Mini-guide to travel in Burma (Myanmar)

Burma is changing rapidly, making guidebooks obsolete by the time they are published. The most up-to-date information comes from other travellers and their blogs. I travelled in Burma from late December 2013 to mid-January 2014, and here is my small contribution.

Getting a visa

(Updated: August 2018)

Everyone needs a visa to enter Burma. You can stay in the country for up to 28 days (including the day of arrival and departure) with a tourist visa. Have your Myanmar visa completed before your holiday by using an e-visa service, or get it at the Myanmar embassy of your home country.

The people

The Burmese are very friendly and smile a lot, even in the touristy parts of the country. (This is in contrast to the stern faces you now encounter in many regions of Thailand, especially the South.)

Most men chew a betel nut mixture, which colours their teeth and lips a bright red. This can be a little unsettling at first. The constant sound of throat clearing and spitting the red stuff is something most visitors could do without.

The women apply a pale yellow paste (from the tanaka root) to their face to act as a moisturizer and sunscreen. They also use it to make patterns on their cheeks and forehead, for aesthetic purposes. A few younger men also use the tanaka paste.

The vast majority of Burmese speak little English, although not any less than their Thai neighbour, who has had decades of exposure to mass tourism.

Burmese woman wearing tanaka paste

The places

Large cities such as Yangon and Mandalay are busy, noisy and dirty, and remind me a little of India. Mandalay is charmless, while Yangon has a few interesting sites, such as the Shwedagon Pagoda, Bogyoke Aung San Market, and several colonial buildings from the British era. Yangon also has some traffic lights which makes crossing streets a lot easier than in Mandalay.

Favourite places for most visitors remain small towns and the countryside, such as Kalaw, Inle Lake with its floating villages, and the Bagan area with thousands of ancient temples and pagodas.

Another increasingly popular area is north of Mandalay, through the hill station of Pyin-U-Lwin and the town of Hsipaw. Some people also travel south of Yangon to Bago and Mount Kyaiktiyo (Golden Rock) as well as Ngapali beach on the West Coast.

Weather

The dry season (November to February) is when most people visit. It can get surprisingly cold in the north and at altitude. Kalaw, at 1320 metres, experiences near-freezing temperatures at night. By mid-day the hot sun has warmed the air to the mid-20C. And then in the evening it quickly dips down to around 10C. Be prepared. Even Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake) and Bagan experience cool mornings in January.

Accommodation

The price of accommodation has doubled and tripled in recent years, and in the most touristy places, such as Bagan, you now get poor value for money.

A budget room, with basic bathroom (and hot water), not too far from the centre of town, costs between $20 and $30. These prices include breakfast. Standards of cleanliness are lower than what you might expect. You are often required to ask to have your room “cleaned” and even then, don’t expect much more than having the bed made, a change of towels, and your trash emptied.

Room at Seint Motel, Kalaw

Here are some budget hotels/guesthouses I can recommend:

Yangon: Ocean Pearl Inn 2 (also called Aung Si Guesthouse), No.100, Bo Gyoke Aung Sun Street, Pazundaung Tsp . Tel: 01 299 874. You can book this one through their web site and they respond quickly.

Kalaw: Seint Motel, No.11, 5 Quarter, Main Road tel: 081 50752, or 09 518 6003

Nyaungshwe: Lady Princess Hotel, No.80 Myawaddy Road, Block(4), Mine Lee Quarter. Tel: 09 521 0230, or 09 3616 7050

(Note: If calling these numbers from abroad, Burma’s country code is 95 and you must remove the “0” in front of the number. For example: 95 1 299 874.)

Food & Drink

There are now plenty of restaurants at the most popular tourist sites. One exception is Mandalay, which offers cheap draught beer, but mediocre food in the downtown area.

Nyaungshwe offers all sorts of foreign cuisines such as Italian, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai. Nyaung-U (Bagan) offers nice Burmese curries. And in Yangon, you can find pretty much anything, from market stalls to A/C restaurants with a Western menu.

Food is cheap, except if you insist on eating Western food like burgers. You can have a meal (including a drink) for $3-$5.

Set meal at Hotel Blazing (Nyaung U)

Here are some of my favourite restaurants:

Kalaw: Everest Nepali Food Centre (nice Indian/Nepali curries, lassies, ginger tea)

Nyaungshwe: The Road to Inle (good espresso, local specialities like butter fish in peanut sauce)

Nyaung-U: Hotel Blazing Restaurant (4-course meals w/ Burmese curries for only $3.50)

Old Bagan: The Moon (vegetarian restaurant)

Finding good coffee is difficult. Read A coffee drinker in Burma for some recommendations.

If you like wine, don’t miss the Red Mountain Winery near Nyaungshwe. You can get there from town in 20-25 minutes with a bicycle. Tasting of four wines costs $2.50. There are great views from the property.

Transportation

Transportation has improved a lot recently. You can take VIP buses on long distances at night, or at least comfortable A/C buses. JJ Express is one company that runs buses from Yangon to Kalaw/Inle Lake, and Mandalay in first-class comfort with large reclining seats and hostess service.

On short distances, such as Kalaw to Shwe Nyaung (for Inle Lake) you may still find yourself in sardine can buses. Even the most expensive buses do not cost much more then $10-$15 for long distances.

Buying your bus ticket the previous day should guarantee you a seat, even on the fancier buses, but if you want to pick a specific seat (window, or front of bus) you may want to buy as soon as you know your date.

Even the best highways are bumpy, so if you are prone to motion sickness, don’t forget to take your preferred medication every time you ride a bus.

Trains operate on some sections. Although I didn’t take them myself, I heard that they are slow, shaky, and often run late, but may be worth it for the experience.

Taking the boat between Mandalay and Bagan (or vice versa) is a pricier but very pleasant way to spend a day. Several companies operate the route, take 10-12 hours and cost $35. MGRG Express includes breakfast, lunch, and water in the price, while the other operators only include breakfast.

