There are a few posts available online about travelling to Myanmar. However I did think that finding up-to-date information was not always easy so I wanted to share my experience and my tips with everyone along with the tale of my amazing trip! I travelled on my own but all along the way I met a lot of friends.
Day 1: Arrival in Yangoon
I arrived in Yangoon airport at 1 pm. Mingalabar Myanmar (hello Myanmar)!
I got an e-visa prior to arriving to Myanmar through www.oway.com.mm and paid 60 USD. I wanted no administrative hassle at the airport. In this way, I just joined the queue to the immigration desk upon arrival. The official who spoke with me seemed so severe that I felt a bit intimated. But then he wanted to take my picture and asked me to smile with a big smile himself. That had been a bit of a shock! Is this my first glimpse of Burmese people’s legendary kindness? Agreeable surprise anyway.
Then I went to change some money. I got the best exchange rate of the whole trip at the airport (1 Euro for 1,140 Kyat). That was pretty cool! I would like to note for any traveller wanting to go to Myanmar: it is still a country where the dollar is widely used. As such it is a good idea to have some while going around. I did not and wished I had it a few times.
After changing my money, I picked up my bag and I looked for my airport pick up. I booked my room with a guest house recommended by the Lonely Planet, Motherlandinn 2 and they provided free aiport pick up and drop off. Perfect for a hassle-free first contact with the country. The double room was 35 USD. Motherlandinn 2 is a basic guesthouse. But I really liked the place because the staff was very very nice and friendly and really helpful: they are used to deal with foreigners so they can advise on a lot of things. Motherlandinn 2 also has a travel agency service and a restaurant. I had mohinga there for the first time. Mohinga is THE breakfast dish of Myanmar. It is made out of rice noodles and fish soup. It is quite tasty and must be tried at least once!
Practical info: before leaving, I wondered about which plugs they use in Myanmar. The answer is: all hotels are equipped with universal plugs. So no worries in there.
That afternoon, I did not do much as I was tired from my trip so I rested and only went out for dinner. My taxi driver drove me to Aung Thuka for some traditional burmese food. At the restaurant, since I didn’t speak burmese and they didn’t speak english, I pointed out what I wanted from the counter full of meat dishes and veggies. I felt like in a silent movie, it was funny. The waitress then brought me rice and several (free) side dishes – among them fermented tea leaves with a very strange taste – and a soup. I also had some bitter leaves I could not identify. Really interesting flavours.
It is very hard for me to tell if I overpaid or not my taxi but I probably have overpaid since a return trip from and to my guest house cost me double my dinner, beer included: 9,000 kyat.
Day 2: Day in Yangoon and night bus trip to Bagan
The next step of the trip would be visiting the temples of Bagan. As I planned too late to book a flight I opted for the night bus. So while waiting for the night to arrive, I visited Yangoon.
I firstly went to the Schwedagon Pagoda which is meant to be the oldest pagoda in the world. The main entrance is a big staircase with loads of shops on the side. You need to take your shoes off at the bottom of the stairs here if you don’t want to be given out to. Every foreigner has to buy an entrance ticket of 8 USD – my guide later on told me that locals don’t have to as they make a lot of offerings. If the staircase had been impressive, the pagoda itself is even more impressive: all those golden roofs and huge statues… I leave it to you to discover by yourself so no point in me describing it. As soon as I hit the top of the stairs I had been approached by a guide who offered a visit for the modest sum of 5 USD. I learnt quite a lot about buddhism with him. One of my most burning (and I mean literally burning) memory of that day were the burning hot stone floors. The best technique to survive them is to run from shadow to shadow. Alas, it is not possible to wear neither shoes nor socks in temples, so it is better to come early in the morning or later in the afternoon. I would have like to do the night visit to observe all the precious stones on top of the stupa (included in the entrance fee) but I did not have the time.
After the pagoda visit, I went to the Bogyoke Market. It is 2,000 Kyat by taxi from the Schwedagon Pagoda to the market. It is a market for souvenir, jewels and gemstones. I did not stay too long but it is a very large market so you can lose yourself in there. There was a lady offering fresh fruit juice with “no water no ice” (she knows travellers so well….) but it was the beginning of my trip and I did not want to get sick so I passed. It was probably safe though. I met two ladies who loved it!
Afterwards, I ended up accidentally in front of a street restaurant called Ingyin Nwe that served south indian food. I saw foreigners eating there so I decided to try it out. That is what happens when you visit a foreign country without a guide book. It was one of the tastiest food I ever had: I had a dosa and they served me several sauces – the tamarind one was to be damned for. So delicious…
After lunch, I did a walking tour of the city. The map of the walking tour is available on my Facebook page under the “Mingalabar Myanmar!” pictures. Then I finished the day seeing the reclining Buddha at the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda. The entrance is free but I offered some money. This reclining Buddha was huge! Afterwards, I headed back to the guest house to prepare for my night bus. From Motherlandinn 2 to the bus station, it is 8,000 Kyat by taxi and the trip lasts 45 mn.
