Asbury Park Press, NJ
Jan 4 2009

Colonial-era hotel a reminder of romantic past in neglected Myanmar

IN YANGON, MYANMAR
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ¢ January 4, 2009

In the colonial heyday of this elegant Victorian hotel, gentlemen in
white dinner jackets and ladies in flowing gowns sipped cocktails on
the shaded verandah as the sun went down, enjoying a welcome respite
from the tropical heat of Myanmar.

The legendary Strand Hotel was one of the great watering holes of the
British Empire. Just like Raffles Hotel in Singapore or the Mandarin
Oriental in Bangkok, the 107-year old Strand remains a national
landmark.

Yangon has the largest number of colonial buildings in Southeast Asia,
including colonnaded government offices and sumptuous official
residences, but most are dilapidated, neglected for decades.

Large black water streaks mark most of the facades, and bushes sprout
from the roofs of some, including the stately High Court building ‘
adjacent to a rooftop statue of a British lion still gazing over his
domain.

Surprisingly, however, most of the old buildings appear to have
survived relatively unscathed the fury of Cyclone Nargis, which
devastated the capital when it roared through on May 3. Although many
modern structures were badly hit with their roofs torn off, the city’s
historic downtown district appears relatively undamaged .

Except for the glittering golden stupas such as the famed Shwedagon
Pagoda that are the symbol of Yangon, almost everything else in the
city is suffering from more than 40 years of neglect. This includes
the potholed roads and even the rundown mausoleum where Myanmar’s
best-known citizen, former United Nations Secretary General U Thant,
lies buried.

The Strand was built in 1901 by the Sarkies brothers, Armenian
refugees from Turkey who founded a chain of luxury hotels in the
region, including Raffles, the Oriental, the Majapahit in the
Indonesian port of Surabaya, and the Eastern & Oriental in Penang,
Malaysia.

In the 1920s and ’30s, it became a favorite hangout of famous writers,
British officers, celebrities and even royalty. Luminaries such as
Rudyard Kipling, W. Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Noel Coward,
George Orwell and Lord Mountbatten were all regular customers. More
recently, it has accommodated the likes of Mick Jagger and Oliver
Stone.

Completely renovated in 1990, its teak floors are polished and
gleaming, the antique chandeliers sparkle in the spacious and
luxurious reception rooms and the quintessential colonial icon ‘ the
ceiling fans ‘ gently rotate above tables surrounded by rattan chairs
in the cozy cafe.

But today, the Strand is mostly empty, just like other hotels in this
city of five million once called Rangoon. Since the cyclone swept
through the nearby Irrawaddy Delta killing more than 130,000 people,
the number of guests has plummeted.

"It’s understandable that a tragedy of this scale has badly affected
Myanmar’s entire tourist industry," said the hotel’s manager Budiman
Widjaja. "But we hope that with the passage of time things will
improve."

Before World War II, the Strand was reserved for "whites only," but
during the Japanese occupation of Burma ‘ as Myanmar was formerly
known ‘ it became an army barracks. It received its first Burmese
guests only after the war.

The socialist military regime that ruled the nation from 1962 to 1988
nationalized the hotel and it became a rundown shadow of its former
self.

But since the early 1990s, the military junta has tried to encourage
foreign tourism, and the property was acquired by Adrian Zecha, the
founder of Singapore’s exclusive Aman Resorts chain, and renovation
began.

The Strand reopened in 1995 as an all-suite, top-of-the range boutique
hotel. Its teak and marble floors, mahogany furniture and canopied
beds complement original pieces, like period bathroom fixtures.

But unlike the other grand old hotels in the region, the Strand’s
restoration remained true to its architectural past, and it has no new
wing, and no swimming pool or tennis courts.

"We came to the Strand because of its old-world romantic charm," said
Tomas Llobet, from Brussels, Belgium, who was celebrating a wedding
anniversary with his wife, Victoria. "We wanted to be in a place with
a lot of historic character, properly renovated without huge
concessions to modernity."

The ghosts of the British colonels would approve of their choice.

IF YOU GO

STRAND HOTEL, YANGON, MYANMAR
DETAILS: The hotel is at 92 Strand Road in Yangon, Myanmar. Room rates listed on the hotel’s Web site begin at $550.

0104/LIFE02/901040308/1006/LIFE