Human Tumbleweed

Whatever amount you are thinking of bringing when you go to Myanmar, bring at least 1.5x that amount. Myanmar isn’t cheap by SE Asian standards. I basically ran out of money in a city where I had ABSOLUTELY NO ABILITY to get my hands on additional funds. I thought I had brought plenty of cash…clearly my thinking was incorrect.

Unlike every other SE Asian country I have traveled to, you should do some planning before you go. Certain places require permits that take time to get. If you want to go to a place only accessible by plane you will want to find a travel agent and get flight schedules as soon as you get to Yangon or Mandalay (I think there is a flight from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Mandalay)

You only have 28 days on your visa and it’s unclear what the monetary penalty is for overstaying, so planning will help you get the most out of your trip…trust me the days fly by and if you are a long-term traveler you will most likely stay over 20 days.

Myanma people love to play the guitar…in the evening you can always see people sitting around playing acoustic guitar and singing. They also have a great diversity in their local music. Unlike in Cambodia where you are basically subjected to the same 5 songs on every bus ride, there are all sorts of artists in Myanmar. They range from cheesy pop to hip hop, but they tend to like power ballads and bands with a sound in between prog-rock and prog-metal. For me at least this made the sometimes painful experience of Myanma bus rides a bit more enjoyable.

You might hear kids or sometimes adults call out “kale pyu” as you walk by. It’s literal translation is “white Indians” and it means “foreigner.”

While Myanmar is a country where you drive on the right side of the road, most cars also have their steering wheel on the right side (it’s a long story). But they still drive crazy as hell. So there is a good deal of overtaking that is done blindly or at the direction of the person riding shotgun. At first it’s a bit unnerving but eventually you forget about it.

Myanma use a kissing sound to get a person’s attention. The first time I heard it I was reminded of my strange evening walk in Vietnam involving a drunk on a motorbike making kissing sounds (maybe he was Myanma?) Anyway you will hear it a lot in Myanmar especially in restaurants. I never tried using the sound to get my waiter or waitress’ attention at a restaurant….it just seemed a bit awkward.

I loved Myanmar it is my favorite place that I have visited so far, the people are so friendly, the sites are great and there aren’t a lot of tourists. When the country fully opens up with no travel restrictions there are going to be so many more places to see and things to do…it will be an even better experience (remember it’s the second largest country in SE Asia after Indonesia).

The one thing I haven’t really discussed to any extent is the food of Myanmar. At first glance there is nothing special about Myanma food. The fact that many consider the national dish to be a fish soup eaten for breakfast wasn’t helping. (I am not a fan of fish soup or fish for breakfast so I didn’t try it) But once you get beyond the fried rice and noodle soup portions of the menue there are some interesting dishes.

When I was in Yangon I had some really nice mutton sate with a very spicy sauce. There are some nice Shan noodle soups and Shan tofu – which is made from chickpeas instead of soybeans. There are also some good Myanma interpretations of traditional Indian dishes.

I did enjoy htamin jin it’s a kneeded rice dish with fish typically garnished with some fried onions. It’s has a subtle flavor so it might fly under some people’s radar.

But in my opinion the best dish in Myanmar is a salad. I am not a huge salad guy by nature but I have learned that you can’t sleep on salads when you are in SE Asia. For example it would be sinful to not try som tam while you are visiting Thailand (make sure to try it with the raw blue crab).

So what is this magical dish? It’s called lahpet thohk which via Wikipedia is described as “a salad of pickled tea leaves with fried peas, peanuts and garlic, toasted sesame, fresh garlic, tomato, green chili, crushed dried shrimps, preserved ginger and dressed with peanut oil, fish sauce and lime.”

Now the key here is the pickled tea leaves….at first I just thought to myself  ”What an odd ingredient.” Then I thought “Wait why don’t I ever hear about any other tea producing nations eating tea leaves?” Well, I still don’t have an answer to that question, but what I do know is that pickled tea leaves are mighty tasty! And in combination with the other ingredients listed above you get one of my favorite dishes in SE Asia.

So as I recounted in an earlier blog post that while I was in Cambodia I encountered a presumably former neo-nazi sporting a swastika tattoo along with an SS tattoo (presumably former because he was married to and had children with a Khmer woman) but sadly this wasn’t my last run in with a Nazi swastika. There were a number of people in Myanmar wearing Nazi related items. A Frenchman I was traveling with thought it was just people confusing the Buddhist swastika with the Nazi one, but when he finally talked to a Myanma man about it the man smiled, pointed to the sticker on his motorbike helmet and said “Nazi.”

