Wondering how to visit Myanmar without ruining it for everyone else? National Geographic, it turns out, has the answers. But it’ll cost you.
The magazine, known mostly for fantastic long-form articles, over the weekend published a short story titled ‘Four Ways Travelers Can Help Save Burma’.
Reading the headline, you might expect garbage along the lines of: ‘help in an orphanage’, ‘teach English for three weeks’. This isn’t that.
“The stream of visitors to the country – the new cool kid on the tourism block, along with Cuba – is fast becoming a flood,” says the writer. “The buzz may hold promise for the nation’s stunted economy, but the attendant influx of tourism infrastructure threatens to do damage to its natural beauty and cultural bounty.”
The writer (a “college pal” of outgoing US Ambassador Derek Mitchell) then lists four ways to save Myanmar. There are some good suggestions (go with responsible tour operators, for example) but there’s also a common theme which is, basically: choose only the most expensive and Westernized places on the market.
We’ve taken the liberty of summing things up here.
‘Eat locally’ (Save Myanmar with Mexican food)
The Korean Cubano sandwich at Port Autonomy. Photo / Coconuts Yangon
“A cadre of young, hip Burmese, educated abroad, have returned to open restaurants and shops,” the writer informs us, before name-checking Rangoon Tea House, Port Autonomy and Fahrenheit.
OMG, so local. Tea shops? Pssshk. There’s a really local place that charges $5 for Mohinga (RTH) or you can spend a small fortune on totally local hipster Mexican-Asian fusion (Port Autonomy). Or just sack it off and go for plain old local Mexican food (Fahrenheit).
‘Book into a historic home base’ (Save Myanmar with $500 a night hotels)
Rooms at the Governor’s Residence go for hundreds of dollars per night. Photo: Facebook
“Don’t pick a soulless, big-box hotel; go small, historic, and sustainable,” the writer implores. “In Yangon, I stayed at the Belmond Governor’s Residence, a colonial-era mansion turned luxury boutique guesthouse… Or try The Strand, a turn-of-the-century hotel in the heart of town once called ‘the finest hostelry East of Suez’ and newly updated to modern standards.’”
Current Agoda.com prices per night for Belmond Governor’s Residence start at $542 a night, while the Strand is $261.
‘Shop responsibly’ (Save Myanmar by discouraging dirty mercantile tendencies)
“While the Burmese are roundly noted for their gentle and gracious demeanor, parts of the country experiencing an influx of tourists are fast developing a culture of pushy entrepreneurship – approaching tourists with trinkets and guide services.”
Trinkets? How common. And who needs a guide when you’ve got Conde Nast Traveler?
“Better to buy from fair trade stores such as Pomelo, in Yangon, that support artisans from some of the country’s 135 ethnic groups, pay decent wages, and raise funds to better communities.”
Oops. FYI, Pomelo is currently at the center of a nasty ownership row, with the co-founders, with close ties to producers, claiming they were pushed out.
NatGeo, we love you. But next time, spare a thought for the little guy too, please.
