Myanmar- The Golden Land of Pagodas

it was really a very last minute and spontaneous decision to travel to myanmar after the girls said that they couldn't make it for either taiwan or bangkok. yinghao and myself decided on the location on 29th july, booked the flight only on the 30th, got our visa on 6th aug and flew over the very next day! everything happened in just a week! phew....

sit back and allow me to share the highlights/ snapshots of my trip....

Day 1:

Arrived in Yangon, Myanmar by Silkair and checked in at Ocean Pearl Inn

which was recommended by the Lonely Planet travel guide.

It was drizzling but it did not reduce our enthusiasm to explore the 100 y/o city.

First stop, we visited the Bogyoke Aung San Market.

Items sold here include jewellery, a wide variety of textiles and crafts,

woodcarvings, lacquerware, dolls, musical instruments, bags and many more.

Of course I did not miss the chance to get myself a piece of longyi which is a traditional

costume worn by most locals, and it took me a couple of practices to wear it right.

a traditional burmese meal typically consists of one main dish and

accompanied by many side dishes, condiments and a soup.

i especially wanted to compliment on the superb service levels of burmese people.

they take care to your every needs and were very prompt in their actions. we noticed that it's not only towards tourists, but also to the locals as well. i seriously think singapore service level should seriously take a big step for improvement.

all over yangon, you can see many old crumbling colonial architecture left

by the british. after naypyidaw was named the new capital in 2005,

all administrative facilities were shifted out of yangon,

and these buildings were deserted and left vacant.

after which, we visited the sule pagoda, where a hair of buddha brought

in from india was preserved. the interesting thing about this 2000 year old

pagoda is that it is surrounded by the city's primary traffic, circling in a clockwise direction.

Later we visited Botataung Pagoda.
At this point, you must be wondering: What about the world famous Shwedagon Pagoda?we've decided to put this world heritage on our last day of the trip, so continue reading and you'll get there very soon....

Day 2:

Yinghao wasn't feeling well, so he decided see doctor. when asked where the nearest

clinic is, the hotel manager was in shock. he immediately informed the local

health authority and there was a big hoo haa. a doctor and 2 nurses arrived at the

hotel in mask. fortunately, they didn't find yinghao having any elevated body temperature

and was allowed to take the next flight to Heho, north Myanmar. else, he'll be hauled to

the local hospital and that'd be the end of our trip.

we took yangon airways from yangon to heho and was very surprised by the

exceptional level of service rendered by the cabin crew. they were so sincere and

took care of minor details of the traveller. i would say that the level of service is

comparable to any top-notch airways.

oh yah, a very traditional weighing machine to weigh your luggage.

the scale's definitely large enough to be read.

upon arrival at heho airport, we took a taxi to Nyaungshwe,

which is where Inle Lake begins. we stayed at goldstar hotel,

and the hotel manager, janet, was a super nice lady!

nyaungshwe is a quiet and peaceful small town which i enjoyed the

most throughout my entire trip. the weather is cooling in the day,

and the people are really very friendly and humble. everywhere you'll

see people know each other and talk on the street whenever they meet.

everything was so basic in this small town, people ride on bicycles,

motorbikes and even horse carriages.

in the evening, after a relaxing traditional burmese masssage,

we caught a traditional string puppet show in the evening.

Day 3:

early morning, after breakfast, we headed to mingala market, a local market that focus on daily necessities. every five days, it attracts

many traders from the hills as it moves in a circuit around 5 towns in the region.

later in the morning, we took a boat trip around Inle Lake. Inle lies lies at an altitude of 878m above sea level, which is myanmar's top 5 tourist destination.

we can't help but to marvel at how the local farmers can tend their floating fruit and vegetable gardens,

fishermen with their one-legged rowing technique,

and live lifes along the banks of the lake.

a blacksmith at work.

'long-necked' padaung tribeswomen who wear brass coils around their necks.

they are orginally from loikaw in kayah state, but was shipped in to inle lake

for 'tourism-purposes', how sad...

after the boat-trip, yinghao wanted to take a rest in the hotel, and

i wondered around the town looking for food.

when i entered a small restaurant, the shop owner saw me and said: konichiwa.

they've mistaken me for a japanese...

at nyaungshwe, we also had a chance to get to know a very engaging pharmacist

where we chatted about many things. he even recommended us to a very

famous local pork curry restaurant.

