To escape the big city chaos of Yangon for a slice of country life, myself, Nacho, an NGO founder from Spain and Tommas, an Italian economist who lives in London, took a 15 minute ferry across the Yangon River to Dalah for $2 each way.

At the ferry terminal we attracted the attention of a troop of children, who looked between two and six years old, apparently watched over by the eldest girl of about 12 who sells postcards to tourists. Their faces were caked with dirt and their hands ...