On the MGRG Express boat

Short distance rides in taxis, songthaews, horse carts, etc. need to be negotiated. Drivers are not too aggressive (yet) and there is plenty of competition, so you can take your pick.

Touring/Sightseeing

Advertised day tours that take you to see Inle Lake, the sights around Mandalay, or a horse-cart tour of Bagan include the vehicle and the driver, but not guide services. The driver speaks very little English, and you are left to yourself to figure out what it is you are seeing and what it all means.

A full-day boat tour on Inle Lake costs around $20 for one person. A horse-cart for a day in Bagan is also $20.

Horse cart in Bagan

Renting a bicycle is very cheap: $1.5 for the day. Electric bicycles in Bagan are $4 for half-day and $8 for full-day.

Unlike Thailand where you can keep your socks on when visiting temples, Burma requires you to remove all footwear. You may want to carry moistened wipes to clean your feet between temples as the ground is not very clean.

Money

Burma’s currency is the Kyat (pronounced “chat”) and the exchange rate is a little below 1000 Kyats to the US dollar. There is no more black market and you can exchange your US dollars at the airport, or currency exchange booths, for similar rates. Dollars still need to be in perfect condition to be accepted.

Some hotels want to be paid in $US, while some accept both currencies. Entry fees to the Inle Lake area ($10) and Bagan ($15) need to be in $US. Taxis, buses and restaurants want Kyats. Make sure you have both currencies available.

I saw ATM machines in all the main tourist destinations I visited, but didn’t need to use them as I had brought sufficient US dollars. If you plan on using the machines, bring more than one card, just in case (for example one card on the Maestro/Cirrus network and one on the Visa network).

Do not assume you will be able to use your credit cards. Burma is very much a cash society.

Laundry

Laundry is billed by the piece, and not by kilo. For example a pair of pants may cost 500 Kyats to wash/dry, and a pair of socks 200 Kyats. For a week worth of laundry (1.5 to 2 kilos) I usually paid around $5-6.

Laundry is dried in the sun (like in most of southeast Asia) so if the weather is rainy, you may not get your clothes back on the same day.

Electricity

Power is 220 watts, and all the outlets I saw accepted both flat North-American prongs, and European rounded ones. I never needed my adaptors. If your devices are not dual-voltage you may still need a power converter.

Power outages are common, usually for a few hours at a time. You may not notice them too much as restaurants cook with gas, and hotels may have their own generators. Espresso machines and WiFi go down though!

Internet & Communications

The internet in Burma is very slow, when it works at all. In Bagan I could not read my email for two days. Uploading photos to the web became almost impossible north of Inle Lake. Many budget hotels do not offer WiFi. Only pricier western-style restaurants have it, and even there, it is not reliable. Most staff just shrug when you complain about internet connections.

Although everyone has a cell phone in Burma, not many people seem to use the internet. As a general rule, you cannot book your hotels, flights, or bus tickets online. You have to use travel agencies, or show up in person.

Some hotels will take phone bookings if you are coming the same day or the day after and explain to them how you are coming, and when you expect to arrive. They may even send someone to pick you up. Since they have no way to collect a deposit, many hotels worry that you will not show up, or end up going somewhere else on arrival, leaving them with an empty room.

There is no obvious method for booking hotel rooms. I booked a few through a travel agent (entire payment required in advance), one by calling them on my cell phone, one by showing up in person, and one by having my previous hotel call for me.

If you have an unlocked GSM cell phone, you can buy a Burmese SIM card. I bought mine at a small shop selling cell phones near Sule Pagoda in Yangon for $25. It is valid for 30 days.

Health

You should consult your travel doctor and have your vaccinations up to date before you travel to Burma. Malaria is present in Burma in areas below 1000 metres (except in Yangon and Mandalay). Medical care in Burma is not of a very high standard. Buy medical insurance and don’t take useless risks. See also the CDC web site for Burma.

Final words

Travel in Burma is a little more difficult than elsewhere in southeast Asia, but that shouldn’t faze out the experienced independent traveller. Although prices have risen, it is still many times cheaper to travel independently than to go with an organized tour. Having said that, having good guides (through a fully organized tour, or hired individually in each place) will certainly enrich the experience. I used the Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) guidebook throughout my trip.

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Two useful words to learn:
Mingalaba = hello
Shizu temare = thank you very much
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Have fun!

This information was accurate as of January 2014.

(Note: This post contains an affiliate link.)

If you want to pick my brain about Burma, you can find me on Plansify.

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A coffee drinker in Burma

So you like coffee, and you happen to be in Burma… Tough luck.

First you are bound to notice those little packets in hotels and restaurants called CoffeeMix. This is a convenient mixture of instant coffee, sugar, and powdered creamer that you just need to mix with hot water to obtain an instant cup of coffee.

CoffeeMix, a Burmese staple

Not quite what you were looking for? Perhaps you will be asked by wait staff whether you would like your coffee white or black. White coffee is coffee with way too much sugar, and “milk” (probably powdered creamer). Or perhaps asking for coffee will simply bring you a cup of undrinkable dish water. I bet you’re missing the CoffeeMix just about now, aren’t you?

While travelling in Burma, many coffee drinkers just become tea drinkers for a while. In some places, you even get free tea with your meal (Chan tea in Chan state, Chinese tea in some Chinese restaurants). But do not get discouraged just yet. If what you’re really yearning for is a good cup of espresso (or latte, or cappuccino) it can be found. Just read on.

Yangon

Near Sule Pagoda, at 470/472 Maharbandoola Road, Cafe KSS serves good espresso coffee in a modern-looking, air-conditioned restaurant. They also have a full food menu and more staff than they need. The restaurant is a good break from the noise, dirt, heat, and traffic of the street. It seems to cater to tourists and well-off Burmese.

Yangon is a big city, and I am pretty sure there must be other places serving decent espresso. I just didn’t have the time to find them.

Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake)

Several places advertise cappuccinos and lattes in Nyaungshwe, but they are not all created equal. Some taste like they’ve just passed instant coffee into the machine and covered it with bubble bath foam.

For good espresso coffee, head straight to The Road to Inle, a small restaurant at 68 Phaung Daw Pyan Road (100 metres to the east of Myawadi Road). The service is friendly, and they also make good and fresh Burmese food. They will bring you Chan tea and tofu chips with every order, even if you’re only ordering coffee! Now all they need is WiFi.

Cappuccino at “The Road to Inle”

Note: Power often goes out in Nyaungshwe, in which case nobody is able to run their espresso machine, or their WiFi. (Who said that travelling in Burma was easy?)

Nyaung U

This small dusty town, the budget place to stay while visiting the temples of Bagan, has a wonderful cafe called The Black Bamboo. It’s French-owned and located in a peaceful green garden on a side street off Yarkinnthar Hotel Road (a.k.a. Restaurant Row – look for the little sign on the east side of the road). Besides coffee, they also serve ice cream, a few pricey food items, and, marvelously enough, European chocolate bars!

So there you have it. Three reliable places to get your coffee fix while in Burma. A cappuccino or latte goes for around 1500 or 2000 Kyats ($1.5 to $2). All those places also serve cold versions of the coffee (sometimes even frappé) for a bit more money.

Of the other popular tourist destinations, I didn’t find a single place in Kalaw serving espresso. Although I didn’t look everywhere, central Mandalay did not look promising either. Even finding decent food was a challenge in that city.

If you know of other good places to drink espresso coffee in Burma, please leave a comment for other coffee lovers. Thank you!

(The information contained in this article was valid as of January 2014.)

Bagan to Mandalay – land of bridges

I often tell my travelling companions that a good way to gauge my mood is to look at how many photos I take. The happier I am, the more I click away. Over two full days in Mandalay, I took three pictures of the city, all from the window of the breakfast room at my hotel. But let’s back up a bit.

The boat to Mandalay

Saturday morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:00 am in order to board a boat scheduled to depart Nyaung U at 5:30 am for its journey up the Ayeyarwady river to Mandalay. The taxi picked me up at 4:35 am and drove in the dark to the boat jetty. All I could see by the side of the road were some early risers cooking over open fires in front of their houses.

I was guided by flashlight down a muddy path to the boat, which actually looked quite nice and comfortable… and smaller than I anticipated. In total, we were only 9 passengers, all foreigners. We had padded chairs in an indoor cabin, but as soon as the sky got lighter and the air warmer, everyone moved outside. We had been on our way for about an hour by the time the sun rose.

Despite the high price of the cruise ($35) relative to other forms of transportation, I am really glad I picked that option. For a whole 12 hours I got away from the dust, the dirt, the pollution, the traffic and the honking that seem to characterize Burmese towns and cities. I had nice chats with people who spoke and understood English. I read a novel while watching river life. I had a cold beer while enjoying the sun and the refreshing breeze. Bliss. I almost wished I was on a one-week cruise instead of one day. I knew that way too soon we would be in Mandalay, and I hadn’t heard very nice things about the place.

Just before sunset we arrived on another muddy shore, and were immediately swarmed by taxi and songtaew drivers. An American couple and I decided to share a taxi since our hotels were nearby and after negotiating him down to a fair price ($4) we were on our way. At first sight, the busy city reminded me a little of Yangon.

From heaven to hell

Nylon Hotel was a step above what I had in Nyaung U, yet only $20 a night. And the WiFi, although slow, actually worked. When I ventured out to dinner though, I only had to cross a couple of streets to realize that this traffic was a lot trickier to negotiate than Yangon’s. Mandalay has a plethora of motorcycles (completely wanton vehicles) and no stop signs or traffic lights.

I went to the first restaurant I found, Mann. Despite being filled with travellers, I was very disappointed at both the quality and quantity of the food. Since it was full, they sat me with this young Swedish woman, Emma, and we had a good chat.

The following morning, after a disappointing breakfast consisting of one under-cooked fried egg, toast, and jam with the consistency of taffy, I walked to the Air Asia Travel & Service Centre to see if I could change the date of my outbound ticket. I was scheduled to fly out of Mandalay on January 22, but now wanted to leave earlier.

It was only a walk of six blocks, but took all the nerve I could muster just to cross the traffic-chocked streets and try not to step in the gutter off the broken and obstructed sidewalks. I feared that the office wouldn’t be there, or wouldn’t be open. Finally I spotted it, across a four-lane boulevard. Oh man! A small boy stared at me and asked me in English how I was doing. I waved my hand to mean “so-so” and pointed at the impassable road with an air of total despondency. In the end, he came across with me and helped me avoid becoming road kill. I walked into the Air Asia office sweaty and with an elevated heart rate. “I want to change my flight date” I told the clerk breathlessly. “I just want to get out of here.” Fifteen minutes later and $76 poorer I walked out with a plane ticket to Bangkok for January 14, two days later.

For the rest of the day, I only ventured out of the hotel to eat. Mandalay has a few “attractions”, but nothing that seemed worth getting down into the dusty noisy streets for. I had a lot of writing and internet surfing to catch up on anyway. Listening to my iPod with my noise-cancelling headphones, I was actually able to shut out the endless honking for a while.

One sight that I wished I could have photographed was a construction site where young women carried bricks to and fro by piling them up on their heads! I am not kidding. One of them had 10 bricks riding on her head. Yes, most tasks are still done manually in Burma as there is almost no machinery, but this is pushing it a bit!

Day trip to the ancient capitals

On Monday, my last day in Burma, I joined a couple of Israelis on a “tour” of the main attractions around Mandalay. We paid $10 each for the services of a driver and songtaew. This guy could barely speak English and he wasn’t a guide. He just dropped us off at the different sites and waited.

