Myanmar after 50 years of nightmare, something unexpected is happening here. And its pretty incredible. I took a walk through this beautiful world felt the cool rain on my shoulder found something good in this beautiful world i felt the rain getting colder sha, la, la, la, la, la, sha, la, la, la, la, la, sha, la, la, la, la, la, sha, la, la, la, la, anthony in yangon, capital city of myanmar, its dark. Blackouts are frequent with the ancient power grid. What sources of light there are in the street cast an eerie, yellow orange hue. For almost 100 years under british rule, this was rangoon. In 1948, after helping the british fight off the japanese, and with a new taste for selfdetermination, the country gained independence. After a decade of instability, however, the military consolidated power and never let go. Elections . They came and went. The results ignored, opposition punished or silenced entirely. Burma, now myanmar, where orwell had once served as a colonial policeman, where hed first grown to despise the apparatus of a security state, became more orwellian than even he could have imagined, a nation where even having an opinion could be dangerous. President obama i am very honored to be here at this university and to be the first president of the United States of america to visit your country. Anthony morning in yangon. To nearly everyones surprise, there have been some huge changes in recent months. Aung the most difficult time in any transition is when we think that success is in sight. Anthony nobel prizewinning democracy champion aung san suu kyi, for nearly 15 years under house arrest, was released, and has now taken an active role in politics. Just as the door is opening, my crew and i are among the first to record what has been unseen for decades by most of the world. Meanwhile, this Southeast Asian country of 80 Million People is collectively holding its breath, waiting to see whats next. And will this loosening of government grip last . Of course, morning in yangon has always been about tea. Its black, indianstyle tea, usually with a thick dollop of sweetened condensed milk. You want it sweet, less sweet, very sweet, strong, less strong . Everybodys got a preference; everybodys got a preferred tea shop where they know, presumably, how you like yours. U thiha i said im only less sweet, and a bit strong. Anthony journalist and publisher u thiha saw. We meet at the tea shop. U thiha anything could happen in a tea shop. This place mean, uh, a lot of things, not just a place for breakfast and snacks. Anthony for 50 years of paranoia and repression, tea houses were also the main forum for guarded and notsoguarded discussions of the daily news, where you tried to piece together the real stories behind the ludicrously chopped and censored newspapers. Carefully, of course, because informers and secret police were also heavily represented in these hotbeds of sedition and discontent. So, given your profession, how have you managed to stay out of prison all of these years . U thiha no. I was there. Anthony oh, really . U thiha two times. Anthony two times. U thiha once special burma Police Called me. Hey, u thiha saw, will you please come into office . We need to talk. Anthony right. U thiha so i went over there and the total was 89 days in the prison. There was this very serious control that came with the First Military government. Anthony right. U thiha press scrutiny and registration. So anthony oh, that doesnt sound good. U thiha we need to send in our copies to that office and then take a look at everything. They would say, take this out. Take that out or black this out, or just, take the whole story out. Anthony magazines that would come into the country would they cut out, literally cut out the pieces. U thiha well, the people under this kind of tight censorship, people become more, i think, creative. Take a look, careful reading, there may be something between the lines, messages. Anthony right. It was something you were accused of, uh, sending these secret messages. In the back, a cauldron of salty little fish bubble over hardwood coals. Fingers work mountains of sweet bean, one of the fillings for the variety of pastries that are stuffed, shaped, and put into an old stone oven. In another corner, the heartening slap of fresh bread,f a tandoori. And, of course, eggs bob and spin in the magical hell broth of fish, spice, and herb. Mohinga . Uh, this i must have. Correct me if im wrong, if theres a national dish, a fundamental, most beloved dish, would it be would it be this . U thiha yeah, for example, take a look at all this sweet stuff. This is indian. These are chinese, et cetera. But then mohinga is a local thing. And its popular not in the city but also in the rural areas, too, in a fish base with some rice or noodles. We would sometimes we put in some crispies, like fried beans or anthony mmhmm. U thiha fried. Anthony mm. U thiha so, these are some coriander leaves. Anthony yeah. U thiha you can mix some some limes. Anthony sprinkle some in here. Mm. Good textures. Particularly in the light of, uh, obamas recent visit, these are interesting times. Significant changes for the first time in, you know, 50 years. U thiha yeah. Theres one thing