Vietnamese coffee… balloons over Bagan… and slow internet… oh my!

Please excuse the recycling of a previous blog post, but as you may recall, I am busily escorting some very adventurous travelers on a WOW! Travel Club journey through the sights, sounds, smells and savory delights of Myanmar and Vietnam.

Not to worry, I will most definitely fill you in with all the juicy details of this current journey, replete with video!  For now, enjoy this post back from February 2015 – when Myanmar became “my new favorite place.”

“Tam Biet” for now (that’s “Goodbye” in Vietnamese)!

Marilyn

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Original post – February 6, 2015

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you are familiar with my fascination and appreciation for the exotic, unusual and undiscovered destinations.

As our wondrous world seems to get smaller, with access to information about how-to-get-there, where-to-stay-when-you-get-there and what-to-do-while-you’re-there available to anyone with an internet connection, there are fewer places to experience authentic cultures and traditions.  It is, of course, a conundrum because the impact of a foreign visitor on an “unspoiled” place is permanent – no matter how consciously aware and responsible that traveler may be.

A long, long time ago, when I was in my 20s, I was blessed to have had an opportunity to venture to what was then a relatively unspoiled southeast Asia.  I had a little bit of money, a backpack and a Lonely Planet guidebook, Southeast Asia on A Shoestring.  Back then . . .

• I trekked to see the the hill tribes in northern Thailand and spent a couple of nights in one of the villages – many years before they opened the Opium Museum, started charging entrance fees to the villages and opened a Four Seasons Tented Camp in the Golden Triangle.
• On the island of Ko Samoi, I paid fifty cents a night for my little thatched-roofed hut overlooking the South China Sea, when the island was little more than a collection of fishing villages and pristine beaches – many years before there was an airport and a Four Seasons Resort and wifi.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Four Seasons Resorts!  But I am forever grateful that I can go “both ways” – appreciating and enjoying the amenities of a 5-star luxury hotel as much as that of the modest little Cassiopeia Hotel I just experienced at Inle Lake in Myanmar.

Myanmar – that’s my new favorite place.  

I’ve just returned from an extensive 14-day journey with a philanthropic, all-female group.  Myanmar reminded me of Cuba, in that it’s been in a time warp.  It’s just emerging from decades of isolation and an economic embargo imposed by the developing world.  The sanctions were intended to coerce its quasi-civilian government to convert to a more democratic process.  Though far from perfect (indeed, what country has a perfect system?), from my very limited perspective, it seems that the leaders are begrudgingly allowing dissent, opposition parties and some limited media freedoms.  In Yangon, every other street vendor was selling smart phones and cheap SIM cards.  Buses are still ancient but most passenger cars (and there are a LOT of them) are recent models.  High-rise residential development is rampant.

But once we got out of the big city, it was almost like time stood still.

Farmers use ox carts to plow their fields and transport goods.  Everyone – men and women – wear the traditional longhi (sarong) garments and flip flops.  The faces of women and children are liberally slathered with “thanaka” cream, a yellowish cosmetic paste made from the bark of a tree to promote smooth skin and prevent sunburn – just as they did 2,000 years ago.

There are few foreign chains here.  No MacDonalds, KFC, 7-Eleven or Starbucks — yet.  This, too, will change in time.

“Look, tourists, no Ma!”

The people from the hill tribes come down to buy and sell their goods at the “5 Day Markets” which rotate between five different locations over a 5-day period.  The women wear colorful, traditional costumes and jewelry.  They haven’t abandoned their traditional attire (though many have substituted colorful bath towels for woven head scarves), nor do they ask for money when you take their photo — yet.  We photographed a tiny girl, her mother out of range somewhere, who was saying absently to herself as she opened and closed her tiny fist, “bon-bon, money, bon-bon, money, bon-bon, money . . .”

And yet when you smile and say “mingalaba,” the local people positively beam – they are SO warm and welcoming … having been cut off from visitors for so long.  They’re not sick of tourists, yet.  I hope this never changes.

“Look Ma, no hands!”

At Inle Lake, fishermen from the Intha tribe – as is their tradition since the 12th century – traverse the lake balanced on one leg on the narrow stern of their teakwood boats and paddle with the oar wrapped around their other leg, leaving both hands free to handle the fishing trap or net.

Nowadays, there are several of these guys who make more money posing for pictures than actually fishing.  The “posers” aren’t the majority — yet.  This, too, will change in time.

Look Ma, no tourists!

The splendid ruins of more than 4,000 shrines, monasteries, temples and stupas – dating back to 11th century – are scattered across an arid plain at a bend in the Ayeyarwady River in Bagan.  And at Inle Lake, another complex has over 1,000 stupas – most in some stage of ruin.  With few exceptions, there are no entrance fees or fenced-off areas or hordes of tourists — yet.  This, too, will change in time.

So, once again I am smitten with a place that’s probably not on your Bucket List – yet.  I’ve always found it a challenge to get people excited about traveling to Asia – even from the west coast.  I suppose it’s because of the perceived distance – crossing the Dateline must mean that it takes an extra 24 hours to get there – right?  (It’s not true – you get it back when you travel home!)

But just look at these images (all are mine … taken on the fly with an automatic camera)!

This one is my favorite – taken at sunset at Inle Lake:

But, maybe I prefer this one . . .

But then I like this one, too . . .

But then there are the unforgettable faces . . . how could I not choose one of these as my favorite?

One thing’s for sure:  I’m ready to create an extraordinary WOW! adventure to southeast Asia!  How about it?  Have I sufficiently piqued your curiosity about magical Myanmar – a place that’s probably not on your bucket list??  Will you come there with me before it gets discovered and trampled and crowded??

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Stay tuned for next week’s blog … I’ll share all the amazing details, photos AND videos of my current trip to Myanmar and Vietnam!