The Time I Crossed the Indo-Myanmar Border on Foot!

The date was July 13^th ​2019. We set off early around 3 in the morning. Moreh, a town located on the Indo-Myanmar border is about 5 hours away from our village. I was accompanying my aunt and uncle on one of their frequent trips across the border. They deal in buying and selling goods bought from across the border.

Winding roads, lush green vegetation covering the surroundings hills, scattered settlements, our journey to the border had begun. The scenery along the way was spectacular. I couldn’t help but stare out of the car window with the cold breeze hitting my face, absorbing the captivating beauty of the surroundings along the highway and taking pictures with my phone.

We drove non-stop till Pallel where we made a quick pit-stop to have our breakfast and then continued our journey. Pallel is situated at the edge of Imphal valley and it's all hills from here till Moreh.

We drove through Tengnoupal, the highest point on the highway at an altitude of about 1400m. It's relatively colder here owing to its higher elevation. With the clouds constantly moving about the surrounding hills, driving through this region surely made this journey much more intriguing and unforgettable. Tengnoupal is the headquarter of the newly formed district in Manipur and Moreh is part of this district.

We reached Moreh around 8 in the morning. Moreh is a rustic town situated at an elevation of about 200m. Coming from the hills, the change in the weather from cold to warm was pretty evident. On account of its strategic location right at the border, this town has become an important business and commercial centre in Manipur. It is mainly inhabited by the Kuki tribes along with other communities like the Meiteis, Nagas, Nepalese, etc. We had a quick meal and made our way towards the border on foot. For Indian citizens, all that is required to cross the border is to show your identity cards, it could be your Aadhaar card, passport etc, but you have to report back to India before sunset.

Just across the border on the Burmese side is a big market known as Namphalong market. This is where people from all over Manipur come to buy goods of all kinds - electronics, food, furniture, clothes, household items. This market sells almost everything you can name. These goods come mainly from China, Thailand and other South-East Asian countries. Hindi, Manipuri, Burmese and Kuki languages are mainly spoken here. They also accept Indian rupees. In fact, Indian currency is mostly used here. I exchanged INR 50 and I got 1000 kyats. I have kept that as a souvenir.

After exploring the market a bit, we decided to head to Tamu, the closest Burmese town just 10 minutes away. There are sharing tuk-tuks that run between Namphalong market and Tamu. We hopped in one of the tuk-tuks and headed further into Myanmar.

Tamu is a town having an elevation of about 180m in Sagaing region of Myanmar. It is much larger and is also a lot cleaner with better infrastructure than its twin town on the Indian side. One of the first things you will notice if you come here (if you're an Indian or from the Commonwealth countries) is the change in traffic. Myanmar follows the right-hand traffic practice. We walked around the town exploring the main Tamu market, which is a lot less busy and with fewer people as compared to Namphalong market which is located at the border.

Majority of the people in Myanmar practice Buddhism and you will find many Buddhist temples scattered around in Tamu. We visited the Tamu Buddhist temple which is situated on a hill on the western side of the town. It offers a panoramic view of the town. The temple was undergoing renovations when we visited, so the inside of the temple was closed to visitors. We walked around exploring the various structures inside the spacious temple complex.

The temple complex was very peaceful with lots of trees. In fact, you can spot the locals spending their leisure time and resting here. After we were done exploring the temple, we decided to head back to the town centre to catch a tuk-tuk back to the Indian border. By this time, I was sweating profusely and had a quite a tan; it was so hot and humid. Maybe this is the reason why Burmese people apply that yellowish-white paste called thanaka on their skin to protect themselves from the harsh sun. So, be prepared if you come here during the summer months.

Back at Namphalong market, we did a little shopping. We packed all the goods that we bought inside the car and made our way back home in the late afternoon. We had to get out of there a bit early because as always, there would soon be a long line of vehicles coming from the border waiting to be checked by the Indian army. It was already dark by the time we reached Kakching. We made a stop to have our dinner.

This trip was such a unique experience. The idea of crossing an international border to visit another country is fascinating. This is my second time crossing an international border on foot. The first time was crossing into Nepal in 2012. I'm looking forward to visiting Myanmar again in the future.