My night bus trip was all an experience! The bus was not comfortable at all and was old. The road was so bumpy, I could not sleep either. Plus the driver was driving so fast… It was crazy. These are my free advices to follow when booking buses in Myanmar: 1. Don’t let your taxi driver book it because all he want is for you to hire is services to the bus station. He does not care about your comfort so he will take the first available ticket. 2: ask for a VIP bus first and moreover ask for a picture of your bus and ensure this is what you get. 3. Get the right arrival time. My night bus cost me 15,000 Kyat, the same price as a VIP bus and the comfort was nowhere close. In addition, the aircon mysteriously broke midway and that was the selling point of the “comfortable” bus. The worst thing? My bus arrived at 3 am in the morning instead of the promised 6 am which meant I had to look for a place to stay for the night in the middle night. Sweet! For information, it is 8,000 Kyat from the bus station to Nyaung U, the main town, by taxi. Double when you arrive in the middle of the night and you are taken advantage of because you have no choice. Fortunately, there were three other foreign ladies travelling on the same bus so we shared the taxi and the night adventure. As of today, Burma is a safe country to travel to so don’t be worried if something similar happens to you. It should be fine.
Fortunately, our taxi driver found us a place: Pyinsa Rupa guest house on the Main Road of Nyaung U. 20 USD the night in a double bedroom which I shared with Helen an English girl I met on that bus. In Bagan, foreigners have the right to pay 20 USD entrance fee… For this kind of things it is useful to have dollars on you because the conversion rate is sometimes a bit random.
Day 3 and 4: the temples of Bagan
In the morning, we rented out electronic bikes to go around the temples. We paid 3 USD each. My friend originally tried to ask for an e-bike for two. The owner blankly looked at her saying “No, you are too fat!”. Bewildered, she asked “what?” and he obliged “You are too fat”. Funny moment…Anyway depending on where you are, you can get them cheaper. I know two girls who got a shiny new red scooter for 2 USD between the two of them. E-bikes and scooters are the best option to go around the temples under the april heat. I felt like a real adventurer going around at 30Km an hour. Youwou!
The temples are magnificent. There are more than 2,200 temples in Bagan but my favorite one is Ananda temple with the standing buddhas and its corridors…Behind Ananda, there is another small temple with the best wall paintings in the whole Bagan (shhh this is insider information!). My other favorite ones are Sulamani and Dhammayan Gyi temples. I also visited the only hindu temple of Bagan situated around Ananda. It is small but interesting although the women who are selling souvenirs over there are quite annoying and pushy. We watched the sunset on the edge of another small temple across this hindu one, away from the crowd. Again, do not forget to take your shoes off as soon as you start entering temples. Also women should were long skirts and show no skin: no hot pants, no spaghetti tops. Myanmar is still a conservative country. And if you happen to have a siesta in a temple because it is too hot outside, don’t ever ever point your feet at Buddha. That is a sacrilege! While writing this post I found this website that looks quite interesting: Temples of Bagan.
I spent the next two nights at the Winner guest house. It is situated between Nyang U and Old Bagan. Again, it was a basic hotel but it was clean, comfortable and the staff was very nice. I paid 20 USD per night for a double room.
If you go to any hotels in this area, don’t forget to ask your hotel for shortcuts to the temples. We followed the road but it was possible to use side roads especially with bikes.
On day 4, I wanted an easy day so I rented a car with a driver. He was charging 35 USD for the day. I probably should have negotiated but since I did not want too much hassle I settled for it. The car is a good option as it allows to visit longer distances. As such, I could go up to the Pagoda on the river and even visit New Bagan. New Bagan looked cooler atmospherewise than Nyang U or Old Bagan but I bought my minibus ticket (15,000 Kyat) from my guest house where they were supposed to pick me up the day after. So I did not want to move there. To party though I think staying in New Bagan is better.
I had some really thai food of my whole trip around the Winner guest house at the Little Thai Kitchen Restaurant (No 7 Main road, Wet Kyi Inn Quarter).
Day 5: Minibus trip to Inle Lake and evening in Nyaungshwe
The day after, the bus left Bagan at 10. We were supposed to leave at 8. They were late. This is Asia. Everything is to be taken easy. And it is better not to make plans either because not only we left late but then we had to go to someone’s house to pick up I don’t know what, then to the bus station because they needed to talk to the office, then we went to inflate the tyres and finally, eventually we really left Bagan.
We were on a minibus, the road was quite good but the driver was really slow so a trip that was meant to take 6 hours took us 9 hours. However, the view was scenic and the guys were really nice and funny. So I forgave them.
At Inle Lake, there was another mandatory 10 USD fee to get into the area. Jeez… What is it with Myanmar and mandatory visit fees?
