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17 of the 31 species are threatened, including tigers, Asian elephants, Phayre’s langurs, and dholes.
The camera traps also detected images of the indochinese leopard across all survey sites, suggesting that Karen State could be supporting one of the most significant leopard populations remaining in South-east Asia.
A major concern in the region is poaching of high value species like tiger and elephant for the international illegal wildlife trade, the researchers say.

The first-ever surveys of forests in Karen state in southeast Myanmar — a region that was previously out-of-bounds for scientists due to security and political reasons — has yielded surprising results.

Researchers have recorded at least 31 species of mammals in the region, more than half of which are categorized as Near Threatened, Vulnerable or Endangered on the IUCN Red List, according to a study published in Oryx. Some of these endangered mammals include tigers (Panthera tigris), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), Phayre’s langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei), and dholes (Cuon alpinus).

“It is incredibly rare to find such rich and diverse wildlife anywhere in the world today but certainly in Southeast Asia,” said Clare Campbell, Director of Wildlife Asia, an Australian conservation NGO that coordinates the Karen Wildlife Conservation Initiative (KWCI), in a statement. “Thanks to the long-standing conservation efforts of the Karen people this area is a refuge for the last tigers in the region, Asian elephants and so much more.”
Asian elephant captured by a camera trap. Image copyright KWCI.

Karen state (also known as Kayin state), is located in southeast Myanmar and borders Thailand. The state has had a turbulent past, suffering from decades-long conflict that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and allowed little room for development. The region has also been excluded from most previous scientific assessments.

“Previously this area has been off limits due to the military conflict between the Karen military units and the Myanmar army, and as a result the entire region has been a blackspot of information with regard to wildlife and omitted from wildlife distribution maps, etcetera. For example, the ‘Myanmar tiger action plan’ did not feature this important tiger habitat,” said Ross McEwing, wildlife conservation lead for the KWCI.

Between December 2014 to July 2015, the KWCI set up camera traps in four areas of Karen state, making these the first surveys of their kind. The cameras captured at least 31 species of mammals, including 17 species that are globally threatened, such as the tiger, Asian elephant and dhole.

The researchers also detected images of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) at nearly 60 percent of all camera trap stations and across all survey sites. This suggests that Karen state could be supporting one of the most significant leopard populations remaining in Southeast Asia, the authors write. Only 400 to 1,000 adult, breeding Indochinese leopards are estimated to survive in the wild today.

The cameras also captured several records of gaur (Bos gaurus), barking deer or muntjak (Muntiacus spp.), Eurasian wild pig (Sus scrofa), and a few species of bears across the state.

“This demonstrates a relatively intact and functioning ecosystem where local human hunting pressure is selective and sustainable and where top predators exist, and importantly reproduce, as a result of a high prey density (or food availability) — something now missing from much of the forests in Southeast Asia which limits the abundance and richness of top predators,” McEwing said. “In some of these areas we have tiger, leopard and dhole all sharing territories which is only possible if prey densities are high, otherwise tigers would exclude leopards or leopards would exclude dhole from these regions.”
Indochinese leopard. Image copyright KWCI.

Unfortunately, Karen state faces several threats, including poaching of high value species like tiger and elephant for the international illegal wildlife trade, the researchers say. In fact, with the ceasefire between the Myanmar Army and the Karen military units, incidences of poachers using snares along tiger trails has become more frequent, McEwing said. The researchers’ camera traps even photographed multiple groups of poachers.

“Clearly the wildlife of this region has been appealing to poachers but the military activity which has caused so much human suffering has perversely been the factor that has ensured the persistence of high species richness in this region,” he added.

The wildlife of Karen state is also threatened by increased hunting to support the large influx of people working in infrastructure projects, like construction of dams and roads, McEwing said. The state is also rich in minerals, and mining would not only destroy forests, but also poison river systems, he added.

“Karen people have intricate knowledge of their forests and wildlife which is directly responsible for the abundant wildlife in this region,” said study lead author Saw Sha Bwe Moo, technical field expert for KWCI, in a statement. “However, as the peace process brings rapid economic development to Myanmar we are seeing increased habitat destruction and wildlife poaching that have decimated much of the wilderness in other parts of Southeast Asia. We must act now if we are to protect this last great wilderness.”

