The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Police Detain Student Activist, Allege Involvement in Chinese Workers’ Kidnapping
- 3 Rohingya Drown After Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Boat
- A Bid for Better Health Care
- Burma’s Rohingya Stuck in Refugee Limbo in India
- US Man in North Korea Given 6 Years of Hard Labor
- Philippines Starts Inquiry Into Filipino Militants in Syria
- With Eye on China, Modi’s India to Develop Disputed Border Region
- Northern Thai Style
| Police Detain Student Activist, Allege Involvement in Chinese Workers’ Kidnapping Posted: 15 Sep 2014 05:36 AM PDT  A photo posted on Facebook shows student activist Phyu Hnin Htwe and calls for her release. (Photo: Oo Aung / Facebook) A student activist was arrested on Saturday and is facing charges for her alleged involvement in the illegal detention in May of two Chinese workers by local villagers who oppose the Chinese-backed copper mine in Monywa, Sagaing Division, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) said. The student group has called for the immediate release of Phyu Hnin Htwe, 20, and said she is being falsely accused under the Penal Code's articles 364 and 368, which set prison terms of up to 10 years for kidnapping and abduction. Phyu Hnin Htwe has been following a long-distance studying course at Mandalay's Yadanabon University. She is an ABFSU member and activist who has been visiting communities near the Letpadaung copper mine to offer her support, according to Ye Yint Kyaw, an ABFSU representative for Upper Burma. He said she was arrested at her home in Patheingyi Township in Mandalay Division on Saturday at the request of Monywa Township police, who took her to Monywa Prison on Saturday. "Police said she would have to appear at the Yinmabin Township Court next Monday," he added. An officer at Monywa Police Station confirmed that Phyu Hnin Htwe had been arrested, but declined to discuss the case in detail. Yinmabin Township is one several townships where communities have been affected by the copper mine of Chinese firm Wanbao. The company has been granted huge swathes of farmland by the government, but thousands of farmers claim they have not been properly compensated for the confiscation of their land. They have been holding protests against the project during the past two years. In May, villagers in Yinmabin Township were angered when they saw Chinese Wanbao employees carrying out survey works on recently seized lands. Villagers believed the aim of the company was to later fence in the area. They consequently brought the two men, along with a Burmese Wanbao employee, to Hsete village. The Burmese national was released the same day, but the Chinese employees were held for about 30 hours. A total of seven people were charged with abduction in May; five were arrested and later pardoned by the court. Phyu Hnin Htwe and Win Kyaw, a local villager, were also charged but did not show up for the trial. Until recently, Monywa authorities had made no attempt to arrest the two. Win Kyaw still remains at large. Ye Yint Kyaw, the ABFSU representative, said Phyu Hnin Htwe had played no role in the events involving the Chinese employees, adding that she only taught some extra classes for grade 10 students in Hsete village. The post Police Detain Student Activist, Allege Involvement in Chinese Workers' Kidnapping appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| 3 Rohingya Drown After Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Boat Posted: 15 Sep 2014 04:38 AM PDT  Two Rohingya women and a man drown near the Arakan State capital Sittwe after jumping from a boat because police fired rubber bullets at them. RANGOON — Two women and a man of the Rohingya Muslim minority drowned near the Arakan State capital Sittwe on Friday after they jumped from a boat because police fired rubber bullets at them, a local officer said. Sittwe Police Col. Tun Oo told The Irrawaddy on Monday that a group of about two dozen Rohingya was travelling on a small boat in an estuary near Sittwe at around 8 pm Friday when a police patrol boat caught sight of them and approached the vessel. He claimed the passengers acted hostile and police were forced to draw their weapons. "They held knives and prepared to defend their boat. And then we opened fire, shooting [warning shots] into the air first, but they still did not let us get into their boat. Finally, we used rubber bullets like we were trained to and we shot at them," he said. "They became afraid and jumped out of the boat into the water." On Saturday morning, police found the washed up bodies of two women and a man, all in their early 20s, Tun Oo said, adding that eight Rohingya were picked up out of the water and arrested. "We don't know what happened to the rest—they disappeared. We could only arrest eight people," he said, adding that the police were formulating charges against the detainees and would bring them to Sittwe Township Court. Asked what charges authorities would bring against the Muslim civilians because of their alleged resistance against the police patrol, he said, "We will see, at least we can charge them with travelling without the right documents." The stateless Rohingya minority in northern Arakan, which numbers around 1 million people, are denied citizenship rights by the Burmese government. The Rohingya say they have lived there for generations, but authorities