Slow Travel Myanmar
The Road to the Village, Indawgyi Lake
A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to write about our project to our friends at Sampan Travel. They take a different approach to tourism in Myanmar. Phrases like "authentic" and "off the beaten path" are pretty much cliches to most travelers these days, but Sampan Travel truly embodies these values.
Among other accolades, they have won the Travellife Partner Award and are working towards gold certification in sustainable tourism and experiences with them are the best way to truly see Myanmar.
More than anything, they become deeply involved in the communities that they work as they promote sustainable tourism throughout the country. They base all of their experiences around respecting culture and environment of the country while finding different ways to support the local economies where the tours take place.
This not only includes services directly related to tourism like village exploration and wilderness treks along with alternative methods of community economic development.
Slow Travel Myanmar
The Forgotten Allies Documentary Team
Slow Travel Myanmar is Sampan Travel magazine where they detail some of the different experiences they offer as well as provide information about Myanmar culture that you cannot find anywhere. They cover stories from across the country and it is a great way to learn about the many different cultures, customs and ethnic groups throughout the country.
Just one example of one of the projects that they are doing is working alongside Grammar Productions on the Forgotten Allies documentary which traces what happened to the brave soldiers who fought against the Japanese occupation force during World War II. They provided logistical support for this project and a teaser trailer is now available for audiences to get a preview of the upcoming film.
Sustainable Tourism
Pagoda near Lone Ton Village, Indawgyi Lake
For these reasons, we have greatly welcomed the opportunity to write about Indawgyi for Sampan Travel. There is agreement on all levels from academic studies to people who live around the lake, the sustainable tourism is a solution for many of the problems around the lake.
We look to Sampan Travel not only as a source of inspiration for our Find Myanmar eco-tourism project, but hope to work together to build experiences around Indawgyi, Kachin State, and Myanmar that embodied our shared values.
Here is a link to the article we wrote for them. It is also a great quick summary of our project at Indawgyi and we hope to have the opportunity to write a lot more about Indawgyi for them in the future!