KWCI has recently received a funding of $500,000 from the KfW IUCN Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Program to support their work on protecting tigers in this landscape.
Tiger captured by a camera trap. Image copyright KWCI.
Dholes. Image copyright KWCI.
Clouded leopard. Image copyright KWCI.

Citation:

Moo, S.S.B., G.Z.L. Froese, and T.N.E. Gray. 2017. First structured camera-trap surveys in Karen State, Myanmar, reveal high diversity of globally threatened mammals. Oryx pp. 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0030605316001113.

Article published by Shreya Dasgupta

Myanmar is said to possess the primeval charm of Asia showcased via its spectacular nature and gracious people. Without a doubt, this golden land is the ideal destination for ecotourism, in which the tourists come to experience and evaluate the rich national parks and wildlife here.

If you’re thinking of the Myanmar Ecotour, it’s your turn to commence such the once-in-a-lifetime journey to 40 National Parks system in Burma, including the Wildlife Sanctuaries, Bird Sanctuaries, Protected Areas, etc. The parks are all managed by the Wildlife Department of Ministry of Forestry. So, which Parks to visit for the best ecotourism experience? Though there are many, three candidates stand out of the crowds.

#1: Khakaborazi National Park

With the height of 9,052 meters, Khakaborazi is the highest mountain in Myanmar where the significant National Park was built in 1996. The park formerly served as the nature reserve and then it was recognized as the National Park in 1998 for protecting the rich biodiversity surrounding the mountain.

This eco-site is full of pine and deciduous forests that attract many rare butterflies such as the yellow-and-black Swallowtail. Besides, Khakaborazi National Park stores some species of the native orchids. Today, many tourists and climbers visit the Park and make it the great base camp to enjoy the scenic views from the mountain peak.

#2: Nat Ma Taung National Park

ASEAN granted Nat Ma Taung (Mount Victoria) the great title as Myanmar’s newest Heritage Park in October 2012. The Park itself was founded in 1994 and covered the area of 720 square kilometers. Such area protects the evergreen and mixed forests associated with the rare species of orchids and butterflies that are only found in Myanmar. About the wildlife here, it includes the leopards, wild boars, tigers, gibbons, and hundreds of the different species of birds. There are lots of endangered species protected in this natural park.

#3: Hlawaga National Park

About 35km to the north of Yangon, Hlawaga National Park is the popular destination for the eco-tourists who have the strong passion for the wildlife. The park also attracts many families coming to witness up to 21 different species of mammals, 145 species of birds, and 8 kinds of reptiles. Besides, the presence of the mini zoo lets you see how some wild animals like tigers, leopards, crocodiles, and bears live in an authentic manner. You can also expect to experience the elephant ride, rock climbing, boating, and trekking through the green park.

In fact, Myanmar Ecotourism has won the eco-tourists’ praises for its rich collection of national parks & wildlife. Some other great options are Popa Mountain National Park, Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, Lenya National Park, Lampi Island Marine National Park, National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden, etc. These fantastic options ensure the eco-travelers to see the wildlife and biodiversity in Myanmar fully. Check out Myanmar ecological tour 10 days here !

Apart from the golden temples and pagodas or the enigmatic history, Myanmar National Parks delights the nature lovers via the real safari experience in the lush and mixed deciduous forest, hill grassland, pine trees, etc. And, the interesting wildlife makes the National Parks their homes as well as the popular destinations for the adventurers in the world.

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Mystery fills the Myanmar air, and the tourists will surely experience the memorable journey to this golden and unspoiled country. There are hundreds of things to enjoy in Myanmar. So, what to do? The most luxurious activities to do are the hot air balloon rides, the visit to some exotic villages and monasteries, the high-budget cruise trips (Anawrahta Cruise for example), etc. Myanmar Luxury Tour also features the costly stay in the world-class resorts with the authentic bed of roses.

Each highlight in Myanmar such as Yangon, Ngapali Beach, Mandalay, Bagan, and Inle Lake is spotlighted with the luxurious accommodation options. So, where to stay? We list out five best choices for the superb rest.