claim they are illegal "Bengali" immigrants from Bangladesh and impose numerous restrictions on the group, such as limiting their right to travel and access to health care and education. International human rights group accuse the government of persecuting the Rohingya and say police regularly carry out rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, with impunity. Many Rohingya try to flee the dire conditions in their impoverished communities and the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe townships. Some 140,000 Rohingya have been living in dirty, crowded camps since mid-2012 when they were displaced by clashes between Muslims and the Arakanese Buddhist population. The UN has said that last year an estimated 86,000 Rohingya fled by boat on a perilous journey through the Bay of Bengal in an effort to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia. Aung Win, a Rohingya rights activist and community leader in Sittwe's Muslim neighborhood Aung Mingalar, said he had heard that the Rohingya on the boat had been trying to flee from Ohn Taw Gyi 1 camp in Sittwe Township, a site which according to the UN houses some 6,200 IDPs. "Many of them tried to get out from the camp. Unfortunately, the police found their boat," he said, adding that the group were travelling in a small boat and probably trying to reach a bigger boat waiting off the coast, which would take them to Thailand and on to Malaysia. Tun Oo, of the Sittwe police, however, claimed that his patrol boat had tried to stop the boat because the Rohinya passengers were trying to enter Ohn Taw Gyi 1 camp. "Usually, if we know they are trying to get out of the camp by boat we just ignore it and let them get out… but there are also people who come inside the camp. We have a duty to arrest them if they come inside the camp, this is why we tried to arrest them," he said. Sources at Ohn Taw Gyi 1 camp could not be reached for comment. The post 3 Rohingya Drown After Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Boat appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2014 12:27 AM PDT  Parasols up for auction are displayed at Pansodan Scene in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A silent auction for traditional Burmese parasols splashed with colorfully painted designs is offering Rangoon's philanthropically inclined the chance to help build a sustainable health care system for local communities in the commercial capital. Organized by Better Burmese Health Care (BBHC), "The Parasol Project" at Pansodan Scene in downtown Rangoon presents 91 vibrant parasols painted by 37 Burmese artists. "The Parasol Project is a fundraising activity of BBHC because we see a surge in the number of patients," said Thiri, the coordinator of the group, which provides free and cost-sharing health care services to nearly 900 patients every month on the outskirts of Rangoon. The floor price for each parasol is US$200. Prospective buyers can make a play for any of the parasols on auction by writing their bid on a corresponding sheet of paper beside the displayed works. BBHC is a private group founded in 2005 by a handful of Burmese physicians who have since provided regular health care services to people who lack the financial means to pay for their own medical costs. The auction runs from Sept. 13-19. Bidding closes at 8:30 p.m. on the last day. Pansodan Scene No. 144, Second Floor Pansodan Street (Middle Block) Kyauktada Township, Rangoon The post A Bid for Better Health Care appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Burma’s Rohingya Stuck in Refugee Limbo in India Posted: 14 Sep 2014 11:06 PM PDT  A woman, who says she belongs to the Rohingya community from Burma, washes clothes as children play in a camp in New Delhi on September 13, 2014. (Photo: Reuters). NEW DELHI — When Kohinoor, a stateless Rohingya Muslim, fled her home in Burma after a wave of attacks by majority Buddhists, she hoped for a chance to rebuild her life in a new country. She knew she would have to trek for days with little food and water and risk her life being smuggled across borders by traffickers. But she and her family did not imagine their present life of destitution and discrimination in India, the country they had chosen as their refuge. "We were chased out of Burma. We were chased out of Bangladesh. Now we are in India, the people here tell us that India is not our country. So where will we go?" asked Kohinoor, 20, sitting in a makeshift tent on a patch of wasteland in southern Delhi. "We don't have any land of our own. Our children don't go to the government schools as they refuse us admission. When we go to the hospital, they don’t admit people from our community," said Kohinoor, who fled Burma two years ago with her 2-year-old daughter and her sister's family. Though the Rohingya minority have lived for generations in Burma’s western state of Arakan, the largely Buddhist government passed a citizenship law in 1982 which excluded them, denying them the identity cards required for everything from schooling and marriage to finding a job and getting a birth or death certificate. They became stateless. Hundreds died in communal violence between Buddhists and Rohingya in 2012, worsening their plight, and in the last two years more than 86,000 Rohingya have left, fleeing to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh. The Rohingya are among an estimated 10 