which is quite significant. For example, take a look around. All kinds of people, all age groups. But a couple of years ago, people would be when youre talking about politics, you you tone down. Anthony right. U thiha i mean, you would be whispering. But nowadays, people just being more are being, uh, outspoken. So, this has all become much more open. In last july, theyre sort of relaxing the rules about censorship. August 20th, we were called into the office, we being publishers, editors. And the direor general of the department said, the boss, okay, 48 years and 20 days of censorship is gone. Thats it. Anthony feel good . U thiha yeah. Thats what weve been waiting for so many years. Anthony i love the answer. Its a careful yes. U thiha yeah. First, people within the country, we have some doubt about, okay, is it real, the changes and the reforms . But, as now its about a couple of years, and then now people start believing that, oh, maybe, maybe its real. The process is still very young. It is still possible when the generals stop and think, okay, thats enough is enough. Lets turn back all our stuff. Im optimistic about the changes and the reforms. But im still cautiously optimistic. Anthony in yangon, motorbikes are outlawed. Why is a matter of much rumor and speculation. So, its the bus for me. Something seems almost out of sync. Not too long ago, even filming here officially as an open, professional western film crew would have been unthinkable. In 2007, a japanese journalist was shot pointblank and killed filming a street demonstration. Be seen talking to anybody with a camera and there would likely be a knock on your door in the middle of the night. Yet so far, confronted with our cameras, a few smiles, and mostly indifference at worst, shocking considering how recently the government has started to relax its grip. Ma we love to eat. And dont forget, for 50 years, we were under two dictatorships, and especially under some socialists, you have not a lot of things to do. But, you know, cook and share food and you know. Anthony this is ma thengi, a famous and very controversial figure in public life. Myanmar or burma . Ma myanmar, because thats original name since the, uh, 13th century. Anthony ma thengi, like u thiha saw, has also spent time in prison. But on emerging after three years, she became in the minds of many an apologist for the regime. Fairly or not, i leave to others. Ma sometimes, outsiders, um, act as if, you know, its only after the military junta went away that, you know, things happened. First we were sort of, like, in a frozen state, like snow white. Dead. Anthony but her many wellknown books on the culinary traditions of myanmar make her a compelling advocate for burmese cuisine. So youre very passionate about the cooking and the cuisine here, and ma well, its just that i like to eat and i eat like a pig. [ chuckles ] anthony this is yangons restaurant. Ma salads, i think, are the best of our food. Im going to order a lot of salads that you havent had. You know, its going to be like a sort of a tasting thing. Anthony theres pic head salad with kaffir lime leaf, long bean salad with sesame and fish sauce, penny leaf salad, even this salad of indiastyle samosa. Everythings out there at the same time. Ma yes. Anthony no first course, second course. Ma no, no, no, no. If im invited to a friends house, the table would be covered with dishes. Anthony right. Ma covered. Anthony and its really about the interaction between a lot of colors, textures, and flavors in one dish ma yes. Yeah. Anthony or ma different. Anthony different. Ma yeah. Anthony wow, im in love. Thats good. Ma yes. It is. Anthony and of course theres the maddeningly delicious condiments and pickles with which to make each dish your own. Ma you make a lot of different combinations with each mouthful. Anthony ah. And this is something very confusing in general in this part of the world. Everybody Eats Everything differently, to very much to their taste. Ma anything goes. Anthony anything goes. Ma you make every mouthful you can make as different as you want. Hear that sizzle . Yeah. Red lobsters lobster shrimp summerfest is back get all the lobster and shrimp you crave, together in so many new ways. Theres new cedar plank seafood bake. Tender Maine Lobster and shrimp, cedar roasted to perfection. Or new caribbean lobster and shrimp. Sweet pineapple salsa on grilled rock lobster, paired with jumbo coconut shrimp. And wait. Theres lobster shrimp overboard its a Seafood Party on a plate. So hurry in. cause lobster shrimp summerfest wont last. A hilton getaway means you get more because. You get another day in paradise. Get a sunset on a sunday. Get more stories to share. Get more from your Summer Getaway with exclusive hilton offers. Book yours, only at hilton. Com proven to protect street skaters and freestylers. Stops up to 97 uv. Lasts through heat. Through sweat. Coppertone. Proven to protect. But as it grew bigger and bigger,ness. It took a whole lot more. Thats why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy. Everything. And that 2 cash back adds up to thousands of dollars each year. So i can keep growing my business in big leaps whats in your wallet . Most people