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Yangon is the largest city in Myanmar, former capital, and one of the most amazing places we've ever been.

Among the thriving markets and British colonial architecture near its center is Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in all of Myanmar and one of the largest pagodas in the world.

The grand set of stairs you climb in bare feet is imposing, as is the overwhelming number of vendors trying to sell flowers, offerings, and other trinkets to tourists and pilgrims during the ascent.

And then, it overwhelms you.

And as night falls, you start to notice something.

Something beyond the rituals, clueless crowds, and devout monks.

LEDs everywhere.

It's that perfect contradiction that forces you to reconsider what you first think about a place and it says so much about Yangon so quickly.

What exactly it says is harder to pinpoint.

And not far from this holy site is another contradiction, a force for good with truly noble goals and an unexpected package.

Meet the Rebel Riots.

[punk rock music] The sun rises over Yangon in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

And we're headed to meet up with Kyaw Kyaw, the lead singer of the Burmese punk rock band the Rebel Riot.

He and the punks of Yangon are working hard to make their community a better place for underprivileged youth.

Not only does Rebel Riot run the local chapter of the international nonprofit Food Not Bombs, they also work with communities across the country to develop peace, caring, and understanding.

Kyaw Kyaw loves his city and he asked us to meet him at the Yangon central railway station.

He wanted us to see what he called the real Yangon on the circle train, a colonial era train that circumnavigates the entire city over a course of about three hours.

As soon as we were on the train, we saw Kyaw Kyaw's magnetic personality in action.

He wants to engage with everyone and make a difference, even if it's just bringing a smile to a kid's face.

[music playing] Our train is very nice the best train in the world Like this How expensive is it to ride this train?

This train?

Yeah.

I think 200 kyat.

Only 200 kyats.

13 cents.

13 cents.

A three hour trip.

You can get off, get on, come back, turn around, spend all day long on the train.

And the kids that are riding in the train, they're just writing for fun.

Yeah, riding for fun.

So you were making their hair into those-- that one kid wanted you to make his hair-- This really feels like real Yangon.

Yes.

It's funny because you look out and you see all the stuff.

And you think I'm out in the village somewhere, but this is all the city, right?

Yeah.

All is Yangon city.

It looks like countryside and you will see more poor people.

So you're telling me Myanmar is the best country in the world.

Yeah.

The best in the world.

Why do you say that?

What does-- Because it's my country.

Yeah.

Of course, it's your country.

And what's the best Burmese food?

I like mohinga.

Mohinga?

Mohinga is a-- What is it?

Noodle soup.

We make it with fish.

It's a banana tree only on inside.

It's great.

Our people like spicy a lot.

No spicy, no fun.

More spicy, more fun.

No spicy, no fun.

Just like punk rock.

Yeah.

[music playing] Kyaw Kyaw was right.

We did get a better sense of the city on the train.

When you go from the airport to downtown, you see a certain Yangon.

But out here, we got to see what everyday life was like for the average citizen.

[music playing] We hopped off the train and stopped by a punk rock shop where Kyaw Kyaw and his buddies sell all the DIY stuff they make.

So is this all DIY?

We did everyday this stuff.

This is awesome, man.

All our stuff did ourselves.

Yeah.

Is this the only punk shop-- Yes.

--in Yangon?

Yes.

Probably only punk shop in Myanmar?

I think so.

But Yangon is for sure the only one punk shop.

That is awesome.

It's a historic punk shop.

Oh, well I know it has to be.

It has to be red, man.

Red.

Red.

Yeah.

The homemade bracelet Craig was buying, and the t-shirts, and rings will do more than make money for the group.

Being a punk rocker in an extremely conservative society is not without challenges.

I mean, Myanmar only opened up to the west in 2012, so it can be hard to get a job when you look like Kyaw Kyaw and his friends.

Not far from here in a Yangon neighborhood, the Rebel Riot run a kind of screen printing and DIY co-op out of their apartment to provide work and experience to those in the community suffering from the stereotypes many punk rockers deal with.

The experience laid the groundwork for larger projects and showed them that by making small changes in their lives, they could make a difference.

So when did you guys start Rebel Riot?

Since 2007 after Saffron revolution.

Really?

Was it possible to be a band before then?

Was it possible to be a punk band before then?

No.

If you can do it by secrecy, military government if they know you sing about politics, very dangerous.

Myanmar is very complicated because military are still controlling.

It doesn't matter who is the president or who is the leader because it is the same.

