Since the Chinese authorities would only grant us a month long visa that left us with about 10 days to explore somewhere else. Burma seemed to be moving forward in a positive direction so we decided to carry on with our ‘axes of evil’ travels. So on landing in KL we had just enough time to unpack, do the washing, sleep, repack then head back to the airport. We’d debated long and hard for over a decade about the wisdom or folly of visiting but with the recent political changes we decided the time was right. So what shall we choose Myanmar or Burma? Well, during our time there people described themselves as being Burmese and most of the locals referred to their land as Burma; so we’ll go with that.
Yangon
We landed late evening feeling a little travel weary and were delighted to find ourselves in a modern, clean airport with friendly, efficient immigration staff. I suppose all the negative press we’d been exposed to over the years had led us to dread anything to do with paperwork and potential red tape. To be warmly welcomed into a country is always pleasant but this felt particularly significant. We’d read as much about Burma as we would about any other country we were planning to visit but we found ourselves concentrating heavily on how the authorities would view our presence. The Lonely Planet in particular made it sound like it would all be cloak and dagger with the authorities following your every move. The truth was far from that and I reckon the author had read too many Graham Greene novels!
We’d pre-booked ourselves into Motherland Inn 2 as we didn’t fancy wandering around looking for somewhere in the dark. The hostel had sent someone to pick us up as promised so we jumped into their funky little jeep thing and sped along the dark streets. At $18 a night B&B it’s probably a bit over priced as the rooms are worn. Nothing a lick of paint wouldn’t sort out, and to compensate the staff were very friendly and helpful with excellent English. The included breakfast was simple but worth tucking into even just to save a few kyat (pronounced chat) and save the bother of trying to find somewhere else.
The Lonely Planet has a suggested 3km walking tour of the city, which focuses on colonial buildings and we used this as a rough guide. In the end we walked about 10kms and felt like we’d covered the length and breadth of the city. We’ve always said that exploring by foot is the best way to get your bearings and get a feel for a place. Yangon is a noisy, dirty, crumbling city but with oodles of charm. We felt very at home wandering around the streets taking in the sights, sounds and smells. This could have a lot to do with the fact that it reminded us very much of our first visits to Colombo back in the day. No one bothered us and we were free to wander and generally absorb city life. Yangon is much more akin to the Indian sub-continent than its neighbours Thailand or China.
Our first point of interest was Sule Paya which is a pagoda / stupa built on top of a row of shops in the middle of a roundabout. Odd. There are lots of old colonial buildings in that area too that have obviously been grand in their time. Many of them are rotting and crumbling but some are being restored and the city hall in particular is looking splendid. It took us a while to work out which one it was as it’s no longer yellow but fittingly for a CITY hall – sky blue! Our amblings round the colonial district led us to Strand Road and The Strand Hotel. In theory this colonial relic is up there with The Galle Face Hotel (Colombo) and The Eastern & Oriental (Penang) but to be honest it doesn’t look anything special from the outside. To be fair to the hotel we didn’t expect it to be plonked right next to the main road and hope to inspect the inside at the end of our trip.
We then carried on through the busy Chinese and Indian market districts and in fact ended up carrying on much further than we’d intended. We were so busy gawping at life going on around us that we totally missed the Hindu temple we were aiming for. Luckily this part of town is built on a grid system so we simply turned around and followed a parallel road. We found the Shri Kali temple that had a steady trickle of worshippers entering and leaving. We decided not to go in but were impressed with the temple’s natural decoration – the main kovil is covered in plants that are almost obliterating the images of gods. A light drizzle had started so we headed towards Bogyoke Aung San Market.
We mooched around the market while it was raining and were surprised to find it a calm experience. The vendors gave us lots of time and space to browse and no one did a hard sell if you did enquire about prices. The odd passer-by would be trying to flog fakes gems but other than that we were left to our own devices. We weren’t really on for buying anything at this stage in the game as we didn’t want to have to lug it around. Unfortunately the rain outlasted our shopping attention span so we decided to find somewhere for a drink. The first place we stumbled upon was Zawgyi’s House which wasn’t the cheapest option but it wasn’t outrageous. The fresh juices were good and they had a covered outdoor seating area affording good people watching.
As soon as the rain eased we back-tracked to the biryani restaurant section of Anawratha Road. We plumped for the recommended Nila Biryani shop but to be honest I don’t think you could make the wrong choice in that area. The food was tasty but it didn’t exactly constitute a light lunch so we decided to walk it off and headed down Shwedagon Pagoda Road. Not surprisingly this road leads to Shwedagon Pagoda which is Yangon’s principal sight. Once we were free of town we found the paths were wide, tree lined, quiet and free of street stalls. Although this is one of the main roads in town it was a pleasant stroll past former grand residences.
Shwedagon Pagoda
This is basically a whole whack of stupas and Buddha images dominated by the huge main golden paya sat on top of a hillock. The Lonely Planet waxes lyrical for page after page about this place and even has a separate glossy colour section for it so we had quite high expectations. Yes, it’s great; it’s lovely and well worth a visit but people should be left to form their own opinions. What one person finds fantastic is another’s ordinary and what you find interesting I may find tedious. We found the Burma (& the China) LP’s way too opinionated and felt that the authors had forgotten they were writing a practical travel guide not a novel. While we’re having a whinge and since we’re at a tourist site let’s talk about money and entrance fees. The Mandalay section of the guide is very frustrating as there is constant griping about ‘the pesky $10 combo fee’ and to ‘avoid the combo fee’. If you really feel that strongly about giving money to the Burmese government then may I suggest you shouldn’t be in the country in the first place? The LP’s oxymoron in all this fee talk is that the $10 for the Bagan complex is instantly accepted and hardly mentioned in 2 entire chapters. On simply setting foot in Burma you have to accept that some of your money will go to the government. However, it is easy to spend the bulk of your tourist dollars in privately run places. If you’ve made the decision to go then you have to accept the country as it stands. Don’t like it – don’t go.
