Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

We awoke early to the sound of long-tail boat motors revving up and speeding down the river channel en route to another days work.  Life on the river and lake buzzes with activity.  Men stand in long, narrow wooden long-tail boats scooping out massive piles of "lake weed/grass" to be used as fertilizer for their floating gardens; boats filled with women and fresh produce skim the surface, speeding their way to another days work at the market; fisherman balance on the back end of their boats, on one leg, holding the boat oar with the other leg and hand, slowly making their way along the water, dunking a funnel shaped bamboo fishing mechanism into the water and scooping it back up; rapid transit local long-tails packed with 15-20 people barely above water speed their way up the channels to town.  Lake life is vibrant.  The lake is huge; it would take weeks to see it in it's entirety.  There's floating tomato gardens with unbelievable numbers of rows of plants, bursting with ripe red vegetables ready for plucking.  Farmers tend to their plants from boats, moving gracefully through the narrow channels.  The floating market, once a lush shopping and commerce system for locals, has become overrun with touts in boats.  As we cruised into the market area, tout boats grabbed onto each side of our boat, all ready with their merchandise freshly dusted and laid out on display.  We finally got past the mass sales force, and out to a temple where the real local market was taking place.  We met an adorable 77 year old man and his grand daughter.  With my cheat sheet of Burmese phrases in hand, we attempted to communicate as well as we could.  Conversations here tend to revolve around personal details such as home, age, children, family.  Mostly we're met with big smiles, giggles and periods of awkward silence where we all just curiously and excitedly stare at one another, smiling.  

We toured local floating workshops where women ranging from 19 to 73 were hard at work weaving beautiful longyis, and proud to share their process and work with interested tourists.  There were cigar making and silver smithing floating workshops as well, and it was interesting to see the bustling activity in action, and the fine product that was the output of their hard work.  Its so unfortunate for the locals- the impact of the trade restrictions and embargoes that have been put in place - for good reason, by western nations, in response to the heavy handed military rule and human rights abuses still happening in Myanmar today.  Their wares would sell well, and be a nice export revenue stream to support the basic needs of education, healthcare and living conditions so desperately needed by these people.  However, with current restrictions, tourists visiting Myanmar, wanting to purchase and send home handicrafts have to pay an exorbitant amount to get it out of Myanmar, then to Singapore for legal shipment into other countries.  This tacks on big expense, at the loss for the locals who miss out on some very good business that could come their way through local sales, and exports to other countries.  We did our part, purchasing some local artifacts that we could hand carry to Thailand and then ship home.  But there were so many beautiful things we would have loved to send home, but costs prohibitively high to ship so deters our buying.  So while Aung San Suu Kyi, NLD (National League for Democracy) General Secretary has urged the external world to boycott Myanmar trade and tourism, which agreed, sends a message to this heavy handed military government and hopefully squeezes government coffers that aren't benefitting the local people but lining their own pockets... I have to wonder if it's hurting the local people more than it's changing behaviors of the government.  If they can't sell their goods, or if it's too costly for tourists to send/ship it home, then the local business suffers.  That said, we learned of people who were forced to shut down their businesses with less than a weeks notice from the government, because the government decided to expropriate the land they were on - putting them out of home and work, with no place to turn, and no compensation.  This is the tragic story  that's gone on for years here, and the government hasn't changed it's practices.  Once business owner had his business burned to the ground by the government.  A sad state of affairs when people live in fear, and have the business and life they've created taken from them.  No one wins under Myanmar's current regime and approach to commerce, and no one also wins with trade embargoes if they aren't causing change in behavior.  It's a fine balance, to trade or not to trade, but one thing is clear, the government hasn't been deterred by the restrictions that are there, so perhaps a new tactic needs to be explored by western trading nations.  Or perhaps Russia and China need to curtail their open and active trading practices to send a sharper message.

That aside, water life is surviving and daily life goes on.  We contributed to the local economy here by purchasing local wares, riding local busses and boats, and eating and sleeping in locally owned establishments, and we hope these people thrive from continued business and referrals for more tourists to stay with them.