Burma - Village Overnight

Although most of my travel is done solo, from time to time I hook up with other travelers. Sometimes we travel together for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks. It all depends on whether the person is interested in seeing and doing the same things that I am interested in seeing and doing. In the case of Burma I met Yossi my third day in Burma and we traveled together for about 2 1/2 weeks. One of my favorite experiences in Burma was a village overnight.

Yossi and I along with 3 or 4 other travelers took an hour or two boat ride to a village. The boat was actually filled with locals bringing goods back from market. Earlier in the day they had brought goods to sell and now they were returning to their villages.

The village we stayed at was absolutely gorgeous. The homes were built on wooden stilts. The walls were made up of weaved patterns. The roofs were either thatch or some form of metal such as tin or aluminum. In all the homes looked sturdy and well maintained.

Our small group met our host family. We had some fresh fruit and a drink together. Our guide translated some for us. It was a very nice gathering. About an hour later the 3 or 4 other travelers and our guide returned to the boat. Yossi and I stayed behind. Arrangements had been made for use to sleep over 1 night with our host family. Yossi and I were the only foreigners in the entire village now.

Yossi and I went exploring. We walked around the village, which had many different fruits and vegetables growing. This must be what they take to market to trade each day. Again, this village was absolutely gorgeous and pristine. There were children outside playing everywhere. We ran into a couple of cute little girls. We saw a boy carrying water back to his family's home. We joined a group of children who were playing jump rope. It was really wonderful.

By the time we returned to our host family's home, it was time to wash up before dinner. I chose to bathe in the river. Yossi chose to clean up near the well. I am really glad we picked two different options, because half the village followed Yossi and the other half followed me. Had we both gone to the river, 100% of the village would have been staring at me while I was bathing.

Dinner was a wonderful meal of rice, spinach, and lentils among other things. Our host family really made us feel welcome. If I recall correctly, there was a mother, father, and 3 girls. We were limited in our communication due to a language barrier. I struggled with even 1 word of Burmese, since the English alphabet used to represent Burmese words in my guide book did not match the true sounds. In other words, my guide book would show me the letter 's' but it would be pronounced like the letter 't'. I did not understand the sound system and had a very difficult time picking up the local language.

After dinner we were taken to a village meeting area. It seemed like a small tea shop. Many from the village met us there. Again, there was a language barrier but we found a few things that we could communicate. For example, there was a world map on the wall. Yossi and I each pointed out our respective countries. We enjoyed tea together and just enjoyed each other's company.

We returned to our host's home. It was time to go to sleep. Since our host knew that Yossi and I were not a couple, they gave us separate bedding. They gave me the bed and Yossi got the floor. Yossi did not say a word, but my guess was that he was not all that happy about that. Truthfully it really did not make a difference, since the bed was just a wood board set off the ground.

One concern I had was the bathroom arrangement. The toilet was actually an outhouse a significant distance from the house. If I had to go at night, I would have to make my way down the steps of the house and along a curvy path in the dark. Maybe I would find the outhouse but surely I would get lost on my way back. Without me even saying anything my host brought me a metal pot. She explained that I should use this in the night and it would get dumped in the morning. That night I had a difficult time falling asleep. Sure enough I heard someone in the next room urinating into his metal pot. For just a brief moment I chuckled to myself.

The next day our host made use a nice breakfast. I felt the finest and best of everything was put out for us. We were really treated to feel special. I was truly overwhelmed by their hospitality.

Shortly after breakfast our host mother took us back to the river to wait for the return boat. No one from the village besides our host mother was around. This was a perfect time for Yossi and I to offer her some money for all the food and trouble she went through to host us. Although we insisted, she absolutely would not accept even a penny.

The guide who arranged this overnight did not take any money from us either. Time and time again we found the people of Burma to be incredibly hospitable, while asking nothing of us in return. If anything, I was asked to share my experiences inside their country with the rest of the world.

Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi

In 1996 I had planned to go to Vietnam from Thailand but was told that foreigners were not allowed in for about 4 weeks while a special communist meeting was taking place in the country. No airline could sell me a plane ticket from Thailand for that time period and I could not obtain a visa. Therefore, I needed a new plan. Based on recommendations from a couple of new American friends I had made while trekking in Nepal, I decided to buy a plane ticket to Burma instead. This turned out to be a good call.

I flew into Rangoon. I was a bit nervous at the airport, since I was trying very hard not to buy the required $300 worth of Burmese currency at the airport. This was a government mandate so that the government could get U.S. dollars in their pocket and at an incredibly bad exchange rate - 10 to 1 vs 123 to 1 on the street. Based on the suggestions made by my new friends, I managed to sneak past security at the exchange counter. Of course, now I was outside needing transportation but without any local currency in hand. My taxi driver made a stop along the way so that I could exchange with one of his friends at a bad rate of 112 to 1.

Somewhere I read that the Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, lives under house arrest at her home at Inya Lake in Rangoon. What I did not know is that she is permitted to give a speech each week at her house. Sometimes she speaks in Burmese and sometimes she speaks in English. Of course I felt compelled to go to hear her speak. I had no idea what to expect. Would I be allowed inside her house?

I remember walking to her house in a nice neighborhood. As I got closer there were military/police all along the road. I was surprised to see a crowd of about 200 people. Most of the people of Burma are very scared of the government. I knew not to ask government related questions to anyone without potentially putting that person in harm's way. I could not believe there were that many people willing to show their faces in the vacinity of the opposition leader.

It was a very hot day and I sat on the ground in the middle of the street. I must have waited an hour before she appeared at the gate. Again, I had no idea what to expect. I could not figure out how she was under house arrest but also permitted to speak. This was shocking to me. As you can see from the picture above, Aung San Suu Kyi stood on a platform inside of her gated home. Notice the large speakers on either side. In front of the gate were military/police. Unfortunately for me on this particular day Aung San Suu Kyi spoke in Burmese. To this day I still have no idea what she said. I think it was just important for me to observe the dynamics of the entire event.

Since you are only permitted into a very limited area of the country, it is quite possible to visit Burma and have no idea that there is any conflict with the government. You have to really watch and listen. For example, one time when I was taking a train up north we passed by a large, vast bridge. The passengers wanted me to quickly snap a picture of the bridge before anyone in authority saw me. It turns out that this particular bridge was very key to the government's strategic defenses. One man took me into his confidence and showed me a pro-democracy membership card that he had. Had he been caught with this card, there is a good likelihood that he would disappear. The men that are seen building and repairing the roads are not paid. I was told that the people who live in the villages must give up 1 family member for use by the government for whatever they see fit.

The night before I left for the airport a stranger came to my hotel room door and asked me to carry out a video tape that would show proof of the government's abuses. I wanted to help the people of Burma but I had to think long and hard about this request. My backpack would most likely be thoroughly searched at the airport. How would I respond? What would be the consequences? After much thought I decided against carrying the tape out. Had I worked for one of the oil companies or Pepsi, companies with a great deal of investment in Burma, I might have been able to navigate my way out of a bad situation. I honestly did not feel that the U.S. government would be able to get me out of a Burmese prison. If I recall correctly, the U.S. had an on-again-off-again embassy in Rangoon at the time. I did not feel that I would be able to buy my way out of trouble either. It turns out that my backpack was never even touched let alone opened.