Right let’s get back to our travels. We entered the Shwedagon Pagoda complex via the south gate which led up a covered, shop lined flight of steps. Obviously you have to take your shoes off as you enter a Buddhist place of worship and we deposited our shoes as we entered. It later dawned on us that we would have to exit via the same route but there are actually four gates. As luck would have it the south gate was the best way for us to exit to get back to the hostel. I just thought I’d mention it as it’s something to bear in mind should you ever visit. At the top of the steps we spied a simple ticket booth but it was unmanned so we didn’t break our stride and casually passed by. We both assumed that one another hadn’t spotted it, hence not a stutter in our steps or an embarrassed lowering of the head. In reality we’d both seen it and must have telepathically communicated our intentions. As luck would have it no one checked to see tickets on the way out either so we got away with $5 a head + $5 camera fee. Now we don’t want to diddle anyone or travel around cloak and dagger style but if you don’t have to add to the government’s coffers .......
I’ll get around to telling you about that pagoda yet! The thing is there’s not really a lot to say – there are lots of Buddha images, in all shapes and sizes, all over the place and housed in various stupas. It is impressive and we’re glad we popped in but unless you’ve never seen anything like it before it’s not mind blowing. The base of the main stupa is lined with a clutter of small stupas so it’s difficult to get the full impact of it. What we did enjoy about our visit was how peaceful and serene the complex is compared to say somewhere like the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Here there were very few people around and those who were there were genuine worshippers. I think the main problem I had was coming to terms with the contrast between temple and town. Here we were stood surrounded by bright, well looked after, twinkling buildings having walked through dull, crumbling, grey buildings to get there.
To get back to town we decided to walk through the park and along the edge of Kandawgyi Lake. Well we would have done if we’d chosen to part with a couple of dollars a head so instead walked along the leafy road literally the other side of the fence for free! We managed to get a little lost once back in town but eventually located a street name, righted our course and got back to the hostel without mishap. In the end we’d been out for 8 hours and had spent most of that time walking – you can’t say we didn’t explore Yangon! We decided to treat ourselves to a posh tea.
Luckily we’d thought to pop in one outfit that was a bit smarter (Steve even had a shirt with him!) and it turned out to be just as well. We’d read about Monsoon Cafe and Restaurant set in an old colonial building and it sounded worth a try. I think we’d pictured it to be on a par with The Cricket Club in Colombo but it turned out to be much posher. The place has a lovely ambiance where the staff are attentive without being napkin flappers. The bill came in at 30 quid so a bit of a treat but we decided it was well worth it. We did have cocktails with our starter after all darling! The menu is huge and international with a strong bias towards South East Asian cuisines. The choice was almost too much until we decided that since we were in Burma we really ought to stick to local fare. We shared a couple of curry dishes that were quiet different from other styles we’ve enjoyed over the years. As per tradition the Burmese don’t use strong spices in their food but the gentle combination of flavours was excellent. All-in-all we’d had a cracking day exploring the city, getting to know Burma a little and ending with a delicious meal.
The next morning we lazed around with books, journal and brews until it was time to check out. Having stored our packs we set off to explore the port and docks area of Strand Road. Once again there’s nothing spectacular to report but we enjoyed our wanderings and were again left to our own devices. We enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle round the boats and stumbled across a plant pot market. Not something you find every day and I kid you not – that is all that was being sold. There was another paya near the docks that we didn’t venture into but we had a good nosey at the interesting, colourful items the stalls were selling in terms of religious offerings.
The walk along Strand Road went past shipping depots so we didn’t actually get to see that much of the Yangon River. We then found ourselves on familiar territory so chose to go back to Zawgyi’s for a drink and to while away some time. We contemplated a bite to eat there but it seemed a little too expensive so we headed back to our hostel area. As we were walking up a ‘new’ street we realised we’d found a row of local beer stations. That’s the pub to you! Who’s ever known Steve and I to miss the chance to try a local hostelry?! With time on our hands we decided to pop into one that was advertising Dagon beer – now you’re talking, very potable.
Close to Motherland Inn 2 we found 711 Restaurant that has an extensive menu written in English and Burmese. We just had a simple noodle dish each but it was tastier than something similar in the hostel and better value. We didn’t find food in Burma particularly cheap although we appreciate that they have an inflated price menu for foreigners. We felt the prices had been hiked up a little too ambitiously compared to neighbouring countries but then we don’t know how much they’re paying for the raw ingredients, fuel, business licences etc.
That left us just enough time to grab our bags, jump in a taxi and head off to the bus station. The station we needed was north of the city, near the airport and the vehicle clogged roads meant it took us an hour to get there. We were very glad we’d booked our bus ticket and taxi through the hostel as it meant our driver knew exactly which stand we needed. Just as well as the bus station spreads out over an entire small town and it would have taken us ages to find the correct office. As with many Asian bus stations you can readily kill any spare time watching the comings and goings. Once our bus had sorted out the important job of stowing the deliveries it was time to think about passengers. The bus was quite new and comfortable so we settled down for a smooth snooze along Highway 1.
Mandalay
Yes our seats were comfy, we had tar-macadam under the wheels and the highway was virtually traffic free but sleep turned out to be at a premium. First of all we had a barrage of karaoke and loud films to contend with. Then when they did switch of the telly the conductor kept waking us up to tell us to go and get something to eat or pop to the loo! At 5.30am, 10 hours after leaving Yangon, we reached Mandalay bus station which, like Yangon, is situated on the outskirts of town. We decided not to jump in the first taxi offered (as we knew he’d rip us off) but to go for a brew and then talk fares. There were all manner of stalls selling beer for those who’d just finished a night shift but we couldn’t find a coffee stall for love nor money. In the end we bargained a taxi driver down to the inflated price of K4000 to take us to Mandalay View Inn. I say taxi but it was a very old, battered, barely running Mazda no bigger than a Robin Reliant. To be fair they are great little vehicles to hire for trips and you’d be able to comfortably fit 4 on the bench style seats in the back.
