28
th
February – 6
th March 2016
I only spent fifteen days in The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) but each day was
jammed packed with amazing experiences and stories from this fantastic country so this blog is in two parts.
The country has only recently opened up to tourists and, very recently, its become more accessible to backpackers with
hostels now popping up all over the place. Its still a very much unknown
place among travellers as any information more than a couple months old is
outdated. I didn’t fancy visiting this rapidly changing country by myself so
when I spoke to Katie many months ago when we were both working in Karratha we
hatched a plan. We both wanted to go to Myanmar so we tried to figure out a way
we could meet up and we did.
 |
| Sightseeing by taxi |
We flew to
Yangon (formally the capital city of Rangoon) with a bit of a hangover from a
night out in Bangkok. Me especially. Possibly the worst hangover I’ve ever had in my life!
The taxi ride from the airport was a bit of a blur as I was feeling pretty
nauseous again. We checked in at our hostel and went straight to bed for a
couple of hours.
 |
| Our street |
 |
| Many pigeons |
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| Looks like its going to fall down |
We didn’t
delve to deeply into Myanmar just yet but we made a plan for the next day. A
couple of things I did notice when we nipped out were the sheer amount of pigeons on the junction
at the end of our road and how all the buildings looked like they might fall
down at any moment.
Katie had a
bit of an issue getting cash out. We tried a few ATMs and she called the bank
but they couldn't help. We grabbed some food and went to the supermarket to get a
few snacks. On the way back I suggested one more ATM which was a Western Union
one and that worked. Problem solved, panic over.
 |
| Selling veg on a street corner |
The next day
was a very big day with a huge amount of walking. This was difficult to begin
with as every spot on the pavement is taken up by stalls selling something.
Fruit and veg, breads, lotto tickets, books or random baskets of live birds. We
never figured out what they were for.
The first
place we wanted to go to was the train station to buy our ticket to Bagan. I
had read instructions on the internet of where to go to find the ticket office. We found the barn that
sells tickets but there was only one ticket left. We were directed to another
man who took us to his shop to buy an overnight bus instead. We had no way of
knowing if this was legit or not but we bought the ticket anyway. We had
limited time and so limited options.
 |
| Sule Pagoda |
Once this
was sorted we went to the first tourist spot of the day, the Sule Pagoga which
is on a big roundabout in the middle of the city. As we were walking through the
city we noticed how much people were staring at us. There were no casual
glances. It was full-on stare almost with an open mouth. The country has had
westerners visiting regularly for over five years now so we were surprised that this
was still happening. We thought maybe outside of the city but not here. Katie
was getting it more than I was.
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| Buddha inside |
 |
| Impressive bamboo scaffolding |
I was most
impressed with the large amount of bamboo scaffolding. It’s a strong material
but flexible too. I don’t imagine it’s the most stable thing to walk on.
 |
| St Mary's Cathedral |
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| Nice architecture |
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| Burmese Christian |
The next
stop was St Mary’s Cathedral. I’ve seen a lot of temples and a few mosques so it was nice to see
a church. It made me feel at home. I saw a Vietnamese person praying. I’ve never
really thought about Christianity in Asian countries until I saw this.
 |
| Karaweik Palace |
We continued
to walk through the city until we arrived at Kandawgyi Lake and a view of
Karaweik Palace which is a super fancy restaurant on the lake. There’s a
boardwalk that goes around the edge of this part of the lake which was quite
rickety in parts. The platform where you could get a good view of the palace
looked like it would collapse if I walked on it.
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| The famous pagoda across the lake |
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| The Palace restaurant |
We walked
around the edge of the lake and we could see the big pagoda that we would be visiting later on. We had lunch at a restaurant on the other side of the lake.
It seemed expensive but we didn’t really have a scale of how much things cost
in Myanmar just yet. The accommodation was already more than anywhere else in
South East Asia. After lunch we had a closer look at the fancy restaurant. There was
gold leaf everywhere. We weren’t allowed in looking so casual.
