I have now returned to the UK after my trip to Burma and am back in the Experience Travel office, with all my colleagues, family and friends quizzing me about how my trip was. Honestly I had a fantastic time, but I have (unusually for a talkative person such as myself) had trouble articulating the impression that Burma has made on me . So often when people ask “how was your trip”, I say “it was amazing” but it was so overwhelmingly amazing it’s almost too difficult to describe. Almost.

Now that I’ve sat down here to write about Burma, I suddenly find that the mix of emotions and all the passion, wonder and intrigue I feel about the place have come pouring out onto the screen and I’ve actually found it hard to know when to stop writing!

 

The thing is, Burma is just such a complicated place: historically, culturally, politically, and there’s just too much to say about it. It’s impossible to talk about Burma in simple terms. With a history spanning more than 13,000 years and a population made up of a huge variety of different ethnic groups, it is an endlessly fascinating, complex and beautiful country. The country itself is stunning with an immensely varied topography. Mountains clad in thick jungle surround central lowlands and extensive rice plains and snow-capped mountains in the north reach heights of over 5,800 meters. The Mekong river that is the main artery for all of Southeast Asia also enters Burma from China’s Yunnan province, although the lifeblood of Burma is the Irrawaddy (Ayewaddy), a vast expanse of water that runs right through the centre of the country linking north to south.

 

However, although geographically very striking, the key appeal of Burma for me is its people. With over 58.8 million inhabitants, Burma’s demography is as varied as its geography. As with most of Southeast Asia, Burma is one of the most ethno-linguistically diverse parts of the world. Estimates suggest there are over 108 distinct ethno-linguistic groups in the country, therefore note that many people in Burma are not actually ‘Burmese’. The largest of these groups is the Bamar (the origin of the name ‘Burma’), but each state and region has its own unique cultural character. Burma is sandwiched between the two great cultural influences of India and China, something that lends Burma a uniquely ‘South Asian’ feel, more than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. Generally the people of Burma are overwhelmingly friendly and a smile, a wave and a cry of “mingalabar” (“hello”) will get you very far!

 

However ethnic conflict has in the past, and remains today, a big issue in Burma. It is not the case that all of these different groups co-exist peacefully, and there is still a lot of tension between some groups and the majority Burmese. Burma’s history, which I spent a great deal of my university career studying, is one full of numerous different kingdoms rising and falling, gaining imperialistic control and then losing it again. Bagan is the most famous, although there have also been Pyu, Mon and Arakanese kingdoms. At one point the Burmese Taungoo dynasty was the largest Southeast Asia had ever seen, covering most of Myanmar and through Thailand to Laos.

 

A key question posed by most once I mention Burma or Myanmar is what the proper name for the country should be. I speak some Burmese language and I use both interchangably: the name ‘Myanmar’ was applied by the government in 1989 and is the country’s official name. ‘Burma’ is the English pronunciation of the word ‘Bamar’  which (as mentioned above) refers to the Burmese ethnic group in colloquial Burmese. Although in Burmese language one says “Myanmar-country” or “Burma-country” both refer to the same place, although “Myanmar” is a more official term.

 

The majority of people in Burma are Buddhists and are very devout. The hills and plains are dotted with hundreds of golden stupas, and can be clearly seen from low-flying planes. For many in Burma, Buddhism is the centre of life and temples and stupas are pillars for the local community. Religious sites peppered across Burma include giant reclining Buddhas, winding maze-like temple basements, temples of 90,000 Buddha images, earthquake-damaged stupas, and a legendary golden rock perched precariously on a cliff edge. There are, of course, Christians, Muslims, Animists and Jews in Burma too, both indigenous and from elsewhere, and I was really interested in seeing Yangon’s mosques and even a synagogue too.

 

More recent political troubles have prevented would-be-visitors from travelling to Burma, although it is apparent from recent developments that change is rapidly coming to Burma and it is no longer the international pariah it once was. Its relative isolation has made Burma an unspoilt gem in Asia, and the whole country feels tentatively new to international tourism. However, the vast majority of people I encountered in Burma overwhelmingly felt that more outside visitors to their country could only be a good thing and help catalyse positive change for the people there. Especially with Hilary Clinton’s recent visit, it is clear that the times they are a-changing.