We’d booked Mandalay View Inn via the website and to say their information is misleading is an understatement. At $36 a night B&B it certainly wasn’t cheap and we felt we’d been cheated on checking in to find that we didn’t have a window let alone a balcony. We’d also been led to believe there’d be a kettle in the room (fortunately we had our own) and I even had to go and ask for a towel. I wish I could say the staff gave us a warm welcome but I can’t – they even scrutinised our US dollar notes with much more determination of finding some way to reject them than anyone else we’d encountered. We knew that we had to take US dollars as there are no cash points and travellers cheques are worthless. And even then we had to make sure the bills were from a certain date and absolutely pristine. We were so worried that I even ironed some than had been bent in a wallet. As it turned out that was okay but notes that had been folded with a crease, written on or had any other slight flaw would be refused. In the end we took way more cash than we needed and we had it split into those notes that we couldn’t see any reason to reject and those we were paranoid about. There were times when people tried to palm tired looking dollars off on us in change but we were wise to their tricks. Usually we got our change back in local currency at a less than ideal rate and of course many of those notes were old, torn and downright grubby.
Still, the hotel was in a good location to explore Mandalay so, even though we’d effectively been up all night, we instantly set off to take in the sights. Our first target was Mandalay Hill and to reach it we walked along one side of the moat that surrounds the palace and fort complex. We were very much on the outskirts of town so the area was very green and leafy. We entered Mandalay Hill via the south entrance and there wasn’t even a ticket booth let alone anyone checking that combo ticket I mentioned earlier. The walk up consists of the usual pagoda route with Buddha images along the way. As with everywhere else we’d visited it was very quiet and Burma proved to be the soothing opposite of the seething hordes we’d endured in China.
We kept thinking we were at the top as there’d be some sort of significant statue only to find more steps leading upwards. We eventually found the pointing Buddha – the first of its kind we’ve ever seen as they’re usually sporting more religious style posses. Apparently this one is pointing in the direction of where he predicted the new capital city would be located. Now obviously he got it right but the cynic in me asks what came first: the city or the statue? The views overlooking Mandalay and the surrounding area made it well worth the effort of walking up there. We’d spied an alternative route down so were glad we’d thought to pop our shoes in our bag this time. Round trips are always preferable and it looked like we would descend into another leafy suburb. Sure enough we did and we passed through a more village like area which made a very pleasant walk back to the moat. From the top of the hill we noticed that there didn’t seem to be much more than trees inside the fort and palace complex so we decided to give it a miss.
As we were walking along the 3rd side of the moat someone dropped a bag from their motorbike. Nothing to report there you’d think until we realised the sack was moving of its own accord. One of the blokes from the bike returned to retrieve his bag but stepped back as the animal emerged. Out slithered a very lovely but very angry snake. We’re still not sure why the bloke who had the snake didn’t attempt to recapture it considering he made a point of telling everyone who was watching that it wasn’t dangerous. Presumably he’d attained the snake through less than legal / honest means and didn’t want to attract any more attention to himself than he already had. Anyway the snake was justifiably cross at being dumped in the middle of a busy road – not to mention grabbed from his home and thrust into a sack. It was striking out with venom at the bikes whizzing past before making it safely to the central reservation. Snakes generally don’t like the open and this one proceeded to dice with death and cross over the other side of the road. At one point a bicycle bumped over it but it didn’t appear to bother our long friend too much. To be honest at this point it needed to be more concerned about a lady presenting her hubby with a spade! Luckily another lad who’d been watching the whole spectacle and believed that the snake wasn’t dangerous stepped in. He captured the snake using a very professional Animal Planet snake wrangling technique, crossed the road and threw our still hissing friend into the moat. With the snake now out of harms way everyone got back to doing whatever it was they were doing before this interesting little event brightened up their day. We decided to watch the snake a little longer and see if we could identify it – it was indeed harmless as it was a tree snake. Now that name would imply that he didn’t live in the water so of course it headed straight back towards dry land. Its instinct was to climb so it headed straight to the top of the railings where the poor frustrated animal could see trees but still couldn’t feel bark beneath its skin. The moat is tree lined but none of the branches were over hanging. The snake continued to slither along the railings and we went ahead to see if we could find a bough low enough to bend down. We found one and sure enough as soon as it encountered leaves it slipped along the branch and headed up. We might not have saved it from certain death but at least we helped it find a preferred arboreal home where it could recover from its ordeal.
We eventually made it to town where we planned to find a travel agent before tucking into some Indian food. However by this point we were thirsty and our guide pointed us towards BBB – a European style restaurant. It’s gone very upmarket and pretentious since our guide book was written so we had a quick, expensive juice and carried on. Town was hot and noisy but we did manage to track down the travel agent. Steve had researched the buying of internal flights – which companies were privately run, how best to go about booking and all that. In fact by the end of his internet musings he had a reservation for Mandalay to Bagan. So: 2 tickets to Bagan on Saturday at 12.55pm please. No, there’s no such flight. But we had confirmed places a couple of weeks ago. Yes but that flight doesn’t exist now and there are no more seats to Bagan in the morning. Oh. Luckily we’d read that flights, especially in the off-season, were liable to last minute change so hadn’t booked and paid. For some strange reason we never did fathom; it’s cheaper to book your tickets through an agent than directly with the flight company. We asked if there were any flights available the following morning and ended up parting with $36 dollars in exchange for 2 seats to Heho – the airport nearest to Inle Lake. We’d intended to visit there anyway so all we were doing was seeing the sights in the opposite direction than planned. Travelling by land is only an option for those on a seriously tight budget with plenty of time to spare. The buses aren’t that frequent and off the highway the roads aren’t brilliant so travel is slow. We would still have quite long transfers to and from the airports but this way we’d reach our destination in a morning as opposed to using a whole day. All-in-all the $36 was a bit of a bargain. To say things aren’t computerised and technologically advanced in Burma would be another of those understatements. I’ve not seen a hand written plane ticket in years and this one even had alterations scribbled on it. Great stuff.
