story: customs and the battery pack.

during my first trip to burma, i dropped my camera on some concrete and cracked the camera housing. as a result, the battery compartment sits loosely and the battery doesn’t always connect. the camera is out of warranty and i don’t think there are many options for getting it fixed. honestly, i’m probably going to have to replace the camera. i don’t want to spend that much money, so i came up with a solution: use my battery pack.

it was a simple, good idea. i emailed my friend in korea who is holding some gear for me. he agreed to send the battery pack via dhl to burma, where i could pick it up. a mutual friend in burma would receive the pack, hold it for me, and i could collect it upon my arrival.

and thus, a problem arose. the battery pack was valued at $60 (actually it’s worth $150, but that’s irrelevant). burma’s customs (ie government) said that any item over $50 requires an import licence. this ridiculous rule is accompanied by the rule that any items that aren’t permitted will be automatically confiscated, rather than being returned to sender, in accordance with international laws … i guess when your government is a dictatorship and you’re under economic sanctions, you don’t really have to care about anything else.

after a lot of wrangling, arguing, cajoling, talking, emailing and begging, dhl agreed to try and help me get the battery case. i was blaming dhl for the problem (since they didn’t warn us that this would happen) and eventually they got me to fill out some forms, which they took to customs. they convinced customs to release the battery pack and i collected it (after paying $12 for “fees”).

i was glad to get the battery pack, but really annoyed at how this could happen.

that evening i had dinner with u myo aung, the friend who’d been trying to help me collect the battery pack. i had also agreed to meet the koreans for beers on the balcony (to celebrate new years). however, i fell asleep and missed new years in burma. damnit!

day 307 – new years day - i went to the indian embassy and submitted my visa application. then i faxed the documents required by dhl. i walked around town, had some ice cream and returned to my hotel. i bought a bus ticket to mandalay, then spent a few hours drinking beer on the balcony, lying in a hammock, reading my zusak book.

later, i walked around the markets and bought a pair of cheap sunglasses. i had noodles and sugar cane juce for dinner. when i got back to the hotel, dhl called and told me that customs had released my package.

day 308 – i had a big breakfast and walked to the dhl office to pick up my battery pack. i walked around the flight agencies to figure out an itinerary for getting to india. i also went to the train station to get prices for trains from mandalay.

i packed, checked out, and got a taxi to the bus station (which is a long way out of town, for some stupid reason). i had dinner, chatted with the locals (who rarely see foreigners) and got the bus to mandalay.

the trip was really uncomfortable. it’s the middle of winter and they insisted on using the air conditioning on the bus … at full blast. the music and shitty burmese dramas were also playing at full blast on the tv. i was freezing cold and at a break stop i convinced the driver to turn off the a/c.

day 309 – the bus was still cold and i managed to borrow a blanket. i finally got some sleep and arrived in mandalay early in the morning. i got on the back of a bike for the cold trip into town, found my hotel, checked in, curled up in the warm blankets and got some more sleep.

i must have been tired, and i know i was on the verge of getting sick, since i slept all day. i had a hot shower and returned to bed, sleeping all night.

day 310 – i woke up feeling good. i had breakfast and walked around the early morning market. i bought two longyes and a long sleeved shirt. i had some coffee and went to the train station to inquire about tickets. it turns out that i can only by tickets one day in advance, so i had to return later.

i bought some razors, soap, shampoo and organised a ride to amapura (ubein bridge). arriving at amapura i hired a boat, walked across the bridge, checked out the little temple on the other side, and hit the water to get my sunset shots. the sunset was awesome and i got a bundle of good photos.

after dusk i returned to the banks of the lake and bought a tshirt. i also discovered that my driver was drunk and didn’t want to return to mandalay. i paid him less than agreed, but still enough to keep him satisfied. i got on a horse cart to the main road and rode in a pick up truck to town. it was a long ride and i was a little annoyed at my driver. but i wasn’t too bothered, and returning to town i had a beer with dinner, then went to bed.