Beyond the Road to Mandalay

English Colonial Residence Hotel in Kalaw
Pindaya Cave with a zillion Buddha statues
Legend of the soldier who saved the maidens from the spider

Beautiful Inle Lake
Unique leg rowers
Padaung lady greeters at our hotel - The Paramount

Lunch at the beautiful Inle Princess
The weekly farmer's market
Just one of the amazing sights

Breakfast around the pool
Our Ngapoli Beach Hotel
A beach with all our friends!

I have always been attracted to places with strange sounding names. Places that invoke romance, intrigue, and times gone by. A place where "…the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!" And, "…the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' slow…" Shaded from the sun, I watched the waves roll in from far off India across the Bay of Bengal. The rust-colored robes and matching parasols of the monks were exclamation points against the blue of the sea and sky as they strolled along the water’s edge oblivious to the waves lapping at their feet. The words of Rudyard Kipling’s "Road to Mandalay" crossed my mind once again and I felt at one with the word. "If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else."

Myanmar or Burma? The name has changed but the land still delivers its promise of romance and times gone by. Yes, there is the impressive golden Shwedagon Temple in Yangon, the magnificent ruins of Bagan, and a lifetime of National Geographic vignettes along the Ayeyarwady. Those were the things that drew me to Myanmar. But I will return to Myanmar to laze on the tropical beach in Ngapoli, to spend more time exploring Lake Inle, and to relax at a hill station in Kalaw.

Imagine a long sweeping pristine beach with no nasty currents, no mosquitoes, no sand flies, no annoying vendors, first class resorts but none higher than the palm trees, and excellent service! Seem impossible. Not at Myanmar’s Ngapoli Beach. It was with some trepidation that I made reservations at Amazing Hotel’s Ngapoli Beach. I could not conceive of a beach in Myanmar that rivaled the standards of Thailand and the Caribbean. It not only exceeded my expectation, my husband and I thought it surpassed many resorts in highly touted beaches location worldwide.

The one-hour Air Bagan flight was punctual with friendly service and a light snack. At the airport in Thandwe I was relieved to see two attractive young ladies in traditional blue longyis and matching blouses holding an Amazing Hotel sign with our name on it. Swiftly and efficiently our luggage was transferred to the waiting minivan for the complimentary five-minute ride to the hotel. The Amazing hotel is just one of several hotels in the area. From the traditional architecture to the infinity pool to the garden setting we instantly fell in love with the place - the place for a perfect beach vacation. We spent several days wandering the beach, riding the waves in inner tubes provided by the hotel, and dining on freshly caught fish. The hotel rents bikes for exploring the villages for a dollar an hour. Tours are available for snorkeling and visiting an elephant camp. We were told, "You can probably leave your things on the beach and they will be there in the morning. Even so we don’t recommend it." Ngapoli is that kind of place! Turndown service included hotel-made traditional coconut sweets in a pagoda-style lacquer bowl.
Myanmar offered one surprise after another.

It seems that the world stopped years ago. The traditional ankle-length wrap-around cloth called the longyi is still the normal clothing for both men and women. The main difference is that the men put the fold in the front that is secured with a twist knot and the women’s longyi is more decorative and folded on the side. Sandals are the most practical footwear because, as a sign of respect, all footwear must be removed before entering a temple or pagoda.

The English controlled Myanmar for many years and called it Burma after the Burmese, just one of the more than 100 ethnic groups in Myanmar. There are still some vestiges of colonial times. Kalaw is a hill station where half-timber houses surrounded by gardens offered the British a tranquil setting and a respite from the heat. I found the area serene and peaceful. At the Colonial Residence each room has a fireplace to ward of the evening chill. It is a place that just begs visitors to stay, hike during the day, and cozy up with a good book in the evening.

On Lake Inle the fishermen continue their unique style of rowing boats standing and rowing with one leg and one arm so as be able to see the fish and have one hand free to cast a net. It has not evolved to the level where the unique rowing style is just for the tourists – it is the way they have always done it and still do. The Five Day Farmer’s Markets are still where produce is sold, with locally prepared food stalls, outdoor barbershops, men preparing betel nut and cheroots, and where ethnic groups still wear their traditional garb. And yet, while the traditional lifestyle is the norm, there are up-scale accommodations. The Inle Princess has five-star accommodations, a remarkable spa, and a wine cellar dining room that rivals any in the world. Built to resemble a cave with the wine bottles protruding from the wall and a mural on the ceiling above the lacquered dining table depicts scenes from Myanmar history. During dinner a St. Bernard supplies guests with rum from the keg under his neck.

Over a century ago, Rudyard Kipling wrote, Burma was "quite unlike any land you know about." And amazingly, it still is. Place names may have changed but little else has, the people are charming and the sights are outstanding.

I had wanted to visit Myanmar for several years but wondered if it was the right thing to do. Other travelers we met over the course of the last couple of years who had visited Myanmar encouraged us to go saying, "You will not be sorry and you will be impressed." My husband and I finally decided to go and then the September demonstration occurred. We had already purchased our non-refundable air tickets so we continued with our plans. For a tourist, Myanmar is extremely safe. There is almost no crime. Because the government has little interest financially or emotionally in tourism, we felt we were helping the ordinary people not supporting a restrictive government. Every time we bought something, every time we left a tip, everywhere we went we felt our dollars were helping the people who needed it most. And, maybe most importantly, our very presence in Myanmar was an excellent example of the benefits of a democratic way of life.