Dec. 30, 2006
Bangkok to Nyaungshwe
Although Air Asia has the cheapest ticket between Bangkok and Yangon, the departure time from Bangkok to Yangon is not very civilized (7 a.m.). So I only booked a one way ticket from Yangon to Bangkok for 30 USD (booked 2 months in advance) and took Myanmar Airways from Bangkok to Yangon (4,900 baht one way).
The airplane departed around 10:30 a.m. and arrived at Yangon Airport about 1 hour and 10 minutes later. The new arrival hall had just been renovated (departure hall still under renovation) and immigration was quite straightforward. I had booked an Air Bagan flight to Heho at 2:30 p.m. so I just stayed inside the airport and had some delicious Dim Sim in the waiting room (only 700 kyat).
Among the 3 private domestic airlines in Myanmar, Air Bagan seems to be the leader. They have more routes and newer fleets. Some air hostesses are extremely beautiful. On their magazine, they outlined their plans to expand to have international flights to nearby countries.
The flight arrived at Heho Airport about 1 hour later. On arrival I saw an immigration checking desk as mentioned in some guidebooks but nobody seemed to bother and I just walked out of the arrival hall and went to search for a taxi. The first guy who greeted me asked for 25 USD and I rejected it right away. After walking around for a while, I went back to the same guy and arranged an 8 USD deal to Shwenyaung Train Station in the front seat (a less than 1 hour trip). I planned to buy a ticket from Shwenyaung to Thazi 2 days later but was told they didn’t sell advance tickets and I could buy the ticket on the same day by coming to the station 1 hour before departure time. The station is about 12 minute walk to the junction where I took a pickup to Nyaungshwe for 500 kyat. This leg took only 30 minutes.
Until I arrived in Nyaungshwe, I paid all the costs using US dollars and obviously lost some money due to unfavorable exchange rates. As soon as I got off the pickup, I exchanged 100 USD to kyat at a rate of 1:1,200. Although it’s not the best rate in town, at least I could use the local currency to buy some snacks.
I located Joy Hotel near a bridge where the pickup to Shwenyaung departs. The lady there was quite nice and helpful and answered many of my questions. I took a room with private bath for 5 USD and went out for a walk.
The town is small enough to walk around. The busiest area seems to be near the market. Having missed Chinese food for a while in Bangkok, I walked to the Chinese-run Hu Pin Restaurant and had a fried noodle with chicken for 1,500 kyat. The dish was quite delicious and the amount was sufficient (more than those in Thailand). The owner, like most other Chinese looking people I met later in Myanmar, speaks reasonable Mandarin.
There is nothing to do in this little town after dark so I decided to go to bed early. I ended up following this pattern on all my days remaining in Myanmar.
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| Nyaungshwe |
Dec. 31, 2006
Inle Lake
I got up at 7 a.m. to have some breakfast at the hotel. Most hotels in Myanmar include breakfast in the rate although it’s normally simple with toast, eggs and bananas only. I didn’t sleep well due to frequent cock crowing through the night so I asked to change to another room facing the yard for 4 USD (shared bath).
Around 7:30 a.m. I arrived at Mee Nge Tour Services near the pier. I met a Chinese lady the day before who would like to share a boat to Inle Lake. Considering a boat can take 4 people, to further reduce costs, we walked to the pier looking for other people who might be interested in sharing a boat with us. After talking to a few foreigners without luck, we decided to go back to the travel agency to take a boat for just two people. All of sudden, we met a couple from Israel who were frustrated by their travel agency that promised to have another couple to share with them but couldn’t keep the promise. They were more than happy to join us. Mee Nge seemed to have the best price in town and offered 3 packages from 10,000 to 15,000 kyat. We took the 12,000 kyat one that included Indein but didn’t include south part of the lake.
Like most of the day tours, our boat went through the fishmen, visited a market, a local village and many workshops (read souvenir shops), took us to a restaurant in the lake, got to Indein, shopped at a monetary on the way back and passed floating gardens. It was a busy day. Of the highlights, the canal to Indein is quite pleasant. Indein itself is also good with over 1,500 stupas. Floating gardens are also interesting with many plants (not flowers) floating on the waters. The market is good if you like to eat or buy souvenirs. During the trip, we also visited a long neck family and enjoyed some music/dancing by them.
The boat came back to Nyaungshwe after dark. Like many small towns in Myanmar, there is no electricity after certain time at night although some shops have generators. I had dinner with the Chinese lady at Kaung Kaung Restaurant (Hao Hao Fan Dian) and ordered a noodle soup with pork. For only 800 kyat, I learned I could get same delicious food at half price.