A few weeks later I talked to a Myanma man who explained that the goods were coming into the country via China and that most people in Myanmar didn’t really know much about the European theatre of WWII. Thus they didn’t truly understand the significance of wearing anything Nazi related. From the time I spent in the country, I would think this is an accurate explanation of what is happening. Regardless, it is a peculiar thing to encounter.

 

(here’s a faded one in an Iron Cross)

 

(in this one the swastika is actually backward, but given the helmet and colors of the design it was meant to be a Nazi swastika)

 

(it’s blurry, but it’s also the most blatant)

The Lonely Planet Myanmar mentions that Sittwe and Mrauk U have several English speaking eccentrics who may find you and want to chat. I managed to run into three, including the one mentioned in the guide book (well perhaps two mentioned but the one description wasn’t very detailed).

First was Mirror Man

He claimed his grandfather was American and that is how he learned English. But he also said his grandfather was born in the 19th century, so something wasn’t adding up. He had a weird habit of spelling out words (and writing the letters on the palm of his hand with his finger) while he talked. “When I was a baby b-a-b-y my parents took me to the ocean o-c-e-a-n” To be honest he was a bit hard to understand so the spelling helped. I call him mirror man because he carried a mirror in his hand and was always glancing at it to see who was behind him. He was clearly crazy but seemed nice enough. The residents of Sittwe (particularly the trishaw drivers) were not pleased to see me chatting with him, but what was I to do…he just kept following me around. Eventually one of the trishaw drivers got ugly about me and mirror man talking, which was my only negative experience in all of Myanmar.

 

Next was the Literature Man

He’s the one that’s mentioned in the guide book. From what I gathered from other people he actually was a teacher in Mrauk U but then he as one guy put it “broke his head.” His English was good and he wrote me a crazy letter and asked me to send him recent issues of Time and Newsweek. Well here….just read it. If you feel inclined and want to send him something his address is there.

 

 

Both of these guys also insisted that I take pictures of them. I guess despite being crazy they realize they are slightly famous in certain circles.

Finally there was the Drunk Monk

He wasn’t really crazy, but he was drunk. It’s highly unlikely (like a .000001% chance) that he was a real monk…monks aren’t supposed to drink let alone be drunk. Additionally, his interactions with lay people and actual monks was quite odd. While we walked around Mrauk U he frequently burped which made everything temporarily smell like a brewery. He also liked to keep walking into my pictures (although he never asked for his picture to be taken). On the plus side he did show me how to get to some of the sites. (sometimes what looked like a road on the map was just a tiny path) Ultimately he wanted to get paid for his guide services, but in all honesty didn’t have one Kyat to spare.

At some point on my trip I decided to get WAY off the normal Myanmar tourist trail. Going to Pyay was off the normal tourist trail and to a lesser degree even going to the Golden Rock was a bit off it. The problem is that the government doesn’t want you to go off the tourist trail. Some states are completely off limits to foreigners and others require costly permits or a government guide.

I am sure if you were bold, had some bribery money and weren’t bothered by the potential of a visit to a Myanma jail you could get away with violating these restrictions. I didn’t really prepare in advance and didn’t feel like testing the restrictions so going to a state that required a permit was out thus I decided to head to Sittwe and Mrauk U – near the border with Bangladesh. The guide book said the temples in Mrauk U were near the level of Bagan and the amount of tourists who went there only numbered in the thousands per year. Perfect!

Now how to get there. I was in Hsipaw and supposedly there were seasonal flights from Mandalay to Sittwe…but there was no indication as to what the “season” was for the flights and there was no local travel agent I could contact for information. I knew I could go to Yangon and then fly to Sittwe. But basically that meant I had to go well out of my way to get there. There was mention of a boat I could take from a coastal town up to Sittwe, but it was unclear if I could get there by bus.

See here’s the general problem. There are busses from anywhere to anywhere in Myanmar. It’s essentially the only mode of transportation for 90% of people in the country. So I was certain there was a bus to Sittwe from Mandalay (later in Sittwe I confirmed I was correct). But the problem is that Westeners aren’t allowed to travel to some towns via bus. Which ones I am or am not allowed to enter via bus is not entirely clear either. So if you ask someone about going to an out of the way place, the typical response is “There isn’t a bus there.” It’s like a polite lie so a more complicated discussion doesn’t ensue. Anyway after getting several “There isn’t a bus there” responses I decided to head to Yangon.

Once in Yangon I went to a travel agent and discovered that the plane scheduled to depart the following day was canceled, so I would have to fly out in three days time. Not a huge hassle but it was cutting down my time in Sittwe and Mrauk U. The travel agent (the airlines have websites but no ability to book online) handed me two old school hand-written airline tickets and told me he would contact my hotel if there were any flight changes.