Mission accomplished so it was time to track down some of those yummy chapattis the guide book had promised us. We were definitely in the right part of town but couldn’t track down a single restaurant that we had listed and in fact didn’t spy a single round, flat bread. We had to settle for Chinese style noodles again. Oh well – you can’t win them all. Suitably replete we jumped into another of those little blue taxis to take us down to the jetty and our afternoon of sightseeing.
Mingun is served by government boats that run at set times but we wanted a private charter. We paid the asking price of K25 000 and waited for our small boat to appear. It might have been smaller than the regular service but it was still enormous for only 2 people. We didn’t mind so long as we got our boat trip on the Ayeyarwady River. Mingun It took about an hour for the boat to get to Mingun which is a small town littered with payas of course. I’m not sure we ever sussed when we should use paya, pagoda or stupa but they’re essentially the same thing. The main draw here is Mingun Paya which would have been the world’s largest stupa if the chap building it hadn’t gone and died. Before they could decide how to continue the paya was ripped apart in the 1838 earthquake so that put paid to that. The Lonely Planet had us believe that the site had been reduced to a pile of rubble but the truth is far from that. The massive base is still standing although granted with huge cracks running through it. This time we were asked to pay the entrance fee but at $3 for a ticket that included Mingun and the following days trip to Sagaing we quietly coughed up. You can walk up to the top of this massive stupa but the drawback is you have to do so in bare feet. It wasn’t too bad going up the steps but I would have liked the comfort of some grips when negotiating the rents in the brick work at the top. Anyway it was all well worth it as the views from the top were excellent. We could see the river and Mandalay in the distance and in the foreground we got a bird’s eye view of the other sites people like to visit. Some of them looked very impressive, though obviously restored, and we liked the feeling of being on top of something genuinely old with historical value. We then wandered around town before going to look at the huge chinthes (half lion, half dragon statues) that were built to guard the stupa. They must have been impressive in their prime (these were actually completed) but the earthquake ripped them apart too. The poor things are headless – maybe it was their punishment for not protecting the man with the cash and vision to build the stupa.
We returned to our boat and enjoyed the float back down the river. Back at the jetty the taxis were asking for a ridiculous amount of money to take us back to the hotel. However, a cycle rickshaw driver named a normal amount so in we got to travel back to the hotel in a somewhat embarrassing colonial fashion. To add to the embarrassment he decided we were too heavy so called his mate over and we had to travel in convoy! We didn’t venture far from the hotel for tea that night as we were exhausted after a long night of travel and a full day of exciting sightseeing.
The next morning, following the tasty set breakfast in the hotel’s beautifully carved, wood panelled dining room, we were ready for our next adventure. There’s a bit of a set route tourists like to do but it includes a couple of things we weren’t interested in so we knew the negotiations wouldn’t be straightforward. However, the chap we spoke to listened to what we were saying and seemed to readily grasp what we wanted to see and the order we’d like to visit them in. I really don’t understand why people want to make a special trip to a monastery to watch the monks eating. How would they feel if people were peering at them buttering their toast and sipping their tea? Anyway it didn’t take us too long to agree to a fare and off we set in possibly the oldest, most used Mazda yet. It went, albeit it at a pace conducive to us wanting to take in the scenery at leisure and watch the world go by. Or should that say pass us by?!
Sagaing
This riverside town is surrounded by hills and most of them have a pagoda perched on top. In fact the area is littered with a reported 500 stupas which to be honest sounds like way too many. Does such a poor nation need to be maintaining quite so many temples, stupas, payas and pagodas? Anyway we duly walked up the steps to one of the more significant temples where true to form we were more interested in the views. The landscape is literally dotted with places of worship and we also had good views of another stretch of the Ayeyarwady River.
We walked back to our taxi only to discover our driver had disappeared – we could only assume that most people take longer ‘to do’ the sites than we do. Anyway he reappeared having said he’d popped off to get his lunch and now he would take us to Amarapura. Hang on a minute mate – what about our lunch and can we have a bit of a wander round town first please? We eventually persuaded him to take us to the market area that turned out to be reminiscent of many markets that you’ll find in Asia. Still we enjoyed soaking up the ordinary life and we kept commenting on how much Burma reminds us of Sri Lanka. No wonder we felt so comfortable on setting foot in the country. We wandered into Paymer Restaurant that turned out is well used to catering for tourists. To be honest the set lunch wasn’t what we really wanted (a bit too heavy for the middle of the day) but it was very tasty local food at a reasonable price.
Amarapura
The main tourist attraction here is U Bien Bridge – a kilometre long, wooden bridge spanning Taungthaman Lake. The length of it and the fact that it’s been standing for about 200 years is impressive but at the end of the day it’s just a wooden bridge. Anyway we duly toddled across it and had a peek at the main stupa in the village before taking a gander at the Buddha that keeps an eye on the bridge. It was all very pleasant and we enjoyed walking through the village. At this time of year the water levels are high so children were jumping from the bridge and into the lake. However, at other times of year the water levels drop so much that photos do look much more dramatic. In fact at this time of year many of the restaurants have to close as they’re under a couple of meters of water. They must have to change their description from lakeside to floating to shut throughout a season! At the risk of getting stupa-ed out before ever reaching Bagan we declined the offer of a detour to another paya and asked to be taken back to the hotel.
I’d spied a sign on the reception desk that said we were free to use their sister hotel’s pool. The Hotel by the Red Canal is beautiful and set in a lovely garden with a cracking little pool. We explained we weren’t staying there but in their other hotel and would like to use the pool. Not only was that no trouble at all, we were treated royally – they even gave us a welcome drink. As beer o’clock approached we moved up to the restaurant where they have an outdoor decking area. The waiter looked aghast that we wanted to order a beer. We were a little bemused until he explained that it would be cocktail hour at the pool at 6.30pm when free cocktails would be served. Once again we pointed out that we weren’t staying there only to find out that it didn’t matter we were welcome to join in. We ordered a beer anyway, studied the Indian based menu and it took us seconds to decide we would stay for tea too.