Nyaungshwe to Meiktila
The first pickup to Shwenyaung departs around 6 a.m. I got up around 5:30 a.m. (last night was better due to lack of cock crowing). I waited about 30 minutes for people to load all the fruits, vegetables, etc. to the truck. The pickup was full of ladies going to sell fruits, vetegables, etc. After getting off at Shwenyaung junction, I took a rickshaw (300 kyat) to the railway station to save some time and energy. At the station I bought an Upper Class ticket to Thazi for 7 USD without any trouble.
About 20 minutes before departure time (8 a.m.), the train was already in the station waiting for passengers. Despite old, the Upper Class seats are quite wide (only 3 per row) and very comfortable. The trip between Shwenyaung and Kalaw is nothing special. The train stopped at Kalaw for almost 30 minutes so I took this opportunity to have some lunch and bought some snack to eat on the train. After Kalaw, the train entered the mountains and went through jungles. There are a few little stations dotted in the mountains and sometimes the train had to switch back to get into the station - a very interesting journey. The train got out of the mountain at Pyanangazu. By the time it arrived at Thazi, it was around 6:20 p.m. (only 20 minutes behind the scheduled arrival time).
Outside Thazi station, I asked a guy if there are any ways to get a taxi to Meiktila. This ultra-helpful guy tried a few times for me to get a taxi without luck then introduced me to a rickshaw. He tried to negotiate the price down to 200 kyat from 500 kyat without me even asking for it. Finally we agreed on 300 kyat for the 1 km journey to the pickup. The pickup station is just opposite Moon Light Rest House and the driver asked for 5,000 kyat to take me to Meiktila (a 1 hour journey). Fearing there would be no more pickups, I only negotiated to 3,000 kyat and got the front seat.
The pickup terminated at Meiktila opposite Venus Guesthouse. A motorcycle took me to Shwe La Min Hotel. Having learned that singles were full and there were only doubles available for 10 USD, I walked south to Honey Hotel on the lake. They too had only 10 USD rooms with private shower. I decided to stay there due to slightly more knowledge of the owner than the previous one.
I had dinner at Shaw Ohn Pin Restaurant on the main road and again tried some noodles for 1,8000 kyat. Most restaurants in Myanmar that offer Chinese food seem to have similar menus. Being in a less touristy city, food here is slightly more expensive. It was around 8 p.m. and many buses from Mandalay to Yangon passed here (tickets for today were sold out).
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| A small railway station between Kalaw and Thazi |
Jan. 2, 2007
Bagan
To get to Nyauang U (near Bagan) from Meiktila, you need to take a pickup to Kyaukpadaung first then change to another one from there. I got up early again at dawn and had a breakfast in a nice pavilion with a good lake view. Then a boy in the hotel took me to the pickup by motorcycle. The pickup station is near the bridge and the driver asked for 8,000 kyat (front seat) and the hotel boy translated it to me. For some reason, I didn’t even bargain and accepted the offer right away. It took about 3.5 hours to reach Kyaukpadaung. Immediately after I got off the pickup, somebody offered to take me to the pickup point for Nyauang U by horse cart for 500 kyat. Why not? I jumped onto the cart. About 10 minutes later, I was in the front seat of a pickup for Nyauang U (2,500 kyat). It took another 1.5 hours to get to Nyauang U. All foreigners had to pay 10 USD to enter the area. The pickup terminated at Sapada Pagoda. I walked to Mann Express to buy the bus ticket to Mandalay the next day but was told this station had only one bus per day for Mandalay departing at 4 a.m. I then took a rickshaw to the main bus station to buy the 7 a.m. bus ticket. There was no normal seat available for the 7 a.m. one but I could buy a ticket at the same price (6,000 kyat) to sit in the aisle. There were still seats available for the 9 a.m. bus (the last bus for Mandalay) but that was too late for me. I bought 1 ticket for the 7 a.m. bus and they advised me to come to the bus station at 6:30 a.m. otherwise my ticket would be canceled even if I had paid the full amount. After getting the ticket, I walked to Royal Guesthouse just opposite the station. There was only 1 room available for 8 USD. I took a look at the room – it was probably the dirtiest room I had seen throughout my days in Myanmar. Further more, all the rooms didn’t have hot water. I then walked down a street next to the guesthouse and found a place called Golden Village Inn near Anawrahta Road. The 10 USD room was nice & clean with hot water. That’s it. I rented a bike for 1,000 kyat and started my journey into Bagan.
