the Trader's Hotel, where prosperous families gather en masse on weekends. Our companions told us that the country was starting to loosen up. Last year's elections might have been called a sham by Western critics, but the civilian government has taken some steps toward reform.
Since her release from house arrest last year, Aung San Suu Kyi -- persona non grata under the junta -- has met with senior government officials. The NLD, which boycotted the 2010 vote, will field candidates in coming parliamentary by-elections. Other governments are recognizing the thaw: U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton paid a visit last week. These developments have led to a cautious optimism among Yangon's jaded residents. 'Change is happening, but it's slow,' the wife observed.
The next day, I spotted a sign of that loosening at an exhibition by painter Kyaw Phyu San at the Lokanat Gallery. Among the schmaltzy watercolors was a subdued landscape with Aung San Suu Kyi's face in the corner. The painting was entitled 'Mother.'
Despite repression and isolation, Yangon's art scene has flourished quietly over the years, and while not overtly political, some painters insert discreet social commentary into their work. At the lofty River Gallery in the posh Strand Hotel, Khin Zaw Latt's 'Crowd in the Fog' showed gray figures trudging home, their backs turned. A landscape by Maung Win Cho caught my eye at the Golden Valley Art Centre; the field was scarlet, and a horse cart underneath a barren tree listed to one side. 'Those are the sesame fields in Shan state,' said U Myint Lwin, or Peter, the gallery owner. 'Why are the fields red?' my husband asked. Peter shrugged, letting his silence express his thoughts.
After some negotiation, we bought the painting. Unlike inflated contemporary art markets elsewhere in Asia, Yangon is affordable, with the added bonus that you will probably meet the artist at the gallery. But this, too, is changing. 'We have more collectors from Singapore and Hong Kong coming,' said Min Wae Aung, the owner of the New Treasure Gallery and one of Myanmar's most famous painters.
A few of the people we met attributed the more relaxed atmosphere to the decision by the former dictator to relocate the capital in 2006. Government ministers and army generals hunker down three hours away in the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw. 'I hope we become like a village again,' said Phone Kyaw, my guide and driver.
For ordinary Burmese, entertainment veers toward the less highbrow. To get a taste of real life in Yangon, join the soccer-mad crowds during a weekend match. Passions ran high at the Yangon United match we watched: A row of boisterous teenagers enthusiastically beat drums, and both men and women lustily berated players between swigs of beer. Armed with a couple of foreign players, Yangon United handily won against Rakhapura United, 4-0. Each goal brought cries of triumph, while the handful of fans for the opposing team sagged further in their seats.
Afterwards, fans converged around the team bus for photo ops, some stripping off their shirts to reveal large tattoos of the Yangon United insignia that covered their backs. It was another reminder that so much of this country lies hidden below the surface, waiting to be uncovered.
Jennifer Chen