Tepid. I shall be tepid.
I have got up, drunk two mugs of strong black coffee eaten two croissants, attacked more cursed forms and am now taking a break.
I have resisted drinking rum and smoking a cigar before 9am and am proud of having such strength,
Most things seem to be in place for the trip to Burma. I am looking forward to the flight and that wonderful feeling of freedom that comes with each take off.
Perhaps it goes if one flies often enough but for the occasional traveler take off and landing are still crucial moments when all worries about form filling and all other tedious tyrannies of everyday life are forgotten.
For a comparatively small country Burma has an extraordinary 135 different ethnic minorities. It will be interesting to look for obvious signs of this.
Indonesia has a similarly diverse population but spread more thinly across the islands so perhaps divisions in Burma will appear more obvious. The equivalent to Java's domination of Indonesia could be the Irrawaddy Basin where the majority of the Bamar (Burman) people, making up about 80% of the population. Among the minorities the Mon are especially interesting as it is thought they are descended from the original inhabitants of South East Asia. Most other peoples are those who originally migrated south from China to escape the rise of the Han Chinese. It is thought that the early Dvaravati civilisation of central Thailand was Mon and after the collapse of the empire they were forced west into what is now Burma. Dvaravati art is well worth looking at, especially the fascinating stone wheels.
I'm trying to finish Elizabeth Moore's book on the Shwedagon before I go but Burmese Buddhism, like most religions once you scratch the surface, is horribly complicated. Especially because it has absorbed so much of the earlier belief in the spirits, the Nats. There are 37 Great Nats and countless lesser ones. Add that lot to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and... if you are me, you have a headache.
Now back to bills and forms and bag packing.