come to la with big dreams. We came with big appetites. With expedia, you could book a flight, hotel, car, and activity all in one place. Anthony credit cards accepted almost nowhere. Cash machines, uhuh. Wifi . Internet . Rare. 3g . You got to be kidding. If you need to Exchange Money here, only crisp, absolutely new 100 bills accepted. In myanmar, its another, older world. Oh, and whats up with this . With all the, uh, kissing sounds, that smooching, kissing, you know, sound that youre hearing all over the place . My wife would have been in, like, ten fights so far. Sorry . Who who are you smooching at . Bitch . This is how you summon a waiter in myanmar. I know. I know. Try that at hooters and you will be rightly ejected. It takes some getting used to, for sure. This is a big, noisy seafood house where fish is prepared in the style of rhakine, the coastal province to the west named for the rhakine people, one of over 135 distinct ethnic groups around here. See, now were talking. You know, prawn curry is one of those one of those things everybody tells you you got to eat here. Prawns from the river, in tomato curry. I tell you this, good sauce. Oh, thats good. That is good, my friends. We shall know them by the number of their dead. Early morning in yangon. Among the crush of commuters, shoppers, people trying to make a living, rise up the last remnants of empire, faded, often crumbling, but still there after all these years. These are the offices, businesses, and public buildings of the british colonials. The sofaer building was once one of the swankest Department Stores in rangoon. A century ago, when kiplings poem mandalay was beckoning the overheated imaginations of a generation of young englishmen, here you could buy fine egyptian cigarettes, french liqueurs. The floor tiles were shipped over from manchester. Now, people live here. A halfcentury as a pariah state has left very few of these buildings in good repair. And there are divergent views on whether to preserve them. For many, a reminder of colonial subjugation. For others, a vestige of a golden time. These days in myanmar in the streets, on the docks, its all about moving forward. In an economy ripe to explode if things continue trending in their current direction, the busy hustle and bustle of yangons port appears even busier today as workers prepare for the oncoming holiday. Philippe hey, chef. Anthony hello. Philippe how are you doing . Anthony it figures, doesnt it . Philippe yeah, it does. Welcome to myanmar. Anthony philippe lajaunie, owner proprietor of my old restaurant, les halles. It seems only natural that, uh, youd bee in burma, myanmar, at the same time as me. Back before anything, before i wrote the book that changed my life from brokeass utilitygrade chef to whatever it is i am today, id never been to asia until this guy sent me to japan and got me hooked on a continent. Philippe but there we go. Anthony oh, nice. Chicken head. Yeah. Philippe that is the perfect mood awakener. Anthony oh, yeah. Philippe travels constantly. Hes been bouncing around asia for decades. Like all good travelers, hes relentlessly curious and without fear or prejudice. Philippe its fantastic. Anthony it makes perfect sense, then, that over cold brew and chicken necks in the port of yangon, philippe is the one joining me to explore this particular moment in myanmar. Philippe thats the money tree. Anthony oh, it is going to be a party. Philippe yeah. Anthony full moon party tonight. Philippe full moon party, thats right. Anthony now, what that means, we have no idea. Philippe we dont know. There is only one way to find out, i suppose. Well, it sounds like a party. Anthony oh, it gets crazy from now on. Its full moon day, a holiday marking the end of the rainy season. And today marks the beginning of three days of break out the crazy. Giant speakers compete for attention, everybody cheerfully oblivious to the distortion. Cotton candy, trinkets, tube socks, just like a new york street fair, but with infinitely better food. Oh, are these the little birds . Philippe yeah. These guys are really good. Was flying just a bit earlier this morning. Anthony ill tell you, its the backbone of every street fair in the world, isnt it, deepfried food . Philippe thats right. And here they also have the the little, uh, uh, batter, where they break a quail egg in it. One shot. Its really good. Thats it . Hes happy . All right. This is so tasty. Much less greasy than i thought it would be. In fact, rather delicate. Anthony yeah, any time you tell me crispy little bird, im all over it. Philippe good head. Good beak, too. Anthony good beak. Philippe crispy and tender. Anthony oh, and they have rides. Check this out. Okay, its a ferris wheel, but the power source, not unusual for these parts, is not electric. It aint gas. Oh man, are you kidding me . Its human power. Philippe you have to see it to believe it. Anthony an absolutely insanely dangerous, closely choreographed process of first getting the giant, heavilyladen wheel in motion, and then getting it up to top speed and keeping it there. Wow. Look at this thing tilting out, too. Philippe thats the break. Three guys the other way. Anthony note the footwear, by the way. And