A songtaew is like a pick-up truck with two long parallel seats at the back. Being in the open air, we were exposed to the all the dust, fumes, and noise that makes Mandalay, despite its pretty name, such a hell hole. This town is so dirty that the leaves on the trees look grey, covered in a layer of dust. Driving through, it looked like the whole town was just as bad as the centre. There are virtually no nice buildings; everything is concrete, and charmless.

At the edge of town, as we entered the “suburbs”, concrete 4-storey buildings gave way to wooden houses and garbage dumps, then fields and huts. It’s surprising how quickly a busy city transforms into villages without electricity or running water.

After a brief stop at a wood carving workshop and store, we drove to the ancient capital of Sagaing where we were instructed to climb a gazillion steps to a golden temple with a view over the town and river. Unfortunately, the “smog” made for rather poor photos.

Our next stop was Inwa, another ancient capital, reached by a short boat ride across the river. Once on the other side, horse carts awaited and tried to charge $9 to take tourists around the sights. My companions were not keen on it so we started walking. And walking. And walking some more, and we hadn’t yet reached the first sight. Finally we gave in and stood by the side of the road. A songtaew soon stopped. Hard negotiations followed. After walking away, we finally got our price of $2 each to be taken around.

The sights consisted of a wooden monastery where little novice monks studied, the ruins of an old watch tower (at the end of a bone-rattling ride on rocky dirt roads) and another monastery in a different architectural style dating from the 19th century. We were also forced to buy a $10 combo ticket to see some of these sights.

Lunch was also an extra expense, and although food was plentiful, I didn’t find it especially tasty. In fact, all the food I’ve had in Mandalay and surroundings has been disappointing.

The last stop of the day was U Bein’s Bridge in the town of Amarapura. This is the world’s longest teak footbridge, and spans 1.3 kms over lake Taungthaman. It’s made up of wooden planks that creak and clap as you walk over them, yet it feels rather solid, as crowds of people cross it in both directions.

That night I had another meal of greasy noodles. Fortunately, I also got some free Chinese tea to help wash it down. I think the best food I had in this city was at the ice cream shop across from my hotel. One night I had a banana split for dinner!

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find any redeeming quality to Mandalay…except perhaps the cheap draught beer (60 cents a mug).

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Getting out

Finally Tuesday morning came. Relief was in sight. But first I had to get to the free Air Asia airport shuttle, five blocks away. I would have braced myself and walked it with no luggage, but loaded with three bags, I decided to look for a taxi for the short ride.

The guy at the hotel said it should cost 1000 Kyats ($1) but the taxi drivers were adamant that it was $2. For $1 I could get a ride on a motorcycle. I pointed to my bags to indicate that I was a little too loaded for a motorcycle. “No problem” the guy said. I should have known, looking at entire families with cargo riding motorcycles, that for them this was small potatoes. Time was of the essence, so I grudgingly accepted. Immediately I was fitted with a too-large helmet, which provided about as much protection as a party hat. The driver put my two smaller bags in front of him (the larger pack was still on my back) and off we went into the fray. Fortunately I was distracted from the deadly traffic by the thought that I might get head lice from this helmet. But when I took it off and saw the filth in it, I doubted that even lice would want to spend 5 minutes in there.

The bus was large and comfy (made in Japan is my guess) although the driver was driving it bare feet! We got to the airport without incident an hour later.

Conclusion

There is something about constant filth that is deeply demoralizing. Being such a clean person, I think it slowly sapped away my travelling joy and energy. That’s partly why, after only 18 days, I decided I had seen enough of Burma and was ready to leave. And it wasn’t just the streets that were dirty. Even the hotel rooms were rarely cleaned to western standards. It’s almost as if they ran a wet rag over the sink and toilet and called it a day. I was just yearning for sparkling fixtures and a blemish-free bathroom mirror.

The other main things that frustrated me, as I’ve mentioned many times, is the almost-impossible-to-use internet connection. I’ve also been travelling non-stop now for 7 weeks. It’s time for a break.

Inle Lake to Bagan

My last day in Nyaungshwe was spent running errands and trying to update the website. Using the internet in Burma has proven increasingly frustrating. Something I could do within half an hour in Thailand, such as uploading photos, takes days here!

I am toying with the idea of cutting my stay short (3 weeks instead of 4) if I can change my flight back to Bangkok without incurring too much of a penalty. Other than the bad internet, the dirt and dust is really getting to me. I’ve had a runny and stuffy nose for a week now. And a bit of a cough and dry throat. It’s worse in the morning and evening. The symptoms are similar to a cold (without the sore throat) but I’m pretty sure it’s not.

Well, you’re not here to hear me complain, so on to Bagan.

Bus ride to Nyaung U

I woke up at 5:45 am on Tuesday morning for my pick up to take me to the bus terminal in order to catch the 7:00 am bus to Nyaung U (gateway town to the temples of Bagan). I had plenty of time to worry because I didn’t get picked up until 7:10 am! My hotel owner kept calling them and telling me not to worry, that they were on their way, and that the bus wouldn’t leave until we were all there. Really? I was only half-convinced. But what do you know… The bus and all the tourists rolled in around 7:20 am and the bus left at 7:30 am. I’m trying to imagine a bunch of Burmese travelling in Canada. I think they would have a rude awakening to this little thing we call “punctuality”.

Yes, I know, it’s the same all over South-East Asia and other parts of the world. I should relax. Why do I feel so high-strung on this trip? I’ll blame it on the lack of internet connectivity!

The bus was a “normal” bus, somewhere between the VIP bus and sardine can I have experienced previously. I was surprised when the woman at the hotel told me the bus would arrive in Nyaung U at 2:30 PM. It was earlier than I was expecting… because it was false. The bus arrived at 5 PM. Fortunately, I booked myself a room in a hotel with my cell phone while I was on the bus. At least that’s one thing that works pretty well here. They even told me they would pick me up at the bus station.