I rode along Anawrahta Road which is very wide and passed some pagodas dotted along the street. On arriving in Bagan, I went straight to Bagan Hotel to find more information about the Balloons over Bagan program. I was told that there were sunrise and sunset trips costing 250 USD each and I had to come again around 5 p.m. for more details (nobody was there at the moment). Not a problem. I continued my journey and checked out the brother and sister Nat shines at the Tharaba Gate. I then went south along an easily missed small road packed with vendors to see the highly respected Ananda Pagoda. It was very, very crowded there. The pagoda is still an important religious site for the locals. It’s indeed spectacular. Not a big fun of historical sites, I only checked out two more pagodas – Dhammayazaka (largest in Bagan) and Manuha (large reclining Buddha) before reaching Bagan Hotel again just 10 minutes before 5 p.m. The lady working for the Balloons over Bagan arrived very on time at 5 p.m. only to tell me that the sunset trip for the day had started around 3:30 p.m. and it was probably finished now. They simply had an early “sunset” trip! I was not too upset – after all it saved me 250 USD. I then implemented Plan B – watching sunset at Ayeyarwady River. I rode to the Irawaddy Princess Jetty and watched a wonderful sunset over the river.
Getting back through Bagan-Nyaung U Road, I arrived at Nanda Restaurant. This restaurant is famous for its puppet shows but I was told it was fully booked. I then went to BBB Restaurant with similar programs just 100 meters further. Luckily there were still seats available. I ordered some grilled fish for 4,500 kyat and waited there patiently. Most of the tables were booked by Japanese group tourists. There was at least one table of Thai group tourists. The puppet show finally started around 8 p.m. It was simple but not bad. The puppet show lasted about 30 minutes followed by some traditional dancing. The biggest problem was when I asked for the bill and handed over 5,000 kyat, I never got my changes back even after 30 minutes waiting. I then asked the manager what happened and finally got my changes back. Perhaps the restaurant had a habit of not returning small changes – I never know.
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| Sunset over Ayeyarwady River |
Jan. 3, 2007
Nyaung U to Mandalay
The mini-bus for Mandalay left shortly after 7 a.m. It was ultra-crowded. They put people in every corner of the bus. I secured myself on the platform behind the driver and it was not too bad. The bus stopped in a local restaurant for lunch and arrived in Mandalay 9 hours later (not 7 hours as mentioned in some guidebooks). I took a blue taxi (3,000 kyat) to the railway station to buy the ticket to Yangon a few days later (express train 35 USD). Initially they asked me to buy one day before but finally issued me one without much trouble. I then hopped on a rickshaw to buy the shared taxi ticket to Hsipaw the next day (19,000 kyat back seat). By the time I booked the taxi ticket, it was already dark and my initial plan to see U Bein Bridge in the afternoon was impossible.
I checked in Sabaiphyu Hotel and went out for a walk. The city center is not very big and most of the buildings are shophouses. There is one cinema but no shopping malls. It's quite dark in the evenings. I had my dinner at the popular Lashio Lay Restaurant. They have cooked food to pick – a pleasant place.
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| Nyaung U to Mandalay Mini-bus |
Jan. 4, 2007
Mandalay
I had only half a day to see Mandalay and around so I got up early and rented a bike from the hotel (1,000 kyat). The first stop was the long waited U Bein Bridge in Amarapura. It took me about 1 hour to get there (I used the long way along the lake). I have to say it’s probably the best site I saw in Myanmar. Although it was around 9:30 a.m. when I got there (not sunset), it was still very beautiful and romantic. A very relaxing walk along the bridge takes you to the other side of the lake. There are some pagodas and a school over there. I wished I could spend more time at this lovely place. Back on the bike again, I went back to Mandalay and stopped shortly at Mahamuni Pagoda. It looks like many other pagodas in Myanmar so I didn’t spend much time there. On arriving at downtown Mandalay, I still had one hour left so I rode the bike around the palace and saw the Mandalay Hill from the northeast corner of the palace. Finally no regret for Mandalay.
