By TAY TIAN YAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily

I am currently in Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Daw, Nay Pyi Taw. Whichever way people call it, the city is most definitely a stranger to everyone.

99% of people in this world have never heard of it, because it is shielded from the rest of the world and was non-existent barely five years ago.

Some day someone saw a grand vision of a capital city in this terrain of verdant rice fields and virgin forests, and named it Nay Pyi Daw, which means the royal capital.

The military junta spent only two years to build this capital, and when the official announcement was made, everyone in this world--including Myanmar nationals themselves--then came to the shocking realisation of its existence.

The sudden emergence of a brand new city should constitute a true mystery in human history.

Thanks to the opening up of Myanmar today, many people begin to get interested in this mysterious capital. I am one of the many curious guys around.

Accompanying my friends at the Asean Business Club, I flew into the city. Some of them have come for the untapped business potentials, but I have come because of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the mystery shrouded capital city.

Luckily we have two capable and well-connected big bosses from the club, CIMB chief executive Nazir Razak and AirAsia's Tony Fernandes. Nazir's group has businesses and connections in Myanmar while Fernandes could easily deploy a plane to ferry us here.

Meeting Aung San Suu Kyi should be one of the most exciting experiences I have ever had, while seeing the city of Naypyidaw my most anticipated travel experience.

Let's first talk about Naypyidaw.

I have never seen a city so sparsely populated like this one, and I suspect whether such a thinly peopled place should qualify for the city namesake.

We touched down when the sky was just about to turn dark. Looking from the sky, I could see one after another wide boulevards lit by thousands of street lamps. The wide boulevards are nevertheless hardly flanked by buildings with hardly any vehicles or pedestrians on the streets.

The airport is sparkling new and not too small. There were fewer than ten people in sight, including the customs officials, security personnel and cleaners, all clad in traditional longyi (sarong) and shirts, with a pair of sandals.

It looks like an airport that many airplanes have simply missed. The Myanmar government does not allow foreign scheduled flights into Naypyidaw while domestic flights are few. In addition, not many would want to come to this place.

Save for the annual jewellery trade fair that manages to lure some buyers, the city is largely deserted most part of the year.

Some say it looks like our Putrajaya during its early phase of development, both being administrative capitals. The only difference lies in the fact that Putrajaya has never been so deserted like its Myanmar counterpart.

Moreover, several miles from Putrajaya are bustling, overcrowded Puchong and Seri Kembangan, while Naypyidaw is completely isolated from the rest of the country and world.

The emergence of a mysterious capital city in the middle of virgin forests should have some equally mysterious reasons behind.

We'll continue tomorrow.