'Mingalaba!" hollered the 29-year-old Burmese tour guide standing in the front of the small bus packed with Thai tourists. He was wearing the traditional attire — a buttoned-up long-sleeved jacket, checked-pattern longyi and a pair of flip-flops — as he led the group through Yangon.
Unlike most Burmese who may still be unsure about their freedom of speech, Aung Kyaw Myint — "You can call me Joe" — was happy to talk. And while he is effusive in his enthusiasm for the sights of the "golden city", his own life has not been an easy one.
"I've had to struggle throughout my life doing any possible jobs available to earn sufficient money for basic necessities," he said. "After I graduated with a chemistry bachelor's degree, I spent my first seven months in a private chemical company earning as little as 28,000 kyats or $28 per month."
Behind the glitter of Shwedagon Pagoda and the construction boom transforming the commercial hub of Myanmar, wealth remains highly concentrated in the hands of those close to the military-dominated government. Ordinary people still endure difficult lives and pitiful salaries.
"Currently, the starting monthly salary for a bachelor's degree holder to work in a private sector is 50,000 kyats or 1,600 baht ($50) a month. This is the same as janitors in the government sector earn," said Joe.
As long as the government continues to control wages in both the private and public sectors, he said, the gap between the few at the top and the majority at the bottom will only widen. Outside the cities, conditions are even more dire.
"A significant factor contributing to the urban versus rural income inequality is that the vast majority of investment in Myanmar is concentrated in the urban sector, despite the fact that only one-third of the population lives in these areas," said Dennis McCornac, interim director of Global Studies at Loyola University in Maryland.
Construction of five-star hotels and office space continues to receive investment priority even as an oversupply emerges. And investors from outside the country tend not to look to closely at what local people really need, in his view.
"Overseas development aid has too often placed emphasis on providing opportunities for companies associated with the aid-provider rather than the recipient," he said.
"A major cause of poverty among Myanmar's rural people, both individuals and communities, is lack of access to productive assets and financial resources. This population is characterised by high levels of illiteracy, inadequate healthcare and extremely limited access to transport and social interaction."
On the streets of Yangon, the congested traffic and increasing car ownership suggests that at least some people are emerging from poverty and into the middle class, but Joe believes appearances are deceiving.
"You need to pay cash when buying a car in Myanmar and only the rich can afford to have that much cash. Forty percent of the Burmese are very wealthy, while those in the bottom 40% are extremely poor. We lack middle-class people here," he said, adding that many people still choose to travel by foot rather than having to pay bus fare.
And while rent takes up a disproportionate share of income for poor people all over the world, for the bottom 40% in Yangon, rents exceed their monthly wages.
"I had to share a room with five other people and the higher the floor, the cheaper the price were as there were no elevators, so we rented rooms on the highest floor," he said. He was making 28,000 kyat at the time and a 30,000-kyat apartment was the cheapest he could find.
Food and clean water are also expensive for them, so most people buy fresh produce daily from the market. Cooking and eating simple meals help save money but at the expense of proper nutrition.
"We've adopted the British tea-drinking culture so the typical breakfast for us is milk tea and pa-tong-go (deep-fried doughnuts)," Joe said, adding that it's cheaper than a healthier rice-based meal.
According to World Bank statistics, 75% of people in Myanmar still lack reliable electricity while 30% still do not have access to safe water. Even in bustling Yangon, scenes more typical of village life are common. You'll find local people dressed in traditional attire, walking barefoot, spending a lot of their time in temples, chewing betel nuts and spiting on the streets.
"Many things have changed over the past years but the traditional lifestyle and the quality of life of the typical Burmese hasn't changed much," said Joe.
RISING DISPARITY
Most visitors to Yangon eventually come to the famous Bogyoke Aung San Market, also known as the Scott Market, in the heart of the city. Established 88 years ago, it has maintained its traditional architectural design.
Right next door stands the modern 11-storey FMI Centre, where the Malaysian luxury department store Parkson opened last year. The building is also home to multinational and local corporations as well as the head office of Serge Pun & Associates, Myanmar (SPA) and the investment holding company Yoma Strategic Holdings Limited. The contrast is stark.
"We don't even dare to dream about buying anything in that department store," said 16-year-old-Nui Nui, who sells postcards at the market with her younger cousin Nan Da Min, learning English from tourists in the process. "That place is for richer people like the government. We work and eat day to day."
Myanmar is still considered one of the poorest countries in Asia with an estimated GDP per capita of between $800 and $1,000, according to the World Bank. And while political and economic reforms are lifting more people out of poverty, they are also bringing wider disparity.
"At the moment, the gap between the rich and the poor of Myanmar is among the highest in the world," said economist Aung Ko Ko. "The gap between rich and poor depends on the country's policy of income distribution. If the country is dependent on selling resources such as oil and gas, the gap may continue to exist."
Maung Maung Soe, a retired professor from Yangon University of Economics, says that income distribution needs to be considered alongside property eradication.
"A handful of people are extremely wealthy while most people are very poor. Many don't even have a place to live. Almost all the land is in possession of the extremely wealthy. The problem in Myanmar is not only the income disparity but also the unequal property distribution," he added.
Tin Win Aung, chairman of the MCC Group of Companies, a mechanical and electrical construction company, says the government should use more of its income from selling natural gas to improve education and healthcare and to help low-income people.
"Unequal income distribution can give rise to violence and conflicts in a society, preventing political stability," he said.
Mr McCornac agreed that as disparity increases, it may portend social unrest down the road, perhaps resulting in a return to a more controlled economy and populace.
"The inability to gauge the extent to which the government may react to this situation creates an environment of uncertainty that may negatively affect the rate of economic growth that is necessary to move Myanmar significantly forward in the development process," he said.