We had a very active day, driving towards Tachilek. Many men ( in Kengtung) cross the border at Tachilek to work in Thailand, and commute back and forth. It is easier for them to find work in Thailand than Myanmar.

The road to the top of Hokyin Mountain is very narrow and steep and can only be driven if road conditions are good. At the top are four different Akha villages. Sometimes, three different religions co-exist in one village - again, Buddhists, Catholicism and Animists. The villages are separated by valleys and paths. View image

We toured from village-to-village, visiting the people, still with rice cakes in hand.

Continue reading "More Villages Around Kengtung" »

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We were in Kyaing Tong (or Kengtung), Myanmar's gateway to the Golden Triangle.

It's a great area to visit the different ethnic minority communities of the Golden Triangle. This was Trip #2 (we've since done Trip #3 and are planning Trip #4) using Diethelm Travel for all of them. They have group tours but we have always arranged private tours through them. ( I'll be doing more in-depth articles on Myanmar later on.)

Kengtung is a small town and we had gone to several ethnic villages that day.

We casually mentioned to "Toe", our guide, "is there any place to get a Burmese massage" never dreaming that he would answer, "yes, I can arrange that." And off we went....

Continue reading "A Kengtung Massage" »

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We wore hiking boots or Tevas each day, depending on whether our guide, Toe, thought it was too steep for Tevas. Toe always wore his velvet flip-flops, muddy or not, steep or level, but I'm always sliding into the mud. It is inappropriate for men or women to wear shorts and sleeveless tops...we made do with T-shirts and lightweight pants (capris for me).

The villagers also hunt birds, and in one village, a stuffed wild cat hanging over their entrances were the epitome of decorating chic.

A steep path led us to the first Ann village, Nat Min Khaung. The people here are still Animists, dress in traditional black costumes and paint their teeth black. (That sure cuts down buying or using whitening toothpastes!) They believe it is better to be black on the outside and have a pure heart inside. The Government donated a Buddhist shrine (with statue) to convince the villagers to convert to Buddhism, but no luck so far. They are still Animists.

black teeth

There are pigs, chickens running all over the village, and if a pig manages to escape, everyone races to recapture it because of their value. One pig headed for the hills while we were there, and they can really move! These pigs weren't going anywhere.

time for a snooze

Continue reading "Kengtung Native Villages" »

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My specs to our Travel Agent or Tour Operator usually go something like this:

- Is there someplace safe to travel that isn't completely Westernized?
- Do we have to stay in tents or are there reasonable facilities available?
- Is there any shopping? (I do love to shop.)

After those questions are answered, we're easy. Food isn't an issue. If it's awful, there is plenty of reserve fat on our bodies to sustain us...I don't think famine will set in...and if we're really concerned, we can always bring 20 lbs. of candy, toss in a few cans of tuna and survive easily.

Thoughts of Myanmar (Burma) came up. We had visited "Burma" , as it was known then, in 1988. That trip involved over a week's worth of discomfort, terrible food, a repressive government - but a wonderful group of people to travel with. (I'll write about that trip in the future...funny, funny, funny.)

Things have changed since then and, once again, we decided to use Diethelm Travel . Diethelm has a huge presence in South East Asia. They are extremely reliable, honest, and have an excellent reputatiion - so important in that part of the world. There are lots of other Myanmar tour operators but we like Diethelm.

Ex-Marine decided revisiting Myanmar would be a good place to celebrate his 65th birthday. This kicked-off months of e-mailing back and forth to Diethelm, putting an itinerary together.

Continue reading "Myanmar's Golden Triangle Hill Tribes" »

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