million stateless people worldwide. Their plight will be discussed during the first global forum on statelessness opening in The Hague on Monday, ahead of an ambitious U.N. campaign starting in November to eradicate statelessness worldwide within a decade. India, despite hosting some 30,000 registered refugees, has no legal recognition of asylum seekers, making it difficult for them to use essential services like schools and hospitals, human rights groups say – and the Rohingya community is among the most vulnerable. In Need for a Home According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), there are around 9,000 Rohingya registered in Delhi. Thousands more, unregistered, are living in other parts of the country such as Jammu and Hyderabad. In Delhi, most of them lead impoverished lives in tented settlements dotted around the city, eking out a meager existence collecting and selling garbage or doing manual work for Indians, often underpaid and exploited. Because they have no identity documents, they cannot send their children to school or use health services at government hospitals. They cannot rent accommodation and face problems getting work. Many say they have been forced to sleep under plastic sheets on roadsides or patches of wasteland for weeks or months, before local residents or authorities move them on. "Our home is Myanmar but they chased us out," said 21-year-old Abdul Sukur at a camp housing some 60 families in Delhi’s Okhla district. "Here also we don’t belong. People abuse us for living on the streets and say we are making the place dirty. We have to shift constantly. We need permanent land in India where we can settle and have proper identity documents which we can show," he said. Haven for Some Considered a haven in a volatile region, India has for decades hosted refugees fleeing conflict or persecution in countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, China and Burma. But its refugees have no legal status. Decisions about refugees are taken on an ad hoc basis and some groups, such as Sri Lankan Tamils and Tibetans, have been given certain rights and support. Others, such as the Rohingya, have been less fortunate. Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR India’s chief of mission, said the UNHCR identity cards given to registered refugees are often not recognized as they are not issued by the government. The agency is partnering with non-governmental organizations which are going into refugee communities to help them negotiate access to basic services, he added. "Overall if you look at how India looks after refugees, it is a functioning protection regime. There are no big violations of refugee rights, although there are lots of things that could improve," Bartsch said. "There is differential treatment of refugees. You have to analyze the period when they arrived and also look at the bilateral relationship with the country of origin. These are the two factors that shape how India has treated refugees over time." New Delhi has twice blocked draft laws on refugee recognition. Because of its porous borders, often hostile neighbors and external militancy, it wants a free hand to regulate the entry of foreigners without being tied down by any legal obligation, analysts said. UNHCR’s Bartsch said the inability of refugees to state their claim to asylum was actually driving them underground, making them more exposed to militancy. "Currently, there is no channel available to present a case to the government," he said. "Anyone who runs away from their country is forced to go underground and that results in people being off the grid, bereft of any support and subject to criminal activity and, worst case, even fundamentalism." For Kohinoor, little of this makes sense. "I don’t know about laws," she said. "Every country is kicking us around like a football. From one country to another, people are playing with us. We want the world to make a decision about us. We want them to give us some land in any country which we can then call home." The post Burma's Rohingya Stuck in Refugee Limbo in India appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| US Man in North Korea Given 6 Years of Hard Labor Posted: 14 Sep 2014 10:16 PM PDT  US citizen Matthew Todd Miller, second right, sits in a witness box during his trial at the North Korean Supreme Court in Pyongyang on Sept. 14, 2014, in this photo released by Kyodo. (Photo: Reuters / Kyodo) PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea's Supreme Court on Sunday convicted a 24-year-old American man of entering the country illegally to commit espionage and sentenced him to six years of hard labor. At a trial that lasted about 90 minutes, the court said Matthew Miller, of Bakersfield, California, tore up his tourist visa at Pyongyang's airport upon arrival on April 10 and admitted to having the "wild ambition" of experiencing prison life so that he could secretly investigate North Korea's human rights situation. Miller, who looked thin and pale at the trial and was dressed completely in black, is one of three Americans being held in North Korea. Showing no emotion throughout the proceedings, Miller waived the right to a lawyer and was handcuffed before being led from the courtroom after his sentencing. The court, comprising a chief judge flanked by two "people's assessors," ruled it would not hear any appeals to its decision. Earlier, it had been