Two Weeks Moseying Myanmar

After opening to tourism only five years prior, I was eager to explore Myanmar’s corners⏤at least the ones I was allowed to see. Through an assortment of quirky encounters, I discovered that its people are the beating heart of this stunning and complicated country, one still struggling with a troubled past and its current reality.

The bus I’d been riding for the last nine hours came to a stop at last. Batting my eyes open, I was informed that we had reached my stop. The time was 4:50am and the sky still dark. Fearing transportation would be hard to find so early, I was mentally prepared to wait around before heading to my hotel. That fear turned out to be wildly unnecessary because before I even reached the last step off the bus I was surrounded by a dozen men shouting numbers and modes of transportation at me.

“Taxi for 7,000!”

“Bicycle for 5,000!”

“Horse cart for 3,000! “

It was overwhelming and I undoubtedly resembled a deer in headlights as I pushed though to merely exit the bus.

“You’re going to take me and my bag on a bicycle?” I asked one man, impressed. All at once, the Burmese men turned and pointed to their tiny bicycles with little seats attached to the side a la Hagrid and Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.

“And did someone say horse cart?” I asked another. Caught off guard by such an archaic mode of transportation, I stupidly asked what that meant.

“It’s a horse cart!” they kindly clarified. Right, of course.

Maybe it was too early for my brain to understand such a simple term, or since it’s 2016 and not 1852, my mind didn’t immediately paint a picture of a noble steed and carriage waiting to gracefully trot me to my hotel, which, as it turns out, is exactly what it is. Though in my case, the horse is a little less noble and the carriage a little more cart-like.

Needless to say, I chose the taxi; it was 5am and my sense of adventure was still a little sleepy. With that decided, the driver led me to the car and we set off towards the rising sun.

Welcome to Myanmar.

My Affinity for Myanmar

It’s difficult for me to adequately express how much I love this place and why, however I think the fact that it has yet to be saturated by tourism plays a big part. My general lack of Myanmar knowledge likely had a hand in it as well.

The people

They are a quiet bunch but also incredibly friendly and at the ready to lend a hand. It seems that the Burmese are genuinely eager to also show off their English, which is surprisingly widespread and well-spoken. Walking down the streets of Yangon often felt like a scene straight out of The Truman Show; the locals smile at me and excitedly say “Good morning miss!” or “Hello!” or my personal favorite, “Obama!” It’s incredibly endearing.

the landscape

From exploring the city to trekking through the Shan Mountains, Myanmar is a sight for sore eyes. Sure, Yangon is a little gritty, but it has a certain air of charm to it, too. Bagan is an incredible sprawl of temples tucked among trees and the hills of the countryside offer bright green rice terraces and cute water buffalo within them.

Local traditions

As for their culture, they have definitely preserved it, which is something that can’t be said for all places nowadays. Nearly every man wears a buttoned shirt tucked into a long skirt and the women are, in my opinion, the most exquisite in all of Asia. They wear long skirts called longyis paired with matching tops to create an ensemble that shows off their slim figures while subtly highlighting their curves. They have beautiful black hair, big eyes and high cheek bones painted with thanaka, a homemade paste made from grinding tree bark that protects from the sun and helps the skin.

Thanaka basically looks like the equivalent of an American who put on face makeup and left the house without rubbing any of it in, only it actually looks good on the people here. I especially loved that everyone wore their own design; a square brushed on each cheek is most traditional but each person wore it a little differently and as a proud statement of individuality.

Myanmar or burma?

Initially, I was nervous to visit because tourist information was limited. Google “Cambodia blog” and a million things pop up, do the same for Myanmar/Burma and it is far less extensive. To be fair, they did only open up their borders to foreigners five years ago. Today, they boast 5 million tourists a year, which is slim compared to, say, Thailand’s daunting 29 million.

To be honest, I didn’t even know what to call it. Burma? Myanmar? Myanmar/Burma said quickly in a sentence hoping no one really heard me? I still don’t know. Some call it Burma because it is the country’s original name and the home of Burmese people, while Myanmar is the new name given by the military that took over the country. Others tell me that Myanmar was the name given after they gained independence, while some will explain that Burma refers to the large tribe of Burmese people and is not inclusive of all the smaller local tribes (that apparently don’t consider themselves Burmese?), so the name Myanmar encompasses everyone.

It’s awfully confusing, often contradictory and really depends on who you’re talking to it seems. I wanted to properly research it but since loading a single Google page here takes approximately four hours, I stuck to Obama’s default diplomatic description when he visited and opted to call it “this spectacular country!”

Getting Around

Traveling around Myanmar is an ode to an archaic, yet charming, time before phones and instantly-available-information. Without reliable GPS or cell service, paper maps were necessary and asking for directions became the norm. Electricity is equally unreliable and city-wide power outages occur more often than not. Basically, the sun pointed me in the right direction and my handy-dandy paper map and I became closely acquainted.

