From Burma to Myanmar

London Day 5 - Monday 
We have the day in London before catching our train home, and from our Bloomsbury hotel, the British Museum is an obvious choice. It’s not G’s favourite place; he sees it as the repository of centuries of pillaging from all four corners of the globe - though of course there are treasures from these isles there too. We overhear two women chatting while we’re there, clearly appalled by the possibility of the Elgin Parthenon Marbles being returned to Greece. ‘It’s ridiculous. Where will that all end?’ one asks. ‘Exactly,’ replies her friend, ‘we’ll have nothing left in our museums.’ We smile wryly. 

We’re here for the Burma to Myanmar exhibition - serendipitously taking advantage of the half price concession for post 12.00 on Mondays. It’s good - though I feel not as well done as the Peru exhibition we saw last time we were here. 

We’re reminded just how unstable the whole of Asia has been over the centuries, various leaders battling over land and influence. But of course, this pales to nothing compared to colonialism and the way the British Empire rode roughshod over the people and their culture, destroying historic art works as they went. Desperate attempts were made to record and recreate what was destroyed, whilst other things were saved as ‘souvenirs’ to be returned to Blighty, seen as legitimate prizes.  

And even after independence, Myanmar has struggled, with limited freedoms under military rule. We were there at the time of the elections in November 2015, seeing Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy winning a landslide victory in Myanmar after general elections. We felt the hope and excitement of the people around us, still scarcely daring to believe that they had won. The coup of February 1st 2021 was such a tragedy for Myanmar - and continues to be so. 

The exhibition displays artefacts from pre-colonial times, through to the present day,  the former full of golden beauty and exquisite craftsmanship, the latter full of anguish. So my main today is a compilation of images from the film shown at the end of the exhibition, with an extra of some of the historical wonders. 

Our five days in London have been full of interest, fun and culture. It’s been wonderful for me to experience all this feeling relatively healthy - far better than I was when we last visited in March. Thanks so much for your comments, stars and hearts - especially as I’ve not reciprocated while we’ve been away.