9 Extraordinary and Challenging Things About My Weeklong Myanmar River Cruise

I spent a wonderful week in Myanmar on the River Cruise that legendary travel couple Kara and Nate organized, and it was a truly brilliant trip. That is not to say there were not challenges on the trip. In this blog, I will share both my highlights and challenges from my week aboard the Irrawaddy Explorer. But before I jump into that, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Kara and Nate, the organizers of the trip.

Kara and Nate

So, in real life, I am a little bit of a cynic (and that is a bit of an understatement). Going on this cruise I was nervous that Kara and Nate would not live up to the pedestal I have placed them on in my head. Surely their videos must only show a small glimpse of who they are, right? 

While I still believe the videos are only a peek into their lives, I can now say with 100% certainty that is an authentic glimpse, and they are exactly who you see. Kara really does have all the energy you see in the videos (after her morning coffee) and Nate is truly a kind and generous person. 

There were several other vloggers on the cruise and some other people in Kara and Nate’s position might have seen them as a threat. Instead, Kara and Nate spent a week sharing their knowledge and resources with everyone who asked. It was really great to see. A real bonus was that Bob and Gina from Kara and Nate’s Italian vlogs were also on the cruise. And just like in their videos, they were magnificent and sincerely gracious. If you have not seen those videos, stop reading this and go watch right now. I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but my sense is that the other 35 people on the cruise would all agree about how great Kara and Nate are. 

The Myanmar Nine

Now, without further adieu, I’ve made a list of 9 total things I both loved and found challenging, though I am sure I will forget something. But, the starting point is easy! 

What I Loved

1. My Fellow Travelers

What I loved the most was the people on the trip. We had a group of travelers from all over the world —Italy, Singapore, Kuwait, Australia, Hong Kong, and a scattering from across the US. I said many times during the week that I really believe good people attract good people, and Kara and Nate were a magnet for just the sort of people I want to spend time with. 

What was special for me is that there were many times on the trip when I had significant dissonance about seeing the poverty in Myanmar and then getting on a luxury boat. Fortunately, I found my people to have those conversations with (you know who you are, and I truly appreciate you). I am very grateful for my almost-roommate Mark (give him a follow on Instagram to see his trip photos, they are terrific). It turned out there were enough rooms for all of us to have singles, so we didn’t end up rooming together. Even so, Mark and I have been messaging since last February and he has been a wonderful point of connection for me as I travel. He is also doing extended travel and we check in regularly. 

2. The Local People

In addition to the other cruisers, I loved the people of Myanmar. They were so kind, and I can still hear “Mingalaba!” (မင်္ဂလာပါ), the traditional Burmese greeting, in my head. The crew on the ship was exemplary and if you ever decide to visit Myanmar and a cruise is on your mind, I would recommend this boat. 

3. Our Amazing Local Guides

I want to particularly acknowledge Zaw and Aung, our local guides. They were both outstanding and had such a passion for Myanmar and sharing their country with others. They were terrific and I owe them a lasting debt. I hope to see both of them again someday in Colorado (yes, this is a hint if you are reading this!). 

4. The Epic Vessel: Irrawaddy Explorer

The boat and the experience on board were excellent. Generally, while traveling I find that I either lose weight or stay around the same because of so much walking. But I am pretty sure during the week of the cruise I gained a little. The food was tremendous. Sometimes it felt like we did activities just to get to the reward of the next wonderful meal. 

The boat itself was gorgeous and the rooms were posh and comfortable. Even though I was looking forward to rooming with Mark, it was really a treat to have such a luxurious space to myself. The amenities were great as well and it was one of my most comfortable weeks of traveling.

5. The Experiences on Land

The excursions off the boat were intentional and insightful. There are A LOT of temples in Myanmar and having Aung and Zaw share their knowledge as we toured them was amazing. During my travels, I have learned that Buddhist traditions are practiced slightly different in each country, and because of Aung and Zaw’s choice excursions, I now have the most new knowledge about Myanmar’s style of Buddhism. 

