As you have read in the last blog, we are in Myanmar for the second time.
A lot has happened in recent weeks ....
On January 28th and 29th, Albert attended the InvestMyanmar2019 Summit in the capital Naypyidaw. Although this was the first conference of this type in the country ever, there were many (potential) investors present, mostly related to infrastructure (roads, ports, urban planning, energy supply, etc), world-class players. Well, compared to them we are only a very small player but we have prepared a new tourism concept for Myanmar, based on ECO Tourism and Community Based Tourism, bMYGuest Myanmar.
There are hotels in the big cities and very simple guesthouses in the countryside, but the concept in which we build small authentic houses and involve the local population in tourism is still pretty new and unique in this country. A number of states represented at the conference are interested and ask us to come to their state for further conversation and to work out options and locations. As we do not focus on the coast, we are not beach-types, but prefer to develop tourism in the mountain areas, the conversation focuses on Shan, Kayin, Sagain and Chin State.
There is a big stand for Chin State at the conference but hardly any visitors. It is clear that Chin is the least developed state and therefore also less interesting for investors. But it gave us the opportunity to talk extensively and even meet with the Chief Minister of Chin State, quite unique.
After the conference, we went back to Yangon for a couple of days to meet several people Albert met at the conference, including two vice chairmen of the national association of travel agencies. People are very interested in the concept and also confirm that there is virtually no tourism in Chin State yet, except for one nature reserve in the South. However, both vice-chairmen see a lot of potential for the entire state.
Although it was the intention to go to Shan State and Kayin State first, we had the opportunity to make an appointment with the Chief Minister of Chin State and we decided to change our itinerary. First stop, we will go to Chin.
When we drive through this country again, we are confronted with the poverty of the country. Many people live in small huts with walls of reeds, we see road workers who live with their whole family along the dusty road in small tents made of pieces of plastic, people sleep on the street exhausted from long days of work, ….
And then the children - it is sad to see with your own eyes how many children we see working, cutting stones, serving in restaurants, selling water and drugs to drivers at the traffic lights, children who spend the day quietly next to their mother at the market, sit and sleep on the floor. We ourselves have three grandchildren, ages 6 years, 2 years and 8 months, and we are upset when we consider what it would be like if they lived here. We become sad and think again that this is the real reason why we are in this country, we can weep about it. Tourism is nice but it's just a means to help people that really need help and it's just a very small thing we can do. Judy prays that we will never get used to poverty and child labor ... In the beginning you see it here and there and the children look nice but when you really pay attention you see how much it occurs and how incredibly sad it really is! We know there is injustice at many places on this globe and on each of these place we should stand up and support those that need support.
Hakha is the capital of the state and that is where the government is located. Because a domestic flight is quite expensive, we opted for a 22-hour bus ride from Yangon. It's a long ride, but the buses are very comfortable, and we could sleep well on the road. Meanwhile, you see a lot more of the country.
We drive from city to city and investigate the locations that have been proposed. Unfortunately, we do not get a lot of energy from these places, the locations are not that great, while really remote. At one point we had traveled for hours in the middle of nowhere and had to instruct the driver to go back as the road was so poor that we were afraid we would wreck the whole car. The distances are enormous, and although the government is working hard to improve the roads, many roads are still very bad and not attractive for tourists to travel.
To be honest, we were pretty discouraged; how are we supposed to start in these really remote locations? We already lost a lot of time and had only seen a very small portion of the country without any perspective - will we be able to find a nice location in the remaining time in this immense country?! These trips are unfortunately, not for free, and each location we visit takes at least a day, going to another state takes several days. Our visa is valid for just a few weeks and time flies in this country.
Although we had not realized it very well at first, we passed through a small place where we had spent the first night. A very old and traditional village, halfway to the mountain, with lots of history, with authentic Chin houses, a magnificent view over the mountains (about 2,000 meters/6,000 feet) and many different fruit trees. The village is very backwards in development and that is what makes it just so charming, no roads, no cars, no noise from machines, awesome. The village is already longing for tourists, and as such, has a small museum, but to be honest they have not understood anything about tourism yet - we have to sleep on the ground, there is only cold water, the toilet does not flush and the food is very, very basic. But you get the feeling of the traditional lifestyle if that's what you're after. We are ok with that, and actually like it a lot, but most tourists would like to have a bit more comfort.