Day 4:

after bidding farewell to Inle, we took an internal flight to Manadalay,

the ancient capital of myanmar.

I can describe mandalay in 3 words: HOT, DUSTY, POLLUTED!

phew....it's totally like living in a hot oven.

we checked in at ET hotel, which is runned by a local chinese lady.

there wasn't anything ET about this hotel though. :P

in the late afternoon, we visited kuthodaw pagoda, which houses

the world's largest book which consists of 730 scriptures carved on stones.

later, we visited the golden monastery which is made of wood and gold plated

with pure gold. however, due to environmental attack, most of the gold has already

been worn out, revealing the original wooden architecture.

one of the highlights of mandalay is of course mandalay hill where one can

take a broad aerial view of mandalay central.

there was this little 'pseudo' monk who approached me and said: sawadikap.

now i'm a thai, after being mistaken for a japanese at inle. wakaka....

Day 5:

around mandalay is where amarapura is situation. it's every older than mandalay.

amarapura houses one of the largest monasteries in myanmar, mahagandhayon monastery.

on that very day, as it was a full moon day, we were very lucky to witness hundreds of monks lining up for their meal at 11am. that meal is donated by someone and plenty of donors waited for their chance to earn merit for their next life.

after lunch, we took a boat trip to ancient inwa, which is not accessible by road.

inside inwa, we took a horse carriage to tour around the ancient city.

my back-packing buddy, yinghao...

coincidentally, we chanced upon a photoshoot for a particular local medicated oil brand.

the ancient palace was destroyed in an earthquake, and what remained

was their 'swimming pool' and bathhouses. and also this nanmyin watchtower,

which is also called the 'leaningtower of inwa'.

our last stop for the day was the long U Bein Bridge, which was constructed on

teak planks over 2 centuries ago. it is also one of the most photographed scene in myanmar.

Day 6:

in the morning, we visited mandalay palace, home to king mindon in 1857.

this was a replica as the original one was destroyed during world war II.

it was rather disappointing as there weren't any explanations for tourists who want to know

more and totally empty inside the palace without any artefacts. it was dimmed or i should

say dark as there wasn't any lightings at all. the compound was impressively humongous

with a moat of water way surrounding the whole palace. what i can say is that the emperor of

china definitely led a much more extragavant and luxurious life compared to the burmese kings.

outside the palace wall read this banner, which i found a little disturbing:

'tathadaw and the people, cooperate and crush all those harming the union.'

in the late afternoon, we took yangon airways back to yangon.

Day 7:

i would say the highlight of our trip would be this day.

on our way to shwedagon, we passed by a local amusement park, Happy World,

and decided to recci.

the entrance fee was a steal: 100kyats!!! (USD 0.10)

there were free dance performances and magic show, haunted house, bumper cars and

other game machines.

we passed by a local cafe, ice berry, and decided to take a break.

i ordered a crab salad bun, pudding and strawberry milkshake,

all for USD 1 ! cheaper than a normal meal we had in local eateries.

the government should consider the following to maximise their public

transport capacity! :P

The 2500y/o Shwedagon Paya is one of world's most spectacular religious monuments,

not to be missed. the golden dome of shwedagon paya can be seen for miles and is covered

with 60 tons of pure gold. there are always many myanmar people praying and making

offerings at shwedagon.

a young monk trying to view the top of the dome through a pair of binoculars

night view of the pagoda was truly amazing and unforgettable...

Day 8:

last day of our trip. we took a lift up the 20th level of sukara

tower, took a sip at the cafe restaurant on top and admired the view of yangon.

all in all, myanmar isn't one of the world's most exciting destinations, but

i think it really is worth a visit, for it's rich culture, nice people and mysterious face.

and contrary to many believe, myanmar is incredibly safe.

due to time constraint, there're limited photos posted here in my blog and in depth

discussion of my thoughts and feelings of this trip. feel free to approach me if you

need any advice or questions you'd like to ask regarding my trip.

last but not least, let me present to you this last photo as a parting gift...

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gotcha!