At 6.30pm prompt we were invited to go back down to the pool where we were asked which of the 3 (including 1 non-alcoholic) cocktails we would like to try. We both chose the gin based one and very tasty it was too. Best of all they kept coming round and topping up our glasses – all for free. On returning to our spot on the restaurant’s balcony we noticed that all the chefs were of Indian descent and were very glad we’d decided to stay. Our evening meal was excellent and the bill came in at a very reasonable RM100. The only fault we could find was they only served Mandalay beer and that one when straight onto the reject pile. Other than that it was a lovely pampered way to end our brief stay in Mandalay and if we’re ever back we’ll book a room there instead. We enjoyed Mandalay as we’d steered clear of the new part of town. We did some fantastic side trips there and enjoyed our stroll up the hill and round the old town. However with limited time we needed to push on to our next port of call.
We were up at the crack of dawn but to be fair the staff at Mandalay View Inn were too. They’d kindly agreed to give us breakfast at 5.45am as they knew we had to get to the airport. Our taxi driver from the day before had stuck to his word and he was waiting to introduce us to his friend who had a van to take us to the airport. It was just as well the traffic was still light and we were in a bigger vehicle; it had rained heavily in the night and many of the roads were flooded. The main road was only ankle deep but we saw people wading knee deep through mucky puddles down the side lanes. Mandalay must be built in a slight dip as the roads were clear once we were in the countryside. It was a lovely hour’s drive and as you’re going along you feel there can’t possibly be an airport out there!
Sure enough there was and it was as quiet as we’d expected – like 2 cars in the car park! Initially there were only a handful of passengers but people gradually trickled in. The departure board seemed very ambitious considering there wasn’t a plane in sight. Eventually an Air Bagan plane landed and it was soon joined by 2 more. Then a couple of Asia Wings craft arrived making the place look positively busy! We’d all been issued with different coloured stickers on checking in so were confident we’d be ushered in the direction of the correct plane. Many of the flights touch down in more than one destination and indeed there were already passengers aboard our flight. We’d been told it was free seating and we had rightly guessed that we wouldn’t struggle to find seats together. To be honest each passenger could have bagged a row to themselves if they wanted to! No sooner had we got settled, taken off and reached cruising altitude when it was time to start the landing procedure.
I kid you not the flight lasted a grand total of 20mins! On landing we spied another couple that looked like they were travelling independently as opposed to part of an organised trip and we agreed to share a taxi. You wouldn’t believe how incapable some people are of doing anything for themselves – some had their tour guide on the plane with them. We agreed a price of K20 000 to take us to Nyuangshwe which is the town near Inle Lake. This was another approximately hour long journey making it 2 hours in taxi rides for a 20min plane ride! Inle Lake The couple we shared a taxi with had a reservation at Princess Garden Hotel and since we had nothing booked we thought we may as well be dropped there too.
We knew town was small so it would be easy to wander around to check out alternatives if need be. There turned out to not be a ‘need be’! We were instantly sold; not only did we get a very warm friendly welcome but the chalets were lovely, set in beautiful gardens with field and mountain views from our balcony. We were quoted the same price that we knew the other couple had paid via the internet so moved in. The room looked perfectly fine to us but the boss said they just wanted to finish preparing it so would we like a cup of tea or coffee while we were waiting. So while he was completing the lengthy paperwork procedure required we sat in their open-sided restaurant sipping a brew and tucking into a plate of fresh pineapple. Service indeed. In fact the hotel’s motto is: ‘A little hotel with a big heart.’ Yep!
By the time we were ensconced in our new abode the rain had abated but it was still drizzling. Never mind we had plenty of time so enjoyed the peace and tranquillity from our balcony. Once the elements cleared we had a slow wander around Nyuangshwe to see what was on offer. It’s a lovely, rural town that has enough variety of guesthouses and restaurants on offer, but is far from a tourist trap, with a very laid back atmosphere. THE thing to do from here is to visit the lake that has a whole host of tourist attractions. Even when we were walking past the boats we weren’t hassled or touted; a couple of people approached and a simple ‘maybe tomorrow’ was enough. One lady did start talking to us about a trip and for some reason we both chose to stop and listen. She very succinctly told us what the trip would include, pointed to the locations on a map and furnished us with the times and prices. It was very much a matter of fact conversation so we said we would look for her and her husband the following morning.
Following a bite to eat we returned to our balcony to listen to the birds cheeping and the rain pattering on the roof. That evening we were confident of finding some football; not only was the electricity supply better than in Yangon and Mandalay but there were heaps of internet cafes. In the end there were loads of places showing footie so we plonked ourselves down in one place and settled in to watch the Liverpool match. Again we were warmly welcomed and one lad had excellent English and proved to be very knowledgeable about the Premier League. I think he enjoyed having someone different to talk to about football. There were actually quite a few of us watching the game but Steve and I were the only paying customers! Since places tend to close early we asked if they would be open for the relatively late kick off the following night so Steve could catch up with City. The boss said that so long as we were drinking beer and putting money in his till he’d stay open! We had no reason to doubt the sincerity of his words as we’d found everyone unbelievably honest and they can’t do enough to make you feel welcome.
Their honesty and straightforwardness was born out when we popped into another little bar for something to eat. Again the staff were welcoming and again we found someone with excellent English so he made a few suggestions from the menu. Steve was invited to check out the barbeque section and was told: “Let me show you the barbeque items they are not on the menu. This is rat.” It was indeed a dismembered, splayed rodent on a stick – we declined!
