Globerovers Magazine, July 2019

government. The Naga people in the socalled
Eastern Front, continue to struggle
against the Myanmar government.
THE JOURNEY TO NAGALAND
To attend the New Year festivities in
Nagaland, I had to consider the logistics.
For Nagaland in India, I could fly on Air
India or IndiGo from Delhi or Kolkata to
Nagaland’s Dimapur Airport. Alternatively,
I could fly to Guwahati in Assam State
and then take a 450 kilometres (280 mi)
overnight bus to Nagaland.
Dimapur also has a railway station
connected to the main network. From
Kolkata, it is a 1,225 kilometres (761 mi)
journey, and from Delhi almost twice the
distance. None of the flights, trains, and
bus options I considered appealed to me.
From what I read, the Nagaland New
Year festival on the Myanmar side of the
border is similar to that on the India side:
just as colourful with friendly people and
good food. The difference is that the logistics
of planning a visit was much easier.
Myanmar’s Nagaland festival is held
around mid-January and rotates among
the three towns of Lay Shi, Lahe, and
Nanyun, in the large Sagaing Division of
northwestern Myanmar. These townships
are also among the poorest, most isolated,
and least developed in all of Myanmar.
As the three towns are far apart, you
need to plan accordingly. The distance
between Nanyun in the far north and Lay
Shi in the far south is over 200 kilometres
(129 mi) as the crow flies. Driving over
the mountains and along the rivers on the
small and poorly maintained road can easily
take two to three days.
The best way to reach Lay Shi is to
fly from Mandalay to either Hkamti or
Homalin and then drive. Homalin, to the
south of Lay Shi, is the preferred airport as
the driving distance is shorter than from
Hkamti to the northeast of Lay Shi.
Of all three towns, Lahe lies the closest
to an airport, Hkamti.
Nanyun, the northernmost town, is
best reached by either flying from Mandalay
or driving.
I attended the festival in 2019 when it
was held in Lay Shi. As the shortest driving
route was from Homalin, ProNiti Travel
based in Yangon, booked our flight from
Mandalay to Homalin on Myanmar National
Airways. However, a few days before
departure, we were told our seats had been
given to government officials so we were
unceremoniously bumped off. Fortunately,
the travel agency found seats on the flight
to Khamti, although that meant a much
longer drive to Lay Shi.
“An endless dirt road with no
life in sight. It is a long and
lonely road to Nagaland."
The flight from Mandalay to Hkamti
took one hour and fifteen minutes and the
flight path took us over rolling hills, winding
rivers, and remote villages.
On arrival at the tiny Hkamti airport,
the few foreigners on board had to show
their passports and details were noted
down in the foreigner arrivals book. We
collected our bags and off we went.
Crossing the Chindwin River from Pint Mar on the east side to Hta Man Thi on the west side.
Article • Myanmar | 105