Indeed, when I got off the bus in the dusty lot, there was a man holding a sign with my name. Even if it was misspelled, it’s always a treat to have someone waiting for you when you disembark in yet another strange town. This time, my ride turned out to be a horse cart! My hotel, the New Park Hotel was nearby. I had booked the cheapest room, which was still overpriced at $30. I have travelled in the third world and this room was not worth that much money. It looked like it hadn’t been painted or plastered in 50 years, and the shower head looked about 100 years old. Stains everywhere. Hard to say what is dirt and what is just a stain. $10-15 OK, but $30??! So I decided to stay 2 nights and look for something cheaper.

Food

Nyaung U I discovered has crappy overpriced budget hotels, but great Burmese food. After my bad experience in Yangon I had been avoiding Burmese curries, but right next to the New Park Hotel I discovered the restaurant of the brand new Hotel Blazing. The cheapest room is $55 (for one person) but you can get a four-course set meal for $3.50! And it’s delicious too. I went back two nights in a row.

There is also a French-owned place called The Black Bamboo where you can get decent cappuccinos (not great but decent) set in a nice peaceful garden away from the honking cars.

Wednesday I spent the day getting my bearings, pricing information, and looking for a new hotel. I found a slightly nicer room at the May Kah Lar guesthouse, with a wood floor and wood panelling. It’s on the second floor an it’s warmer than at New Park. I was surprised to discover that even Bagan, which is near sea level, has coolish nights. This isn’t southern Thailand anymore. We’re a lot further north here. I sleep with blankets. Days are hot but not uncomfortably so.

The Bagan temples by horse cart

Finally on Thursday, I set out on exploring the temples that have put Burma on the traveller’s map. It’s a very large area and there are thousands of temples and stupas scattered about. Most were built between the 11th and 13th century and some have been partially restored (and occupied by handicraft vendors) while others are still original. The locals still use them to worship at many of the large Buddha statues inside.

For my first outing I decided to hire a horse cart and driver for the day even though it was a little pricey at $20. The guy who came to pick me up turned out to be the 20-year old nephew of the original guy, and his English wasn’t as good. I felt a little cheated already. (And the fact that he tried to get more money from me at the end of the day because my $20 would go to the “owner” was just damn funny!)

We made 12 stops in total, on top of the lunch stop at a nice vegetarian restaurant called “The Moon”. Horse carts go even slower than bicycles, and much slower than those electric bicycles that they rent here. The best thing is that you don’t have to keep searching for temples, taking wrong tracks, etc. The temples and stupas are scattered around, and many are along small dirt paths. The pictures (if I manage to upload them) show some of the sights.

At the largest and most popular temples, handicraft vendors were selling their wares and could be a little annoying at times. A few of the places even had whole walkways lined with handicraft stalls.

Rules for all temples involve taking off your shoes and socks, which didn’t sit well with me at all because I hate having dirty feet. You’re walking over grit, bird poo stains, and who knows what else. I had wet wipes with me and cleaned my feet religiously after each site.

Some temples had large golden Buddhas inside, some had one or two levels you could climb for views over the plains studded with pagodas of all shapes and sizes. Some had original murals or ornamental work. And of course you had to find an appropriate perch to watch the sunset from!

Chocolate saves Burma from the wrath of BigTravelNut

Friday morning I became so frustrated with the inability to download my email that I almost lost it. It was the second day in a row. I was in a foul mood, mumbling to myself and insulting the country. The internet at my hotel was too slow. Same story at the restaurant next door. I walked all the way to the French-owner cafe thinking that surely they must have a good connection, but no such luck. Fortunately I was able to order not only a cappuccino but.. gasp… a Toblerone bar! Chocolate is almost impossible to find in Burma. This chocolate tasted so delicious (the first I’ve had since November) I was swooning. And then my “hummm” and “haaaa” turned into a coughing fit when a little piece of nut got caught in my (already dry) throat. But still, I was in a much better mood after that.

The Bagan temples by bicycle

In the afternoon, I rented a bicycle and visited a few more temples on my own. I took a couple of wrong paths and was accosted by children asking for money. Huh huh. The bad side of tourism is already starting to rear its head in Burma: begging kids, adults trying to trick you into their store. This seems worse in Bagan than in other places in Burma, probably because it is the top tourist destination of the country. This also explains the overpriced hotels.

I was considering staying an extra day, but given my need for decent internet connections, I decided to push on to Mandalay on Saturday. This story coming soon, as well as why I’ve changed my ticket out of the country to January 14 instead of 22!

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Kalaw to Nyaungshwe and Inle lake

Thursday was my last day in Kalaw. I expected to be sore from the hike, but I felt pretty good. I ran into Samira in the restaurant at breakfast and commented on the green goo-coloured jelly that they served us with the always-the-same “white toast and fried egg” breakfast that the Burmese assume is the average foreigner’s breakfast. I complemented this by a stop at a Burmese tea house where I was served tea and samosas for less than a dollar.

After checking out the local market, I started climbing the 200 or so steps to yet another buddhist temple when I was distracted by a sign promising a “restaurant with view”. There I was invited to share the table of a couple from Luxembourg. We had a good chat and even though the “view” wasn’t grandiose it felt great outside in the shade at noon time.

Kalaw is really chilly in the evening and early morning (easily below 10C) but by mid-day the temperature is perfect. Bright sun every day. I took advantage of it by sitting on my balcony (with view over the town) and reading my novel in the late afternoon.

The day was wrapped up by dinner with Shamira at Sam’s Family Restaurant and some more time on the frustratingly slow internet back at the hotel.

Leaving Kalaw

On Friday morning I left the hotel on foot at 7:30 am to catch the 8:00 bus to Shwe Nyaung. It was FREEZING. I could see my breath, and the boy who was leading me to the bus was shivering. I had layered a tank top, a long sleeve shirt and my fleece and was still cold. I didn’t pack for this kind of weather!