We are angry.

We are sad.

We want to fight the system with music.

That's why we choose a band.

Even we are not musicians, we don't know how to play guitar.

We want our focus more so churchy while we can.

So that's why I always say complain very easy for everyone.

We used to complain, too.

We used to complain to the system by music.

We want to change by the society, but we forgot to change ourselves.

Because it's very simple and very powerful because we know ourselves.

We can change ourselves because it is first step, than second step around us.

This idea of changing one's self is important to Kyaw Kyaw and goes beyond simple self-improvement.

It's about true compassion for others and making a difference in the community you belong to.

Kyaw Kyaw and his friends insisted on feeding us.

And after a simple, excellent lunch, we talked about the Food Not Bombs program they run.

The Rebel Riot was inspired by another chapter of Food Not Bombs that they met while on tour in Indonesia and in classic DIY fashion thought, hey, we can do that.

Lots of governments say we want peace.

We want peace.

If they use bomb, never can be peace.

So we start this program because we want to the government we are punks, but we want to change small things for the homeless people.

They are very poor because of the system is very bad.

They need not only physical stuff.

They also need love, kindness, and compassion.

Some people give money, then they go.

Some people give food, then they leave.

No one trying to talk.

So we try to talk and get connection with them.

Doesn't matter how you like, white, or black, or Islam, or Christian, or Buddhism.

Only two kind of people in the world, good people, stupid people.

Good people do good things.

Stupid people do stupid things.

That's all.

So kindergarten thinking but-- Sometimes, kindergarten thinking is-- Most true.

[laughter] --is the most true.

That's right.

Totally.

[music playing] Yangon is a lively place at night.

And like any other metropolitan area, it has a large homeless population many of which are children.

Once a week as part of their Food Not Bombs program, the Rebel Riot and the other members of the punk community set out to feed and educate youth living on the streets.

Usually, they prepare food and bring it with them.

But with us tagging along and taking up their day, it was easier to purchase food with the money that they had raised from their punk shop and the occasional donation.

[music playing] By the time we arrived, many of the kids were already there and they were having a blast with Kyaw Kyaw and the other volunteers.

[music playing] After handing out the food, they worked on teaching short lessons in reading and writing.

The kids seemed genuinely into the experience and many never missed a night.

I think Kyaw Kyaw and his friends were having a blast, too.

In their eyes, it was more of an exchange.

Both groups were learning from each other.

Sometimes, kindergarten thinking is the most true.

Of course, the gathering wasn't complete until Earl tried to balance something on his nose, or in this case, more like his face.

[music playing] After they finished working with the kids, Kyaw Kyaw had a DJ gig with a friend at a local watering hole called The Pirate Bar.

And of course, we went and we invited our dear friend Hnin Hnin Pyne who'd recently returned to Yangon after leaving as a refugee many years before.

Her perspective on the city was really interesting, but also totally unintelligible due to the noise and the fun we were having.

Fortunately, our paths crossed again not long after in Bangkok.

And we talked to her about Yangon and what it was like for her to return, following yet another shout out to mohinga, of course.

I think you definitely need to eat mohinga.

OK.

Which is this fish soup with lemongrass and ginger.

But you have to eat it in the morning.

Oh, really?

Fish soup at 7:00.

In the morning?

Yep.

OK.

I could do that.

So Hnin Hnin, you and I and Earl went to International School of Bangkok together.

We're not going to say the year, though.

No, we won't.

No.

You were in Bangkok, but Bangkok is not where you're from.

Well you know, I was born in Yangon.

And I think my parents and grandparents really saw the vibrant Rangoon.

It used to be Rangoon and now, it's Yangon.

I mean, before the 1960s, Burman was the rice bowl of the world and it had tremendous universities.

And so, there was so much hope after the independence.

I think when you feel like there was so much potential, how could it have gone wrong?

And then, when you have to leave that when you don't really know why.

So you have this-- it's like you've been wrong somehow.

Right.

And that creates this feeling of connection, even though I didn't return there for over many decades.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I went back only in 2013.

Yeah.

Kyaw Kyaw is a punk rocker in Myanmar.

And hanging out with you guys.

Well, that's the funny thing.

He honestly doesn't care what you look like.

Yeah.

It's all about what's the most natural expression of yourself.

He is radical for Myanmar.

Because the way he looks?

Just the way he looks and everything.

Now, is that surprising to you in Myanmar or do you see more and more of that individualism burgeoning in a country like Myanmar?