its not just this one. Every couple of blocks, bigger and bigger ferris wheels, each one with its own troop of acrobatic spinners. And sure, going for a ride is tempting, but cnn host implicated in death of four underage carnies. Thats the thing just came off the hinges, and next thing you know it was rolling down the street and sending those kids flying. If id had any idea, i never would have taken a ride, says bourdain. No, i dont think so. Hard making a buck. But again and again, the seats are loaded with smiling families, the team climbs aboard, and the circus begins again. Good luck. May you return to earth safely, with all of your limbs intact. Feel the clarity of nondrowsy claritin and relief from symptoms caused by over 200 allergens. Like those from buddy. Because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. Feel the clarity. And live claritin clear. Gary ive been making blades here at gillette for 20 years. I bet im the first blade maker youve ever met. Theres a lot of innovation that goes into making our thinnest longest lasting blades on the market. Precision machinery and high quality materials from around the world. Nobody else even comes close. Its about delivering a more comfortable shave, every time. Invented in boston. Made and sold around the world. Order now at gilletteondemand. Com. Gillette, the best a man can get. Im a small business, but i have. Big dreams. And big plans. So how do i make the efforts of 8 employees. Feel like 50 . How can i share new plans virtually . How can i download an efile . Virtual tours . Zipfile . Really big files . In seconds, not minutes. Just like that. Like everything. The answer is simple. Ill do what ive always done. Dream more, dream faster, and above all. Now, ill dream gig. Now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. Anthony next day in the full moon festival. And whether youre looking out the window at a rural village or at the streets of yangon, whats happening is probably pretty similar, a tableau of dancing, body painting, carmounted speakers blasting. But its also three days of merit accruing, the practice of performing charitable or otherwise good works in the hopes of jacking up your karma. Money trees are paraded around pinned with cash donations for monks. Free banquets and feasts are held. And many moments of spiritual reflection. The majority of people here practice theravada buddhism, the oldest, most conservative form of the religion, which, simply put, asserts that existence is pretty much a continuous cycle of suffering through birth, death, and rebirth. Noisy today. Zarni very noisy, very noisy, yes. Anthony the morning star tea house, where ive come, well, for a couple of reasons. Reason one the musthave, bonedeep, oldschool favorite around here, la pet tok, the salad of fermented tea leaves. I know. That does not sound good. But youd be wrong to think that. Take the fermented tea leaves. Add cabbage, tomatoes, lots and lots of crunchy bits like toasted peanuts, season with lime and fish sauce. This is absolutely delicious. Zarni you like it . Anthony oh, yeah. Its fantastic. Zarni yes, yes, fantastic. Anthony simple, delicious. Things not to be taken for granted if youve been in and out of the joint like this guy, zarni bo, activist, astrologer, and threetimes convict. Yeah, everyone ive met in this country so far, in fact, has been to prison. It it seems, uh zarni yes, this happens again and again for us in myanmar. Anthony for almost six years . Zarni six years, nearly six years. Anthony about six years. Zarni all the judgments are made by the kangaroo court. The navy, army, and the air force, these three officials are sitting all together. They read off, uh, this is your sentence, like that. Anthony right. Zarni it happens. Only minutes. Pst, like that. Anthony uh, what is life like inside prison . Zarni nice, nice, very nice. [ laughter ] anthony i have a hard time believing that. Zarni no. Very nice. We can talk to each other, you know, saying some things. And we use a mirror to look each other. Its very nice. Anthony access to books . Zarni no book. No writing thing. No paper. No, nothing at all. A mat and a blanket and a plate and a bowl. Anthony right. Zarni only these are the things that we possess. Anthony hows the food, the food in prison . Zarni soup. Rice with pea soup, only one meat meal for a week. Thats on thursday. You know that in prison, it ends in prison. All the fish has no body, only the head and the tail. No middle part. I can look like that. Anthony so, there is hope for this country in your view, yes . Zarni yes, yes, especially with the buddhist belief, you know, how to live in situations. Dictators, you know, and the political pressures, or even discrimination, everything is happening to us. But the buddhists say, okay, thats about past life love. If we go do something, the next life will be good. Anthony theres something pretty cool about meeting people whove been, for so long, unable to speak, now so unguarded about their hopes and their feelings. [ burmese singing ] anthony sizzling meats, the clink of beer glasses, ringing bicycle bells. This is yangons 19th street. Does yangon rock . Can it rock . Darko 19th street is like a mustgo