#1: Aureum Palace in Bagan

This is the most luxurious resort in Bagan. It has 87 rooms and villas with the spectacular views of the Bagan’s pagoda-dotted scene and lotus-flecked lake. What could be more sumptuous than staying in a room that overlooks the golden temples and the magical sunset? Everybody loves the stay in Aureum Palace. This world-class resort offers the opulent services of the spa, fitness center, sauna, nightclub, swimming pool, etc. Aureum exhilarates your trip to Bagan, the city of thousands of pagodas.

#2: Sandoway Resort in Ngapali Beach

In the green zones of coconut palms in Ngapali Beach, the Sandoway Resort has 56 rooms, cottages, and villas. The presence of the tropical gardens, panoramic sea view, and specially designed rooms with hardwood, marble, and stone carvings promotes your luxurious stay indeed. Besides, the big swimming pool and spa, an array of seafood, the giant library and cinema make Sandoway Resort one of the most lavish beach resorts in the world.

#3: Inle Lake View Resort

This is the fashionable Burmese-French owned resort on the eastern shore of Inle Lake. The boutique resort has the impressive Burmese décor and French architecture bordered by the lush garden. As you may expect, all of the rooms here offer the lake views, the pleasant bathrooms, and the eye-catching furniture. Everything you need for the luxury travel to Myanmar is supported including the bar, spa, infinity swimming pool, restaurant, etc. The beautiful sights and sounds of the lake give you the wholesome relaxation.

#4: Mandalay Hill Resort

At the foot of Mandalay Hill, this resort offers the incomparable views of the holy ground of many pagodas, royal palace, and imposing moat. In the modern and international style, the hill resort makes sure your rest extremely private and comfortable with the enjoyable spa, calming pool, lush tropical garden, exciting bar, mouth-watering BBQ dinner, and more. Just expect for the real bed of roses!

#5: The Governor’s Residence in Yangon

It’s one of the world’s most luxurious city hotels, next to the reputable Shwedagon Pagoda. The delicate main building is the primeval teak mansion, constructed in 1920 as the residence of a governor and bordered by brightly colorful lotus garden. The 48 large guest rooms and suites are beautified with the tropical cotton, silk, and teak furniture. Just enjoy the kinglike experience at the prestigious spa rooms, Kipling Bar, open-air Mindon Lounge, etc.

Begin Myanmar Customized Tour with the preferable itinerary to play and rest luxuriously! You can visit the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, enjoy balloon ride over thousands of temples in Bagan, cruise on Inle Lake, etc. Whatever your preference. Click here and our experienced travel agent specialist can help you organize the time of your life!

If you are planning for your next vacation, then a Myanmar tour is surely one of the best choices. A few years ago, holiday in Myanmar sounded bizarre to many people. But of late, this Southeast Asian country has grown to be the most sought after tourist destination attracting tourists from the world over. Talking about the best way to explore this beautiful country, Myanmar river cruise wins the challenge. One may ask,“why a river cruise?”Well, here are top 5 reasons why Myanmar River Cruises are the must-include item in your tour package:

1. River cruise is the best respite from the stress of modern fast paced life. The comfortable cozy surroundings with decent food and enjoyable company makes it the most growing area of tourism
   with over 15,000 river cruise routes to choose from.
2. River cruising is all about sightseeing, from the key highlights to villages and the countryside. In a typical eight-day luxury cruise tour you can view many prominent sites in Myanmar: Yangon(Rangoon), Myan Aung, Pray (Prome), Salay, and Bagan.
3. Myanmar river cruise includes almost everything from comfortable accommodation& all meals to some light entertainment for all age groups. So you can give yourself a memorable holiday without stressing your pockets.
4. River cruises are friendly, comfortable and welcoming. You will always have something to see and do in a river cruise.
5. Most of the modern Myanmar river Cruises are surprisingly stylish. You can have your own balcony, a variety of dining options, Wi-fi (often at no additional charge) and a flat-screen infotainment system.

Myanmar river cruise surely helps the tourist to discover the land’s quintessence to the fullest, giving the most value-for-money experience.

Click here or contact us so our experienced team we can help you enjoy a cruise you will never forget!

