The Republic of the Union of Myanmar Part I

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 Its still a very much unknown place among travellers as any information more than a couple months old is outdated.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

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.

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

Nice architecture

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.

The famous pagoda across the lake

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.

Utopia Tower

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.

Reclining Buddha

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 6^th 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

Cool artwork

Shiny roof

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.

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

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.

The throne

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.

You can see Han Solo right next to his hand

Traditional puppets

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.

Sowmingyi Pagoda

View from the top of the temple

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.

Getting bigger

Deserted and spooky

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.

A working monastery

Reclining Buddha just fits

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.

Another temple

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hanging out of a window

Stairs to a higher window

Temples

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.

Mighty

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.)

Profile picture time

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.

Really old paintings

Looks a little odd

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.

Dusty

Waiting for the sunset

The sunset

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.

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.

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.

Like the Shwaddy-waddy but smaller

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.

Another awesome temple

Watching the locals pray

Yet another impressive temple

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.

At the river

The whole family

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.

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.

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.

Many small Buddha

Superhero Buddha

Lumpy Buddha

The inside of this temple was cool to with many Buddha hidden in the walls. There was a lumpy Buddha which people were sticking gold leaf to.

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.

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.

Another sunset

Squirrel rat

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.

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.

Very early morning

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

Good morning

And they're off

Love this picture

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.

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.