Now, before you go thinking that you can prance about the country willy-nilly, take into account that, well, you can’t. Tourist restrictions are in place and visitors are only allowed in certain areas; Yangon in the south, Bagan in the west, Mandalay in the north and Inle Lake to the east, with a few other lesser known locales sprinkled in.

Yangon

Walking is easiest though taxis are readily available

Bagan

Best explored by personal scooter, especially to visit various temples

Inle Lake

Being a lake, a boat is essential for some areas. On land, bikes were my go-to

the locals are one-of-a-kind

The real stars of the show are the local people, all of whom made this place truly special for me. Their kindness knows no bounds, and they someone knew what I needed before I even did, and when I did realize I needed it, they were already in the process of making it happen. My taxi driver (and instant Myanmar best friend), Ko Thor, was an absolute gem. He asked what my plans were and I mentioned the different cities I was going to visit and he asked if I had bus tickets or local currency to get there. That is a no on all accounts, Ko Thor, I just kind of showed up to the party unannounced.

“Okay, we go and do now!” he happily declared.

He never charged me more (and refused a tip) for taking me everywhere I needed to go and he even walked me to my hostel since his car couldn’t get there easily and he wanted to make sure I made it safely. And trust me, I would never have located it without his help. The next night he took me to the bus terminal and on the way we chatted about his life in Myanmar, my life in the US, his family and everything in between. Upon our farewell he gave me his card to call if I ever needed help. There was no underlying implications or ulterior motives, nor was he haggling me or in search of more money. He was merely a genuine guy wanting to help a fellow human out and I am grateful to have met him.

At the time, I imagined Ko Thor was the anomaly and that I just lucked out by randomly picking his taxi at the airport. It turns out he it’s not just him, but everyone here is just that ridiculously kind.

Case and point: while moseying around for food one night I stumbled upon a nondescript place with plastic tables and chairs out front. There was no name or sign, in fact, there wasn’t even a menu and there is a 75% chance I walked up to someone’s house and they just agreed to make me dinner out of pity. Whatever the case, I kindly asked if I could have something vegetarian and not too spicy and she responded by waving me to sit down and giving me a look as if to say, “please, I took one look at you and knew exactly what you needed.” And she definitely did.

She quickly ran to the market for fresh produce and made me a simple veggie and rice dish with the perfect combination of seasoning and flavor alongside a cup of the country’s beloved hot tea. As you can imagine, I was quickly falling in love with this place.

where to go?

As I touched on earlier, the more appropriate question may be, where can you go? Due to political tensions, horrific violence and militarization, there is a very strict area for tourism. Myanmar only recently opened it’s borders and visiting does not come without it’s challenges. Many areas are inaccessible to visitors without special permits and guides and while it may be tempting to step outside these bounds, please don’t. Not only for the safety of yourself and the locals, but out of respect for the place you are a visitor in.

So where can you go? Let’s dig in!

Yangon

The capital, also referred to as Rangoon, is the largest city in Myanmar. It is filled with decaying colonial buildings that are juxtaposed with shiny pagodas and market stalls sprinkled along the roads. Despite being a bit dirty and rundown, I found it to be a charming place with a lot of character. And very golden temples, which are hard to miss.

Bagan

Temples - 3,658 temples, to be exact - dot Bagan’s horizon as far as the eye can see. Don’t quote me on that number as it was told to me by a 13-year-old girl as we precariously scaled the side of her family’s temple. I mean, she accurately told me there were 22 steps left to the top and proudly counted them as we went, so she seems to be a reliable source.

The city gave names to many of the big temples but I think they must have given up after a while as most are known by their assigned number. The highest number/name I saw on the map was Temple 2195, although I’ve also heard the number 4,000 casually thrown around, so who really knows. It’s as if thousands of years ago the king said, “Hey villagers, do you have a spare moment? Yes? Great, because I’m going to need everyone to build one temple a month for the next 15 years. Thank you very much.” And then every king afterwards wanted to out-temple the king before him and suddenly there were 3,658 temples. Or, you know, something to that effect. Whatever the story, it makes for one phenomenal view.

Kalaw

This teensy little place is the jumping off point for guided treks to Inle Lake. From Kalaw, I walked for 2 days across 25 miles and experienced nothing but clear skies, astounding views, and basically the best time ever. In addition to the millions of water buffalo I said hello to, I also got to know the two people I was trekking with, and there was never a shortage of conversation to be had.

Inle Lake

Inle Lake, in my opinion, left a little to be desired. I also found that “lake” is a very generous term for “really big swamp.” Aside from a boat tour, which takes you to different areas to see how they make their handicrafts and to see the fisherman going about their day, I didn’t find that much to do.

On my last day I decided to aimlessly bicycle around and stumbled on a vineyard, and I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to accidentally find something in the middle of nowhere I’m very happy for it to involve wine. It’s amazing where you find yourself when you’re going nowhere in particular.