believed that Miller had sought asylum when he entered North Korea. During the trial, however, the prosecution argued that was a ruse and that Miller also falsely claimed to have secret information about the US military in South Korea on his iPad and iPod. Miller was charged under Article 64 of the North Korean criminal code, which is for espionage and can carry a sentence of five to 10 years, though harsher punishments can be given for more serious cases. The Associated Press was allowed to attend the trial. A trial is expected soon for one of the other Americans being held, Jeffrey Fowle, who entered the North as a tourist and was arrested in May for leaving a Bible at a sailor's club in the city of Chongjin. The third American, Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae, is serving out a 15-year sentence for alleged "hostile acts." All three have appealed to the US government to send a senior statesman to Pyongyang to intervene on their behalf. During a brief interview with The Associated Press in Pyongyang last week, Miller said he had written a letter to President Barack Obama but had not received a reply. Following Sunday's court verdict, the US State Department urged North Korea to release Miller, as well as Bae and Fowle. "Now that Mr. Miller has gone through a legal process, we urge the DPRK to grant him amnesty and immediate release," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement, using North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Fowle, a 56-year-old equipment operator for the city of Moraine, Ohio, said his wife, a hairstylist from Russia, made a written appeal on his behalf to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said the Russian government responded that it was watching the situation. The United States has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek the freedom of the detainees, but without success. Former President Bill Clinton came in 2009 to free a couple of jailed journalists. Jimmy Carter made the trip in 2010 to secure the release of Aijalon Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for illegally crossing into the country to do missionary work. In 2011, the State Department's envoy for North Korean human rights managed to successfully intervene in the case of Korean-American businessman Eddie Yong Su Jun. The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea and strongly warns American citizens against traveling to the country. Uri Tours, a New Jersey-based travel agency specializing in North Korea tourism that handled the arrangements for Miller, said in an email Sunday that it was working to have Miller returned to his parents in the United States. "Although we ask a series of tailored questions on our application form designed to get to know a traveler and his/her interests, it's not always possible for us to foresee how a tourist may behave during a DPRK tour," the travel agency said in a statement on Friday. "Unfortunately, there was nothing specific in Mr. Miller's tour application that would have helped us anticipate this unfortunate outcome." The agency said that as a result of the incident, it now routinely requests a secondary contact and reserves the right to contact those references to confirm facts about a potential tourist. It has also added advice warning tourists not to rip up any officially issued documents and "to refrain from any type of proselytizing." Associated Press National Security Writer Lara Jakes contributed to this report from Paris. The post US Man in North Korea Given 6 Years of Hard Labor appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Philippines Starts Inquiry Into Filipino Militants in Syria Posted: 14 Sep 2014 10:10 PM PDT  Militant Islamist fighters parade on military vehicles along the streets of northern Raqqa province on June 30, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — The Philippines is investigating the involvement of Filipino Islamists in the three-year civil war in Syria after two locals were reported killed fighting for Islamic State militant group, an intelligence official said over the weekend. A senior police intelligence official said Manila was also monitoring young Filipino Muslims who have gone to Syria and Iraq, and then tried to radicalize others on their return home. The Philippines has been battling its own small but violent Islamist militant group, Abu Sayyaf, which has been blamed for kidnappings, beheadings and bombings in the south. Since 2002, a US special forces unit has been advising and training local troops. Thousands of fighters from dozens of countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups, prompting the United States to draft a UN Security Council resolution demanding countries "prevent and suppress" the recruitment and travel of foreign fighters. "These are disturbing developments that could affect our internal security situation," the intelligence official, who declined to be named because he was not allowed to talk to the press, told Reuters on Saturday. "We have scant data based on intermittent information made available from different agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs. We are now exchanging intelligence with our foreign partners so we can build our own data base." Based on these exchanges, he said they have noted a gradual increase of foreign fighters heading to Syria coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Xinjiang, a