Seat of Our Pants

The time has come to sum up our month in Myanmar. For me, it was the last unvisited country among the South East Asia nations, except for the Philippines (an eight hour stop over in the Manila airport lounge doesn’t count) and tiny Brunei. As with any place, there were positives and negatives, and personal preferences always play into how one perceives a new country.

Already at the airport we were blown away by some very noticeable things: all men wear longyis (skirts, basically), most people have sawdust-based make up on their faces, and betel nut chewing is rampant. Because of the trade embargo, you almost never see a car newer than a model 1988 Toyota Camry on the streets. These factors, combined with the fact that the Burmese keep their capital pretty neat and tidy otherwise, made our arrival to Yangon feel like we had just traveled through time.

Transports: if you’re going to Myanmar, expect to spend a lot of your time on transports. The trains are slow, the buses slower, and the boats are the slowest (not counting ox-carts, which you sometimes will have to resort to). There is signs of improvement on this front – the Chinese are investing a lot of money into Burmese roads these days.

The Destinations: Even though we had made up our mind to avoid most of the ‘Big Four’ attractions, we still ended up at all of them (Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake). Why? Because the government won’t allow you to travel to the really cool places without a permit. That, and the aforementioned slowness of travel.

We did enjoy Bagan a lot – the obvious comparison to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat is tempting, but I hate to put two such interesting destinations next to each other just to compare which one is the best. Bagan is really worth it, especially if you go off the main drag and hit up the small stuff. There are places out there where you can feel like you’re an archeologist, mapping out a lost world of stupas and payas.

Mandalay was a surprise, although it’s not the first time we’ve gone to a place with a non-stellar reputation and found it to be perfectly enjoyable. It is a nice town with cool people and fun quirks. There are a bunch of ‘must-do’ sights and attractions around it, but I have to say that they fell a bit on the bland side, especially since we had just come up from Bagan.

We did try to escape the big four by going up to Myitkyina. We found the place to be interesting, if not perhaps the most charming town in the world. I also found that I am not immune to stomach bugs, surprise, surprise.

Both Bhamo and Katha seemed to be nice places to relax and engage with the local people. Unfortunately we hurried through them because . . . transport is slow.

Kalaw also falls outside the big four, but it did not impress us as much as it did some of our fellow travelers. Perhaps our expectations were tuned up way too high? We certainly hit it in the wrong season, because I’m still finding Kalaw dust all over my gear here in Kolkata.

Inle Lake was nice and picturesque, even beautiful. Again, the season was wrong – not a lot of water in the lake.

I also have to say a thing on tourism in Myanmar: you hardly ever see any other independent travelers, just package tourists being carted around in luxury vehicles. While I’m sure this is nice, I do (and I have) have to say that it is not our style. Perhaps we will feel different one day, but not now.

Another, more sinister aspect, is the political situation in Myanmar. Did you know that a Burmese person can get five to ten years in prison for calling the country ‘Burma’? Myanmar habitually finds itself among the five worst on the planet when it comes to human rights abuses. As a traveler, you see nothing of this going on, of course, but then more than 70% of the country is off limits. Locals rarely approach you to discuss these matters, and if they do they risk repression and harsh penalties. All through our visit, I had a nagging feeling that something was not right with the people, and it took me a while to figure out what it was. I think that they are unhappy, and they deserve better.

Would I recommend going to Myanmar? Yes. I think that the Burmese people should not be isolated, even though sanctions rip into their economy. They are an interesting lot that conduct themselves with grace and dignity through trying times, and they should not feel that they are alone. Do go, but for god’s sake don’t go with a group tour.

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