This is my first post here, it’s an experiment for me because I haven’t written anything on the web for quite a long time (8-9 years). Before that I had a small personal blog on livejournal.com, but at some point I just stopped writing altogether.
Here I’d like to share with you (and hope that it will be somewhat of interest) my impressions about one day I spent in Myanmar about 6 years ago and of course some (amateur) photos I made there. I will try not to delve deep in the details however I can, but I am quite elaborate in everything I do so bear with me here if it gets a bit boring ;)
So where do we start? This is Ranong, a small town in Thailand, near Myanmar border.
It is one of official border crossings between two countries but most travellers are here for so-called “Visa run”, which for those not familiar with backpackers’ lingo is when your tourist visa is expiring and you leave the country only to return the same day and get a fresh visa stamped in your passport. To get to Myanmar you go through passport control on Thai side, then take a short boat ride (15-20 minutes) to the other side of the strait. So this is what I did. Unfortunately I was not aware how fast you can get sunburn on the boat, so I did not thought about taking an umbrella, like this clever guy in front of me, or even wearing a long sleeved shirt.
Soon we approached the Myanmar side. This is a town named Kawthaung (pronounced as ’ko-song’ in Thai).
Technically I could not get a valid Myanmar visa there, because at the time (2011) tourist travel was restricted in the neighbouring areas due to unrest. But there was a chance to get temporary permit and stay in the city for a maximum of 3 days which was enough for me.
On the border everything went smooth. One of the local guys hanging there asked me if I am planning to stay over there and offered to be my guide. I have noded to him but did not give it a thought and totally forgot about him as soon as I left the border excited to be in another country, so different from Thailand. I went to the nearby cafe to drink a cup of sweet milk tea prepared in local style and took a moto-rikshaw to the hotel. I should note that nor waiter or driver spoke English since relatively few tourists stay in the area. The hotel was not that different from the ones on the Thai side, but the room cost was 2-3 times higher. It was located near top of the hill, so the views were really beautiful.
City view and a spirit house inside the hotel
I rented a room and as soon as I returned there from the showers someone knocked on my door. I opened and saw a small man in local dress whose age I guess was about 50. He introduced himself and offered to show me some local places of interest. Turns out he was a brother of the motorbike driver who drove me to the hotel. Actually his main occupation was science teacher in local school and tourist guide was a way to make extra income. But judging from how fast he got there (I have only been for 10-15 minutes in this hotel) it was an important one. We chatted for a while and agreed that we’ll meet tomorrow morning and drive to the fisherman village together. For now I just wanted to take a walk around the town and see it by myself.
Eventually I walked up the hill to the buddhist temple with large terrace overlooking the city. You could also see a lot of neighbouring islands, a really nice view.
On my way back down a motorbike stopped nearby and an agitated young man came up to me. At first I didn’t recognize him, it was the guy I met earlier at the border. He almost yelled at me: “Where were you? I was looking for you!”
“I am just walking around… What’s the matter?”
“You know, I was looking for you, but you were gone. Do you know it’s dangerous for you to walk alone like this?”
“Why? Everything’s fine.”
“No, look you could get arrested. You have a permit to stay here, but you are not allowed to travel without a licensed guide like me. Plus, our people are very poor and think every foreigner is rich, you could easily get robbed… Now I am here, don’t worry, I know how to get around here.”
I can’t say I trusted what this guy said hundred perсent, but I thought that going with him is reasonable, because otherwise I could not communicate with most local people. So I sat on his motorbike and we went sightseeing around the town. Some of the photos I took:
Monument to King Bayint Naung at the southernmost point of Myanmar (also known as Victoria Point) and a view of the Andaman sea
Burmese script
Sunset over the Andaman sea
Eventually we ended up in some restaurant eating and drinking beer. My new guide Ali, a 27 year old Muslim who had 5 kids, offered to find any drug I like or young girls for me, but I politely declined and just listened to his exotic stories over a glass of beer. We parted when he brought me back to my hotel around 10 p.m. I didn’t have enough smaller bills to pay him so I gave him 1000 baht with the promise that he’ll bring me the change first thing in the morning. Should I say that I never saw him again, but now I think it was a bit foolish to even expect it.
Next morning I woke up early to meet with the other guide, a school teacher (I am afraid I can’t remember his name now). He also had two motorbike drivers with him that would be our transport.
The fisherman village which we planned to visit is located on the island a few kilometers north of Kawthaung. The island is connected to mainland by a long wooden bridge.
Spirit house on a small island
After a short stop on the bridge to take photos we drove into the fishing village. I must say that at this time I’ve not yet been to some poorer countries like India so I was quite shocked. Most of the fishermen houses were built on stilts and in beetween them were a wooden bridge tracks. The houses stood in the mix of water and dirt and all the solid ground nearby was covered in litter.
On the positive side the people were really friendly and kids in the local school got super excited and happy when they saw me outside.
Soon we drove back into the town, where I went to the pier and took a boat ride back to Thailand. I was leaving with mixed feelings but I’d love to visit Myanmar again one day.
