Golden Earth: Travels in Burma

A very enjoyable book from Norman Lewis describing his travels in Burma (Myanmar now) in 1951. Lewis took on this trip as he was, like many others, was concerned Burma was in for big changes - either passing into communist control and folding under the wing of China, or the West would intervene as was the case at the time in Korea. Either way, it would be expected to be the end of “traditional Burma with its archaic and charming way of life”.

Lewis's style of writing is quite relaxed, but he is fond of an unusual or awkward word, sending one scrambling for assistance. I think he enjoys putting the reader of the back foot just as they settle in. Within the first chapter he throws us impecunious (having little money), legerdemain (skilful use of one's hands when performing conjuring tricks).

Commencing, of course, in Rangoon (now Yangon) Lewis works his way around contacts and obtains some permissions to travel, probably quite against the odds. He is a traveller who plans, but is quite prepared to make changes on the run, or adapt to changes in circumstance - and this was essential during his time in Burma. He ends up travelling Burma quite extensively - from Myitkyina in the north to Mergui (now Myeik) in the south.

For me there were some memorable parts of Lewis's travel, some clever writing, and some amusing situations. I think Lewis does well to balance his book.

A few samples:

I enjoyed Lewis's time spent with Mr Pereira who he shares a train carriage on the Rangoon Express, who is very reminiscent of so many of Paul Theroux's characters, and being on a train compounds this.
The station master was most helpful. The Rangoon Express would be running next morning at quarter-past six... And what time would it get to Rangoon?The station master was slightly surprised. Naturally it wouldn't. It was called the Rangoon Express because it went in the direction of Rangoon and it might travel five, ten or fifty miles before the line was dynamited, or a bridge blown up, or with good luck it might even reach Tatkon, which was about a hundred and fifty miles away. ...he produced a newspaper cutting which said that among the passengers to arrive on that morning's plane had been the author Lewis Morgan... It is one of the accepted humiliations of the writer that however simple his name, no one can ever get it right. In my travels in Indo-China I had been given an identification paper referring to me as Louis Norman, writer, commissioned by Jonathan Cape Limited of Thirty Bedford Square. By a slow process of compression and corruption I finished this journey as Monsieur Thirsty Bedford; which, as the name and description had been recopied about twenty times, I did not think unreasonable.

4 stars.