Burma / Myanmar – is a beautiful country which my wife and I had explored in depth from south to north in 1998 (see my blog - Images of Myanmar – March 2014). Out of all the countries we have travelled to, at that time Myanmar was not open to international trade; it retained its essential purity and charm. My Imphal travel agent had sent an itinerary including a day trip to Tamu, the town across the border and this intrigued me as no passport was needed. So to visit Tamu in Myanmar was an opportunity not to be missed. When I reached Imphal, I fast forwarded my reading “Highway 39” by Sudeep Chakravarti to get his take on this sector – the Imphal – Tamu drive. The book is on Highway 39 which runs from Numaligarh, near Jorhat to Moreh, the last town on the Indian – Myanmar border. It deals with India’s involvement with the NE States, part of our own territory, and it’s a fascinating read as he covers highly sensitive issues in a rather blunt and frank manner – anyway, this blog is not about the book, so not for discussion here.
My agent is a Meitei local Mr Rajib of The Heritage Traveller, Imphal. Knowledgeable and reliable. We left for the border at 8.15 am. Rajib is a good driver, bit absent minded in that even at over 50 kmph, he would still be in 3rd gear; he had to be gently prodded.
We reached Thoubal within an hour. Roads excellent throughout except for stray patches - mainly single lane highway. Passed Thongjam War memorial which is basically a large gateway and then far inside, I could see a tall memorial column. At 9.40 am we stopped briefly at Kakching for Rajib to refresh himself with his paans! This was the beginning of the 62 kms of twisting mountain roads. Road is good but scary as no road side defences, single lane at times and there are many patches of rocky path rather than tarmac. There are many Maruti Omnis going up and down this road, fully laden with goods from Myanmar........all in a hurry. Here at a road side shrine, Rajib gave a donation. Frankly, I did not realise that the road would be 62 km of narrow winding continuous S turns crossing over 3 or 4 ranges going up to 1500 metres. 
After leaving Imphal, I had noticed groups of army men at intervals along the roadside, as if on sentry watch duty. There were two sentry points where we were stopped and asked where we were going. At 10.15 am we came to Tengnoupal. It’s a major Assam Rifles check post. We had to take the car for inspection, give details about ourselves. Soldiers, fierce no nonsense guys, from all over India. They saw that I was a-tourist but questioned my nationality as I don’t look Indian. On the cliff face, there are two toilets, one for each sex - aluminium shed barely 6ft height. A few stones to indicate where you stand when relieving yourself. There is a slit of a few inches between the wall and the roof, from where you see the wondrous landscape but NO photos. You don’t mess with these army guys. I think we were stopped at at least five checkpoints and had to give details of who we were and where we were going and why.
They allowed us thru faster with a quick but thorough check of the vehicle. Any driver who looked local was given a full check with generally a complete unloading of any goods and these were checked fully. We were at the highest point of the mountains which was 1,500 metres. Great view of the valley but no photos allowed. 
11.40 am we reached border town of Moreh - a small market town on hilly terrain. Here, we went to the Police post and got the permit which actually requests Myanmar immigration to allow us thru for the day.
What a difference – no noise. No horns blaring. Very few people. Hardly any traffic mainly tuktuk and cycles. Few cars. First halt is to offer thanks at a Buddhist temple. It’s quite large and impressive. We reach just before a large group of Bengali tourists arrive. The temple has a large hall and at far end, there is a striking image of Lord Buddha. The frontage is glass covered so we go inside the restricted area where we can offer prayers and see the idol apparently made from jade. We walk around the temple grounds, see two stupas and a smaller shrine with a nice painting of Buddha’s life. An old man sits there reading a newspaper. Offers us tea, we decline due to time.
These panorama shots of the market are quite expressive of the scene going around me!!
Straight to the main Namphanglong market. There is a gate for India side and a gate for Myanmar side. One can get lost here as apart from the main street, there are numerous bye-lanes each selling its own product category. Whole market teeming with buyers of goods – vendors are mainly locals, Nepalis who have lived there for generations and a few Chinese. The buyers are locals and Indians from across the border who find Tamu cheap – all sorts of goods – plastics, fabrics, fruit and vegetables esp. long green beans about 2 ft long, basically any item you see in a market. Large numbers are traders. The locals are into smaller items like veg, fruit etc. 
The class under the temple building.
In 1998, we got Tanakha – it’s a paste made from a particular wood and used by locals as an anti UV item / a beauty product / a skincare item. It has many valuable ingredients and seems to work. Most local women use it on their face. So, I had to get some this time too - in a bottle as a cream and solid pieces which are made into a paste.
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| Imphal price Rs 73+ per litre |
We go up the road, about 5 kms to fill petrol as its cheaper here. Filled 33.66 litres for Kyats 30,967 which translates to ₹1,630. Rajib got petrol for ₹48.42 per litre whereas in Imphal its ₹73 per litre! We each got a bottle of water as a gift from the owner!
We are actually time bound as we don’t want to drive in darkness and must descend the mountains before its dark. 2.00 pm we leave the market and stop just by the Myanmar check post to eat our sandwiches; a bit soggy but still filling and helped our energy levels. No exit formality except to hand over the day pass to local immigration; crossed over into India and by 3.00 pm reached Moreh town. No need to register except tell the sentry that we went on day trip and are back.
On way back at first checkpoint, we had to collect the small slip and be checked. Rajib concerned about time. I told him let me do the talking. We jumped the queue of around 80 Omni’s and other vehicles which were essentially carrying cargo. Told the soldier on duty to permit us early check as we had nothing of value and were just day tourists. Seeing me, he agreed and the other soldiers did the usual car check and let us thru. Imagine if we were delayed by all those vehicles.
4.30 pm, on schedule, we reached Tengnoupal. Had a pit stop and saw tea being offered to a soldier. I inquired if available and the soldier willing offered me Red tea. I took about an inch in a glass as was not sure of taste. Very sweet and full of ginger. Turned out to be tasty. Said goodbyes and thanks and moved on down the hill. It was getting dark as sunset is around 5.30 pm in this region.
Felt exhausted with early morning waking and stress of driving the mountain road so fell asleep occasionally on way back. Rajib stopped for his dose of paan. We finally reached hotel Sangai, Imphal at 6.50 pm. After a drive of 242 kms that day.
A very interesting day excursion all round thanks to Rajib.
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