“ If you want to the world as it once was , go visit countries with dictatorships . The downsides are evident , but it is delightful to see people still embracing the best parts of their own culture .”
Sherry Hemingway
When we found out it was both a sunscreen and the secret to beautiful Burmese skin , we all brought home a jar .
The people still wear traditional clothing , without the influence of global fashion . Both men and women wear long wraparound skirts , longyi , on the city streets . In the remote tribal areas of the country , the people routinely wear native dress and colorful hats .
Our first exposure to Burmese people was with souvenir vendors who possessed a charmingly , aggressive sales style . Unlike their counterparts in other countries , they made us laugh .
They would befriend each of us and then hop on scooters to follow our vehicle to the next temple . By the end of the day , we all knew a lot about each other , and all of us owned souvenirs that we hadn ’ t really wanted . It had been such a good time , no one cared .
We were warmly welcomed throughout Burma , even on city streets . We were greeted with “ mingalabar ” ( hello ), the men were helpful , the women were pretty , the children were adorable and everyone was easy-going .
As travelers , we must acknowledge that there are border areas of Burma in civil war and there , everything must be different . We were forbidden to go into those areas , and we let Overseas Adventure Travel keep us out of the wrong places .
The best way to explain safety to Americans reluctant to venture afar : All U . S . states are different . Most places are family-friendly , and there are place you don ’ t go . It is the same in the rest of the world .
Our path to understanding Burma was through a superb guide named Theingi (“ thingy ”), who went out of her way to introduce adventure . One night she took us to a neighborhood park , where members of the national cane ball team were playing for fun . Did we want join them ?
Cane ball is similar to Asian shuttlecock and American hacky sack , only it is played with a rattan ball . Athletic Laura jumped in , and later as a reward , they autographed and gave her the actual winning cane ball from the Southeast Asian games .
The Art of Rum Sours
Favorite adventure : A day in a remote tribal village , whose name translates to “ Dancing Horse .”
We knew we were going to prepare dinner with the villagers , so Theingi turned us loose in a native market , each with five dollars and a grocery list in both Burmese and English . We succeeded and headed into the hills with our foodstuffs .
The village of 200 people was a collection of wooden buildings that included a school , a temple , houses and farm buildings . Clearly Western visitors were rare because their curiosity was palpable . The kids loved us . The monk did an impromptu teaching . The village elders invited us into a circle to answer our questions .
Then we divided up , with women in the kitchen , and men off to learn how to make rum sours with local honey and homemade rum . The sours were apparently noteworthy because we ended up in a rollicking dance circle with the villagers drumming .
60
M O R G A N H I L L T O D A Y S P R I N G 2 0 1 4