Travelling to Myanmar (previously Burma) is like stepping into a different world, filled with spirituality and adventure. Long isolated from the world, Myanmar is finally opening up. With heartwarming people, breath-taking landscapes, and some of the most impressive ancient temples in Asia, Myanmar is the perfect destination for those after an authentic escapade, off the beaten path. Follow our top Myanmar travel tips to make the most of your travels…

When to go

Luckily you can travel to Myanmar all year round, although November to February are fairly busy months (especially with Chinese New Year) and accommodation availability can be tricky.

Visa & passport advice

When planning your trip to Myanmar, it’s important to ensure your passport is up to date. You’ll need at least 6 months validity beyond your intended return date to get a Burmese visa. You’ll also need to have a visa before you arrive. Single-entry tourist visas last 28 days and cost US$25.

Safety

Myanmar is a very safe country to visit—in fact, I would say it’s probably the safest. The Buddhist culture discourages crime and so thefts or robberies are very rare. Since the 2015 elections, the country is gradually democratising, and the influence of the military has diminished.

If you’re consulting the FCO’s foreign travel advice you will see most of the country marked green, though with several specific areas marked yellow (‘advise against all but essential travel’).

We work with local partners who have operated in Myanmar for years, and our network of local guides know their areas like the back of their hands. Myanmar is considered a safe destination for tourists, including solo female travellers.

Money

The national currency of Myanmar is the Burmese Kyat (pronounced chat). It often appears as ‘K’ or ‘MMK’ and it only comes in notes.

ATMs are now plentiful in airports, cities, and major tourist destinations, though occasionally travellers find that their debit cards don’t work in Myanmar. Bringing cash is a good idea: do make sure to take clean unfolded notes (folded or tattered notes may not be accepted) and US dollars are more easily exchanged than Pound sterling.

Note that travellers cheques are not generally accepted anywhere.

Food

Myanmar is brimming with culinary delights, offering its own distinct cuisine though also influenced by Chinese, Indian and Thai cuisine.

Your first thing to try is a Burmese curry, which is not just a meal but an experience. After your main dish a seemingly never-ending succession of little side dishes will follow, making this a true foodie adventure.

Myanmar is also known from some specific dishes, such as the tea leaf salad known as lephet, Shan-style rice, and the Mohinga breakfast — fine, round rice noodles served in a hearty broth.

What to see

Myanmar is a very cultural destination and there’s plenty of interesting places to see. Of course, we highly recommend including key sights such as the cities of Yangon and Mandalay, Inle Lake, and the temples of Bagan.

Our tour of Inle Lake takes you off the usual tourist trail and lets you experience village life on the lake, while our cycling tour in Bagan gives you a local guide as well as ample free time to explore some of the hidden temples around the area. If you want to do something a bit different, you can also visit the fringed shores of Ngapali Beach (yup, Myanmar has also a beach!) located on the Bay of Bengal coast, in Rakhine State. Cocktail in hand simply kick back and relax.

Oh – and don’t miss the less famous (but no less interesting!) locations such as the hidden temples of Mrauk U, the emerald hills of Kalaw, or the charming colonial city of Pyin Oo Lwin. It’s especially the smaller places that give you a true taste of Burma.

Etiquette

The typical Myanmar character is friendly, helpful and polite, so please do smile, it’ll lighten up everyone’s day.

Don’t touch anyone on the head as it’s considered an aggressive action, even for children.

Cover your shoulders and knees when visiting pagodas and temples also take off your shoes and socks. If you need to sit, please ensure your feet are tucked away so they never face the Buddhas.

Don’t disturb people praying or meditating and try to be as quiet as possible when in sacred areas.

Learn a few words in Burmese, the locals love it!
mingala ba – ‘hello’
thwa:bi – ‘good night’ or ‘good bye’
kyei:zu:tin ba de – ‘thank you’

You might experience electricity outages. Please remember Myanmar is very much unspoilt by mass tourism and it can have its limitations.

Inspiration

Myanmar is a truly cultural, unspoiled destination and it offers plenty of opportunities for meaningful experiences. If you like a bit of moderate trekking Myanmar is the perfect destination for paths-less-travelled.

If you’ve got enough time you can also combine a trip to Myanmar with neighbouring Thailand. With easy flight connections between Bangkok and Yangon, you’ll be able to experience Myanmar’s tranquility with buzzing Thailand.

Click here and our experienced travel agent specialist can help you organize the time of your life!