I checked in my hotel. I had decided while planning the trip from Barcelona to spend at least a few nights in a very nice hotel. So I booked 3 nights in the Hotel Amazing Nyaung Shwe: very nice and in a handy location. The rooms were super comfortable. However, the breakfast was not that amazing and the service was good depending on who you were dealing with. Wifi was also bad but it was the same in the whole Myanmar. Anyway, after 4 nights of night buses and basic guest houses, a touch of luxury was more than welcomed.
In Inle Lake, we were a group of four. For dinner, we went to Lin Htett Myanmar on Yone Gyi Road for some more traditional burmese food. I had a potato and beef curry with the usual side dishes and rice. The meal was quite cheap. I paid 3,000 Kyat for my dinner. Now if I had to go back there again, I will try the avocado shake of the menu. I had them once and they were so yummy. Alas, my quest remained fruitless in my later destinations.
Day 6, 7 and 8: Visiting Inle Lake
On day 6, we rented bikes to go around. One day rental costs 1,5oo Kyat. Inle Lake is quite a big lake so it is not possible to visit it in one day cycling. So on the first day, we went to visit the Red Mountains Vineyard. A surprising site, I did not expect to see a vineyard at all in Myanmar. It had a wonderful view and was quite a climb on the bike too! I did not taste the wine but it could have been nice to come back in the evening, sip a glass of Chardonnay while admiring the sunset.
We kept on cycling afterwards looking for an entry to the lake and discovered by chance Main Thauk village, a floating village on Inle Lake with a floating garden of tomatoes. There is a wooden bridge connecting the village with the main land. We arrived just when a strong rain started to pour down so we waited with the villagers until the rain stopped. The lights and colours after the rain were amazing and so beautiful. But the most interesting part was observing the villagers going about their daily lives: crossing the bridge towards their home, fishing, taking boat trips to the floating houses, transporting goods. It was such an enjoyable moment!
In the night, we decided to change restaurant and went to check out Sin Yaw across Lin Htett. The restaurant is specialised in Shan, Inle and Chinese food. Shan food is reputed to be the best in Myanmar. The menu was so vast, it was difficult to choose but almost everyone went for the sticky rice noodles with chicken for 1 USD – a local specialty. Yummy! We also ordered their ginger tea made with fresh ginger for another 1,500 Kyat. This place will turn into our dinner HQ during the remaining of our stay in Inle Lake. The quality of the food spoke for itself and the staff was so attentive.
On day 7, the 4 of us took a boat trip on Inle Lake. We woke up early so we could enjoy the sunrise (5:30 am). Our boat trip was 18,000 Kyat and left from the bridge in town. We had to insist so that our salesman did not send his 10 year old cousin to take us around. He was so small!!! In the end, his dad did. A really cool old man. He was wearing a hat, the traditional longyi (like a long skirt), was chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes in the corner of his mouth at the same time. Our first stop was to visit a market then a tofu making place that made tasty fried tofu. Then we visited all the different handicraft workshops around the lake and on the way observed the life on the lake. Notably, the famous Intha fishermen who are paddling around with one leg wrapped around the paddle while fishing. The only one negative note was maybe the part where we went to see the Long Neck Women. I thought they had their own workshops but the two ones we saw made me feel uncomfortable. Not them but the situation: they were weaving in a corner of a souvenir shop and people were coming in to look at them and take pictures. They looked a bit like a fair attraction, they could as well be a pair of monkeys… I did not like it. Other than that, it had been an amazing day!
On day 8, we went around cycling again. We found a new place were the bikes were better and cheaper (1,ooo Kyat): Ms Mu Kyi shop, a few minutes on the main road passed the Amazing Hotel, towards the lake direction. That day, we visited the thermal baths. They arranged the place nicely in the foreigners space: with nice pools and a wooden terrace with view. A bit dear though: it was 10 USD for 2 hours. There was also a high viewpoint pagoda across the hot springs. It is a pity that the place was surrounded with trash and plastics. Afterwards, we cycled to the opposite way to the Tea Wood Monastery after a lunch to Sin Yaw. The Tea Wood Monastery is a beautiful wooden monastery at the entrance of Inle Lake.
Then the day was gone. I bought my ticket back to Yangoon on a VIP night bus (18,000 Kyat). I asked for a picture and followed all of my advices in choosing buses. Alas, I missed the best one which seemed to be JJ Express. But I leave the tip here for future travellers.
They told me to be ready at 4:30 which I was. A tuk tuk driver picked me up along with the other tourists taking this famous VIP bus. It took us a while to get to a cross road with our tuk tuk and we had to wait for the bus on the side of the road for at least 1h30mn. Then finally our bus showed up, a hostess came out all dressed up in her uniform. She verified our tickets and gave us a tag for our bag. Funny. Then high up on her heels, she started to serve us coffee and cake after the bus started. Surreal! Anyway I had my dinner on the bus, a shan dish I took away from Sin Yaw: minced meat with rice topped with an egg. No surprise there, it was yummy again!!!
This is the end of “Mingalabar Myanmar or my 13 days trip to Myanmar” – Part one! Part two will come very soon….