troubled province in western China. But the movement is not only one way, he said. Some locals who saw action in Syria, labeled themselves as "veterans" had returned to the south of the mainly Catholic state to spread extremist Muslim ideologies. Documents seen by Reuters showed two Filipino Muslims had died in the Syria conflict in March. The foreign ministry also reported in May that about 100 Filipinos traveled to Iran to undergo military training and were subsequently deployed in Syria. "One of them was raised in Syria and the other was a local passport holder," said the intelligence official. Rommel Banlaoi of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies said the threats from Islamic State militants in the Philippines "is real rather than imagined." "ISIS is replacing al Qaeda as the champion of the world Islamic caliphate," Banlaoi said, adding that a video on YouTube last month indicated an Islamic caliphate in the Philippines has been established. Militants from Abu Sayyaf, Khilafa Islamiyah Mindanao, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Muslim convert group Rajah Solaiman Islamic Movement had pledged support to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. On Wednesday, Washington authorized airstrikes for the first time in Syria and more attacks in Iraq in a broad escalation of a campaign against the Islamic State, which has seized large stretches of Iraq and Syria. The post Philippines Starts Inquiry Into Filipino Militants in Syria appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| With Eye on China, Modi’s India to Develop Disputed Border Region Posted: 14 Sep 2014 10:00 PM PDT  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, walks past China's President Xi Jinping, right, during the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza on July 15, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Nacho Doce) NEW DELHI — India has eased restrictions on building roads and military facilities along its disputed border with China, as the new government seeks to close the gap on its neighbor's superior transport network and take a stronger stance on Beijing. Indian environment minister Prakash Javadekar told Reuters he had relaxed environmental rules within 100 km (62 miles) of the contested border in remote Arunachal Pradesh in order to speed up construction of some 6,000 km of roads. The move, which also allows for the construction of army stations, arms depots, schools and hospitals in the sparsely populated Himalayan region, was announced days before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits India on Sept. 17-18. "This is about defense preparedness," said Javadekar. "On the Chinese side of the border, not only have they built good roads, they are building up their railway network. Our army faces problems because of the bad quality of roads," he added. Work on the roads will start in the coming months. India's shift is consistent with expectations that Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who swept to power in elections four months ago, would take a tougher line on territorial disputes with neighboring countries. Asian great-power diplomacy stirred to life when Modi made clear his intention to play an active role on the world stage by inviting regional leaders to his inauguration in May. His first bilateral visit outside the region was to Japan, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a two-stop tour of South Asia earlier this month, pre-empting Xi's trip to the region this week. After taking office, Modi moved quickly to appoint a former army chief as a minister for the northeast border region to accelerate development. The road building plan marks a significant expansion of infrastructure in far-flung Arunachal Pradesh, a rugged, mountainous, 84,000 square km (32,400 square mile) region that China calls South Tibet. China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending airports on its side of the border in Tibet. According to a 2010 Pentagon report, it had placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed around 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau. The Modi government's roads program could aid plans to establish a mountain strike corps of 80,000 troops who can move easily along its border. The world's two most populous nations fought a brief frontier war in the area in 1962, and Chinese maps still show all of Arunachal Pradesh within China's borders. Indian efforts at development in the region have been relatively restrained in recent years. In 2013, Modi's predecessor announced plans for 850 km (530 miles) of new roads in the border region, and proposals to upgrade airfields made little headway. Previous governments deliberately neglected infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh, partly to create a natural buffer against any Chinese invasion. That policy was dropped when the extent of development on China's side became clear. "This is a complete shift in strategic thinking," said Namrata Goswami, a research fellow at the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. The neighbors have a complicated relationship marked by growing economic ties but also distrust, particularly over their unresolved territorial disputes. The two armies were locked in a three-week standoff in May 2013 in the western Himalayas after Chinese troops set up a camp at