place when you are in yangon. Anthony meet burmese punk rockers side effect and lead singer darko. Darko uh, you can come here anytime. It will be lots of people, like here. Anthony so, if you sit here long enough, youll see every musician in town . Darko yeah, you could say that. Anthony the citywide curfew used to mean, close your doors at 11 00 p. M. Most shops and restaurants still close early, but not here on 19th street, where you can eat barbecue late into the night. Wow. What do we have here . What, uh grilled tofu . Darko yeah. And this is a pork tail. Anthony pork tail, oh. Darko yeah. Anthony this barbecue is awesome. These young men show exactly how determined youve got to be to rock, especially in burma. Darko i like to say my early influence was nirvana. And then, sex pistols, ramones, and stuff like that. Anthony what american bands do you hate . Darko especially, uh, um, creed. Anthony yes. Darko yeah. [laughter ] anthony they are, like, the worst band in the history of, like, the world. So, whats it like having an indie band in myanmar . Is it a little difficult . Darko for sure. For sure, yeah. Before you reconnaissance or, you know, like, when you got the lyrics, you got to submit the lyrics. So theyre going to censor it. Theyre going to check it. And even sometimes they they will, you know, suggest to you some words to change. Anthony oh, that must be funny. Darko very funny, actually, you know . Anthony now, is that still the case . Darko now, its not like that anymore. Theyre not going to censor you. But its going to be kind of risky, because you dont know whats going to happen to you if you write and sing something wrong. Anthony so, let me ask this. If all your dreams came true, where would you want to play . Darko new york city. Anthony you want to go to new york city . Darko yeah. Oh, its my dream. You just need to be strong, so thats what thats what i keep telling my bandmates, you know, come on, be strong. Have faith. So. Anthony so i hope people reach out to you, because making rock n roll is hard enough. Truly independent rock n roll is even harder. And im guessing that making it here is harder still. So, gentlemen, you deserve some success. People should hear you. Looks great, honey. Right . Sometimes you need an expert. I got it. And sometimes those experts need experts. On it. [ crash ] and sometimes the expert the expert needed Needs Insurance expertise. Its all good. Steve, youre covered for general liability. And, paul, we got your back with workers comp. Wow, its like a party in here. Where are the hors doeuvres, right . [ clanking ] tartlets . We cover commercial vehicles, too. I think theres something wrong with your sink. We cover commercial vehicles, too. At the Marine Mammal center, the environment is everything. We want to do our very best for each and every animal, and we want to operate a sustainable facility. And pg e has been a partner helping us to achieve that. Weve helped the Marine Mammal center go solar, install electric vehicle charging stations, and become more energy efficient. Pg e has allowed us to be the most Sustainable Organization we can be. Any time you help a customer, its a really good feeling. Its especially so when its a customer thats doing such good and important work for the environment. Together, were building a better california. Philippe so, you heard the sleeping car lost a wheel . Anthony the what . Philippe the sleeping car lost a wheel, uh, and the dining car. So, we get a new anthony well, no, we lost the dining car, i hear. Philippe we lost the dining car, but even our original sleeping car lost a wheel. So, we just have to hope for the best. Anthony the night express to bagan, 600 kilometers of what will turn out to be kidneysoftening travel by rail. But bagan, myanmars ancient capital, ive been told, is a mustsee. Philippe the true old english experience. The engine is a french engine from the 70s. Anthony weve been told its a somewhat uncomfortable tenhour trip. So really, the question on this end of the journey is, come back on the train or flying coffin . Mishaps on both burmese planes and trains are not, shall we say, unheard of. The widowmaker express. Philippe the uh, that is the choice. So, that may be the signal to, uh, depart at some point. Anthony yeah. All aboard . Whoa, were moving. Here we go. Philippe here we go. Oh, thats it. We have reached our cruising, uh, speed. Anthony really . This is cruising speed, we think . Philippe just a bit. [ chuckles ] anthony you could literally outrun this train. Philippe we could jog ahead, have a nice meal in some, uh, you know, recommended, uh, restaurant. Anthony we could catch up with it. Philippe its like the digestive, uh, walk. There we go. This is stop number 1 of 75. Anthony heading north, the scenery opens up. The space between things gets wider, more pastoral, and more beautiful. Looking around at my fellow passengers, it could be hard to distinguish between the 135plus ethnic groups that make up the burmese population. The very name burma refers actually to only one of these groups. What they all seem to have in common, however, is thanaka, a face paint and sunblock made from tree bark that masks many of their faces. Its