The life of a tour guide

Myo Lwin

AS THE tourists begin arriving in late September, Myanmar’s 6000 registered tour guides are sitting out these last few days of Monsoon. Many find it difficult to work consistently throughout the rainy season, except perhaps those serving as guides who work the precincts of Shwedagon Pagoda on a daily or hourly basis.

However, one guide from Diethelm Travel is not included in the list of embattled tour guides whose daily income ranges from FEC 10 to 70. Having served with one of the successful travel agents for the last nine years, the 49-year old highly paid U Hla Myint can speak English and German fluently.

When he sat down last week with Myanmar Times for a couple of hours, he looked rather relaxed, patient and even joked about his experiences. He talked at length about the necessity to be patient, punctual, precise, pleasant-looking and properly prepared in arranging a trip – especially when the visitors are not accompanied by their own tour leader. "I am a Wednesday-born and normally I lose my temper easily. However, I have to keep it while on duty. Like all other professional tour guides, I need to be very patient and flexible," he said of his life to MT.

My happiest time is when I wave to my guests at the airport departure lounge because they are leaving safely, happily and the mission accomplished, he said with a slight smile. "This kind of feeling is not confined to me alone. This is also true to all other tour guides in Myanmar because we could heave a sigh of relief only when our precious visitors leave here safely, peacefully and joyfully." This is the time when the worries disappear. We have to be worried all the time while travelling along with the guests as we are totally responsible for their happy stay here. "Local flight delays, the guests’ baggage losses, passport losses, the tour car breakdowns and the inability to take rest even when one catches cold on the way are the headaches each one of us has been facing in our day-to-day life," he said. "I would like to say through MT that the guides are service providers and need to be very humble and compatible with a wide variety of people.

"According to my personal experience, Germans are the ones who are very patient and prefer to look like the gentlemen while the Americans are outspoken and flexible. "Italians seem to be the ones who are most interested in Buddhism, he said." He said he feels very happy and proud whenever he hears words of praise from the foreigners about Myanmar people and the nation. U Hla Myint said a tourist guide needs linguistic skills which means the ability to explain clearly both in pronunciation and the subject. "We should not imitate their accent because our accent is already understandable". "It is a must for all the tour guides to read a lot of books on many subjects such as history, culture, religion and also politics," he said. "The more you read, the more your life as a guide becomes easier – in fact, I would like to say it is a must to be well-learned to become a professional.

"Apart from those abilities, it is also necessary to be able to arrange expeditiously the procedures such as checking in and out, air ticketing, confirmation, hotel reservations. "When a tourist arrives here, the first thing we have to remind them is to adjust their watches with the local time and also to provide them necessary information about the currency notes. "As Bagan, Inlay and Manda-lay are the must-go places, we have to rely on the Air Man-dalay and Yan-gon Airways and the flight time of 6:30 in the morning is also a bit awkward for the visitors as well as the guides like us. "I have to wake up from bed at four in the morning. Wait with worry for the car to take me to the hotel and try to wake up the visitors to get to the airport at 5:30. That is tiring," he said with a shrug. "Here in Myanmar, it is also necessary to explain the mode of dress when we visit monasteries and pagodas. "We are responsible for their happiness, their well-being and everything while they are spending their time here," the smiling guide said.

Bagan in Mandalay Division and Inlay Lake in Shan state are the two places which attracted most foreigners and a tour around the Mandalay Palace is a must. Built during the 11th and 13th century, Bagan still remains one of the most interesting places as 2200 pagodas had been built in an area of 35 square kilometers. Inlay Lake at an elevation of 2900 feet is also the unique place in the world famous for its leg rowers, floating markets and prolific birdlife.

However, the difference in the hotel rates for the locals and foreigners is something much talked about by the guides and the foreign visitors alike. "One night’s stay in one of the European-standard hotels on the lake costs about FEC 30 for foreigners while a local has to pay only Kyats 3000." Apart from those package tours, there are also special ones specially designed for the festivals of ethnic minorities like Naga’s dining festivals for the coming of the new crop, Kachin’s Manaw Festivals and other traditional festivals of the other ethnic people. The living style and standard of the hill tribes people like Palaung that has not changed during the past 300 years also attracted much attention from the western visitors. The visitors love to take chefs from hotels up to the hills where they make fire and get the chance to closely watch the way of living of people there.

It usually takes the whole day to climb up the hill only seven miles away. "Whether we like it or not, we have to follow them as it is our duty to send them where they want to go," U Hla Myint said.