Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of modern-day civilization, Meemure has everything a recluse would want — near isolation and zero mobile or data connectivity to the outside world. What or where is Meemure? It's a village close to the Knuckles Mountain Range in the hills with approximately 400 people in it. Well spaced out. It's got some fabulous natural pools and waterfalls, great mountains, and rolling expanses of paddy.
Unfortunately, it's also fast becoming a tourist hotspot for large groups of annoying people. (Annoying in a traveller's book being groups of incredibly loud people armed with seemingly unlimited supplies of booze and garbage and litter).
The Village
I would say that Meemure is a sleepy place, except that according to the residents of the area there were 500 other 'tourists' when we were there as well. So basically 500 other outsiders who'd gone to chill, to camp, or to explore. We ran into quite a few of them at watering holes, and while it was annoying to deal with overly-friendly drunkles, even they weren't able to completely detract from the splendor of the pools. The colours and clarity of the water were amazing!
Pretty amazing. So amazing that Iraj had to make his Giniyam Rae video there because the backdrop is all the song had going, really.
The villagers are a friendly bunch, but don't take kindly to women in "inappropriate clothing" (i.e. buttshorts, crop tops et all) and they find it disrespectful. They do and will pass the occassional derogatory remark, but will treat you with the utmost friendliness and respect if your clothes aren't eyebrow-raising. Remember that this is a pretty rural area, and old fashioned gender stereotypes – with regard to clothing at least – are alive and kicking here.
Wildlife
Keep an eye out for wildlife, you get quite a few indigenous fish and frogs to observe. I forget what these particular ones are called, but you basically get a full fish-spa treatment if you immerse yourself in the pools. Some of the fish are large and the little pecks they give are rather hard and will make you jump.
Things to do
Hike, camp, swim, climb. Lakegala is in the region, but is quite tough I've heard, so make sure it's not the rainy season before you decide on climbing that. The residents offer activities, so there are waterbased fun stuff to do. They also take you on hikes, and to waterfalls atop hills.
The villagers are a close-knit bunch, but arrange with them for food and lodging if you can.
