Understanding Myanmar: A client's story
Richard and Anne had previously travelled with us in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, so where next? They didn't hesitate in our suggestion of travelling to Myanmar (Burma). The following is Richard's tale.
If ever a country needed us this is the one. Forget the politics, forget the moral high ground, forget the ethical dilemma, just know that the people of Myanmar need us, need you. Yes, they need our dollars (no good going without USD), but, more importantly, they need our link to the outside world, our support, our interaction, our friendship.
Having just returned from a 3 week trip to Myanmar arranged for us by the first class Selective Asia (thanks again Nick) I can genuinely say that by not visiting this outstanding country and its wonderful people you are missing a rare treat. For the few thousand British who visit the country each year it’s like being a member of an exclusive club. And it shouldn’t be.
For western travellers the delights of Myanmar seem to be restricted, sadly, to the French, Italians and Germans. You may figure the reason for this yourself. We Brits need to know we are doing right by the people of Myanmar and by going there in numbers we will be doing right by them. Without exception we were welcomed wherever we went.
Closest to Lao in cultural and scenic terms, Myanmar is a uniquely different proposition for the tourist. This is truly a ‘golden’ country. Hills and mountainsides are peppered with the golden spires of innumerable pagodas; gold leaf papers flutter in the wind around the astounding Golden Rock like confetti at a wedding. The plateaus and valleys afford delightful views of the stilted houses of villages and smallholdings. Cultivated tracts of paddies, vegetables, herbs, fruits and spices shadow the roads, rivers and valleys along with sprawling rubber and teak plantations. The sights and scenery are breathtaking, whether it’s Golden Rock, Shwedagon Pagoda, and Bagan at sunset, or Kandawgyi gardens at Puin Oo Lwin, the worlds tallest standing Buddha at Monywa, the floating villages at Inle Lake, or the ancient and crumbling stupas of Indein, with the many rivers and mountains providing an ever changing backdrop.
Pagodas, temples and stupas with their jingle jangle htis (the umbrellas atop) abound, each with their own history, unique aura and visual impact. This is indeed the land of the Buddha. The cities, where rush hour is mostly six cars, a bus and twelve push bikes, are well proportioned with wide streets, lots of shady trees, parks and lakes, fascinating shops, stalls and restaurants. Towns each have an individual charm that echoes through their streets, and villages are little honey traps full of delicious surprises awaiting the unwary visitor. Astounding flavours of the local cuisine with its Chinese, Indian, Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese influences, markets with their order and cleanliness, their kaleidoscopic colours of fresh flowers, vegetables, spices, and goods that defy description, the overpowering infusion of the Buddhist religion entwined into the culture, all combine to provide the unparalleled experience that is Myanmar.
The best is saved until last though. The real jewel of Myanmar is all around you, chattering, smiling, helpful, cheerful and welcoming. The people of Myanmar shine the brightest of all in this golden world. Shopkeepers, waiters, villagers, passers by all happily engage in conversation (albeit through our guides interpreting), often accompanied by much fun and laughter. Our guides and drivers all went the extra mile for us, taking us out on trips on our non guided half days, seeking out the best local restaurants, and generally seeing to our every need. Tun Tun turned up at the hotel one night to make sure we got the right taxi to the Moustache Brothers (8 dollars a head – don’t miss this odd ball mix of dissent, comedy and culture with an attitude) in Mandalay. Heavily pregnant Yu Yu, our Yangon guide, went out of her way to show us as much of the country as she could including poignant visits to Myanmar’s three Commonwealth war cemeteries and the starting point of the Japanese Myanmar-Thailand Death Railway, non of which were on our itinerary. Mr Han, in Bagan, fussed and bothered to make sure my cough was well treated and my vertigo was given primary consideration when climbing a pagoda for sunset. May took us to places not on our itinerary around Inle Lake and found me a mask to wear on the boat to prevent the cough worsening. Zin Zin and Mimin, the young lads who served us royally at a spotless little roadside restaurant in Bagan, adjacent to our hotel, served us fried chips with our beer before, and flaming banana flambés, after our excellent meals, all free of charge and practised their already excellent English on us. They have few customers but I have a feeling more are on the way. The staff of the Hotel by the Red Canal, Mandalay, were the most attentive, pleasant, efficient and helpful of any hotel staff we have ever come across anywhere in the world. And all that without being obsequious or servile; they were simply terrific, it made you feel good to stay there. Then there was the old lady (she was 56 going on 76) at Inle Lake, who grew the best tomatoes for miles, with whom we shared a natter and gales of laughter as she proudly showed us round her small garden. And the lady opposite making rice crackers for a few kyat a day with whom we shared another priceless conversation. Or the two lads who had spent 3 months beating lead into what became 10,000 sheets each as thin as gold leaf, so thin that to breathe on them caused the sheets to waft in the air current (to make into burning money for Chinese funerals), who explained their tedious craft to us.
There were too many of these warm and precious moments to relate.
The people are the richest and most priceless part of Myanmar’s rich heritage. Share a few moments with them and visit if you can. You won’t regret it.