GIVING BACK? (Kalaw to Inle Lake, Myanmar)

Going into the Myanmar countryside was like going back in time two hundred years. There are no shelled roads, there is no electricity in large swathes of the country, the entire landscape is farmed by hand, using hoes, ox ploughs and carts. It is really like pre-industrialised Europe. It is mainly women doing the hard graft, with children running for water, and the men get to chew beetle nut and play with the toys - very rarely you’ll see a tractor coming to collect produce.

 

 

 

It really is incredibly poor. People here are the ones you hear about in charity campaigns who live on less than a dollar a day. Most people live in bamboo huts and share a family bedroom. It’s a cliché but people do seem happy, untouched by the privileges and trappings of modern western life. We live such a privileged life, full of opportunity, able to choose what we do and where we go. We constantly ask ourselves how we can give back instead of just taking.

We’ve undertaken a little project, taking pictures of people in such areas, and giving them copies of the photos. We’ve carried a ‘mini-photo studio’ around with us - a camera, laptop and portable printer, and given people pictures in the middle of fields and forests, rice paddies and bamboo shacks.



 People have been delighted to receive what is typically the only photo they own of themselves or their children. We hope to be distinct from the new swathes of tourists by trying to give something back. Whether we are a being genuinely philanthropic and counter-cultural to most other tourists, or if we’re still part of the problem of imposing western values on people is something we’ll probably not know yet.

 I do know that this fella was very happy and proud to have photos of his grand children for the first time.

 
 

A herd of cattle, and a huge ass

TREKKING (Kalaw to Lake Inle, Myanmar)

After enjoying the cooler climes of Kalaw, it's time to head out into the wilds. Our guides from the Golden Lily guest house are a sweet young couple. Oscar is a wiry, smiley Nepalese guy with trekking in his blood, but training in business with a dream to one day run his own trekking company. We're sure he will. Kad, Oscar's girlfriend, opened our eyes to many Burmese customs - she told us about their wedding plans, the gold wedding dress, and that she may give one of their children to the monastery to secure their passage to heaven. This partly explains why there are so many monks here!

Together with their friend the chef, they cooked amazing meals, pointed out special things in plain sight that we would've missed, and kept our spirits high when the high temperatures and dusty hilly terrain was beating us.


Our trekking gang comprised of a motley bunch of travellers: Andy, a Polish-American sailer-restauranteur, who had waited on the First Lady in Colorado, captains a yacht on the Great Lakes and found a passion for photography when aged 12 his mother won two cameras in a photo competition; Beryl, a Toronto civil servant tired of serving and working out what to do next; Andrew from the unfortunately named place to grow up in, 'Regina' in Saskatchewan, who has given up a job in a box factory to go around the world and ultimately work on an Aussie farm; Irene & Sebastian from Switzerland, seeing the world for a year and a half, considering where they'll live in it, and with Sebastian's work for a Swiss rail company, is freaking us out by telling us all the crazily unsafe things about Myanmar trains; and Britney, the creative, chatty and kooky 'Lacey-likey' (Wassup Lacey!!) hair stylist from Winnipeg whose purple PT Cruiser matches her hair.





Our first day trek included foraging for flower roots to eat later. We arrived at a small village without electricity - the 20 or so houses shared a well (that I nearly defiled by almost cleaning my feet in it!), a generator for the occasional power, and a 'Caneball' net (foot volleyball using a woven bamboo ball - pretty much the national sport). Our first night was a home stay. We all shared a candlelit meal - the foraged flowers were made into a curried / stir-fry dish, with a handful of chilli and just a pinch of smugness from our endeavours. It was delicious.

Cane Ball - These kids have mad ninja skills

Day two was a big one - hot and hilly, punctuated by the sweet relief of a midday wild river swim, the scenery became more dramatic with every twist in the road. The landscape was quintessentially Asian and we felt miles from anywhere. As is often the way when travelling, especially when there are long hours and hard miles to kill, conversations become deep and philosophical, and bonds grew. Of course, the travel buddy bonds can be artificially enhanced by the circumstances, but we genuinely had a great group.