The bus was a sardine can parked by the side of the dusty street. For some reason, despite knowing three days ahead of time that I needed a seat on this bus, I hadn’t been able to get precise information on how to get a ticket, and by the time the hotel staff got me my ticket on that same morning, I ended up in the second to last row, sitting on a wheel well, with my two smallest bags!

As anticipated, the ride was bumpy, but thankfully only one hour and a half long. Thanks to the cold and the bumps, I really needed to pee. The three Israeli from the hike on Wednesday were also on the bus, and we negotiated a tuk-tuk for $1 each to take us the 12 kilometres to Nyaungshwe, our final destination. We made the driver stop after we were outside the town and all went to pee by the side of the road. This is one of those times when I really wish I was a man!

About Nyaungshwe

Nyaugshwe is the main town near Inle lake, which is the real tourist attraction. They ask for a $10 “admission” when you enter the area. Burma is following Thailand In its two-tier pricing system: one price for foreigners, and a much lower price (or free) for locals. This applies to attractions, transportation, and even some restaurants (the ones where the buses stop for example). Nyaungshwe is the most touristy place I’ve seen in Burma so far.

My hotel, the Lady Princess, has all the conveniences, except WiFi. When the travel agent in Yangon was booking it for me, I was so concerned about having hot water that I forgot to mention WiFi. The only reliable connection I’ve found so far is at a French cafe with designer-decor, and prices to match. Unfortunately their cappuccinos are horrible, and it’s a good 15 minutes walk from the hotel (much faster with a rented bicycle).

After a week without a decent coffee, I have finally found good cappuccinos here at a restaurant called Road to Inle, close to my hotel. The first time I showed up there with much anticipation, they couldn’t make me a cappuccino because the electricity was out! Power outages are a fact of life in Burma, even though most hotels have generators.

There aren’t many cars circulating on the narrow streets here. Most people get around on bicycles, motorcycles, noisy tractor-like contraptions, or horse cart. However everybody moves rather slowly, so riding a bike is not scary.

Food

On the plus side, Nyaungshwe offers a wide variety of cuisines, probably because of the tourist presence. So far I’ve had Japanese, Italian, Chinese (dim sum), and of course Burmese.

A typical Burmese meal normally consists of a clear soup with ginger, garlic, coriander and mustard greens, and then a main course (curry with rice or noodle dish), followed by fruit. Here in Nyaungshwe they also serve you Shan tea and tofu crackers.

Inle Lake boat tour

On my first day, I was approached by a boat driver near the canal, who offered me a day trip on the lake for $20. This was only $2 cheaper than what my hotel offered, but the sights were the same. He made an argument for the fact that I should spend my money around and not give it all to the hotel, since this was his only business, and he didn’t have a hotel. I decided his English was good enough and hired him on the spot!

So on Saturday morning, he picked me up from my hotel on his motorcycle at 8:30 to take me to his boat. All the boats ferrying the tourists around the lake look the same: long and narrow, with a loud engine, up to 5 seats one behind the other down the middle, and optional umbrellas to protect from the sun (no roof). I was the only person on this boat. The first hour and a half on the lake was cold and I wore a T-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, fleece, and blanket on top.

The tour of Inle Lake made for quite an interesting day. The canal opens up into the lake proper where leg-rower fishermen are hard at work. They wrap their leg around an oar and paddle that way, while their hands are free to do other things. It’s unique to this region and quite an acrobatic feat.

Further down, the lake splits into canals lined with mangroves. Some are as narrow as residential streets, others as four-lane highways. Villages stand on stilts, or on whatever solid land they can find. It’s all very scenic, and it would be peaceful if it wasn’t for the noise of dozens of tourists boats all heading out at the same time.

In those villages you make many stops to workshops (they call them factories) where different goods such as textiles, silver jewelry, cigars, and paper umbrellas are fashioned by hand. Lotus fiber is used to make fabric which is seven times as expensive as silk. It takes 4 tons of the plant (I think I heard that right) just to make one scarf.

My boatman looked disappointed that I wasn’t shopping, which means that he probably gets commissions. I didn’t feel too guilty though, since I had hoped that he would act as guide as well, but he didn’t.

We also stopped at the market in Inthein, a busy dusty affair, behind which stands a rather unexpected archeological sights: over a thousand stupas (most from the 17th and 18th century according to Lonely Planet) in various states of disrepair and re-construction.

Wine making in Burma?

Sunday I rented a bicycle from the hotel for only $1.50 (for the whole day). I checked out the town’s market which was in full swing. Markets go to different towns on a 5-day rotation. It was pretty much what I expected: narrow perpendicular alleys crammed with produce, clothes, every-day products, and meal stalls. Most of it was covered by tarps suspended high enough to clear the head of a 5-feet tall person. So I kept ducking. It’s easy to feel like a really huge creature wandering around most of Southeast Asia and its petite people.

After a pretty authentic lunch of dim sum, I headed to the Red Mountain Winery, my goal for the day. That’s right, Nyaungshwe produces wine! My hotel owner told me that it is owned by French people. It was only a 20-minute bike ride from town, but I’m still trying to expel the dust from my nose. I have the sniffles as if I have allergies. The narrow road has dirt or sand shoulders and passing vehicles raise up clouds of dust (and exhaust) as they pass.

The winery is up a hill, guaranteeing beautiful views over the vineyards and beyond, all the way to the lake. For $2 you can sample four wines: a sauvignon blanc, a rose, a tempranillo-shiraz, and a a muscat (late harvest). They don’t have tours per-say, but you can wander around. A bit later I sat on the terrace outside, had a glass of the muscat, and chatted with a couple of Spaniards. The sauvignon blanc was pretty good too.

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Moving on

I bought a bus ticket for Nyaung U (gateway to the Bagan temples) for Tuesday morning. The bus leaves at 7:00 am and It should be a 7-hour ride.

After 10 days in Burma, I’ve had as many frustrations as great moments, so I keep ploughing forward.

