burma

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Kiwi-Chimp Venture past trips - burma The hut was packed with old and young people and everybody who did not fit into the hut was looking through the windows which were not glass windows but just shutters made from Bamboo. The owner of the hut lit some candles because there was only a generator for electricity and this one was not very good and the light from the generator kept going out. So there we were, eating rice, vegetables and some kind of meat, watched by all this people who made us foreigners so welcome in their village! The food was very simple, had a strange taste and was not particularly good and I told Trev that I was struggling to eat it. Trev answered: “You eat the rice and I do my best with the rest.” After dinner we had to go and meet the chief of the village. Again we were very welcome, Tea was served and a lot of questions were asked by a lot of people who had joined us in the hut of the chief of the village. We had to sign in the guest book of the village and were told again that we were the first foreign people in this village. We got some pictures from England and Germany out, showed some English and German coins and notes and then left a couple of pictures and coins with the chief as a souvenir which he was very happy about. Back in the other hut we talked a while to the locales which was interesting but very difficult as all questions and answers had to be translated by this one men who spoke English good enough. At about 9.00 pm they showed us our bed, which embarrassed us. We got a room for ourselves in which normally 6 people would sleep in. We tried our best to convince them that we only need one bed or could even sleep on the floor, but now way, they did not want to hear about it and we had no choice but to take what we were offered. The next morning we got up and had breakfast, rice and vegetables. We had a wash with water from a well behind the house and brushed our teeth in “the bathroom”. “The bathroom” was behind the house, there was no bathroom really, you had to wash outside behind the house and the dirty water went into a drain. So we both decided to have just a little wash, just enough to clean our hands and face and brush our teeth. But I was amazed about the toilet. It was a wooden hut with a hole in the ground but very clean and not smelly. They even had made a toilet brush out of a stick wrapped with paper. A bucket of water and a little bowl to flush the toilet! After breakfast we had Melon with local made honey. The villagers had bees and as we said we liked the honey, one of them came back with a plastic bottle full of fresh honey as a present for us. Have I told you in the last mail that all the locals wear “Thanakha” on their faces and arms? It is a paste which acts as a sunscreen and it looks like dirt mixed up with water on your skin. The daughter of the house asked me if I would like to wear some Thanakha too and I felt like I could not say NO to this offer. So Trev watched the women putting Thanakha on my face and they were all happy that I did not refuse it. About lunch time we decided to leave the village. It was like leaving friends and not knowing if we would ever see them again. We wanted to pay for the night and the food but the people did not except our money and said we were guests and they were happy to know us. So we took some little presents out, which we had carried with us: Balloons for the kids; soap, hair bands, tooth brushes and lip sticks for the women and lighters and a touch for the men of the house. All the presents were really appreciated because they were luxury articles for them. A last wave good-bye and then two boys on bikes took us back to the waterfalls, same as the day before. We both think this was the best part of our trip in Burma. We had a great time in this little village with all this friendly people and felt so welcome there. After we left Pyin U Lwin, we went a bit further North to a town called Hsipaw. This town was once the centre of a small Shan state of its own and is becoming a popular hangout for travellers, thanks to its cool climate and relaxed atmosphere. A Shan Palace still stands at the northern end of Hsipaw and the last Shan prince was arrested in 1962 by the military government and hasn’t been heard from since. The prince’s niece and nephew take care of the palace, welcome foreign visitors and the nephew tells the story about the vanquished royalty if you are interested in it. We went there one night and spend about 5 hours talking and listening to him together with some other backpackers. page 1-2-3-4-5 Copyright © 2003 kiwichimp all rights reserved

Kiwi-Chimp Venture

past trips - burma

The hut was packed with old and young people and everybody who did not fit into the hut was looking through the windows which were not glass windows but just shutters made from Bamboo. The owner of the hut lit some candles because there was only a generator for electricity and this one was not very good and the light from the generator kept going out. So there we were, eating rice, vegetables and some kind of meat, watched by all this people who made us foreigners so welcome in their village! The food was very simple, had a strange taste and was not particularly good and I told Trev that I was struggling to eat it. Trev answered: “You eat the rice and I do my best with the rest.”

After dinner we had to go and meet the chief of the village. Again we were very welcome, Tea was served and a lot of questions were asked by a lot of people who had joined us in the hut of the chief of the village. We had to sign in the guest book of the village and were told again that we were the first foreign people in this village. We got some pictures from England and Germany out, showed some English and German coins and notes and then left a couple of pictures and coins with the chief as a souvenir which he was very happy about.

Back in the other hut we talked a while to the locales which was interesting but very difficult as all questions and answers had to be translated by this one men who spoke English good enough.

At about 9.00 pm they showed us our bed, which embarrassed us. We got a room for ourselves in which normally 6 people would sleep in. We tried our best to convince them that we only need one bed or could even sleep on the floor, but now way, they did not want to hear about it and we had no choice but to take what we were offered.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast, rice and vegetables. We had a wash with water from a well behind the house and brushed our teeth in “the bathroom”. “The bathroom” was behind the house, there was no bathroom really, you had to wash outside behind the house and the dirty water went into a drain. So we both decided to have just a little wash, just enough to clean our hands and face and brush our teeth. But I was amazed about the toilet. It was a wooden hut with a hole in the ground but very clean and not smelly. They even had made a toilet brush out of a stick wrapped with paper. A bucket of water and a little bowl to flush the toilet!

After breakfast we had Melon with local made honey. The villagers had bees and as we said we liked the honey, one of them came back with a plastic bottle full of fresh honey as a present for us.

Have I told you in the last mail that all the locals wear “Thanakha” on their faces and arms? It is a paste which acts as a sunscreen and it looks like dirt mixed up with water on your skin. The daughter of the house asked me if I would like to wear some Thanakha too and I felt like I could not say NO to this offer. So Trev watched the women putting Thanakha on my face and they were all happy that I did not refuse it.

About lunch time we decided to leave the village. It was like leaving friends and not knowing if we would ever see them again. We wanted to pay for the night and the food but the people did not except our money and said we were guests and they were happy to know us. So we took some little presents out, which we had carried with us: Balloons for the kids; soap, hair bands, tooth brushes and lip sticks for the women and lighters and a touch for the men of the house. All the presents were really appreciated because they were luxury articles for them.

A last wave good-bye and then two boys on bikes took us back to the waterfalls, same as the day before.

We both think this was the best part of our trip in Burma. We had a great time in this little village with all this friendly people and felt so welcome there.

After we left Pyin U Lwin, we went a bit further North to a town called Hsipaw. This town was once the centre of a small Shan state of its own and is becoming a popular hangout for travellers, thanks to its cool climate and relaxed atmosphere. A Shan Palace still stands at the northern end of Hsipaw and the last Shan prince was arrested in 1962 by the military government and hasn’t been heard from since. The prince’s niece and nephew take care of the palace, welcome foreign visitors and the nephew tells the story about the vanquished royalty if you are interested in it. We went there one night and spend about 5 hours talking and listening to him together with some other backpackers.

page 1-2-3-4-5