 

Two days later I was wondering around Yangon when a man stopped me. It took me a second but I recognized him as my travel agent. “Good to see you, your flight tomorrow has been delayed from 7am to 12pm. Have a good day” What? Seriously? That is how I get informed about a 5 hour delay of my flight…via a completely random meeting on the street?!

Anyway the flights into and out of Sittwe were rather uneventful. On both airlines I took the planes looked to be in great condition and the staff was very polite and helpful.

Upon arrival in Sittwe I had to present my passport and be registered in a ledger. I gave a quick look at the ledger and saw I was the only tourist that had flown into Sittwe in a few weeks. So the odds were I was the only tourist in town if not the only Westerner in town.

Sittwe isn’t much to look at, but it was still interesting to wander around the streets and see what was going on. I also got to put my feet in the Bay of Bengal (it was all churned up from recent rain storms so I didn’t go swimming) and eat some local food…it was a lot spicier than the other food I had had in Myanmar which made me happy,

 

 

 

 

 

After a day in Sittwe it was off on a 4 hour ferry to Mrauk U. On the way there the boat winds through rice fields while mountains rise up in the background. It’s rather pretty. But pretty at a cost. The rice fields were all forests just a few generations ago, then the government encouraged locals to cut down the forest to cultivate rice.

 

The ferries only run certain days of the week to Mrauk U and certain days from Mrauk U…I was never able to completely pin down what the schedule was but just be aware it’s not an every day ferry. You wouldn’t want to get stuck in Mrauk U and miss your flight.

Just some quick background on Mrauk U. It was the capital of Mrauk U Kingdom which was a power in the Bay of Bengal area up until the 1780s. Their territory extended into what is now Bangladesh. Both the Dutch and Portuguese had set up trading enclaves there.

Not much remains of the old capital, but Mrauk U remains noteworthy because of the unique style of Buddhist temples that still stand. They appear more like small fortresses than temples similar to the fortified churches in Transylvania.

The main sites are:

Shite-thaung Temple

 

 

 

 

 

Htukkanthein Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

Koe-thaung Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commonly when people visit Mrauk U they also visit a Chin village in Rakhine State (it’s a pain in the ass to visit Chin state) where you can see some of the elderly women with the traditional Chin facial tattoos. Facial tattooing is not practiced by the Chin anymore so when those women die the facial tattoos die with them. By this point in my trip I only had enough money to pay for my ferry ride back to Sittwe and for one night in the cheapest room in town…I didn’t even have enough money for a trishaw or tuk-tuk ride to the airport in Sittwe. After walking half way there a tuk-tuk driver insisted on giving me a ride even though I made it clear I had no money. (I did end up giving him a couple items from my bag) Needless to say I was unable to go to the Chin village.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I stayed at the Prince Hotel in Mrauk U and would certainly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. It’s not the newest hotel in town, but that isn’t a problem. What makes it great is the owner of the hotel. He is a very interesting guy to talk with. We talked about the history of Rakhine State; the difference in the Rakhine and Burmese langages; the future of Myanmar and Buddhism as a philosophy versus a religion – he had this great software/hardware analogy. They were honestly some of the most interesting discussions I have had in SE Asia. He also had a good map of the area and bikes for rent. Oh I almost forgot…the European style pancakes with mango jam that his wife makes for breakfast are fantastic. When I go back to Mrauk U I will be staying at Prince Hotel again.

 

 

 

So when I was in Hsipaw I went on another trek….it’s the thing to do there after all. The trek itself was very picturesque, but it was a standard semi-awkward “we’re going to just walk through your villages and take pictures of you because your lives are alien to us” trek.

 

 

 

 

 

(no local electric company…no problem all you need is a dynamo and a water wheel)

(young rice is this shade of green that you just don’t see in the West)

The one notable exception was one village where the children ran away crying rather than running up to say hello to us.

Our guide told us that when Rambo 3 came out it was banned in Myanmar, yet still widely available. The children in this village saw the video and not understanding the plot were terrified by the white guy killing Myanma. Parents seizing the opportunity told the children that if they are bad the white man would come and take them away. From what we were told all the adults in the village find it rather humorous and to be honest it was. The classic moment was seeing a grandmother getting a good laugh from her grandson who was sobbing to his mother “Please mom don’t let the take me away! I will be good!” (as translated by our guide)

(the laughing grandmother sorting some tea)

So other than that it was a pretty standard trek, no interesting stories from our guide like my first trek. I was a bit disappointed in that respect. We started back for the town and out of the blue the guide started telling a story. “You know that in that village before a woman gets married she has to have a child and leave it with her parents. That way when the child is older it will take care of them.” Of course this was an unusual concept and the guide started getting peppered with questions by our group. “Before she can get married she has to first have a child, the father can be anyone…most times she never tells who the father is.” “She still is the mother, just the child lives with the parents and is responsible for them…like retirement.”

