The only two gaps in my overland travel have been Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Myanmar. There’s not much I can do now to fill in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but I hadn’t given up hope for Myanmar. After speaking to several people who are living there currently, I decided that travelling around the country wasn’t the best idea, and I didn’t particularly want to spend a lot of money there with it going to a completely corrupt and evil military regime. My main reason for wanting to visit Myanmar was simply to experience the country. To speak to people who live there, to look at the streets and the villages, and to try the food. It seemed to me that Myanmar must be the missing piece between the two vastly different countries of India and Thailand. The most testable variable for this is food so this is what I was especially keen to experience. In an ideal world I’d also want to visit the beautiful sights of the country, but for now a quick visit would suffice. So once I’d seen Rosaline off to the airport from our hostel in Chiang Rai I decided I would give it a go.
I packed up my big rucksack and left it in storage at the hostel, taking a small bag with the essentials (a toothbrush and toothpaste, a few pairs of underwear, phone charger etc.). I caught a public bus from Chiang Rai to the border town of Mae Sai. From the bus station a tuktuk shuttle took me the rest of the way to the border. I went to the border point to see if I could get through and before I knew it I was stamped out of Thailand and walking into Myanmar. I was pointed to a dingy office with one lady inside who took me over to a desk and sat me down. I asked if I was allowed to enter the country and she replied yes, for one day. I asked if I could stay overnight if I wanted to and she replied yes again. She took my photo and gave me an entry permit which cost 500 baht (£11), in exchange for my passport which they kept hold of. I did feel slightly uneasy about relinquishing my passport but it seemed very legitimate so I took the chance. The permit allowed me to stay in Myanmar for 14 days, but only in the permitted region, not travel around. It was all very seamless if a bit odd. Halfway through the process a group of young girls came to the door of the office, they were monks dressed in pink robes with a orange sash and shaved heads. The border official gave them some money and they sang/chanted in response. My eyes were wide as I stepped out of the office, armed with my permit card. I felt quite proud and excited as I took my first steps into the country. Then it hit me that I really hadn’t thought I’d get this far, meaning I was woefully unprepared (as evidence by the ‘????’ at this point in my plan for the day)! I had no idea what to do and no internet to look anything up. As I wandered down the street in search of a cafe with wifi to sort myself out I made eye contact with a guy who then said hello. He sounded American which shocked me and we spoke for a bit. Turns out he was a tour guide (or used to be). He suggested we go for tea and I obliged. Over the sweet milky drink (similar to a Thai tea rather than an Indian masala chai) we spoke about Myanmar and his life as I gauged whether or not to trust this man. His name was Slim and he is ethnically Indian, with his great grandparents coming to Myanmar with the British as servants. He grew up in Mandalay but moved to Tachileik (the town we were currently in) a few years ago. Tachileik is in the northeast of the country and the majority ethnicity is Shan. When we started to discuss the political situation he paused, looking around the outdoor cafe to check for anyone listening in first. He offered to guide me around for the day and after settling on a price of 500 baht (£11 again) I agreed. Throughout our day I learnt more about Slim. He told me stories about growing up in Myanmar, going to concerts and raves and there being live music everywhere (he’s a big rock and roll fan). He told me about the racism he’s faced because of his Indian heritage. He told me about the protests he went to whilst at university, avoiding the photos taken by the police which meant he wasn’t arrested like lots of his friends. And about the attitudes towards Suu Kyi (the female leader of Myanmar before the military junta retook control in 2021). He spoke openly and casually with me and I learnt so much.
Driving on the back of Slim’s motorbike we explored Tachileik and the surrounding area. In the town many of the women wore clay-like makeup smeared on their cheeks, and some their noses and foreheads. Slim told me it was a cheap form of make up and also protected against the sun. There were more groups of young girl monks dressed in pink. I’d never seen female monks before. We stopped at two large temples which were both strange. The first because of the cages of animals that surrounded it. I wasn’t too surprised to see peacocks and a goat, but I was quite shocked to see two monkeys and completely floored when I spotted three bears (I think sun bears). The cages were abysmal and it was basically a junkyard. The second temple had been destroyed in an earthquake and was slowly being rebuilt, and it had a maze of stupas (towers with remains buried inside) in the courtyard. What united both temples, and every temple we spotted, were the flock of colourful statues of animals (including dinosaurs) around them, giving them an amusement park vibe. I should add that the temples were Buddhist, with Theravada Buddhism being the main religion in the country, the same as in Thailand and different to the Tibetan Buddhism in India and Nepal. We drove through several villages and they were notably quiet. The houses were similar to rural Thailand but in a slightly less developed way. We drove up to the roadblock that prevented us going any further, and stopped for food at a roadside restaurant. Here my predictions were tested - would Myanmar cuisine be a mix of Indian and Thai? The answer: a resounding yes! I felt a quiet sense of achievement in having predicted correctly. The food was a delectable mixture of the two cuisines, the spice and sourness of the Thai influenced dishes sitting nicely on top of the heavy flavours of the Indian style dishes. I ate the traditional Burmese way, with my hand, just like in India and distinct from the chopsticks often used in Thailand. Back in the town centre I came across a street food stall that had two offerings familiar to me from India and from Thailand respectively, which made me smile. I just had to try a Burmese samosa and almost exclaimed in excitement when the lady smothered it in sweet chilli sauce, a characteristically Thai thing to do. The inside of the samosa was potato and seasoned with cumin seeds. Not quite as delicious as the ones I’d had in India, but distinctly Indian tasting nonetheless.
By the end of my tour with Slim I was exhausted and my brain was full of information and images of Myanmar. I decided I wouldn’t stay overnight. I couldn’t travel anywhere and the border town wasn’t anything special, with the hotels looking average at best and a lot more expensive than my nice hostel back in Chiang Rai. So I took one last loop around the market and then crossed back over the border. There were no issues in exchanging my permit card for my passport thankfully, and I re-entered Thailand with only a little bit of hassle of having to fill out an entry card (not something I’d had to do last time since I flew in). I repeated my earlier journey in reverse and arrived back in Chiang Rai. It was a strange day but I was glad I got to experience Myanmar for myself. I did get some strange looks from other travellers at the hostel that evening when I responded to their “what did you do today?” question with “went to Myanmar”!