The taxi company picked me up at my hotel shortly after 12:00 noon. The trip to Hsipaw takes about 5 hours and climbs some interesting mountains (qualified for a national park in some countries). On arriving in Hsipaw, they didn’t ask me where I was going but took me to Mr. Charles Guesthouse instead. I asked to go to the train station first but the people at the guesthouse kept telling me that the train to Mandalay departs at 9:30 a.m. the next day and there was no point to go to the station now. Not my style. And although the guesthouse is very popular, it’s a little bit far from the train station. So I requested the taxi driver to take me to the train station. It was true that I couldn’t buy ticket for tomorrow. But the station staff also informed me that the train schedule had been changed. The train to Mandalay now departs at 9:10 a.m. – a very important piece of information (I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I stayed at Mr. Charles Guesthouse). Equipped with the correct information, I felt very confident to find Mr. Kid Guesthouse near the train station. It’s a big house on the main road. However, they put the sign inside the yard so you could easily miss it especially in the evening. They charged me 4,000 kyat (the only hotel that accepted kyat in my trip) for a room with private bath. The lady at the guesthouse was quite nice and talkative. I went out to have dinner at the popular Mr. Food (Law Chun) Restaurant. I don’t know why all the “popular” places in Hsipaw didn’t seem to work for me. I waited more than 30 minutes to get my fried noodle with pork served. Although the price was OK (800 kyat), it was not that delicious. When I returned back to the guesthouse, the electricity was over. Since the guesthouse didn’t have a generator, I had to use a candle and there was absolutely no hot water. No big deal – I didn’t have to shower everyday. And although it was very cold, with 3 blankets, I was alright. No complaining (I actually recommend it).
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| Aaungthaman Lake, Amarapura |
Jan. 5, 2007
Gotheik Viaduct
Although the main purpose to come to Hsipaw is to see Gotheik Viaduct on the train from Hsipaw to Mandalay, I still got up 30 minutes earlier to have a quick look at the town. It turned out to be quite worthwhile. The town was quite pleasant and seemed to have significant populations of different religions. I saw a mosque, a catholic church and a Baptist church. Although I couldn’t see the river very clearly due to heavy fogs, I did take a quick look at a park next to the river – a nice place in the community.
I bought a First Class ticket for 6 USD (no Upper Class for this train). The train actually arrived very early at 8:45 a.m. (supposed to be 8:55 a.m.) when I was just about to start my breakfast at the station. I tried to develop my patience while eating the very spicy Shan noodle. Not a big deal.
The First Class seat is much worse then the Upper Class. It’s similar to those in Regular Class with the exception that the seat is a little softer. I seemed to have some bad luck in Hsipaw - my seat was on the aisle and on the wrong side to see Gotheik Viaduct (the correct side is the right side when going from Hsipaw to Mandalay and the left side the other way). The train passed the viaduct (very slowly) around 12:30 p.m. I couldn’t see too much from my seat. It didn’t feel very high from what I could see (if you sit on the window, the feeling might be different). The train stopped at Gotheik station for a few minutes immediately after passing the viaduct. Again you have to be at the right side of the train to see the viaduct from the station.
After another one and a half hour or so, the train arrived at Pyin Oo Lwin, the biggest town in the journey, quite on time. I had a meal at the station and thought I could arrive at Mandalay on time. I was totally wrong. The train stayed at Pyin Oo Lwin for almost 4 hours before moving on after dark. When we arrived at Mandalay finally, it was over 10 p.m. already. I went straight to Hotel Venus, perhaps the closest to the train station among those that take foreigners. With 7 USD for a single room, it’s actually quite clean. There is even a fridge and a TV!
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| A horse cart outside Pyin Oo Lwin Railway Station |
Jan. 6, 2007
Mandalay to Yangon
The express train from Mandalay to Yangon that uses Chinese carts departs at 8:00 a.m. (they changed the train schedule recently and all the overnight trains were rescheduled to day trains). The seats are newer although not as wide as those on the Shwenyaung to Thazi train but still quite comfortable.
About 6 hours later, the train arrived at Pyinmana that gave me a chance to have a peep at the new capital. The town looked quite sizable with many people around. At the station, I saw some soldiers carrying guns. The station is also comparative in size with other big stations along the Mandalay – Yangon line.
This express train only stopped at Thazi, Pyinmana and Taungoo and arrived at Yangon about 10:30 p.m. (about 30 minutes behind schedule). After getting off the train, I went straight to Sunflower Inn north of the station. It turned out to be an old hotel without hot water but stilling charging 10 USD per room. Not a good place to stay for two nights. I crossed the bridge to get to the south of the station and located Beutyland Hotel II but was told it was full. I then walked further south to May Shan Guesthouse. The Chinese lady told me there were only double rooms available for 20 USD. I told her it was too expensive for me and walked out of the door. At this moment, she offered me 18 USD for midnight special. I expressed it was still expensive and offered 15 USD and was accepted (I had to change to a single room for another 15 USD for the second night). The lady actually speaks good Mandarin (although she had never been to China) and gave me a lot of useful information. The rooms were very clean and comfortable with satellite TV (English and Chinese channels) and hot water. The guesthouse is located right next to Sule Pagoda. Recommended.