I think so.

Yeah.

But it's not only individuals.

Individuals getting together with shared like minded other individuals.

Then, they can actually make even more of a difference when we can look at each other in the eyes and really kind of see the divisions can fall apart.

At the end of the day, it's not just the government who has to make changes.

Even if it's a kid with a mohawk.

[laughs] Right.

And I think on some level, he's expressing in words and in action something that's, what I would call Metta.

In Buddhism, it's this word called loving kindness and generosity.

I think when you've had a country that for so many decades where general population were either repressed or neglected, communities have to help themselves in some ways.

And so, the civil society, if it wasn't about politics, was vibrant.

I mean, there was a sense of if there was someone who was sick, there will be someone who would try to help-- Help them out.

--get them health care.

So I think there is a sense of strong cohesion within the community.

I think what we need to see is that there are many, many different communities in the country.

And how do you get cohesion across these communities?

And that would be really exciting for the country.

But I mean, I think there's also-- not to say that you can go to these places and still think that you have the answer.

That's wrong, I mean, in my view.

It's really hard to go and-- No, exactly.

You can't really listen anymore.

But it's not one or the other.

We all have ideas.

We all go to a place with our own perspective.

I think that's the beauty of the type of travel that you and I do because it's not sitting from a loft, top of a hotel.

It's getting together with people that spend their time in that last mile of service.

It breaks it down, if you have your eyes open and you're looking.

Or challenge you.

And you're a learner.

It's always about being a learner.

But you got to be open to it, though.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

You have to.

I think you have to be.

For a number of reasons, we can't really talk about the work that Hnin Hnin had been doing in Yangon.

But her perspective as a refugee, mohinga aficionado, and as someone who deeply loves Myanmar was really valuable.

Back in Yangon, we did see glimpses of that vibrant civil society Hnin Hnin spoke of.

And in a way, Kyaw Kyaw and his friends were the perfect example.

We were meeting Kyaw Kyaw at his favorite tea house before we went across the river to visit another community.

That's where we found out the surprising news about his father.

My father is a policeman.

[laughs] Your dad's a policeman.

My father and my mother very worried about me.

They think I don't want anymore.

I will use drugs.

Then, I try to educate them about my life and about punks.

Today, how do they look at punk?

My mom really like me, what I'm doing.

And sometimes, she share my post on Facebook.

[laughs] Right now.

She's very proud.

She's proud of you.

That's awesome.

And your policeman father, is he also proud of you?

Yeah, he's proud.

Do they listen to your music?

No.

[laughter] So do you have brothers and sisters?

I have two brothers, two younger brothers.

And are they into punk?

No, they are normal people.

They follow my parents rules.

When you were growing up, when did you get introduced to punk?

Honestly, by fashion.

After that, I listen to music.

Even I go to university, I don't want to study hard.

Yeah.

So the punk is my university.

Study hard.

I'll study hard.

Punk is my life, my freedom, my choice.

If I want to insult my brother or other people, if they don't like punk, I cannot judge.

Because I don't like people judge to me.

Of course.

That's why I don't judge to other people.

What did punk do with you with Buddhism and your spirituality?

When I was beginning punk, I feel like a rebellion.

I don't care.

I was also a teenager.

I really do-- easy to make my middle finger up.

I didn't connect with Buddhism, like a negative view.

Everything is wrong.

Everything in this system is wrong.

Police is wrong.

Everything wrong.

What is punk philosophy?

Why punk say BLANK the system.

One punk say BLANK the governmen Why do punks say this?

Why?

Lots of people, their mind is like a robot.

Their mind is like a sheep.

Even in their own the human body, the mind is not human.

Peace, you must have.

Right.

Not the slave of system.

Not the slave of money.

Not the slave of power.

So punk is they want a revolution with the individual.

So Buddhism also depend on individual lifestyle.

Punk also want to make better society, better world.

Buddhism also talking about love, peace, kindness.

Better society, better world.

Should be connect.

Buddha is the original punk.

Must be, yeah.

Yeah.

I think so.

We already take a lot from our universe.

Oxygen, food.

Then, you are taking, taking, taking, taking, taking, taking, taking then die.

That's selfish.

can not change the world.

I cannot change even my country, but I can only change two things, myself and around us.

Even you have to do small thing just to do it.

That's what I strongly believe in because I want to live in this short life by-- It's really what am I doing.

You are in control of your own future and powerful idea.

The whole room is dark.