Although we had not realized it very well at first, we passed through a small place where we had spent the first night. A very old and traditional village, halfway to the mountain, with lots of history, with authentic Chin houses, a magnificent view over the mountains (about 2,000 meters/6,000 feet) and many different fruit trees. The village is very backwards in development and that is what makes it just so charming, no roads, no cars, no noise from machines, awesome. The village is already longing for tourists, and as such, has a small museum, but to be honest they have not understood anything about tourism yet - we have to sleep on the ground, there is only cold water, the toilet does not flush and the food is very, very basic. But you get the feeling of the traditional lifestyle if that's what you're after. We are ok with that, and actually like it a lot, but most tourists would like to have a bit more comfort.
The village has potential and, in the city, half an hour away, is a large covered market with all kinds of fruit and vegetables, there is a hospital and an airport is being built.
In the evening at 9pm we decide that we would like to talk to the president of the village. That is possible "Tomorrow morning at 7am!". What a time, but we are okay with it! Sunday morning the alarm clock goes off at 6am, and at 7am sharp we are at the house of the 'president'. We get a large glass with, what is presented as, grape juice from the village; well actually the grape juice has become a serious glass of wine over time. The president becomes very enthusiastic when we tell him what we want to do. What is important for the village is that there will be employment and education / development. Many young people leave, often abroad, because there is no dry bread to earn and eat and those who stay have to work extremely long days to make ends meet. Unfortunately, there is a lot of poverty and unfortunately child labor is no exception in the country (they do not have or do not see any other option...). With this concept, the president sees opportunities to train young people and provide structural income.
After breakfast we go to church in the city near the village. And to our utter amazement, the Chief Minister of Chin State is on stage and he is giving a speech; he immediately recognizes Albert from the conference. We are really surprised. We are also asked, as foreigners, to introduce ourselves and to tell the congregation about our plans and we are happy to do so.
After the church service we step down to the Chief Minister and say that we have an appointment with him in Hakha tomorrow, Monday, and that we look forward to meeting him again. He looks at us and says that it is nonsense that we drive all the way to Hakha, the roads are so bad that it would cost us the rest of the day, and he suggests that we meet after lunch at the hotel where he is staying. Wow, this saves us many hours of travel. We agree to be with him at 1 pm and we are at his location at 1pm sharp.
There are a number of people present that we do not know but we do not dare to ask. We don't know about protocol and don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We explain the tourist concept again and Albert shows the PowerPoint that he has made. Fortunately, we have Hannah, our translator with us, she is great!! People come around us and start making photos of the PowerPoint with their cell phones - apparently, we hit the nail on the head and all are very excited! We get the full blessing from the Chief Minister.
However, we have understood from the 'president' in the village that there are still some levels between the villagers and the Chief Minister that we should have approached first. It is not possible to skip those layers and will put the other levels in a difficult spot - we feel uncomfortable with this situation. We decide to be transparent and ask the Chief Minister for his advice in this situation and how to walk the right route. Again, to our utter surprise, he is smiling at the other people in the room and apparently all levels of decision making and authority are present in the room. We completely missed this… We ask these other authorities if we also have their blessing and they fully agree with the concept and give us their blessings. Great, 5 birds with one stone!! In a few hours, support was received from five levels, from the village president up to the Chief Minister. We are so surprised, amazing, what a blessing. After the meeting, the Chief Minister gets into a big black car and drives under police escort to Hakha.
Because we also want all the villagers to be positive about our plans, we decide to set up a meeting with the village president again for the next day, preferably with a few more villagers. We expect two or three, but the next day there is a delegation of 8 representatives from the village and we talk in much more detail about our thoughts and plans. It is an enthusiastic and fun conversation, while enjoying coffee, cake and some deep-fried buns!
They tell us enthusiastically that they have completely made the house we saw by hand, but also that it takes time and that certain materials can only be collected in certain seasons. Trees are cut by hand in the mountains, sawed into planks by hand and that's how they propose to build the houses for us. Grass for the roof can only be collected in the winter.
It will be a huge project but we see so many opportunities in this special village and the beautiful surroundings, and they see so much added value for the village, that after three hours we conclude our talking with a nice group photo and agree that we will return in a few months to come and then speak about details, timelines and detailed price points. We can't wait and are eager to learn more…
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