How to experience Myanmar without going there: Thai border town of Sangkhlaburi has mix of country’s ethnic groups, their food, culture and religions
- Unwilling to risk a trip to Myanmar in the current political climate, a writer heads to western Thailand, where Burmese, Thais and other ethnic groups mix
- The town of Sangkhlaburi is a melting pot of Thai, Burmese, Mon and Kayin, and a place to sample the food and culture of the different Myanmese ethnic groups
The bus drops me next to a stall at which a young man is placing pieces of red and white betel nut on green leaves smeared with a white paste. Once the masala has been sprinkled, the leaves are folded and taped up in plastic. The men waiting in the long queue for their snack are dressed in checked Burmese longyis.
Betel nut – the chewing of which produces a mild stimulant effect, and shockingly red teeth – is popular in Myanmar. But this is not Myanmar – I am in Sangkhlaburi, a town in western Thailand close to the border and known for its mix of ethnic groups.
Until the coronavirus pandemic and the most recent military coup, in 2021, I visited Myanmar yearly from my base in northern India, attracted by its rich, varied cultures and areas of natural beauty.
Instead, I have decided to travel to the borderlands of Thailand, in a quest to reacquaint myself with the cultures of Myanmar.
The lengthy border runs alongside some volatile and contested regions, and the dense jungles of Thailand have long provided refuge for large numbers of Myanmese fleeing violence and persecution in their homeland.