The Frenchman in our group spoke up “What do you mean by anyone?” The guide responded “I mean not the husband. Anyone, even a foreigner. Some women pick the foreigner to have child with.” I didn’t see any children who looked to be be of mixed heritage in the village to back up this claim, but that didn’t stop more questions from the Frenchman who seemed more that happy to help put a bun in the oven of any woman wanting to get married. The Italian in the group found the tradition to be “very methodical, very Scandinavian.”

The guide apparently picking up on the Frenchman’s desire to sex some local ladies said “You know prostitutes will not have sex with a white man.” To which the concensus response from our group was “What? Why?” “Oh white man is to big for prostitute here.” “Women have died having sex with white man.” The Aussie in our group piped up “Yea, that is just a story.” “No it’s true, maybe you can have sex with one of them, but they will make you drop your pants and take a look at how big you are first. They will probably say ‘no’ though.” Different people in our group tried to tell him that it was a myth that could have been started for a number of reasons like the prostitutes wanted an excuse not to have sex with foreigners or it came about after a prostitute died due to some strange medical condition or was murdered by a john. But the guide wouldn’t budge. “Just too big.” It might have been the first time in history that a group of men when confronted with the idea of their dicks being considered huge responded “No, absolutely not.”

It was just a weirdly surreal moment walking down a path between amazingly green rice paddies arguing about penises as instruments of death. And of course it ended abruptly and strangely as well. The guide added in as an afterthought “Oh and no phones with cameras or videos are allowed. They don’t want to find out they have been put on the Internet.” Really? That is a huge concern of Myanma prostitutes? appearing on the Internet? I find that hard to believe.

Honestly if Pyay Ti Oo isn’t the richest person in Myanmar not in the military junta then he needs a new agent. I first saw him in a movie during a long arduous bus trip. It was a fun movie with a lot of physical comedy and although I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, it was more entertaining than the vast majority of bus movies I have seen in SE Asia. After that I kept seeing his mug over and over again…in both movies and in advertising for all kinds of products. His face is EVERYWHERE!

 

(here he’s being used to sell two different just across the street from each other…not an uncommon sight)

 

After I finished up in Inle I back tracked a bit to Mandalay then went north to Pyin U Lwin, old British summer capital of Burma. It’s a pretty town in the hills with old British mansions and a very nice botanical garden. But it’s also the home of the Defense Services Academy, so it can feel a bit awkward being there with such a prominent military presence.

 

 

 

 

 

(it’s called a takin. They also have some native birds in the botanical garden)

From Pyin U Lwin most people take the train (operated by the government so largely bypassed by tourists outside of this instance) to Hsipaw. The train crosses the Gokteik Viaduct which at one time was the largest railway trestle in the world. For American travelers there is an additional bit of history connected to it as it was built by Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction with the parts being made in the United States by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. Later that day I had a discussion about the viaduct with a local university student. I mentioned that I lived in Pennsylvania where the bridge was manufactured the student said “No, the English built it.” I guess Myanma schools just aren’t what they used to be.

 

 

 

Hsipaw is seemingly the traditional stopping point when going over the Gokteik Gorge but for no particular reason. Most people like to do some trekking when they reach Hsipaw, but from what I have heard the treks available at the stop before Hispaw are just as good and even less touristy.

Here are some pictures from the semifinal of the Shan State Southern Region Football Championship. It was a hotly contested affair on a terrible  pitch.

 

 

At one point there was some kind of controversy involving the linesmen on the far side of the field – where the visiting supporters were located. I am not sure what happened but a fight almost erupted, some police stepped in and then the linesman was replaced.

 

(click to enlarge and see the police intervention in more detail)

Unlike other Buddhist countries, in Myanmar women are clearly second class citizens when it comes to their religion (like pretty much every major religion except perhaps Bahá’í,  Buddhism has its gender equality issues). At all the major religious sites there signs saying that women aren’t allowed beyond a certain point. Such signs aren’t present in the other Buddhist countries I have been to (Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand)

 

 

When I asked a guide why such a prohibition existed at certain cites he stated that the Buddha was a man and not a women which shows that women are “unclean.” I asked him in what sutra this was stated (it was a genuine question, I haven’t read them so it could be in one of them) but he was unable to provide me any concrete rationale for the “unclean” idea.

Hopefully sexist attitudes like this will change in Myanmar in the future.