We ended up drinking a few more Dagon beers than predicted and having had a long day it would have been easy to turn over and snooze in our comfy chalet that morning. But no, we were up and ready to go and see what Inle Lake could throw at us. The included breakfast was excellent and exceedingly filling. We were given; fruit, pancake, fruit juice, eggs, toast and an endless supply of tea and coffee. Having eaten more than necessary (but how can you refuse such kindness?) we waddled off to find the boat lady we’d spoken to yesterday. Sure enough she was there waiting for us but her husband was busy so she’d enlisted the services of her nephew. That was fine by us and before we boarded she double-checked the itinerary. We were happy to go with the flow even though we knew many of the stops would involve a shop of some sort. Basically the tour takes you to a whole host of cottage industries and we only hoped there wasn’t going to be too much hard sell.
To get to the lake from Nyuangshwe you have to go down a narrow channel for about 20mins. The lake is enormous and surrounded by hills with villages dotted along the banks. It looks very much like it is a very large and very ancient crater. Although the locals feel that the area, particularly the lake, has become too touristy it is still very much a working lake. I can see what they mean when you consider how many touristy souvenir shops there are but at this off-season time it felt quite natural and real to us. The main crop of the area is tomatoes that we’d seen by the boat and then the wagon load back in town. The tomato vines are either planted on the lake shore or on floating farms – in fact much of the agriculture is raised using floating platforms.
Throughout the morning we visited a silversmith, weaver and tobacconist and in each place the methods and techniques were described and demonstrated. Some of it was interesting but of course at each port of call everyone hopes you’ll buy something. Not being shopping people we declined politely and returned to the boat. The most interesting stop for us was watching a girl extracting threads from lotus stems and twisting it into yarn. It takes so long and uses such vast quantities of plants that the end product is 10 times more expensive than silk. We also visited what is billed as the floating market but in reality it’s a market built on a clump of mud in the middle of the lake. It would have been interesting to wander around the village but of course you are shepherded towards the market stalls. The trip also included the obligatory pagoda but we didn’t go inside. However, we did have a gander at their elaborate ceremonial barges – judging from the prow statue chickens are highly thought of in those parts. To be honest what we enjoyed the most was simply travelling around the lake seeing people getting on with their daily lives. It’s hard to imagine having to step into a rocking boat every time you want to visit a friend or pop to the shop. None of the houses are linked with walk-ways like other places we’ve visited over the years. I don’t think they’ve all fallen out it’s just their way of arranging things!
Another highlight was watching the fishermen at work. First they place their nets in the water then they paddle along the length of their net bashing the surface of the water with their paddle as they go. Now bearing in mind they are in small, wooden dug-outs you and I would have had a good dunking by this point. Apparently the idea is to scare the fish towards the net but we didn’t see much evidence of it being an effective method. To add to this interesting technique the men paddle their boats with one leg – we’d be well and truly wet by now I feel. I’d love to have such a great sense of balance that I could; paddle along using one leg, while balancing on a hollowed out tree trunk with the other and hauling in a net.
Our whistle-stop tour of the souvenir shops meant that we were well ahead of schedule. So our boatman suggested that for an extra fee (K4000) he would take us to Inthein and this was one place I’d been disappointed to learn wasn’t on our route. It is quite a bit further down another tributary off the lake and since he wasn’t asking a silly amount we went for it. The journey down the channel to reach Inthein was worth the extra kyat in itself – very picturesque. We’d read Inthein had scores of old stupas and we fancied a change from the over-restored examples we’d seen in Burma so far. Unfortunately by the time we got there the elements were against us again and the rain was quite heavy. Still we’d got that far so put the raincoats on and plunged on ahead anyway. As per other stupas we’d seen in Burma these were being restored too – the main problem is that they are using modern materials so look brand new. However, there are still lots of crumbling, tumbledown stupas to look at and many of them still have some lovely detail intact. By this time the rain had well and truly set in and it was a very soggy float back to town. We headed back a slightly different route to have a peep at an aqua town where the people have made themselves floating gardens and the pigs live in stilt stys. It’s a shame it was too wet to really appreciate it so we asked the boatman to head straight back to town. Even though we reached town soaked and chilly it had been a grand day out (9am to 5pm) and had cost a grand total of RM80.
Back at the hotel it was lovely to jump in a hot shower and put some warm, clean clothes on – not to mention put the kettle on. We’d just got ourselves nicely settled under the covers to warm up when one of the girls appeared with a plate of fresh fruit. See what I mean about being well looked after and people can’t do enough for you?
That evening we went to Star Flower Restaurant that I have to confess specialises in Italian food – we were very glad we did as the pizzas were excellent. Again the staff were wonderful and as we were waiting for our order to arrive we were presented with some home-made bruschetta to keep us going. We then went back to the place we’d visited the previous evening to see if they really were on for watching the football. Most of the shutters were closed but we poked our heads through the gap to ask if they were open. Reply: “We’ve been waiting for you – come in.” Once again we enjoyed beer, banter and another favourable result. We felt they were genuinely pleased to see us as they wouldn’t have been able to stay up to watch the game if they weren’t hosting guests. Once we’d arrived one of them dashed off to get a couple of his mates so they could enjoy the game too.
We woke up to a wet, cloudy morning so had a leisurely breakfast waiting to see what the weather would do. Once the rain eased Steve popped back to the travel agent we’d befriended the day before to see how transport possibilities to Bagan were proceeding. He returned with a mischievous glint in his eye and announced he’d booked us a 24-seater bus! It turned out that the bus had driven over from Bagan full of tourists but there was no one going in the opposite direction. Other than us of course! So instead of driving back empty he’d be happy to take us for a fee. Obviously everyone needs their cut but it was still going to work out cheaper than flying for us and the flights were looking precarious at that point. Plus we’d fancied one daytime road trip so we could see a bit more of the countryside – everyone’s a winner.
The rain eventually eased so we grabbed a couple of the hotel’s free to use bikes and started pedalling. We didn’t really have a destination in mind and knew that it wouldn’t stay dry for very long. We simply cycled up and down some of the country lanes around town and generally enjoyed the scenery. Unfortunately it started raining again and we got thoroughly soaked – again! That evening we splashed out on a meal in Green Chilli Restaurant which is set in a wonderful old, colonial building. It reminded us very much of the planters cottages we were used to in Sri Lanka. The food was Intha (local to Inle Lake) and Thai style and extremely tasty it was too. I even splashed out and had a couple of glasses of wine but the bill still came in at under RM100.