least 10 km (6 miles) inside territory claimed by India, triggering calls that India should stand up to its neighbor. Speaking in Beijing recently, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, a hawkish former spy chief who has in the past expressed doubts about China's motives, said the two nations' disputed border would be discussed during Xi's visit. "Both sides have agreed to take steps to ensure the peace and tranquility of the border, and seek a fair, reasonable resolution both sides can accept on the basis of peaceful, friendly talks and consultations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing on Thursday. Under the easing of environmental rules, Javadekar said road building within 100 km of the "Line of Actual Control"—the de facto but disputed border between India and China—would be brought under a single general approval scheme, while the amount of reforestation required would be lowered. India is also pushing ahead with a proposal for electricity projects in states bordering China, and has said it will continue even if international development agencies that had earmarked cash to support the underdeveloped region do not back schemes in areas claimed by China. Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing. The post With Eye on China, Modi's India to Develop Disputed Border Region appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Nacha's dishes are as authentic as any to be found in the northern provinces of Thailand. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — "As the youngest of six children, the kitchen was my playground," said the owner of Yangon's Nacha Thai Restaurant, Panida Ponlabute, who goes by the nickname "Air" (which incidentally means "littlest one" in Thai). For 30 years, Air's mother ran an ever-expanding restaurant in Chiang Mai and Air asserts that Nacha's dishes are as authentic as any to be found in the northern provinces of Thailand. That's because her mother, an excellent cook, trained the restaurant's three Thai chefs (who also hail from Chiang Mai and are culinary school graduates) as well as passing on her recipes to them. Nacha has also trained up two Myanmar chefs. Many of the spices used to create the curry pastes are sourced from markets in Chiang Mai, despite the fact that most are available locally. "The spices I've bought in Yangon taste different from home. I don't know why—perhaps it's the soil or the climate," Air said. Nacha opened almost exactly three years ago and initially served up European fare in addition to Thai and Myanmar classics. However eight months later, Air decided that Nacha should change course. It began specializing in Thai food (as well as retaining some Myanmar dishes) because the cost of ingredients for Western food was high and some items were difficult to source. Furthermore, Air said that the number of high-quality European restaurants in Yangon made competition intense, whereas Nacha remains only one of two restaurants offering northern Thai cuisine (Sabai Sabai is the other) in the former capital. This may in part be the reason why Nacha's northern Thai set menu is more popular than the central Thai set menu (both are priced at 29,000 kyat, about US$29, and easily feed two people). For those who prefer to sample all three cuisines, it's possible to order individual dishes from Nacha's extensive menu, which also contains a wide variety of options for vegetarians. Given that northern Thailand or the Lanna kingdom was ruled by Myanmar for some 200 years, this country has had a distinctive influence on northern Thai cuisine. The most notable example is the hang-le curry, which resembles an Indian-style curry. Thai variations on the original Myanmar dishes use less oil and add palm sugar as a sweetener in hang-le. Air asserts that northern Thai cuisine is healthier than central or southern Thai food because coconut milk is never used and fresh vegetables are a more plentiful component in every meal. As many as 12 spices are included in a single curry to create a naturally full flavor. Northern Thai cuisine is also spicier than that of the central provinces (where well-known dishes such as pad thai originate) and milder than that of the south. While Air says that cooking is "in her blood," she is also a trained beauty therapist and has 20 years' experience in the industry. Thus she opened Nacha Spa within three months of the restaurant's debut in 2011. The spa is just a few steps away from Nacha's outdoor eating area and both are immaculately maintained. "My idea was to create the perfect weekend experience," she said. "Sleep in late, come to Nacha to enjoy a delicious lunch and then get pampered at our spa." Treatments are reasonably priced: a 60-minute foot spa costs 15,000 kyat while a 90-minute hand and foot spa is 20,000 kyat. For those who opt to experience both Nacha's food and Thai-style spa treatments, you may come out feeling so relaxed that Yangon's manic traffic during your journey home will simply blur into the background. Nacha Thai Restaurant is located on 86/A Shin Saw Pu Street, Sanchaung Townshi, Yangon, and is open for lunch from 11 am to 2 pm. Dinner is from 6 pm until 11 pm. This article first appeared in the September 2014 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Northern Thai Style appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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