I am often skeptical about gold and fancy decorations on temples, but after having shway (gold in Burmese) explained to me, I have a better appreciation of the gold temples. Shway is considered to represent the most highly valued things. So, you might say your partner is your Shway partner to express the deepest love and gratitude. This helped me see well beyond the materialism of gold. 

As a funny aside, in many of the villages we visited I was an oddity due to my size and long beard. Luckily for me, there was another traveler who is 6’7”, so he got most of the picture requests.

The Challenges  

Even with all these incredible adventures, I also experienced some unique challenges throughout the week. 

6. Loneliness Reared Its Head

The first challenge was that I often felt lonely. I have loved traveling solo but during this week, in particular, I really wished DeeDee was there with me to share this experience. I think since it was one of the best experiences I have had so far, it made it harder not being able to share it with her. For some reason feeling lonely when you are surrounded by an amazing group of people is one of the worst kinds of loneliness. In January, Kara and Nate are throwing a party in Nashville to celebrate reaching 100 countries traveled, and I am very grateful that DeeDee will be joining me for this quick weekend adventure. I tried to convince Jared to go but he was not sure, now he does not have to make a decision because the event sold out in just one day.

7. Cognitive Dissonance About Poverty

The other thing that was difficult for me was the strong dissonance I felt every day we visited a village in Myanmar. The poverty in Myanmar is obvious,  so I felt a deep and humbling gratitude for people opening their lives and sharing them with us. In many villages most of the families do the same sort of work, so in the “basket weaving villages” everyone is weaving baskets, with the exceptions of the teachers, monks, and a few other odd jobs. 

8. Uncomfortable Local Terms About People

Visiting the villages really allowed us to see a day in the life of the local people. They were always so generous and seemed excited to see us. In many villages people were trying to sell us things and if you gave any indication you were interested, they followed you for a long time. The other local people called them “mosquitos,” but I was quite uncomfortable with that description. While I did not want to buy the stuff they were selling, I always wanted to see them as fully human. By the end of the week, this was harder to do, and I was frustrated with myself. Fully holding someone’s humanity while saying no to their offers is a fine balance that I don’t think I ever got right. 

9. Adjusting to the Contrasting Environments

It was a sometimes jarring contrast leaving the villages and walking back into the luxury of the boat. I suppose I could have tried to not overthink this, but I really wanted to sit with this dissonance and make meaning of it. In the end, I was faced with my race, class and gender privilege, and I wrote more about that here. 

I was also confronted with the fact that I have been socialized to believe that a capitalist western lifestyle is the best lifestyle, and while this was not new to me, I had to examine it in a new way. Overall, despite the internal discomfort, I am just as grateful for the dissonance and reflection on it as I am for the exceptional cruise and sightseeing experiences. It is all part of my journey and I want to be fully human and experience it all, not sugarcoat or hold back from the uncomfortable parts. 

Conclusion

I am so grateful that I got to go on this cruise and expand my community. Thanks, Kara and Nate and for putting this together and for pulling off such a great week! 

Below are links to the online presence of many of the talented people that I shared the week with: 

Kara and Nate’s vlog from the cruise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2AuzWJNj80&t=3s

ArcesAdventures is one of the funniest travel families I have seen – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSUXcE0eQwSSz1v5BWVbww

For all you book and travel lovers check out – https://asuitcasefullofbooks.com/

Foxes Gone Astray is another great travel couple – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdaWBSnBJVegUXvKjDVnOtw

Steve from Foxes Gone Astray also does cool art – https://www.instagram.com/foxoodle/

Traveling couple Patrizia and Melinda – https://www.instagram.com/photozigner/

Patrizia also has a great Instagram of landscapes – https://www.instagram.com/patriziaaccophoto/

If you prefer blogs over vlogs check out Amy at – https://funsizedescapades.blogspot.com