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| Utopia Tower |
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| The lake from the top of the tower |
Further
around the lake we came across Utopia Tower which is five stories of shops and
rooftop terrace where we could get a good view from for just a little Kyat.
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| Reclining Buddha |
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| Bigger than the one in Bangkok |
After
another lengthy walk we arrived at the Reclining Buddha which I think is larger
than the one in Bangkok. Its certainly less crowded and we didn’t have to pay
for it. The was another Buddha that used to recline here before the refurbed
this one. The story goes the the Buddha gained so much enlightenment that he fell over under the weight and now reclines. I am a little unsure if that's just a story or there was an actual upright statue that fell down.
We had
walked a lot already and it was very hot in Yangon. I’d drank quite a lot of water
already but when we arrived at Shwedagon Pagoda I was feeling pretty exhausted.
We took refuge in a small shopping centre opposite where we sat in the air con
for a while and ate an ice cream.
 |
| Entrance to Shwaddy-waddy Pagoda |
We crossed
the road to Shwedagon Pagoda (or, as I called it, Shwaddy-waddy Pagoda). Even
the entrance to this massive structure was impressive with two huge creatures
on each side of the entrance.
Before we
went in we had to cover our knees so I had to buy a Longyi which is what all
the men wear in Myanmar. Its kind of a big skirt that you tie in a knot.
 |
| HUGE! |
The pagoda
is huge. It dates back to the 6th century but has been rebuilt a few
times and now tops out over 100 metres tall. It’s the most sacred site in all
of Myanmar and you could tell that by the amount of local people here. We think
that these people had come on a pilgrimage due to the increased amount of
staring and picture taking we got.
 |
| Famous |
This was the
first time this happened but certainly not the last. We were both asked a
couple of times if people get could get their pictures taken with us. Katie got
it more than I did though. Its weird that they travelled all way to visit this
sacred sight and they seemed more excited to get a picture with a ginger Scot.
 |
| Smaller pagodas |
 |
| The Jackson Five Buddhas |
There were a
large amount of other pagodas and temples surrounding the big pagoda so we
spent some time walking around them. I had to look at this one twice as I
thought it was Burmese version of the Jackson Five but then I realised they
weren’t afros!
 |
| Still very large |
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| Cool artwork |
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| Shiny roof |
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| Big bell |
 |
| In the setting sun |
As the sun
began to set we were treated to awesome colourations of the pagoda. It never
stopped being impressive. After coming out of each little temple I wanted to
take another picture of the big one because the light had changed a little or it was
from a slightly different angle. Its staggering to stand next to.
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| Picture of bamboo scaffolding |
 |
| Picture of inside the crown |
We found a
gallery at the back that gave us a bit of information about the place. The
crown umbrella that sits on top of the pagoda is filled with gold given as
gifts. It was repaired in the 70s after an earthquake made it wonky. The bamboo
scaffolding up to that height must have looked pretty spectacular.
 |
| Strange shaped buddhas footprint |
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| Eastern entrance |
 |
| Sunset |
 |
| The lights are on |
We hung
around for a while so we could see the padoga by night which is said to be just
as impressive. We found a spot to sit while the sunset but we got tired and
didn’t want to wait until it was fully dark. It looked pretty good already as the
lights had come.
 |
| Leaving |
Leaving the
pagoda was just as entertaining as entering it. The pagoda is set at that the
top of a hill so there’s a couple of escalators to get you up and down. These
must be a very new thing in Myanmar as most people seemed really scared to get on
or off them. We noticed this a few times around Yangon. There was often a queue
at the end of an escalator as people stalled before bravely stepping onto them
and then giggling profusely. It was highly entertaining to watch.