Basket weaving near the riverside

After a long long trek, we arrived for our second night at a tumbling down old wooden Monastery. We were to be the monk's guests and sleep on the monastery floor before awaking to the dulcet sounds of chanting at sunrise. Idyllic right? Well, not if after a dehydrating, 45 degree, 8 hour trek, a feeling of triumph and bonding, it then leads to a boozy self congratulatory night at a nearby bar-shack, on unknown Myanmar bottled swag, turning our refuge of tranquility into a scene from 'The Osbornes’. What an embarrassingly disrespectful mess! Thankfully we were quiet when we returned and the monks were blissfully unaware of those in the group who threw up behind the toilets…just behind the prayer garden…and all down their shorts.

























We finally made it, through the sunshine and gratefully received cool rain, to Lake Inle.

SWEET KARMA (Kalaw, Myanmar)

We arrived by VIP bus at 3am into sleepy Kalaw (VIP means you get an utterly freezing 16 degrees C aircon inside whilst it’s 36C outside, at night! - we’ll probably get the flu). Kalaw is the last post before hiking 3 days to Lake Inle. It’s cooler here - sweet relief from the crazy hot days and nights in Yangon. We were met at the bus stop by a tout who took us to a recommended hotel, but didn’t seem to get a kick back from the staff - we were at a loss as to whether to tip him?

Traffic jam on winding mountain pass to Bagan

We awoke at 9am for the included breakfast - which to our delight was coffee & pancakes! After finishing, I returned to the kitchen with cash to request extra coffees. I requested them with NO sugar. She didn’t take the cash, but pointed me back to my table. It was perhaps with the same blinkered view many Westerners have of Asian people “all looking the same”,  that she’d apparently forgotten my face from before, despite serving me at the very same table only minutes earlier. She reappeared with coffee…AND round two of pancakes - a second free inclusive breakfast as if we'd never eaten, BUT with sugar in the coffee.

Maybe she doesn’t think all Farang look the same? Maybe she suffers from amnesia?…well that'd be Karma for forgetting we don’t take sugar.

Our hotel has tapeworms on the bathroom floor…and I’m starting to sneeze…maybe we should’ve tipped the tout?

SMASH & GRAB (Yangon, Myanmar)

Playing cards at The Strand in Yangon

You can take us anywhere! We love to slum it with the common man, or schmooze with the hoi polloi. We feel equally at home doing either. But when we visited The Strand Hotel, the poshest joint in town, simply to escape the heat, grab high tea, and get a taste of the Raj, with their oak panelled lounges and parlour palms, we didn't fit in quite as well as hoped. We'd decided to play the slightly unsophisticated  'monopoly deal', and then in a Mayfair rent-induced fit of rage, smashed their fine crockery.

SAD ZOO (Yangon, Myanmar)

Perhaps it was the heat, or possibly the furry rats and mangy street dogs, that increased my lust for all things animal and made us hop into a taxi and travel across Yangon for a trip to the zoo. I had read it was a great colonial gem - a lovely Victorian leftover - literally over a hundred years old and full of exotic creatures.

Upon arrival, our first siting was a great big hippo jumping up on it's hind legs to be hand fed a bunch of greenery. Kris of course got as close as he could to the action. With those big choppers coming dangerously close to the keeper's arm and a group of young monks leaning perilously over the non existent railing, I thought we might have a real feeding frenzy on our hands!












We carried on, but most of the animals were far more dozy, like the beautiful white tiger laying on it's belly in it's own little Raj house just panting away, with it's big tongue hanging out over it's toothy smile.

The elephants were a rather sad state of affairs, just chained up in a concrete area in a small arena where they perform tricks for passing visitors and beg for bananas. Our energy was waning, but no trip to the zoo is complete for Kris without visiting his beloved monkeys.