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| Mandalay to Yangon Train |
Jan. 7, 2007
Yangon
I got up after 9:00 a.m. (the latest during my trip) to meet the breakfast deadline at 10 a.m. Equipped with the knowledge given by the hotel lady, I got on a bus heading north to see the symbol of Yangon, Shwedagon Pagoda. The bus fare was only 50 kyat and the conductor was very helpful. He instructed me to get off at the right stop and asked me to follow a guy who took me to a pickup (100 kyat) that took me right under the pagoda. I walked through a long passageway (with many shops on both sides) to the pagoda. To my surprise, nobody came to collect the 5 USD fee for foreigners. Not only shoes, socks are also not allowed to wear while in the area (it’s a good idea to bring a bag for the shoes since it takes some time to walk around). The pagoda and the surrounding area are splendid. Although not as big as the Grand Palace in Bangkok, it seems more balanced and to the point. I left the pagoda from another side using an elevator then took a taxi (1,500 kyat) to the pier to take a boat to Twante. Due to some communication problems, the driver took me to Pandosan Pier where you take a ferry across the Yangon River to Dala where you can take a pickup or bus to Twante. I walked 30 minutes along the river to the right pier. It turned out quite worth it. I saw many colonial buildings and some Chinese temples on the way. To my disappointment, there is no afternoon boat to Twante on Sundays so I had to come back to Pandosan Pier to cross the river to Dala then go to Twante by pickup. There are many buses and pickups between the two piers. I took one pickup for 50 kyat.
The foreigner fare to cross the river is 1 USD. The ferry runs every 20 minutes until 9:30 p.m. At Dala, there are many pickups going to different directions. Although all the signs are in Burmese, it’s not difficult to locate the one you want by just shouting the name of the destination. I waited almost 45 minutes for the pickup to be full to leave and it took 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach Twante, stopping numerous times on the way. A rickshaw guy offered to take me to the pier and I hoped to have luck to take a ferry back to Yangon to see the famous Twante Canal and delta life. Unfortunately there is no afternoon ferry on Sunday. The rickshaw guy tried to help me get on a fishing boat for 5,000 kyat to Yangon but the boat was late and would pass Twante around 10 p.m. A charter boat would cost 20,000 kyat to go to Yangon. I weighed the benefits and losses and decided to get back to Yangon by road. I already saw parts of Twante Canal from the piers in Twante on the way here. 20,000 kyat was way too much and I had to exchange more US dollars to kyat to survive the last day in Myanmar. I had some good fried noodle with Eel (1,800 kyat only) and Myanmar Beer (400 kyat) at Sein (Hollywood) Restaurant in the center of the town. Because of Sunday (again), the last bus and pickup left even before 5 p.m. The only choice was to share a taxi for 2,000 kyat. It was quicker to arrive in Dala (45 minutes). Don’t expect the normal 3 or so passengers in the taxi. They put 4 people in the back seat and on the way another passenger got on the car and sat on the same seat as the driver! Amazingly the driver drove the car as normal using one hand only. At Dala Pier, I decided to take a risk and have some fun - I asked a local person how much the local fare was and he told me 10 kyat. I handed 10 kyat to the ticket office and passed at ease. Only at this point I realized 10 kyat was the smallest amount I spent in Myanmar (although there are also 1 kyat and 5 kyat bills) and the foreigner’s fare is more than 100 times the local fare. Wow!
Still having some kyat left and I was about to leave the country the next day. I decided to treat myself with a massage at Siri Beauty Plus for Health on Dhammazedi Road. At 8,000 kyat for one hour, the package included two people - one working on your head and upper body while another one doing you feet. The session even included a cucumber treatment on your face. Not a bad value.
After the treatment, I had my dinner at the Chinese restaurant right across the street and had a steamed whole fish for 2,000 kyat. After the meal, the Chinese owner called a taxi to take me to my hotel for 1,500 kyat.
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| Shwedagon Pagoda |
Overview
Myanmar is a very safe place to travel to and people are quite friendly. While most people don’t speak much English, you can always find people who can speak reasonable English to help you. If you can take Chinese food, eating is not a problem. Food is normally delicious (even in the small towns and on the road). Contrary to some guidebooks, it seems not difficult to buy train and bus tickets, even within a short time at this high season.
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