We had breakfast early the next morning and sure enough our transport arrived bang on time. Disappointingly it turned out to be a minivan not a 24-seater bus. As the fella said this was much more practical for our needs and the bus driver was going to hang on in there in the hope of a better deal. Fair enough – it was going to cost us the same and we’d probably be more comfortable too. It was time to bid our lovely hosts farewell and to wish them every success with their new hotel. It’s such a wonderful place with excellent staff that they deserve to have a steady stream of customers. So if you find yourself in Nyuangshwe we can’t recommend Paradise Garden Hotel highly enough.
As we edged out of town we realised that the weather was the best it had been yet – typical! All the rain in the night had led to the river busting its banks in a couple of places but fortunately the van negotiated the huge puddles without incident. The entire journey was fantastic and we were so glad we got to do one land based travel day. At first we headed back to Heho and from there climbed up into the mountains. The views from the top were magnificent and with having the smaller vehicle we were free to pull over and take photos at will. As we descended the countryside gradually changed and as we neared Bagan Plains the land became increasingly drier. It was lovely watching the world go by and to be reminded how people coped before machinery and computers. Much of the land is given over to agriculture and the farmers still use the traditional buffalo hauled ploughs to till the fields. Even in Sri Lanka in the last year or so they’ve moved over to Chinese lawn mower style tractor / plough things. Much of what we saw, including the buildings, reminded us of Sri Lanka and I had to keep telling myself I was in a different country and that I’d not stepped back in time to Sri Lanka 15 years ago. I know I keep referring to Sri Lanka but we really did feel things were that familiar and it will give those of you who have visited the pearl of the Indian Ocean a clearer picture.
Bagan
Bagan consists of a huge area that comprises temples, stupas, pagodas, payas, town, hotels, cafes, restaurants and shops. We decided to stay in Nyuang U as it seemed there was more on offer for the independent traveller. We looked at New Park Hotel but decided this time not to plump for the first option but to sit down with a juice and check out the alternatives. You guessed it – we were soon checking into New Park Hotel where we went for the newer, bigger $30 rooms.
Once again it was time to explore but we did have some travel arrangements to sort out first – like how we were going to get back to Yangon for our flights back to KL. It took a matter of minutes to sort out the flights and while we were at it we’d booked ourselves a pony and trap for a tour around the main temple sites the following morning. There is a row of restaurants and they all offer pretty much the same or similar grub. We grabbed a front row table in Novel Restaurant as they had big bottles of chilled Dagon beer for a quid!
The included breakfast obviously wasn’t a patch on Paradise Garden but it was perfectly adequate and set us up for a day of sightseeing. Our pony man was ready and waiting so off we trotted to explore the main sites of Bagan. The first pagoda had steps leading up to an outside ledge where we got great views and finally got a sense of scale to the area. We’d read up about the place only to discover that the estimates of how many stupas, pagodas, payas and temples there are varies. Lots wouldn’t be doing the place justice – there are hundreds and hundreds of them dotted around the plains and in among the trees. They only stopped building on one side as they’d reached the banks of the Ayeyarwady River! We let the pony man choose the route and he made sure he included the must see places as well as a smattering of others. The main sites have heaps of souvenir stalls around them which detract a little but no one was really giving it the hard sell. Just a bit annoying that there were so many of them more than anything. Although a couple of more persistent selling techniques were being employed; the long introductory conversation before a shop or product is mentioned and the old follow the potential customer and try and annoy them into a purchase. Strangely enough both of these methods have the opposite desired effect on us and the usual ‘no thank you’ and ‘I’m not shopping today’ shrugged them off.
I’m not going to attempt to tell you which pagodas, temples, stupas and payas we saw during our trip as they all seemed to have different names from our Lonely Planet and I was too disorientated to be able to follow on the map. Each place had something different to offer whether it be; a particularly large Buddha, good views from the top, murals still intact, an interesting shape or simply a nice, calm ambience. By midday we’d been going for 3 hours and our pony man announced we’d already completed the usual route. He seemed surprised that we’d finished so quickly but we honestly don’t know what else we could have done to spin it out any longer. To be fair to us we had a good look at each one and even sat admiring the view from the top of a couple. Goodness only knows how people manage to spin out looking at piles of bricks until sunset at about 6.30pm! Anyway we were at cloudy time of year so the sunset part wasn’t a realistic option. We weren’t bothered about spinning the trip out until early evening and we’d seen and done all that we’d hoped for the day. We were happy to return to the hotel but our pony man suggested a couple more places to visit so we did. One had another stairwell leading up to the top and from here we got great 3600 panoramic views of Bagan. Another was more Sri Lankan / Hindu style but we’re not historians and can’t give you any more detail than that I’m afraid. We love to see these places but to be honest by the end of the day we were seriously questioning just why anyone felt the need to build so many in one area. There are reputed to be up to 4400 of them ranging from huge and being lovingly and carefully restored to literally piles of bricks.
We had lunch in Old Bagan before clip clopping our way back to the hotel having had a most enjoyable day out. We’d encountered very few people throughout our trip let alone tourists so we never had to wait for anyone to move for the photo we wanted. Granted we were visiting Burma in the off-season but even so Bagan has to be one of the world’s least visited yet historically important archaeological sites. I’m pleased to report that UNESCO are on board so the individual sites are being properly mapped and recorded and the restoration work is sticking to traditional techniques.