RAT PACK (Yangon, Myanmar)

Yangon rises early and closes early. There are people on the streets selling at market stalls before the dawn, and then come midnight, everyone has gone home or bedded down on the street. I took the camera around for a late wander and found dudes playing cards on street corners and singing. People love to break spontaneously into song here! It's nice.

Not so nice is the clumsily hidden brothels - in a strictly governed, morally restrictive climate, the sex industry has found a home in the illegal mega-casinos springing up near the Chinese border away from the army's control, and then in the cities they are bizarrely in Karaoke bars. We've had some very funny karaoke experiences, with the unfair advantage of being westerners and considered superstars. So we were keen to visit again, but not here. We'll have to head back to the street corners for a spontaneous singalong.




 On the way home, walking through where the fruit market had been, there were so many rats, I actually kicked one with my bare toes in flip flops as it scrambled across the pavement. Eeesh!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS (Yangon, Burma / Myanmar)

It’s good to be back in Asia. The heat, the craziness, the toilets, the irresistible urge to buy tat. Burma, or Myanmar as it’s now referred, has some really unique things going on. It’s somewhere we’ve been fascinated with coming to for a long time, partly because of it’s natural beauty and amazing culture, but also because it’s so politically messed up and it pushes my social justice buttons. It’s been quite an insight touring around. 

A beautiful language, but not the most economic

Our first impressions were unexpected. We probably know more about Myanmar from the news than anywhere else - and that just seems to be all about rigged elections, Military Coups, people trafficking, fighting monks, and the plight of Aung Sung Sui Kyi, Myanmar’s big political hope. 

Well there wasn’t much sign of a Military presence or oppression - there are very few soldiers and police around. In fact, quite the opposite. The only recognisable groups on the streets are monks - thousands of them. Myanmar is a very religious place, and parts of the country feel like going back in time. There are shrines on every street corner, and beautiful pagodas pierce the skyline.

Myanmar is a very religious place - but definitely no Immortal materials allowed

Beautiful smiley people covered in Tanaka Face Paint, are shy but eager to greet you with waves and smiles, and less shy children run up to you with flowers. The country's borders opened to tourists just four years ago, and far from the slightly jaded relationship with tourists seen in other parts of SE Asia, people are in the early romance stage with Tourists and the West in general.

People are so kind and helpful, which is just as well because it is definitely harder going backpacking here than in other nearby countries - although not as tricky as we’d heard - you don’t need week’s supply of dollars to last you as ATM’s are plentiful (even if they steal your cards!) and they’ve upped their game for getting around. It’s just that the West has not fully landed yet - we’re grateful for that most of the time! Telltale (another sailing term I’ve learnt) signs of the West are scant - there are no MacDonald and Starbucks edifices. It’s pretty expensive here too - that was a surprise. But in the heart of the city, it feels very foreign. For a start, people speak very little English, conveniences like toilets and cold drinks seem impossible to find, and Yangon is HOT! In 45 degree heat and 80 percent humidity, it was quite a struggle to wander the streets for a safe bite to eat.

Yangon, previously Rangoon the old capital, boasts the largest Buddhist shrine in the world with the Swedagan Pagoda - an immense edifice in luxurious gold leaf, surrounded by a myriad of shrines, temples, and devotees. I lost Neko there and found her talking with a teacher and his students, helping field basic English questions. 

Shwedagon Pagoda

 Other than this ‘World Wonder’ of a sight, it was mainly all about walking the streets and soaking it all up. There are always weird and wonderful things to grab your attention.

Crouching Kitty, hidden Buddha??

Ceremonial sweeping

OFF TO SE ASIA (In Transit)

After four and a half months of living in Sydney, we are now on our way back home to Bristol...only with a slight detour in SE Asia. Ok, ok...it's a six week detour - but for the record, we aren't being overly ambitious. The plan is simple - three weeks in Myanmar (which we are expecting to feel like 'proper' travelling) followed by a chilled out time on a beach in Thailand (which will no doubt feel like a holiday). Watch this space.