Exploring Asia’s ‘last frontier’: hiking, biking and rafting through Myanmar’s Chin state
A treacherous expedition through a remote corner of Southeast Asia gives the American leader of the North Face Adventure Team, Ryan Blair, a hard and fast lesson in survival, not only for himself but also for the indigenous communities through which he passes
After seven days’ trekking and biking through treacherous, isolated hills in western Myanmar, the two weary explorers were about to have rocks hurled at them by a seemingly fierce band of men.
Snaking down Chin state’s rapids-filled Mon River in a beaming-red packraft, neither Ryan Blair nor Jay Kiangchaipaiphana spoke the local language, and so they had no idea why the inhabitants were furiously chasing them, barefoot, along the riverbank with rocks in their hands.
“We only realised later they weren’t hostile,” says Blair, 48, an experienced outdoorsman who manages North Face’s Asia-based adventure team, and is no stranger to hinterland excursions. It turned out “they were trying to stop us from paddling into a lethal rockslide”.
Blair’s North Face-sponsored roster of athletes compete in trail racing and other outdoor competitions all over the world and promote Asia’s wilderness through field trips and adventure sports. The past week had not been for the faint-hearted, or anyone in less than prime physical shape: 200km of highly technical mountain biking, hiking and kayaking, with only one support vehicle.
With no phone coverage on most of the route, any injuries sustained would be ones they’d walk out with. The area is so isolated, even a helicopter evacuation would be out of the question – which is exactly what Blair and Kiangchaipaiphana were looking for in this once-in-a-lifetime trip that they hoped would draw the attention of the international adventure community.
With so many parts of the natural world having been blown through by the double barrels of tourism and development, Blair hopes to finally see a region get the balance right.