A Culinary Odyssey,on a Path Blazed by Orwell- The New York Times by JANE PERLEZ MARCH 11, 2007

GEORGE ORWELL, who memorably sketched the stark existence of living on bread and thin soup in Paris in the 1930s, hardly seems like an obvious guide to exotic food in the tropics. Yet, in his classic novel “Burmese Days,” Orwell creates a vibrant scene of his hero and heroine wandering through market stalls filled with ripe pomelos the size of green moons, red bananas, dried fish, crimson chilies, ducks cured like hams, larvae of the rhinoceros beetle, heart-shaped betel leaves, and “baskets of heliotrope-colored prawns the size of lobsters.”

The list, in full, is so extravagant and inviting that, for me, it served as a kind of mental eating map during a recent road trip through Burma, now called Myanmar by the authoritarian government. Much has changed in Myanmar since Orwell served there as a policeman in the 1920s, but because of the government-enforced isolation from the rest of the world (the country has little processed food and imported food is rare in the countryside) Burmese still live off the land and its abundance of vegetables, fruits, fish and spices.

Even before I crossed the border from China into Myanmar, I had a taste of the delicacies to come. At Ruili, the bustling trading center in Yunnan Province that serves as the entry point for cheap Chinese goods into Myanmar, a Burmese trader invited my guide and me to a lunch of multiple dishes — steamed whole black chicken that fell from the bone, tiny grilled fish that you eat from head to tail, bean leaves with garlic, and most unusual, opium poppy seeds with tofu. Chopped coriander sprinkled on top added a little spunk — and color — to the mild tasting seeds that had been churned with the tofu into the consistency of a soupy porridge.

Immigration officials don’t allow foreign travelers to dawdle at Mu Se, the first Burmese town over the border. So we drove down the old Burma Road — the artery that the Americans used in World War II to hold back the Japanese — to the village of Kutkai, then to Lashio and on to Hsipaw, a town with a good market and friendly guesthouse, a favorite stopping spot for tourists.

Our destination, though, was a sleepy dot off the map, the village of Ohnoma, about two hours south of Hsipaw. Ohnoma was a major destination of our 10-day trip. It is the home of a trucker’s restaurant known fondly as the Fatty Lady’s Place — the formal name of the five-table establishment is Napi — which I remembered with great fondness from a trip several years before. I had eaten lusciously then — the freshly caught fish, in particular, cooked several different ways, was memorable. So was the invitation into the kitchen to observe short-order cooking of the Burmese kind. I remembered, too, the lusty appetites of the drivers who had parked their huge trailers outside.

I was not disappointed this time, either. Tucked on the ground floor of a two-story house bearing large advertisements for London brand cigarettes, Ma Aye Shwe — owner, chief cook and a woman of large proportions — was still there, whipping up tangy fish, vegetables and sauces in less than 20 minutes over a wood stove. Burmese cuisine veers between the influences of India with its tradition of curries and Thailand and its flavors of basil, lemon grass and coriander with a few oddities left over from the British. At Fatty Lady’s you get straightforward Burmese cooking with a slight tilt to the Thai side of things.

As soon as we arrived, tired and dusty, for a late 4:30 lunch, Ma Aye Shwe asked one of her nieces — three of them work as her helpers — to catch a foot-long catfish from the pond just outside the kitchen window. This was done rapidly by grabbing one of the fish by hand, giving it a wallop to kill it and then gutting it and chopping it up into about one-inch pieces. The niece sprinkled some salt on top of the pieces, some pieces of ginger as well, and threw the pieces into a pan of super hot fat. That was to be our fried fish.

In a second wok, the chef stir-fried some garlic, ginger and sliced tomatoes, added some water, added pieces of the fish, a huge bunch of basil leaves, and then covered it all for some 15 minutes, fanning the flames with rapid flicks of a reed fan. A second niece prepared a quick chicken stir fry with bamboo shoots. For a vegetable dish, our hostess tossed tomatoes and garlic with cauliflower pieces and their leaves (a leftover from the British days) in a wok for five minutes. Accompanying everything were side portions of a spicy yellowy sauce: dry mustard, garlic, ginger, chilies, and onions boiled with the green stalks of the mustard plant. For the fried catfish, there was a sauce of tomato, garlic, green chili, vinegar and sugar cane.

