MEMOIRS OF TWO TRAVELERS.

Derek and Leona Law live in a small town in Pennsylvania, USA. Derek, who retired in 1993, was manager of a research group in an international oil company, with many assignments in Asia. Leona retired in 2002 and was a high school art teacher with expertise in photography.

They describe themselves as “Travelers” rather than “Tourists”. This is an accurate description. Derek has journeyed to Asia almost seventy times and overall has visited more than ninety countries. Leona is trying to catch up with a total of fifty-five countries to her credit thus far.

They almost always travel alone but also take advantage of local guides and travel agent’s counsel, especially in Asia. Their Asian experiences have included photography assignments in hill tribe villages in Northern Laos and with Tibetan nomads during their annual pilgrimages to several Monasteries. They have crossed the mountainous Kingdom of Bhutan and have spent several days living in gers with nomads in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. These were all excellent opportunities for their photography and for Leona’s scheduled and impromptu art classes for both children and adults. They keep extensive written diaries.

Following are excerpts from their diaries and photographs from Myanmar.

1. Rangoon and Pagan, 1987

We were not able to visit Burma (later renamed Myanmar) until 1987. At that time, traveling to and within the country was not easy for the casual visitor. Visas were valid for a maximum of seven days. The one domestic airline was unreliable. Destinations and even hotels approved for foreigners were few.

With only one-week visas our itinerary was unavoidably limited to two days each in Rangoon, Pagan and Mandalay.

Our initial objectives centered on cultural and historically important sites and to the purchase or barter of lacquer-ware in Pagan and handicrafts in Mandalay. Bartering was in fact very successful and in our case was based on good supplies of ladies makeup, State Express 555 cigarettes and Johnny Walker whisky purchased in Thailand. (Note: This is no longer necessary. All these items are readily available in Myanmar).

Our actual agenda was quickly broadened as we made contact with extraordinarily friendly Burmese people. Here are notes from Leona’s diaries whilst in Pagan..

“I was not disappointed in Burma. Faces, as well as places, can make or break a trip. I had not anticipated the genuinely warm friendship of the Burmese people. There are few places in my experience where this is truer than in this jewel of a country. Always direct eye contact and smiles with the greeting “Mingalaba” (Hello – literally “It’s a Blessing”).

Prior to my first visit to Pagan I had looked forward with great anticipation to seeing literally thousands of temples and stupas dating back as far as the eleventh century. What traveler does not anticipate the visual wonders of a new place? The sights, smells and feel of a new location?

We visited Pagan in July and found very few other travelers or even tourists! We were staying at the Thiripyitsaya Hotel (more of which later). We spent two days touring the ancient city by horse and buggy.

The size and scope of Pagan is an architectural dream. It was possible at that time to climb to the top of the largest of the monuments for magnificent views of the landscape dotted with extremely large and very small relics. Occasional monsoon cumulus clouds broke the beautiful blue sky. Each relic had one or more guardians who were without exception extremely helpful. This young man was truly delightful.

We returned to the Thiripyitsaya Hotel exhilarated by our new memories but exhausted by the heat and the climbing of many monuments. We were advised concerning the time and place for dinner. All was well so far.

During this officially “Rainy Season” in Burma – and with the visa restriction situation – there were very few guests in the dining room. In fact, we had the full attention of almost the entire staff.

In many places in many countries we have had amusing experience ordering our meals from monolingual waiters. Over the years, I have used my drawing skills as an efficient “food translator”. Thus, I can order or forbid specific food items without a spoken word. So, with pen in hand and paper in front of me, I waited for the headwaiter who soon came. Unfortunately, I do not remember his name so I am forced to refer to him only as “HW” (Head Waiter). It happened that HW spoke some English so there was no real need for the pen and paper. However, while we were waiting for our food, I started playing with my table napkin. All the nearby Burmese staff watched intently but were too polite to interfere. HW came with the first of our food and spied my creation with the artfully folded napkin.

He made a complimentary assessment of my work and laughed at my use of the Thiripyitsaya linen. Ever the one to enjoy a compliment I made another “creation” before he left the table. This exchange continued through the course of our dinner, by which time many of the hotel staff had joined us. So enjoyable was the sharing and the laughter! We talked about our food likes and dislikes. I happened to mention to HW that I enjoyed Iced Tea on a hot day and I told him how to make it.

As the evening came to a close, HW told us that he had something to show us. He then took a fresh napkin and proceeded to fold it into the form of a turbaned head. He borrowed my pen and with a few quick stroked created an effective caricature. Proudly he handed me his work and gave it to me as a present. Today it sits in an honored place in Yardley Pennsylvania and I doubt that I would exchange it for a Rodin. Here it is in 2004.

Next day, after many hours in the hot sun we returned to the hotel. Waiting for me was HW with a large glass of iced tea for me. That, like the presentation of the Napkin Head, was another magical Pagan moment.”

We also remember with humor our time at the old Strand Hotel in Rangoon. The elevators did not work. Our room was gigantic but the furniture was limited to a bed, one chair and an old bureau. It seemed like a long walk from the sleeping area to the bathroom, which had only cold water. In the dining room we were handed multi-page and multi-lingual menus, which we scrutinized with great interest before making our selections. The waiter reacted to each choice with sorrow and explained that this item was not available. It turned out each evening that there was only one item actually available, which was inevitably some sort of curry. All that has changed over the years. The Strand Hotel is now upscale, although outside our budget limits.

Over the course of the next seventeen years we have returned to Myanmar almost every year and in fact twice in one year. Why are we so fascinated with Myanmar? It’s in part related to unique cultural and historical artifacts, which drew us there in the first place. It’s partly due to the fact that reliable, competitive, domestic airlines are now in service. Excellent facilities are available for foreign visitors. Consumer goods are readily available in every place that we have visited if expensive for the Burmese people. We are impressed with the decentralization of travel bureaus so that we can now rely on companies like EPG to respond quickly to our individual requests.

However, our fascination with Myanmar is mostly due to our unique experiences with individual Burmese people and to the building of lifelong friendships. We shall talk about that in subsequent extracts from our diaries.

Derek and Leona Law