ubiquitous here. At first jarring to see, it quickly becomes something you get used to and take for granted. Yangons gravitational pull broken, and with darkness falling, the train picks up speed. At times, terrifyingly so. Philippe i mean, this thing is going to derail at some point. They have lost how many wheels yesterday on this one train . So, truly, its about being in the right car, the one that keeps its wheel. Anthony derailments, or rail slips, as they are referred to here, a somewhat more benignsounding occurrence than, say, rolling off the tracks into a rice paddy, are not uncommon. And one cant help wondering what the engineer and conductor are thinking as the train speeds heedlessly on, faster and faster. Philippe i mean, it must be, what, about 40, 50 Miles Per Hour at this point. Anthony i wonder if anyone has ever, like, flown right out of their seat, out the window. Philippe yes, small people, sure. Anthony you dont want to be, like, holding a lap dog. Philippe or a baby, or anything. I mean, its anthony yeah. Try pissing in the bathroom and find yourself launched straight up into the ceiling, bringing to a rude conclusion what was already an omnidirectional experience. Its smooth now. Its very relaxing. Philippe what kind of beer did he have . I want the same. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens brown paper packages tied up with strings these are a few of my favorite things these are a few of my favorite things fenext up ferias newy. Glam grunge haircolor. Ultrasmokey, cool gray shades feria has pure dyes live in color. Live in feria by loreal paris. Im t he only bed that actually senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. Does your bed do that . Im the new sleep number 360 smart bed. Lets meet at a sleep number store. Proven to protect street skaters and freestylers. Stops up to 97 uv. Lasts through heat. Through sweat. Coppertone. Proven to protect. Crawl inside, wait by the light of the moon. Applebees to go. Order online and get 20 off 20. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Ito take care of anyct messy situations. And put irritation in its place. 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Anthony out the window, the modern world seems to fade away, then disappear altogether, like the last century never happened, or even the century before that. Were traveling across the largest mainland nation in southeast asia. But it should be pointed out that we are still within the confines of the tourist triangle, areas permissible for travel. Whole sectors of this country, much of it, in fact, are offlimits. Simply put, there is shit going on they do not want you to see. A lowintensity conflict with the ethnic kachin tribe would be one of them, a wave of persecution and deaths in rhakine state. The country may be opening up at its center, but all along the edges its waging a desperate war to hang on to the status quo. Needless to say, the status quo is not good. Philippe all right. Bagan, here we come. Anthony 1,000 years ago, bagan was the capital for a long line of kings. Its the sort of place where the old coexists with the even older. As elsewhere in this part of the world, in many of the buddhist temples here, far older animist spiritbased beliefs coexist with more recent buddhism. And, in myanmar, worship of the nats is widespread. Nats, as i understand it, are more like greek gods, former humans, demigods, spirits, often with very human qualities and failings. Dance performances pay homage to the individual nats, performers claiming to actually channel them, bringing about, one hopes, a beneficial spiritual possession. But im not just here for a nat. I have a list things to eat in myanmar. And this is one of them. Chicken curry. And from roadside joints like this, nestled among the temple ruins, youre more than likely to catch a very enticing whiff. Just delicious. Spicy, but not to the point that you want to scream out for mercy, but some heat. Slow simmered curry, served with a side of sour soup made from roselle leaves. With it, you get fried, ground chilies, pickled bean sprouts you get the idea. They always have, like, these relishes, these dippy type things, these, like, really interesting salads, and im, like, not really a salad guy. The salads here are, uh theyre happening. Spicy, sour, salty, savory, just delicious. Its delicious. A plethora of textures and flavors. This is a culture thats thought a lot about their food, clearly like eating, like feeding people. They think a lot about those classic balances of flavors, colors, and textures. Best restaurant in the country so far, by the way. Gentlemen, i have just received word the louisiana purchase, is complete instant purchase notifications from capital one. Technology this helpful. Could make history. Whats in your wallet . Sometimes you need an expert. I got it. And sometimes those experts need experts. On it. [ crash ] and sometimes the expert the expert needed Needs Insurance expertise. Its all good. Steve, youre covered for general liability. And, paul, we got your back with workers comp. Wow, its like a party in here. Where are the hors doeuvres, right . [ clanking ] tartlets . We cover commercial vehicles, too. I think theres something wrong with your sink. We cover commercial vehicles, too. A lot of paints say ordinthey can do the job,ver. But just one can behr through it all. Behr premium plus, a top rated interior paint at a great price. Family friendly, disaster proof. Find it exclusively at the home depot. Nondrowsy childrens claritin allergy relief. The 1 pediatrician recommended nondrowsy brand. Because to a kid a grassy hill is irresistible. Childrens claritin. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. Anthony youd expect this, an ancient city of nearly unparalleled size and beauty, to be overrun with tourists, souvenir shops, snack bars, tours on tape. But no. Philippe oh, this is stunning. Anthony youll encounter some western travelers at bagans temple sites for sure, but, generally speaking, theyre a hardy bunch even the bus tours here are not for the faint of heart or the weak of spirit. But for the most part, youre far more likely to bump into a goat than a foreigner. Philippe this is so beautiful, so much like an ode to human, you know, beliefs and adoration and worshiping and and anthony slave labor. Philippe and slave labor. Anthony im thinking, you build this many temples, thousands of them, in a relatively short period of time . You know, chances are somebody was working for less than minimum wage, lets put it that way. Philippe for sure. Ah, we could fly here. Look at that. Whew. Anthony a millennia ago, in a period of just under 250 years, over 4,000 structures like this were built here. They say that a king began this project after a conversion to theravadastyle buddhism. They started a new temple, like, every 14 days. Over 3,000 pagodas, temples, and monasteries remain today. Inside almost every one of them, a buddha figure, each one different. Philippe and i like how integrated it is with those trees, ox trails, and anthony actually, funny you should mention that. People used to live here, but the government came along in the 80s, i believe, and relocated. It was a Mass Relocation project. Philippe right. Anthony so, any homes, anything, it was understood that this is a good you know, theres some tourist bucks here. They relocated the entire population. Were in one of the first mass waves of tourists. European tourists have been coming here in relatively small numbers for a long time. But the floodgates have certainly opened. Theyre Building Hotels like crazy around this area, whats called the tourist triangle. Philippe i really like this, too. Woman this is silk and cotton poly. Philippe and whatwhat is this here . Oh, this this is a this is a nice cloth. Anthony as myanmar begins its shift towards accommodating increasing tourism and a Service Economy to go with it, there will be adjustments. There will be, of course, a downside. Girl now, how much you pay . Philippe okay. Anthony whats that going to mean . How will the burmese react to all of the goodsgood and evils that come with tourism . Girl okay, mister. What about you pay one, okay. Philippe perfect. Boy its perfect, yeah. Girl excuse me. Anthony its going to mean mobility. Its going to mean prosperity for some. Will mean a lot of bad things, too, you know. Itll mean prostitution. Itll mean hustling. Philippe here you go. Girl okay, my booth. Fine restaurant. Boy so. Thank you very much. For your health, for the children. Philippe okay. And you, too. Boy yeah. Philippe you think so. Girl everybody is selling to you, you buy, you pay 20. Anthony were told that kids are dropping out of school to do this, the doubleedged sword of the Service Economy. Girl you want to buy postcard . For, uh, only 5. One, two, three, more, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Anthony what im amazed is how friendly and open people are with us. I mean, its very easy for me to sit here and say whatever i want about the government. Right . We can go home. You know. Our lives will go on. We dont pay the price for that show. Uh, everybody who helped us could very well pay that price. It should be pointed out that a lot of people did not. A lot of people were very nice to us but said, look, i just ive already been in jail. You know . I dont i really dont want to go back. Um, its a very real concern. What happens to the people we leave behind . You know, one would think that you cant once freedom you know, theyve tasted freedom, you know . Well, uh, uh, you know, you can put the toothpaste back in the tube. You know . Uh, theres no doubt about that. But for the moment at least, things seem to be moving in the right direction. A country closed off to most for so long, sleeping, a 50year nightmare for many of its citizens, finally may be waking up. To what . Time will tell. Anthony this is the cuba i grew up with. Narrator mankind teeters precariously on the brink of a thermal nuclear war. Anthony the missile crisis. Duck and cover. Hide under your desk, kids, cover yourselves with wet newspaper, because were all going to die. Narrator the flames of crisis burn far stronger, fed and fanned by the bitter tirades of fidel castro. Anthony and this guy, always in the fatigues, underlining with every appearance that we were two nations in a neverending state of war. President obama today, the