 

Yangon to Kalaw

I could have been sitting in Business class on an airplane: large seat, lots of legroom, blanket, beverage service, pretty hostess. But I was actually on a JJ Express bus bound for Kalaw, in the mountains of Shan State. JJ, in case you’re wondering, stands for “Joyous Journey”. 🙂

The bus journey

After an hour by taxi through the fumes of Yangon’s rush hour to reach the bus terminal, and a third-world looking waiting room, I didn’t have high expectations. The pretty hostess serving coffee was a good sign though… I was a bit wary of spending 10 hours on a bus at night, but my fears were mostly unfounded.

I had just settled into my large seat that I won an inflatable pillow in a bus draw! The monk sitting across the aisle from me won a rain jacket. He said his name was “Gina” (at least that’s what I heard) and spent the first hour of the trip asking me questions about my trip, where I came from, etc. His English was good, and I don’t have conversations with monks very often, so this was not an imposition.

Once we got on the highway, most people went to sleep even though it was only 7 PM. They were playing a B-movie on the TV screen, but the volume was barely audible over the air conditioning, which suited me fine. The A/C kept the bus at a rather chilly 19C and everybody was wrapped in jackets and blankets.

Since the highway itself proved to be unexpectedly bumpy, I took a Gravol (motion-sickness remedy). Just as I was starting to fall asleep came a half-an-hour dinner and bathroom stop. I slept most of the way after that, which surprised me. The seats reclined quite a way back which helped. Around 3:00 AM the effect of the Gravol started waning. By then we were climbing up a twisty mountain road which was also bumpy and I got a little worried that I might get sick. I was about to fall asleep again when the ceiling lights came on and the hostess advised me that we had arrived at my hotel.

The hotel

I scrambled out with my bags and found myself on the main road, in the dark, in front of a four-story building: the Seint Hotel. It was very cold at 3:45 am, since Kalaw is at 1320 metres altitude. How cold? I would guess 10C or so. A bit of a shock when you’re coming from balmy 30C Yangon.

Inside the hotel I found two guys sleeping on the floor and nobody at reception. It took the guys about 15 minutes to wake up, look at my voucher with the face of people who have no idea what they’re looking at, and call a third person. I was getting a little annoyed because it was now 4:00 am and I wanted my “already paid for” room.

The room itself was just as cold as the outdoors, and the water coming out of the tap was finger-numbing freezing. This is Burma. Of course there is no central heating. I ended up going to bed with my socks on, shivering. “Kalaw very cold” they had told me in Yangon. But hey, how bad could it be I had thought. I am Canadian after all!

The town

I woke up at 8:00 am on Tuesday morning. As soon as I opened the curtains, the hot sun came shining through and the whole town lay below me. That kind of made up for the bad coffee they served me with breakfast. I don’t think I will find cappuccinos here.

Walking through Kalaw, you think you’re in Nepal at times. And the many restaurants serving Indian and Nepali food reinforce that illusion. The air is cool but the sun is fiercely hot. In the morning you go out with long sleeves and a fleece, and by mid-day you’re wearing a T-shirt. By the time the sun sets, you’re back into your warm clothes again.

I didn’t do much on Tuesday except explore the town, try a couple of restaurants, and book a day hike for Wednesday. This is what you do in Kalaw: hike in the mountains. I met Samira, from Chicago, who had just signed up for the hike as I was asking for information. I decided to join her.

I spent part of the afternoon reading on my balcony and trying to download my email. The internet connection here is painfully slow. Don’t take it personally if I don’t reply to your messages right away.

I had a tofu and cashew curry for lunch, and a potato and vegetable curry at a Nepali restaurant for dinner. They sat a Swiss couple with me because they were running out of tables. We had a nice chat.

The hike

Finally today, New Year’s Day, I did a 19 kilometre hike through an amazing variety of landscapes for such a small area: town road, mountain path with amazing views, forest, rice fields, orange groves, tea fields, plantations of cauliflowers, coriander and other edibles. The area around Kalaw is agricultural, and home to a few different ethnic groups. Our guides, Nuele and Momo were two adorable Burmese girls wearing straw hats.

We visited a Palaung village and were invited for tea in a large wooden house. Our guides explained how the family cultivated and sold tea. There were many little children in the house and nobody seemed phased by my big camera. I let the other people in our group ask the questions while I focused on taking photos. My first thought upon walking in was that it reminded me of one of those reconstructed dwellings you sometime see in museums. They cooked on an open fire in the middle of the house, which was made up of a single room. Interesting. And nobody tried to sell us anything.

We then walked a bit more and had lunch at a rustic restaurant called the Viewpoint which proved true to its name with sweeping views over the mountains and fields. Then we started the three hour walk back to Kalaw.

There were a few narrow and slippery spots on the trail, but not too many long or steep inclines. It was just long. I can’t remember last time I walked more than a couple of hours. We left at 8:30 am and were back around 5 pm. My legs were about to buckle. All I could think about was a hot shower and a meal.

I ended up coming back to the Nepali restaurant for dinner. It’s much warmer than my room and the food is good. Today it’s full of tour groups and rather noisy. But it’s better than being cold. I’ve asked for an extra blanket tonight. I have two more nights here and then I’m moving on to Inle Lake, one of the most popular destinations in Burma.

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First stop in Burma: Yangon

Chop! Chop! Chop! A woman is gutting fish under my window…

When I arrived at my guesthouse late on Thursday night, the taxi dropped me off in a dark dirty alley in front of a door with a little sign made of lights announcing my accommodation. When I woke up on Friday morning and opened my curtains, I was looking straight down at a busy and colourful wet market full of people eating and shopping despite the early hour. Fascinating.

Not to worry though, my room is very decent and air-conditioned (although simple), and the staff at the guesthouse is friendly and helpful. But I am not surprised that the taxi driver from the airport had a little trouble finding it.

