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We are still here! Let us send you tips for travelling through Myanmar and stories from the road …
“They think Myanmar is filled with conflict, but when they arrive here it is not like that. The people are kind and friendly. On Google, all of the things are very bad. So when they come they are surprised because none of them are correct.”
We are speaking to Win in the chic Steel Brothers Wine & Grill restaurant at the Excelsior Hotel in Yangon. It is mid-afternoon and the restaurant is quiet and, save for our table in the middle, empty. Win is small, demure, sitting with a straight-back and an intense, serious gaze. He is 21 years old, from the Pa’O ethnic group, born around Inle Lake. He is now a receptionist at The Excelsior and is telling us about how he came to be there.
“I was born in the countryside outside Pinlaung. Before my hotel life I was selling betel-nut at Pinlaung, Phekon and Loikaw. When I was selling that in Phekon market an Inthar gentleman told me about a training school at Inle Lake. He knew me and is very friendly and wanted me not to follow the footsteps of others because selling at the market is not good for young people. He knows that I can go further because I enjoyed making conversation with foreigners.
“I was really interested to go there so I went to apply for the school. We had an exam and an interview. They just asked why we wanted to attend, and what is your potential, and your opinion. Luckily I passed and I got the chance to attend.”
This was the Inle Heritage Hospitality Vocational Training Centre (IHHVTC), the leading hospitality training school in Shan State (and home of Inle Heritage House hotel). IHHVTC offers vocational skills to students from all across Myanmar who would otherwise not be able to afford such training.
Asked why he thought he was accepted to the Training Centre, Win says:
“Maybe they knew that I really wanted to attend. It is a free school. And so some students when they don’t have to pay, they do not follow the procedure, they do not obey the regulations. But I did, and I can work under pressure.”
IHHVTC is part of the Inle Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organization working to preserve and enhance the culture of Inle Lake and the people who call it home. The Foundation began as just “Heritage House”, a stilt building in the middle of the lake used as a sanctuary for Burmese cats being reintroduced to the country.
It was founded by Yin Myo Su (more commonly and affectionately known as ‘Misuu’), who is the Managing Director of the Princess Group which includes the Inle Princess and Mrauk U Princess hotels.
It was when Misuu recognised the need for alternative education for the youth of Myanmar that the idea for the vocational school was born. And they are doing a pretty good job.
“When I arrived at Inle Heritage, they let me decide whatever I like. At the very start. I was recommended Front Office and F&B, so I chose Front Office. I was thinking, well Front Office is not so busy, just standing at the counter. If I chose F&B I must be very busy and always carry the tray. I was very small. I think I could not carry the tray.”
We can vouch for Win’s size.
Sampan Travel first met Win a year after he graduated from IHHVTC. It was May 2016 and we were making an inspection of Aureum Palace Hotel at Inle Lake where Win was then employed as a bell boy. We grumbled to ourselves slightly when Win – a lowly bell boy! – was presented to us and led the inspection around the hotel.
It was when Misuu recognised the need for alternative education for the youth of Myanmar that the idea for the vocational school was born. And they are doing a pretty good job.
Yet in actual fact we were in luck. Not only was he the most knowledgeable, courteous, amusing, and efficient bell boy we were yet to come across, it was also one of the most enlightening and interesting hotel inspections we were to experience.
Sampan had been invited to attend the graduation ceremony at IHHVTC the following day. After listening to the speeches by Misuu and then-principal U Aung Kyaw Swar (now GM of A Little Eco Lodge) we expressed to both how impressed we were with Win, and remarked that if all their graduates were as proficient (the latest cohort were at this point leaping about on stage taking class photos) then IHHVTC were truly providing a great service to the Myanmar hospitality scene.
Win was also there that day and, due to a lack of staff or an excess of guests had – despite his doubts about his strength – joined the waitering team and was scurrying from table to table serving dishes.
Win stayed two years at Aureum Palace before joining the newly-opened Yangon Excelsior Hotel as a receptionist in April 2018. Sitting next to him as we speak, is Helen, also demure, also serious, also employed for a year at Excelsior, but in the restaurant instead of Front Office.
“My cousin-sister advised me to attend the hospitality classes,” she tells us. “I didn’t know anything about hospitality. I wanted to get a job for work experience and I was interested in customer service.
“They had four classes: Front Office, F&B, Housekeeping, Food Production. My cousin-sister advised me to choose F&B because at that time my English skill is not very good, so she advised me to choose this. Lots of opportunities, you can go a lot of places …”
Helen was chosen to attend the classes and then after an interview with Yangon Excelsior she was sent up to Sanctum Inle Resort to train for three months.
“At that time I was happy to go to Inle. I had never been and I love travelling. When I heard that I passed the interview I was happy because I wanted to go to Inle so much.”
Helen is herself from Yangon. We ask her what she recommends that travellers in Myanmar do in Yangon.
“They should eat snacks, drink tea and visit tea shops.”
Which is the best tea shop?
She isn’t sure. She doesn’t actually like tea … She prefers coffee.
Where is the best coffee? Excelsior?
“Yes, of course!”