That evening we wandered round town and popped into The Beach Bar for sunset cocktails overlooking the Ayeyarwady River. Not only was the place posher than we expected but the sunset deal we’d read about ceased to exist. We decided to stay for one drink anyway as it was a very pleasant place to sit with cracking views. However, the river is so high at this time of year there was no evidence of a riverside beach! Unfortunately the clouds were gathering and we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance so there wasn’t a sunset as such. The wind picked up and we could see rain looming so we decided to leg it to somewhere more within our budget. As we carried on walking through town we saw a copy 7/11 shop – they’d even used the same style and colours on the logo so that gave us a good chuckle. I remember when I went to Colombo the first time there was a copy McDonalds but that disappeared long before the real golden arches opened up in the city. A little further along the street we stumbled upon Nyanug U’s answer to Whetherspoons. The owner has been careful to use a different typeface and colours and has deliberately called the place Weather Spoon but it certainly made us stop in our tracks and pop in for a drink.
We soon got chatting to and befriended the owner, Winton, who told us he’d only been open a week. It turns out he’s friends with the Brits who run the hot air balloon company in town so he had a very good understanding of what Brits like and what would attract them into his little place. It certainly worked on us and he said the bulk of his customers so far had been British, except for one Frenchman who had complained about his menu being too British and lacking in snails and the like. Winton's English was absolutely brilliant but he said he still wanted to learn more and could he ask us a few questions. Of course! Firstly he wanted to an explanation for ‘arrogant’ so we proceeded to try to explain. After a few minutes Winton announced; “Ah, like the Frenchman!” Couldn’t have put it better ourselves!
The following day we rented a couple of bikes from our hotel and set off to explore the lesser visited sites. The previous day we’d spotted a very large, impressive looking temple and since that hadn’t been on the itinerary we made that our first port of call. It turned out that it wasn’t very interesting on the inside and we soon tired of the vendors and followers. We quickly decided that the day was going to be a, cycling and observing from a distance only, day. To be honest we really wanted to enjoy cycling down the quiet lanes and taking in the scenery. Plus if we could get a better feel for just how vast an area Bagan covers and the ludicrous amount of payas that are spread over it that would be a bonus. Then we spotted a particularly interesting stupa that was climbable so we broke our rule and stopped for a closer inspection. It looked like it was worth running the gauntlet of sellers to get a good view. It turned out to be one of the popular sunset sites so the place was deserted. The stalls were all set up but there wasn’t a soul around looking after the wares never mind trying to sell them. We climbed up the steep steps that ascend the stupas base layers to find a wide ledge running around the uppermost dome. We were rewarded with the best views yet and again we could circumnavigate to attain that 3600 panorama.
We carried on cycling and decided to go and have a look at New Bagan; an area we had thought about staying in. It’s a nice area but the hotels are more expensive and from some it’s quite a walk to the restaurants which are more widely spread out. Plus we’d read that you’d be charged up to 50% more for your pony and trap tour just because you’re staying in a more expensive area – makes sense really. While we were there we popped into another riverside place for a refreshing juice. Following our little break we continued down what looked like a main road on our map. It was sealed so easy to peddle along while taking in the sites but it was traffic free. We stopped occasionally to look at the odd pile of rubble or more interesting structures but we concentrated on enjoying the cycle ride. Some of you will say that we barely scratched the surface of Bagan’s history and you’d be right but it was just enough for us and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
The route back ‘luckily’ took us past Weather Spoon so as promised from the previous evening we popped in for lunch. Steve had a burger and I had a sausage butty (told you Winton knew what Brits like!) and they both come highly recommended along with his home made chips. A couple of beers and another long chat later and it was time for us to return the bikes. Winton, along with many other Burmese we met, were much more informed about the outside world than we would have expected. Obviously Burma has been effectively ‘closed’ for many years now but that has not stopped people listening to the BBC World Service. In practice the internet is controlled by the government but in reality people know how to access virtually everything. Even though people are well informed they love to talk to visitors to find out more but at times they are cautious with their line of questioning. In turn we had lots we wanted to ask but there was no way we were going to put someone in a precarious position. Generally people are open and relaxed but there comes a point where the conversation can’t progress any further for fear of it being overheard by the ‘wrong’ people.
Homeward bound
Our last day in Burma dawned and we had to be up bright and early to get to the airport. Our pony man had offered to take us but it would have cost the same as a taxi for a much longer ride. Besides which it wouldn’t have been very comfortable with all the bags or fair on the pony. As it transpired it was just as well we were in a more robust vehicle as it had rained all night and we had to wade to the taxi. Our flight from Bagan to Yangon wasn’t quite as straightforward as that sounds – the trip actually involved a whistle-stop tour of Burma’s highlights. Firstly we flew for 30mins and landed in Mandalay, then we did the 20min leg back to Heho (Inle Lake) and finally we flew for an hour down to Yangon. With people constantly disembarking and boarding it felt more like we were on a sky bus than a plane!
To be honest we didn’t have any burning desire to spend the day in Yangon but our return flight to KL wasn’t until the evening. So we put our bag in left luggage or more precisely left them behind the information counter, jumped in a taxi and went back to Monsoon Cafe. We’d enjoyed the meal there so much that we thought we’d give ourselves one final treat in Burma. We’d just finished our meal and paid the bill when the heavens opened and just stepping outside to get a taxi would have led to an instant drenching. So we popped upstairs to have another look in their gift shop and couldn’t resist adding to our wooden elephant collection. I’m trying to build up a sizeable heard!
Once the monsoonal downpour had moved on we wandered back down to The Strand Hotel and popped in for a beer. How could we not have a look inside? We had to check if it was on a par with The Galle Face, Eastern & Oriental etc. The bar was as wooden and colonial as you’d expect and the beer prices were as high as anticipated so we only stayed for one. It was a nice place but a bit to lifeless for our tastes. There’s only so much decadence we can handle so we reverted to form and found a locals bar. This one consisted of cheap plastic chairs and tables spilling onto the pavement; a great people watching place for us to soak up Burma’s atmosphere for one final hour. It gave us just enough time to mull over what a fantastic time we’d had in Burma and reflect on the different experiences each of our ports of call had given us. Myanmar / Burma is a wonderful country full of extraordinarily polite people who we felt were genuinely pleased to see us visiting their country and learning about it for ourselves. We felt very relaxed and at home there and hope that the prevailing positive mood continues and that Burma and its people move forward in the way they hope and want.