Initial impressions

Arriving in a new country, you immediately notice many peculiarities that you tend to forget after a few days. Landing in Yangon on Thursday night was no different. Already from the air, the city looked poorly lit.

Walking out of the airport my nostrils were assaulted by the  odour of car fumes and sewers characteristic of third world cities. The taxi driver who found me (as I was coming out of the airport washroom) was quite jolly though. I spent most of the ride trying to memorize the Burmese word for “thank you” (shizu temare). Traffic was erratic and honking. We were cut off by a speeding SUV and a sports car. The driving is certainly not helped by the fact that the Burmese drive on the right but their cars have the driver’s seat also on the right (like British or Thai cars).

First day in Yangon

The day started with me realizing that I was completely disconnected from the world. For some reason I couldn’t connect to the WiFi at the hotel at first (works now) and didn’t yet have a Burmese SIM card for my phone. The irony was not lost on me, being in a country that has been itself disconnected from the world for the last 50 years.

New friend

Fortunately the market outside my window and my friendly breakfast companions were enough to keep me from feeling sorry for myself. Since there is only one long L-shaped breakfast table in the tiny reception area of the guesthouse, it was easy (almost inevitable) to meet other travellers. Refreshing, after the “everybody for themselves” feel of Southern Thailand. This is where I met Cecilia, a French woman also travelling on her own. She’s funny, spunky, adventurous, and an aspiring photographer. 🙂

After a rather uninspiring breakfast of hard boiled egg, toast, banana, and instant coffee, I was eager to go explore. I decided to head for the centre of town: the Sule Pagoda. I was also hoping to find a place that sold SIM cards. And perhaps, if I was lucky, decent coffee!

Venturing out

The sun was already starting to get hot by the time I started my walk. The streets were very animated with many outdoor food stalls, shops, and cars (no motorcycles). My first impressions of the city itself were not very positive: noisy, smelly, dirty, and hot. Men (and some women) chew a betel-nut concoction that causes their teeth to turn black-red and from the look of it, eventually rot away. They hack and spit on the street constantly. Real attractive. Sidewalks are uneven with barely covered sewer ditches that run under them. The place reminded me a little of India, but without the amazing architecture.

To be fair, Yangon still has some beautiful colonial buildings from the British era, but they’re few and far between. Some have been left to decay and are now only ruins locked behind fences.

Passport please

It took me longer than expected to find the Sule Pagoda because I couldn’t see street names. I had to ask around several times. Fortunately once there I found both an air-conditioned restaurant that made cappuccinos, and a tiny shop that sold SIM cards for about $25. They asked for a copy of my passport (which I didn’t have). Why on Earth? It must be some kind of government scheme to keep track of foreigners using cell phones in their country or something of that nature. So I returned to my hotel sans SIM card.

But first I had some ice coffee, lunch (big serving of noodles with beef and veggies) and decided to walk down a few more (long) blocks to check out The Strand Hotel. This is the most expensive hotel in Yangon. It also dates from the colonial era, and although it has a pretty interior, and bygone-era atmosphere, that hardly justifies the $488 they charge for the cheapest room in my opinion. In contrast I’m paying $25 for my room. Just a few years ago, before foreigners stated pouring in, I would probably have paid $10-$12 for this room.

My own travel agent

Despite the warnings of “all the visitors” hitting Burma, I don’t see that many tourists when I walk downtown; nothing on the scale of Thailand at any rate. On Friday night I met up with a friend of a friend who is a travel agent here in Yangon. Because it is almost impossible to book things online in Burma yet, one way of organizing your trip is to go through a travel agent. Hotels are also very useful in helping you book bus tickets and hotels in your next destination.

Su Hlaing and a friend of hers showed up at my guesthouse around 6 PM and we all went for a beverage at a restaurant nearby. She helped me figure out an itinerary, and as I write this, she’s booked hotels in my two next destinations already. I’m meeting her tonight at her office to make the payment and get the vouchers.

I only saw Cecilia once that day and she told me that she had run into a famous french TV guy on the street, and they were going for dinner. Wow! Maybe I should start looking around for Johnny Depp. Maybe he’s in Yangon too! This place is getting popular.

Shwedagon Pagoda – the jewel of Yangon

Yesterday I finally managed to get a SIM card, and tried a typical Burmese tea house called Lucky Seven for lunch. It was a large and airy place with a lot of waiters milling around. (Most restaurants here seem to have lots of staff standing around, not looking very busy.) The Chinese tea is free, and you can order snack or noodles dishes from the menu. They also bring you little plates of samosas, cakes, etc. You only pay for what you eat. I ended up quite full with two pork buns and two small filled cakes for $1.50! The food here is even cheaper than in Thailand.

The highlight of my day however was going to be the Shwedagon Pagoda, quite possibly the largest Buddhist temple complex in southeast Asia still in active use. It’s large, and covered in gold leaf, and very very crowded. I mentally nicknamed it the Shwedagon Shopping Mall. I didn’t expect it to be so busy and this somewhat put me off, but what can you do? I spent over an hour walking around the large area and snapped about a hundred photos. They make you take your shoes and socks off before you’re allowed in, and judging by the state of my feet afterwards, not everybody has clean feet. It grosses me out just thinking about it. I timed my visit for dusk so I could see the structures both in daylight and with the illumination (see photos).

Too much beer

Finally I was about to go out for a late dinner, when I ran into Cecilia on the way out, and, along with another friend of hers who had just arrived, we all went for beers (and in my case some food) at a nearby local eatery. A few hours later there were five large empty bottles of beer on the table and my legs had a fair share of mosquito bites! My food (chicken with veggies in a sweet and sour sauce) was quite good for such a non-assuming restaurant.

I said goodbye to Cecilia this morning as she’s finished her trip in Burma and is returning to Bangkok. But I’m sure I’ll make more friends as I move north through the country. I’m taking a night bus to Kalaw tomorrow night.

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