If you light with a candle, this light is against the dark.

So good people are like that.

It only takes a spark.

[laughs] That's right.

Yeah.

Our dark side is more than light side.

So we had to burn ourselves.

We had to make our own light.

It's already gone dark around you.

It was time for Kyaw Kyaw to bring this spark Dala, an impoverished and mostly illegal community only reachable by ferry from Yangon.

It supplies much of the city's workforce and huge crowds travel back and forth daily.

The punks were bringing rice, school supplies, and some children's toys to a village they had been supporting.

There were rain clouds on the horizon.

But as soon as we disembarked, the sun broke out and it was like we had gone back in time.

The British colonial architecture and LED lights of Yangon gave way to small village centers and farmlands in every direction.

The punk rockers had an ongoing relationship with the community and we're trying to make a material difference there, while also spreading peace, love, and kindness.

As we arrived, children and adults alike were filled with excitement and the crowds grew as they started to sing and perform for the villagers.

[singing in burmese] Even the rain couldn't ruin the fun.

As they prepared to pass out the rice, supplies, and small toys, they continued to sing and celebrate into the night.

It was just a small bridge between the two communities, the farmers and the punk rockers.

But it was a joy to experience the loving kindness, or Metta, on display.

[singing in burmese] How often do you guys come out here?

We are often two or three months, not only here.

Everywhere around Dala while we can.

How important is music?

Music is so important to make happiness for everyone, to teach them how to love each other, how to respect each other, how to be kind to each other.

[interposing voices] [applause] Back in the city, we met just about every punk rocker in town at a traditional Yangon beer station.

[music playing] This is almost the whole punk community.

Yeah, our community.

Yeah.

Cheers!

We had a blast just hanging out and talking, but one thing became clear.

This was a really tight community.

And one of the bonds that held them together was their commitment to make their city a better place for everyone, not just other punks.

[music playing] After a late night, we had a bit of a trip for our final day in Yangon.

About three to four hours away was Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, or Golden Rock Temple.

And it is not to be missed.

Kyaw Kyaw and friends decided to tag along.

A jaunt up the mountain in an ancient four wheel drive vehicle is both exciting and a little scary before transforming into the completely mysterious.

The small mountain town at the base of the pathway gives way to the proper entrance where you, once again, remove your shoes for the final trek to the temple.

The growing sound of tinkling bells slowly transported us back in time as our once rowdy group fell silent.

[music playing] Buddhists from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Golden Rock and male devotees make merit by applying gold leaf to the rock near its base.

[music playing] Kyaw Kyaw explains that according to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a single strand of the Buddha's hair and was moved here by a celestial king.

Our new friends, the mist, and the growing sound of tinkling bells started to make all this talk of love, Buddhism, peace, and punk rock make a little more sense.

And the next thing we knew in the shadow of Golden Rock, Kyaw Kyaw, the punk rocker, had attracted the attention of the chief officer in charge of the temple.

And we were lucky he did because that officer then allowed us to walk out and touch the holy object, even though it was the rainy season and not normally allowed.

[music playing] Kyaw Kyaw approaches every situation with an open mind and an open heart.

And we've learned a lot from him.

Like he said back at the beginning, Myanmar is a complicated place, but he also believes it's the best country in the world.

We can't just complain to the government, or the system, or against those different from us.

We have remember to change ourselves first and then maybe real change can follow.

And if we believe in a better version of our world, we can make it happen bit by bit, person by person, place by place.

[music playing] There's so much more to explore and we want you to join us on The Good Road.

For more in-depth content, meet us on the internet at thegoodroad.tv.

Hear more great stories, connect to organizations, and make sure you download our podcast Philanthropology.

Funding for The Good Road has been provided by-- Every road is a good road When you're behind the wheel of a Toyota Hybrid From the Toyota Venza and Sienna to Highlander Hybrid and Rav IV Hybrid And with available all-wheel drive these vehicles are designed to go the distance wether your driving to work, school or down the coast of Tanzania Proud sponsor of The Good Road, Toyota Let's go places Tomorrow's breakthroughs start with the determination and inspiration of today.

AMD helps solve the world's toughest and most interesting challenges by creating high performance computing technologies.

And by The Great Courses Plus.

Hundreds of topics from expert instructors to help you expand your knowledge.

Available for streaming anytime, anywhere.

And by Share More Stories, helping companies understand humans one story at a time.

And by Uncommon Giving.

The Generosity Company.

[music playing]