A European tourist who has frequently visited Burma because he is fascinated with its people, history, and scenery - and who had no grudge against the military regime - lost his positive impressions after a recent trip to the country.
"After the announcement by the governing State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) spokesman on Nov 7 that the country's administration had begun to relocate from Rangoon to Pyinmana, I decided to go there for two reasons," he explained.
"Firstly, I had never been there and I wanted to see the 'new' capital with my own eyes. Secondly, after the announcement, I read many analyses published worldwide which I didn't believe. From my past experience, some of their conclusions were biased from what I have witnessed 'on the spot'. Many of them have never visited Burma and merely speculated on rumours often spread by the SPDC's opponents."
"After arrival in Rangoon, I went to buy a ticket to Pyinmana from a bus company but when I told them the destination, its staff shouted at me: 'Why do you want to go there? What are you looking for? Are you working for the CIA?"
The tourist was very surprised by the outburst. And when it was obvious that they would not sell him the ticket, he went to a nearby railway station and bought a train ticket without being questioned.
"But for the price, I was told to pay $20 (823 baht) in US currency. This was much more than the locals had to pay. "It is really regrettable when you are suspected to be an American spy and someone else demands their currency," he grumbled.
"I saw some locals being randomly searched by military personnel at Rangoon railway station but no one took any notice of me there or during the roughly eight hours-long journey to Pyinmana. In fact, even though the train was almost full, not even one passenger was courageous enough to talk to me. "This was in contrast to my previous visit only a few months ago when the locals often approached me for a chat."
After arriving at Pyinmana, the tourist left the railway station on foot, passing two soldiers who took a good look at him, to search for accommodation. And he received a second shock when he asked for a room at a hotel and the receptionist responded: "No foreigners can stay here."
When he asked whether he could use a toilet, he was initially refused, but after repeated requests he was told: "Alright, but do it quickly, because if you stay here too long the police will come and ask us why you came here and what we were talking about. They will give us many problems afterwards."
It was the same story in the other four hotels and guesthouses in Pyinmana where he requested a room to rest.
"I was told everywhere 'we don't accept foreigners' or 'we are full', even though many keys were hanging on the wall," he said.
In desperation, he hired a motorcycle taxi and the driver took him out of town, but three guesthouses they found refused to accommodate him. Exhausted and with darkness closing in, he asked the motorcycle rider to take him to a monastery where he asked a monk if he could stay overnight.
"The monk wasn't very happy with my presence and told me to check-in to a guesthouse instead. But after I told him that I had already been turned away from every place in the area, and pleaded with him to let me stay, he finally agreed and showed me a spot on the floor to sleep," he said.
About 20 minutes later a man who could speak fluent English and who introduced himself as a "retired veterinarian and not a policeman" arrived and told the tourist: "You can't stay here. No foreigners can stay in Pyinmana. You will cause problems for the monks. They are worried about what the abbot will say if he finds out that you slept here. The best thing for you is to go away."
According to the tourist: "I told him to leave me alone because I wanted to sleep and said I would leave the temple early in the morning."
The man replied that he must leave immediately, adding: "It is the government's regulation, not my idea. I just want to keep the temple out of trouble."
The tourist continued: "After about 30 minutes, I was woken up by seven people wearing civilian clothes who introduced themselves as police and immigration officers. They didn't show me any identification. Some were holding a transceiver but I didn't see handcuffs or a weapon."
They checked his passport and each of them wrote his vital data on a piece of paper, and then one of them declared: "No foreigners are allowed to stay in Pyinmana because it is now a very sensitive area. We are building the new capital here. When are you leaving?"
When the tourist said "tomorrow morning", the man replied: "No, you should go now."
However, after some discussion with his colleagues, he said: "Alright, we will be back at 2.30am and you will have to go away."
The tourist was asked where he planned to go next, and he said Mandalay. The man said: "You can go there and remain as long as you wish, and do whatever you want, but you can't stay here."
The officials didn't search him, nor did they examine his digital camera or abuse him in any way.
One of them said in broken English: "We knew you had arrived in Pyinmana, but we couldn't find you."
At exactly at 2.30am, three men returned and took him on a motorcycle to a bus stop, and after breakfast put him on a bus to Meiktila without asking him to pay the fare.
The bus was filled to its capacity but again, no one spoke to the tourist. A man who came twice to the temple was among the passengers. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was there for the tourist.
After arriving at Meiktila three hours later, the tourist boarded another bus to Mandalay, and this time the 'bodyguard' wasn't there.
Two days later, the tourist returned by bus to Meiktila. In order to have another look, he hired a motorcycle taxi and played a trick by telling the rider that he wanted to visit the next town after Pyinmana. This cost him $40 (1,646 baht). During the journey over bad roads, he saw dozens of green military trucks loaded with tables, chairs and office equipment, and some covered with canvas, heading towards Pyinmana.
In Pyinmana again, he spent about one hour riding around the town and talking to some residents. He found nothing exciting there. No construction, no military trucks, people merely going about their business. And little sign of the military. He saw only five uniformed policemen and soldiers during his short stay.
According to one resident, the new administrative centre where "everything is going on and is heavily guarded" is located a few kilometers from the town. The area is off-limits even for the locals, and they don't really know what is going on behind the hills. At this point the rider told him to leave because someone had just said that something could happen to him and to the people who he talked with. So they left.
The tourist then photographed many empty buses in a junction about five kilometres north of Pyinmana. One resident there told him that the buses carried officials from Rangoon directly to the new administrative centre.
A businessman he met in a hotel told him that local people knew that the nearby town would be the 'new' administrative capital of Burma, but advised him - for the security of himself and others - to leave as soon as possible. "If someone reports to the authorities that I have been talking with you, it will be a problem for me. So, please, go away," he said.
As for Rangoon itself, the tourist said that the capital was subdued and most of the ministries appeared 'very quiet' with only a few people inside, indicating that many of them had left for Pyinmana.
"I was able to depart from Rangoon airport without any problems whatsoever," he said.
Some locals in Rangoon told him they didn't know why the officials were leaving the capital. They only knew that the government had ordered it and that everyone had to comply or face punishment.
A businessman said the relocation must be very costly and he didn't understand why it was going on.
"When I told him that there it was speculated abroad that the SPDC had to move because it was concerned about being attacked by the US, he said: "This is nonsense, but there are rumours that some high-ranking military officers have quarrelled with each other, and that some plan to stage a coup."