Myanmar – Emerging from the Shadows?

Three years ago we visited Myanmar at the height of their hot season with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.  It was so hot we couldn’t even get in the swimming pool to cool off!  The heat sapped our energy and we felt we missed out on some experiences in Myanmar because it was simply too hot to go out and about.

This visit was different. The recent election results, the debate over whether the military would allow the elected government to assume power, the future of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the delightful monk who sailed with us for the days leading up to Myanmar sparked everyone’s enthusiasm to explore the country.  There were discussions on the ship about whether tourism was akin to financially supporting a repressive regime or whether tourism supplied foreign “observers” who could be a positive influence and ensure that the Burmese people got the change they were looking for. Although we heard that the military still has a stranglehold on the country, its oppressive presence was almost non-existent in the places we visited. 

After a brief visit to the largest city and former capital, Yangon, and the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, we flew to Inle Lake, a community of fishermen and artisans who have built their stilt homes and life around this picturesque lake.  The cooler mountain air, bustling village life, delightful people and delicious food energized us.  

On our first full day in Inle, we borrowed our hotel’s bikes and did a 14 mile loop around the lake to see the countryside. A couple of the bikes wouldn’t shift and were effectively cruiser bikes so it was a bit more of a challenge than we thought it would be! Along the way, we witnessed all the stages of development from people plowing their fields with oxen, to pushing a basic motorized plow to the modern farm equipment you would find in the West.  

We needed to cross the lake during our ride and piled the bikes into one of the small long-tailed boats.  The driver wove his way through passageways cut through the reeds surrounding the lake.  Stilted villages are scattered along the lake’s edges and are only reached via boat.   It is remarkable to see schools, post offices, “gas stations”, stores and monasteries all raised up on stilts and accessible only by boat.  

The next day, we all piled into another little long-tailed boat for a full day exploration of the lake. Fisherman dotted the lake as they let out their fishing nets while “paddling” their boats with one leg.   We wondered how long this lake could sustain all these people and the increasing number of visitors each year.  It seems hard to believe that the lake could produce enough fish to replenish stocks with the level of fishing we saw. Another concern, especially as increased tourism is inevitable, is that there are virtually no sanitation systems anywhere and toilets flow directly into the lake that people used for cooking, drinking and cleaning.    

We were “boated” to the local artisan floating shops to see how goods were made – but really so that we would buy from their shops.  We visited jewelry making, boat making, and weaving factories, all which used techniques from the last century.  A highlight was the chaos of the floating market where people sell you goods from their boats (and don’t let go of your boat until you buy something or come up with a good excuse).  With motorized boats careening amidst the much smaller, dugout canoe style boats of the vendors, it was a miracle that no one ended up in the water.   In addition to feeding the local economy with our small purchases, we also visited a Pagoda and Monastery where we found about a dozen friendly kitties.  

We stayed in a wonderful boutique hotel near the main town north of Inle Lake – Thanakha Inle Hotel.  A canal connected the town and our hotel to the main lake and there was a constant stream of long boats roaring past the hotel each day.  We learned why most hotels do not have rooms facing the canal – those long boats are really noisy and run constantly from dawn to dusk!  

The food in Myanmar was delicious and TripAdvisor’s website steered us to great places that did not make us sick, unlike many of our shipmates.  Christy had the best salad of her life in Yangon with freshly made mozzarella cheese, pumpkin and roasted seeds (check out Sharkey’s if you are in Yangon).

We left this Buddhist country loving our experiences and wanting more.  It was the most interesting country so far on this voyage and it is really poised to take off after decades of mismanagement and oppressive government.  We can only hope that the democratic transition actually happens and the new government can deliver on improving life for the Burmese people.  Next up…India!