On the way
back we ate in a shopping centre that had some pretty cheap food and the most
amazing chocolate cake in the world. It might be that it had just been a while
since I’d eaten a decent chocolate cake but it really was awesome.
 |
| Chaotic streets |
We didn’t
do too much the next day as the previous day had really taken it out of us. The
heat here was just as bad as Bangkok so it can be quite exhausting to be
outside all day. We didn’t stray too far from the hostel but even that was
entertaining.
 |
| Mad traffic |
There always
seems to be something going on. The stalls on the street are selling stuff all
day long. Its super busy and Myanmar is one of those countries where they
relentlessly beep their horns. You really wouldn’t want to be walking around
here with a hangover.
 |
| Flashy temple |
That night
we went in search of a good bar but we failed at that. We went to one place I
had seen was good on trip advisor but it was closed. We thought about the bar
next door which was full of locals but the food didn’t look too good and no one
was eating there, just drinking. We went back to a proper restaurant we had
walked past that looked like we could trust it. It looked brand new, they were
still stocking the back shelf.
We went to a
bar a couple of streets away that was really small. Apparently it was the place
for backpackers to hang out but it was really dingy. We weren’t feeling it and
went back to the hostel after one drink.
 |
| Museum |
On our last
day in Yangon we went to the National Museum to get some more history and
culture. Well that was the plan. We ended spending most of the time childishly
mocking things.
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| The throne |
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| Naked people waving |
The best
thing in the museum was the big throne which actually looks more like a
doorway. Its over 150 years old and there used to be 9 of them but the rest
were destroyed.
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| You can see Han Solo right next to his hand |
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| Traditional puppets |
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| Lots of them |
It was quite
interesting. There were lots of different rooms with an array of different
things. Some musical instruments I've never seen before, some traditional
puppets they use in theatre shows, random statues with one that looked like Han
Solo stuck in carbonite and a few models of the temples in Bagan.
 |
| Left the price on |
There seemed
to be a lot of old statues and relics but when we saw this one with a price tag
still on we realised that unless they were labelled as old then they might be brand
new. Even then I wasn’t sure I trusted the signs.
 |
| Weirdly excited for the night bus |
That evening
we went to get the night bus. We had a nice taxi driver who took us to the
right office at the bus station as it was pretty chaotic there. We had to wait
for an hour before we set off. I had hoped to sleep on the bus but this was
just a regular coach and not a sleeper bus. The road was also really rough so
the bus rattled all the way to Bagan. I had just drifted off to sleep when we
arrived 3 hours early.
I wouldn’t
normally complain about arriving early but it meant that it was 4am and I had
barely slept. We got a taxi to our hostel but we were unable to check in early
and we resorted to sleeping on the floor until our beds were ready.
 |
| First temple in Bagan |
I grabbed a
quick shower after check in and then I hired an electric motorbike. Katie opted
for a bicycle as she didn’t trust herself on a motorbike. We set off to see some
temples of which there are thousands of in the Bagan area. So many to see and
most are worth a look.
 |
| Local life by the river |
 |
| Lawkananda Pagoda |
The first
one we went to was still in the town of New Bagan on the banks of the
Ayeyarwady River. It wasn’t all that impressive so we didn’t stay too long.
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| Sowmingyi Pagoda |
 |
| View from the top of the temple |
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| 1000 year old Buddha |
The next one
was better. The pagoda was pretty big and we were able to climb to the top
level of the monastery next door which gave a good view over to the other
temples.
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| Getting bigger |
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| Deserted and spooky |
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| Camp Buddha |
We drove to
a few more temples which were mostly devoid of people. We thought this was a little
odd. Everyone was at the main temple sites that a bigger and more impressive
but these smaller ones should not be so easily discarded. They are still
impressive to walk around and its nice not to be surrounded by other tourists
and touts.
