Marek Lenarcik - Burma lost and found : three years living my dream job in the travel industry in Rangoon and beyond

Burma Lost
and Found

Burma Lost
and Found

THREE YEARS LIVING MY DREAM JOB IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY IN RANGOON AND BEYOND

Marek Lenarcik

Copyrights Marek Lenarcik 2014

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1505725992

ISBN 13: 9781505725995

This publication may not be reproduced in any way, those who do so will be Waterboarded, bound, gagged, stuck in a dark room and forced to listen to Justin Bieber on repeat for a period of 48 hours. So, dont even bother.

Editor of the English version of the book: Whitney Light ()

Many names in this book have been changed for different reasons.

Cover Photos: Beautiful Burma (www.beautifulburma.com) & Shutterstock used with permission

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Photo for : Thahara Inle Heritage (www.thahara.com/destinations/inle-heritage)

Photo for : Thahara Pindaya (www.thahara.com/destinations/pindaya)

Photos for )

for Karen

Reviews:

The book covers in depth all the major tourism destinations in Burma as well as many fascinating places off the beaten track. Marek also shares his struggles as an expat working in our beloved country. A fascinating read!

- Daw Yin Myo Su, Shan/Inthar entrepreneur and activist for gender equality

A fascinating insight into a country travellers still know so little about.

- U Khin Zaw, Owner & Managing Director, Tour Mandalay, Oriental Ballooning, Riverside @ Hsipaw Resort

Marek Lenarciks book provide vivid descriptions of not only famous, but also lesser known sights of Myanmar with a true insiders view.

- Daw Su Su Tin Managing Director (Exo Travel Myanmar, Sanctum Inle Resort, Monument Books & Toys Myanmar)
Vice Chairperson (Myanmar Tourism Marketing, Myanmar Tourism Federations)

From sleeping in improvised camps in Chin State to inspecting luxury hotels, Marek has done it all and written a story you shouldnt miss.

- Thomas Henseler, General Manager of Belmond Governors Residence Hotel, Yangon

Made me laugh out loud. Witty yet sensitive, Lenarcik sees himself and the people he writes about with a self-deprecating sense of humor and an eye for the absurd.

- Jacek P Perlin, Charg dAffaires, Representative Office of the Republic of Poland in Myanmar

Marek had a rare opportunity to see almost everything Myanmar has to offer. If you dont get to travel for that long, read this book!

- Didier Belmonte, former General Manager of The Strand Hotel, Yangon

About the Author

Two weeks holidaying in Thailand in 2007 changed Marek Lenarciks life. Fed up with dreary Irish winters, he decided to leave his corporate job and, in 2009, bought a one-way ticket to Asia. Since that time hes worn a variety of hats. Hes taught English in a Thai university, hosted outdoor adventures in Malaysia and organized expeditions around Southeast Asia and South America. In 2012, he moved to Yangon, Myanmar, where he currently works in the tourism industry.

Lenarcik holds an M. Phil in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin and a BA in Political Science from the Warsaw School of Social Sciences, Poland. He began writing at age 17 and has since published thousands of articles. His work has appeared in The Washington Times, Playboy, Paranormal Magazine UK and The Times, among others.

His first book Tajski epizod z dreszczykiem (Thai Episode with a Thrill) was published in Poland in June 2012 and quickly became a bestseller in its category. Its English version was published in February 2013 under the title This is Thailand: A Story of Love, Sex and Betrayal in the Tropics.

Contact Details

http://www.lifeinthetropics.org

http://www.facebook.com/lifeinthetropicsblog

http://www.facebook.com/burmalostandfound

Acknowledgements

F irst of all I would like to thank my parents, Jerzy and Grazyna, for bringing me into this world and guiding me to the moment I could take care of myself. Without them this book and many other wonderful things would never have happened.

Id also like to thank my sister, Kasia, who has always stood by me regardless of the kind of trouble Ive gotten myself into.

And I thank my girlfriend, Karen, who trusted me enough to move 20,000 kilometers from home just to be with me in this strange land.

I will be forever grateful to my employers U Khin Zaw and Daw Mee Mee, who sent me on all the wonderful trips described in this book. Thanks to your kindness Ive had a chance to experience Myanmar in a way that very few foreigners have.

Big thanks go as well to Whitney Light for editing my non-native English writing so that my readers arent gritting their teeth.

Tomek Kluk thank you for your invaluable help with marketing.

There are many others that deserve thanks. If I tried to list them all here, Id probably miss someone without intending to. Among them are all the employees of Tour Myanmar who welcomed me warmly into their world and tolerated my ignorant questions and ambitious projects for so long. A big thank-you also goes to the hoteliers who hosted me and the suppliers who provided services often on a complimentary basis. Without you half of my travels around the country wouldnt have happened either.

Finally, thank you to my readers. I hope you will enjoy the book.

Table of Contents

Instead of a Prologue

Burma or Myanmar

I n 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to the countrys colonial period. Those changes included the name of the country itself: Burma became Myanmar.

The renaming remains a contested issue. Some political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use Burma because they do not recognize the legitimacy of the military government or its authority to rename it. Internationally today the full name is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Some states, however, have not recognized this name and use the short form Union of Burma instead.

In English, the country is popularly referred to either as Burma or Myanmar. Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese (Bamar) ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the groups name, while Burma is derived from Bamar, the colloquial form.

Burma continues to be the name used by the governments of many countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. Official United States policy retains Burma as the countrys name, although the State Departments website lists the country as Burma (Myanmar) and Barack Obama has referred to the country as Myanmar. The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Russia, Germany, China, India, Norway, Australia and Japan.

There are also variations. Burma is known as Birmania in Spanish, Italian and Romanian, as Birmnia in Portuguese, as Birmanie in French and as Birma or Mijanma in Poland.

During my almost three years of living and traveling in the country, I learned that its people prefer to say Myanmar rather than Burma despite the controversial circumstances under which the change was made. More than 90 percent of the people I spoke to say Myanmar. Asked directly which one they prefer, they said again, Myanmar. Some ethnic and opposition groups believe that this name is more inclusive of the countrys diverse peoples, who belong to more than 135 nationalities. Thus even though the title of the book is