The food was served on large white china plates placed in the center of our round wooden table, along with a large bowl of white rice. I hadn’t expected to find any of the wonders of Orwell’s market stalls here. I got what I came for: an invitation into the small kitchen (two benches, a couple of chopping boards and sharp cleavers, two small overhead fluorescent lights) and a mouthwatering straight out of the pan meal — for about 7 kyat, the equivalent of $1 a person.

During the rest of the trip, we ate at several roadside joints that offered unfamiliar combinations of tastes. Yellow papaya flowers sautéed in garlic seemed a variation on the classic papaya salad. Frogs cooked with an assortment of bitter leaves, and braised cashew leaves served with raw cucumber slices gave a sense of the pungent streak in Burmese cooking. I rarely spent more than 10 kyat each for a single meal. Most of the time my guide helped with the ordering, though with smiles and gestures I could have managed on my own.

At the beachside resort of Ngapali on the west coast, I found my way to Best Friends, a simple indoor-outdoor restaurant nestled among a row of small places catering mostly to tourists. I settled into a table on the deck where a few tables were taken by Germans and French. I savored the most delicious avocado salad on earth, and asked for the recipe. It turned out to be basic — chopped avocadoes, sliced onions and shallots and tomato cubes, mixed with a little sugar, vinegar, oil and a dash of fish sauce. Coriander on top. What made the difference was the lush avocado straight from the farm.

At Ngapali, where the Indian Ocean laps at the shore, I expected to revel in prawns the size of lobsters, as recalled from the pages of “Burmese Days.” After all, I had seen pomelos, red bananas, mounds of dried fish, green coconuts and strange-looking bugs in almost every market. Heart-shaped glossy betel nut leaves, just as Orwell described them, were abundant at the ubiquitous stands that serve up the betel leaf and a piece of hard chewy nut laced with lime.

But the prawns were not to be had in the markets or at Ngapali Beach. I glimpsed them only briefly — glistening in their translucent shells on the steel tables of a fish export factory — as they were weighed and packed for air freight to Japan.

For better or worse, this was a sign of modernity since the days of Orwell.

Correction: March 25, 2007

The Explorer column on March 11 about dining in Myanmar misstated the value of the kyat, the Myanmar currency, and the price in kyats of meals there. A meal at Napi, also known as Fatty Lady’s Place, in Ohnoma cost about 1,250 kyats, not 7 — the equivalent of $1 a person. Meals at several roadside joints in the countryside rarely cost more than 1,800 kyats, not 10. (Although the official exchange rate is seven kyats to the dollar, almost all private transactions use rates of 1,000 to 1,250 or more kyats to the dollar.)

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page TR8 of the New York edition with the headline: A Culinary Odyssey, on a Path Blazed by Orwell.

Click here and our experienced travel agent specialist would love to answer any questions and help you!

With 136 different nations; with different cuisine its no wonder the food in Myanmar is simply AMAZING.
From colonial tearooms to street-side noodle shops, start off with a food trail down the lively streets of Yangon. You could begin with the ‘national’ dish of Mohinga, a delicious rice noodle fish broth served with boiled eggs, fried fish cake and fritters! For a refreshing change, you could also enroll yourself for.

Try Burmese Mohinga on your culinary tour of Myanmar

If your in the Shan State, do give the Mandalay Mee Shay a try. This is a diced pork version of the Burmese rice noodles dish with meat sauce. Enjoy refreshing salads that are popularly eaten as street food all across the country.

Visit traditional teahouses for cups of fragrant tea, a British colonial legacy that has been enthusiastically embraced by the Burmese!

We found the idea of a four-day cruise in the warm, sunny and isolated Myeik Archipelago – visited by so few tourists – immediately appealing, and put it at the top of our list of things to do on our four-week stay in Myanmar.

Only a limited number of authorized cruises have access to the archipelago, and to get there you need to go via Kawthaung, right at the southern tip of Myanmar on the border with Thailand; make sure that you’re in Yangon in plenty of time to catch the plane to Kawthaung: the flight takes three hours, including two 20-minute stops in Dawei and Myeik. Going by road takes a tortuous five days by bus and may sometimes not even be possible at all.