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| A working monastery |
 |
| Reclining Buddha just fits |
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| Huge donation bowl |
We continued
down the road to a monastery that’s still being used today. It contained a
reclining Buddha at the back as well as a normal one. This place was packed with Burmese
all making their prayers. There seemed to be a lot of locals on a pilgrimage and
they were all being carted around in packed taxis. There was an enormous golden
bowl that we saw children throwing money in to.
 |
| Local |
 |
| Standard half-full taxi |
We had lunch
at a little local place opposite this monastery. The woman seemed so happy to have two
westerners eat at her restaurant. We watched the locals do their thing and
tried to soak in a bit of culture. It was so refreshing to see that were
getting on with their lives without tailoring everything towards tourists. No one was bothering us to buy stuff either. We
noticed that a lot of the woman had a kind of paint on their face. I thought it
might be sun protection but we never found out.
Its crazy
how many people they can cram onto a vehicle. As one bus load of people left the
monastery they were all staring at me whilst I was filming them so I waved and
they all waved back. I don’t really understand why they are so nice towards
westerners. Maybe they are just really nice towards everyone.
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| Another temple |
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| Ancient scriptures |
We went to a
lot of temples that afternoon, each as impressive as the last. One had an
ancient scripture that had been carved in stone. The stone had to be held up. By the looks of the stone it has fallen over a few
times.
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| Old school taxi |
We saw a few
of these on the road. The horse and cart is a bit of a gimmick for the tourists
but you still see the odd local in cart being toed by cows. Especially in the
countryside.
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| The beast that is Dhammayangyi |
By far the
most impressive temple we saw that day was the colossal Dhammayangyi. This is
the biggest temple in terms of volume and can be seen for miles around.
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| More scary dolls hanging from the trees |
Outside the
front there were many market stalls selling stuff to tourists. This is where
they have all been hiding all day. It was quite busy with just as many
westerners as there were locals. There was a bunch of traditional puppets hanging on a
tree which looked quite cool.
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| More Buddhas |
Inside the
temple there were four Buddha, one on each side. This theme was consistent at
all the larger temples are got a bit samey after a while. The outside seemed to
be always more impressive than inside.
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| Hanging out of a window |
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| Stairs to a higher window |
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| Temples |
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| More temples |
Up a few
steps was a window but I wanted to see if I could get higher up. I climbed a cramped
staircase that led up to the second row of windows where I could get a good
view of the temples around us. I wanted to go up to the second level or even
the top but that staircase must be blocked off somewhere.
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| Mighty |
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| The temple with the best view |
As the sun
was getting lower in the sky we went to the next temple. From this one you
could climb up to the second level. (You could actually climb up to the top but
we didn’t know this and didn’t look for the staircase which is often hard to
find.)
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| Profile picture time |
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| Yet more temples |
We sat here
for a while just looking at one of the most amazing sights I’d seen on my
travels. There was barely any noise around and it was just nice to sit and be
peaceful. The setting sun made for some awesome photos in the low light.
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| Really old paintings |
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| Looks a little odd |
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| Burmese hyroglifics |
We went to
another temple which had some cool carvings and paintings on the wall. The last
one showed a story of some kind of war.
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| Dusty |
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| Waiting for the sunset |
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| The sunset |
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| Moody |
The last
temple of the day was Bulethi. This was a recommended temple to watch the
sunset from. There’s another temple that’s more popular for the sunset but this
was said to be a good alternative. This seemed correct as we sat watching the
sun go down. There was only about 15 people here so it was pretty peaceful.
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| Awesome sky |
Back in town
we had showers to wash all the dust off. The main roads are concrete but
everything else is dirt road so we were quite dirty by now. Then we went for a
meal just down the road. I don’t think I’ve even been to a more welcoming
restaurant as at Taste of Bagan. The staff were so friendly and so welcoming. They
really wanted to make sure that we were happy. The food was delicious too. I
had the best burger I’ve had in all South East Asia and the local curries were
really nice too. We went back there three more times!