Sampan is sitting down talking to Win and Helen to try and get to know more about the lives, hopes, and challenges of Myanmar people working in hotels. For a few years now, we have published conversations on our online magazine Slow Travel Magazine, with the movers and shakers of the Myanmar tourism industry. People such as the senior guide Sai Kenneth, and the General Manager of Villa Inle Boutique Hotel Aung Ko Ko.
As worthy and interesting as these conversations are, we also think it is important that our guests and our readers get to know more about those at the grassroots of Myanmar tourism. Those such as Lin Htet and Ei Mon Kyaw from the Savoy Hotel, and Ko Zaw Min Soe, the trishaw driver in Dala.
And also, Win and Helen from the Excelsior.
One of the challenges is getting through that well-trained, poised veneer. At times, with Win and Helen, it was a challenge. They had their game faces on, and were treating us with the same charm and professionalism as they no doubt treat their guests.
They had their game faces on, and were treating us with the same charm and professionalism as they no doubt treat their guests.
We asked about difficult customers and Win responded:
“Sometimes we face difficult guests, they can complain. But they are not wrong, because they pay for that. And if they didn’t get what they expect they can complain for sure. We must find a way to make them happy.”
He continued, sweetly:
“At the moment we really enjoy hospitality. Because when you have the guests they are far away from their homes, they really need the information about Myanmar. If you help them and everything is OK, they appreciate it and I am very happy.”
We next asked Helen about challenges she faced at work:
“I love my F&B life. I love to serve the customer, and if the guest is satisfied, I am happy. I love my job.”
Anything else that Win could tell us about his work?
“I have to say I like the management. They allow us to do everything very openly. There is no pressure. If we have the pressure we are not able to communicate with the guests very well. We work well without pressure. And then we can assist the guests very well.”
Which country do the nicest guests come from?
“It is a very hard question. I like a lot of countries. So it is very difficult.”
What about the outfits? Do you like the outfits!?
“Yes of course!”
That last one was directed at Helen who was wearing the remarkable Excelsior uniform as we spoke. We have not come across anything else like it in the Myanmar hospitality scene and, we must say, we also like it. The ruddy browns, and collared shirts, trousers braces and peaked caps, are resonant of dock workers in the early 20th century – in the best way.
A smart, boutique hotel, in the centre of town, it is a welcome addition to the Yangon hospitality scene. Sampan’s guests love it, and with hosts such as Win and Helen, how could they not?
This sort of eccentricity is very much the Excelsior fashion. Despite being set in a renovated colonial building and including trappings and trinkets reminiscent of British Burma, the hotel manages to be neither oppressive nor stuffy, but instead light and humorous. Some aspects seem a little over-the-top; the sheets of paper suspended in the air, appearing as if they have come flying out of the antique type-writer below, for example. The ‘hand-scrawled’ notes on the bedroom doors, pertaining to be from a harassed guest from colonial days (“Is anyone departing for Moulmein this coming weekend? If so please let me know soonest”!) are odd, but one soon warms to them, as one might a perplexing but eccentric dinner guest.
A smart, boutique hotel, in the centre of town, it is a welcome addition to the Yangon hospitality scene. Sampan’s guests love it, and with hosts such as Win and Helen, how could they not?
Win does admit to us that he found the move to Yangon difficult at times.
“Sometimes it is very hard to be away from my mother, because she is only one. So I must call her regularly. I live in a dormitory with one of my colleagues. It is so-so … It is very hot in Yangon …”
Do you like the city?
“Not really. I like the work, but I don’t like living here. It is very busy, and the people throw the rubbish on the floor.”
What is the most difficult thing about your work?
“The most difficult thing for me is the concierge job, because I am not from here. In Yangon there are a lot of bars and a lot of restaurants. I try my best to give the information but I cannot tell them exactly. This is a problem for me. And there is a lot of history …”
Despite such challenges, both Win and Helen are unflinchingly optimistic and ambitious when it comes to the future.
“I have a plan,” Win tells us. “I need to attend my final year of distant education. After that I will go abroad for a few years. I will work for a hotel. I only know hotels! When I return to Myanmar, I need to decide whether I will work for a company or myself.”
Where abroad does he want to work?
“I am trying to go to Japan. I need to attend Japanese class. I have started a little bit. I need to attend the actual class. I really like the Japanese culture, the way they greet, and how they give respect.”
Helen also has her sights set on Japan (“I have learnt some Japanese, at Basic Level!”) with the intention of becoming “a successful woman in the hospitality industry.” Considering the impressive selection of female Myanmar hoteliers, perhaps there is no wonder that Helen is aiming high.
“First, I have to learn many things about hospitality. And I have to improve my English skills.”
Myanmar has seen slumping arrivals numbers for the last few years. Does this worry either of them considering their chosen career paths?
“It really depends on the politics”, Win says. “Foreigners do not want to come here due to the Rakhine issue. If we can make peace, then we can expect more tourists to come to Myanmar.”
Do guests ask you about Rakhine?
“Not for the moment,” Helen says. “They never ask us.”
From us at Sampan Travel, and from Win & Helen at the Excelsior, here’s hoping that travellers will continue to take a chance on Myanmar. And allow the country to continue provoking that “Wow!” upon arrival.