In Kawthaung, we were met by a friendly and efficient link-man to our boat: he talked us through a deskful of police bureaucracy before taking us to our boat at Myoma Jetty – The Wanderlust, an elderly and leaky catamaran. We found to our surprise that we were the only passengers, but soon realised that there certainly was no room for more: we found it difficult to squeeze in tandem into our oddly-shaped cabin. But we were taken excellent care of for four days by the skipper, Mo; the guide, So-So; the engineer, Aung Min; and the trained cook, Mew-Ah.

The Wanderlust’s aging quirks, one of which was to occasionally drip on us as we slept, were compensated for by Mew-Ah’s excellent meals and our being generally pampered by the crew. We had a lot of interesting chats with So-So, who told us, among other things about his life, that he was going to send his five-year-old son to a monastery for a year when he became six, and that he himself had done so at the ages of eleven and seventeen.

We travelled in November, at the tail end of the rainy season – and it poured steadily for two days, which caused us to miss some planned snorkelling, fishing and jungle trekking; our first morning was spent on the scheduled stop at Nyaung Wee Island. We were interested to find that the large number of open-fronted shops/family dwellings were geared to only selling daily necessities to the crews of local fishing boats; we never saw as much as a shell necklace or any concession to the occasional tourist during the whole of our cruise.

It was interesting to talk (in translation) to these islanders about their way of life, particularly when we went by dinghy to a Moken (or ‘sea gypsy’) village, which was steadily getting larger. It was sad to hear that the government is now prohibiting practices central to Moken culture, including their tradition of fashioning boats from island trees. They told us that the government is keen for their children to have primary and secondary education, the latter being given on the mainland up to the age of 14, after which many of the children return to a life of fishing or shop-keeping.

On the way back to The Wanderlust, water got into the dinghy’s engine, which stopped; the skipper came in a kayak to explain that they couldn’t come to tow us, as the engine had seized up. Eventually we wheezed our way back…the crew’s mantra ‘It will be okay – no problem!’ did prove effective against all odds!

The next day, which was sunny, we kayaked up the exotic Lampi river, and later anchored at the idyllic Nga Mann Island, where we swam in picture-perfect turquoise seas and wandered on white sand on the edge of a jungle sporting wonderfully colourful fruits and flowers. Next we visited a village on Myauk Ni Island, again to have a most interesting conversation about the islanders’ daily lives – they see very few foreigners, only usually conversing with the fishermen who come for provisions.

The next day we awoke to cloudless sunshine, and again ambled along beautiful island beaches, always entirely to ourselves. For our last meal Mew-Ah excelled himself by producing a sumptuous lunch of soup-filled pumpkin and prawns in a delicious sauce. Then back in the sunshine to Kawthaung. This is an interesting town in itself, and people who come here to go on a cruise should allow time to wander through it: there are strong influences of India and Islam, which we hadn’t expected.

Despite the rain and the Wanderlust’s tricks, we found our cruise all we’d hoped for – fascinating, informative and above all, fun.

Sally Allender, 10th August 2014

We offer a number of cruise tours of the Myeik Archipelago – for more information Click here and our experienced travel specialist can help you organize the time of your life!

Bagan is a dream and my hands down favorite place that I visited anywhere. You can keep your Ankor Wats, Great Walls of China and Borobadours, this place is pure magic and like nothing you will ever see again.

I could have easily stayed another week on top of the 5 days I spent exploring the Pagoda-dotted city.

• Finding a Pagoda or Temple with a view for yourself and just chilling and talking politics with other random strangers, or whomever else you have met on the way.
• A random monastery we stumbled on with a secret staircase to climb for sunset which turns into darkness and stargazing whilst listening to the sound of monks somewhere in the distance.
• Dancing at sunrise, surrounded by hot air balloons to upbeat burmese music blasting from a monastery/school/somewhere, on the sandy pathways, no-one else around, sometimes being passed by a truck full of people heading to work, or a monk on the back of a motorbike, just Burmese normality surrounding you.

That’s what is still wonderful about Bagan, although it’s full of tourists, it feels big enough now for you to feel special and like it’s yours only. Even with the tourist hub of Nyaung U, normal life seems to just carry on around the temples and the tourists, locals are just getting on with it.