Almost every
Burmese person we had spoken to was quite keen to practise their English so we
asked the woman at the restaurant for a few Burmese words to learn so that we
could say ‘Hello’ and ‘Thank-you’ properly.
 |
| Another day, another temple |
The next day
was another big day for touring temples. Katie decided to go for an E-bike like
me as it would be easier in the heat. The first temple of the day confused us a
little bit. We thought we had walked all the way around but it turns out it has
5 sides not 4.
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| Famous again |
 |
| Built for hobbits |
 |
| Outback roads |
 |
| Farms |
We went a
different way today and I thought we’d go a more interesting, more direct way
between temples. This took us down a few dirt roads and sandy roads. This was a
lot of fun on the bike when I started to slide about all over the place. We saw
some more culture this way too as we went through cattle farms and villages.
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| Like the Shwaddy-waddy but smaller |
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| Small ones next to the big one |
We continued
on our temple tour going up, down and around many of them. The next big one we
saw was Shwegugyi Temple which was another one that’s extremely popular with
the locals. It’s like a smaller version of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon with many
smaller temples around the outside of it.
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| Another awesome temple |
 |
| Watching the locals pray |
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| Yet another impressive temple |
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| and again |
We saw a
couple more of the larger ones which were, again very impressive. In these
bigger ones you can’t go up to the second level which is a shame but then no
doubt the dumb tourists would hurt themselves.
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| At the river |
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| The whole family |
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| They all want pictures |
Whilst we
visiting a temple next to the river in Old Bagan Katie got ambushed by an entire
family. It started out as a couple of people but then the whole family wanted
their own pictures with her. This went on for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Then, when I put the camera down they wanted pictures with the both of us and
we had to start all over again.
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| Everybody wave! |
If I ever
wondered what it would be like to be famous then I think I found the answer.
The family were so excited and giggly like we really were famous for something.
I waved at another passing truck and they all waved back. One woman was waving her child around. I wander what they think of westerners to make them react like this. Its so
strange but charming at the same time. I’m a big fan of the Burmese.
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| Ananda |
|
 |
| Ananda |
The next
temple on the list was Ananda. This one of my favourites. It was quite
different to the rest as it was smooth and white.
 |
| Restoration works |
On the far
side of the temple we found out why it looked so shiny and white. They are
restoring it. I read some reviews online after and people seem to think it
takes away the authenticity of the place but at least it will be enjoyed for
many more generations to come.
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| To watch the sunset |
The last
temple of the day was Shwesandaw Pagoda which is the main temple to watch the
sunset from. We had seen almost every temple in Bagan but this was the only one
where they checked our ticket. I’m assuming that’s because every person
visiting the temples in Bagan comes to this spot. It was very busy by the time
the sun went down.
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| Another sunset |
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| Squirrel rat |
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| More temples |
The sunset
was incredible again. I think the first night might been slightly better as
there was less people around. That night we went back to our favourite
restaurant and had an early night.
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| Morning |
The next day
we got up super early to catch the sunrise over the temples. We went back to he
one next to the big one. (The one we didn’t realise we could go all the way to
the top of.) This time we went to the top with a handful of other people.
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| Very early morning |
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| Tourist sheep |
When I
looked over to Shwesandaw Pagoda, where we had watched the sunset the night
before, it was even more packed with people. They looked quite silly squashed
in when there was a perfectly good spot where we were sat with only a handful of other people
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| Good morning |
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| And they're off |
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| Love this picture |
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| Stunning view |
As the sun
came up, so did the hot air balloons. This made for quite the spectal over the silhouettes of the temples below. Sunrise was way more exciting than sunset. One
of the most amazing things I’ve seen whilst travelling.
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| Burmese chicken curry |
We mostly
chilled the rest of the day after a busy couple of days. We went to our
favourite restaurant for lunch and dinner.
It was just so good there. I had a nice chicken curry for dinner.
I was already such a big fan of Myanmar and I was only halfway through the trip. It had been an amazing week and I was very much looking forward to seeing Mandalay and Inle Lake.
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