 

My favourite experiences in Burma included:

Taking a boat out on Inle Lake to see the stilted villages and floating vegetable gardens, whole tomato plantations growing on floating islands of compacted algae! And the tomatoes that I ate on Inle Lake were so fresh and tasted so strong, I’ve obviously been missing out on “proper” tomatoes my whole life. But one of my favourite dishes was Shan noodles I ate near Lake Inle in Heho town – rice noodles in soup with sauce.

I loved walking along sandy Ngapali beach, which, though it is one of Burma’s more popular beaches due to its excellent swimming. was actually pretty quiet and deserted. In the mornings the water was so calm and clear it was almost glass-like. We rented bicycles locally too and cycled up and down the strip exploring the small neat stilted seafood restaurants and cocktail bars. One of my favourite cocktail menus included a “Peanut Cola”, “Run Sour”, and a “Diomond Fuxy”.

Another of my picks was Mandalay: in Yangon people aren’t allowed to ride motorbikes or sound their horns. In Mandalay, this does not apply. The city is bustling and has a slight tinge of insanity that I really enjoyed. I loved the messy but charming feel of the streets, the monks, and all the ancient rusty vehicles. We ate some fantastic seafood barbeque there by pointing at things on sticks and having them grilled and delivered to our table. The city felt alive and quite cool and full of interest – definitely somewhere I’ll be returning to spend more time in.

One of my favourite temples was in Bagan, which was a huge lofty cave-like structure with high ceilings and 4 standing Buddha’s looking down at you serenely. An extraordinary feature of these statues was that if you stood further away and walked closer, because of the statue carving the Buddha’s facial expression changed, from having a wider smile to a more stern frown. This struck me not just as a truly ingenious piece of design but a work of magic too.

I loved the 5 hour trek to the summit of Mount Popa in Bagan to see the incredible views of the surrounding hills, valleys and mountain-top temples from the summit. Now let’s get one thing straight. I don’t trek. I’m really not a trekking person at all and the idea of doing something physically exerting for fun isn’t something I’d really ever considered. However, once I got started, the trek through the jungle was so fascinating and the flora and fauna we encountered was enchanting. I loved the bright tropical butterflies as big as handkerchiefs lazily circling me as I climbed, and even though I got really sweaty the cool breeze at the peak was refreshing and the view will stay emblazoned on my memory for the rest of my life.

Visiting the ancient and remote kingdom of Mrauk-U near the border with Bangladesh was another highlight for me. Mrauk-U is reachable only by a 6 hour boat journey from Sittwe and is the old capital of Rakhine state, when once the king of ‘Arakan’ (now Rakhine) was very powerful. Mrauk-U’s isolation and hilly surroundings does lend it a fortress type feel and the whole of Rakhine state was historically very isolated, being bordered by mountains on all sides. Rakhine people are famous in Burma for their ferocious nature and brisk attitude, which really struck me in Sittwe. It was also a shock, having been practising my best Burmese language for the whole trip, to be suddenly faced with a really strong regional accent and dialect as in Rakhine state.

Another of my favourite temples was at the top of a hill in Mrauk-U, which had acres of winding corridors circling round underneath the building getting tighter and tighter until eventually they opened up into the King’s central underground meditation temple. Of course, years ago this would also double as a fortress for the Arakanese king should the city be attacked. It was very hot and airless there and claustrophobic too but again really carved an impression on my memory as a magical place.

 

As I said before, Burma is overall an immensely complicated country and there is no simple answer to any of the questions raised about its present state and future. I really could go on as I just have so much more to say, I’ve really had to tear myself away from rambling on. If you’re interested in hearing more about my adventures, or even in arranging your own holiday to Burma, do give the Experience Travel office a call and I’ll be more than happy to have a chat!

You Might Also Like:

1. Sus’dei Chnam Thmei- Happy New Year! Happy Thai, Khmer, Lao and Burmese New Year from all at Experience Travel! The three-day fesitval (Songkran in Thai, Chol...
2. Through the hills of Northern Thailand to Mae Hong Son On a recent trip to Northern Thailand I finally got to visit Mae Hong Son Province and its principal towns...

Tags: Bagan, Burma, holiday, Lake Inle, Mount Popa, Mrauk-U, Myanmar, Ngapali, Sittwe, Southeast Asia