AllWays Traveller Features
My incredible journey through Myanmar
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.
Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the country's largest city, is home to bustling markets, numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which contains Buddhist relics and dates to the 6th century.
Images : www.tourismmyanmar.org
Starting the adventure in Yangon
After a long tiring, journey to Myanmar I landed in Yangon and if you only get time to do one thing visit the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Built originally in about 588 BC and different dynasties have rebuilt or regilded and added to it.
It now stands at 326 feet high ( approx. 100 metres), height of hill above sea level is 190 feetand covers 114 acres (46 hectares)
It has ten unique different sections and incudes 3154 gold bells, 79569 diamonds and other precious stones. The terrace alone is 14 acres (6 hectares) .
It is truly magnificent.
The flight to Mandalay
Next day at 5.15 a.m. off to the airport for a flight to Mandalay.
The domestic airports are a hoot!
You are given a coloured sticker (each flight different) and everyone is horded into one big gate.
At that time in the morning the airport was very busy.
You then wait for a guy to hold a board up and wander round the gate area.This board states which flight is ready for boarding.
If you miss that you hope that one of his helpers will come and find you by looking at your coloured sticker!
On arrival at Mandalay I was picked up by my guide Vijay and driven to P Oo Lwin (Maymo) in the Shan State which is a lovely relaxing town and saw the longest wooden bridge (U-Bein) Having stayed one night at the fabulous Aureum Resoprt@The Governor's House.
Dignatories and Head of State have stayed here judging by reading the comments book and the staff cannot do enough for you.
The food is good too!
Early morning market
I was then off early the next day to a nearby early morning market with Vijay and then off to join the train for 4 hours to NaungPin along the way passing over the famous Gokteik Bridge railway viaduct.
This bridge spans 300 metres over a deep gorge and was built a century ago by the Pennsylvania Steel Co and is the 2nd highest in the world.
The train was extremely rickety coming out of your seat when the driver was going fast and going over bumps!
All good fun and a good way of seeing local life.
At each station on the way there was street food available but it is well advised to take your own on board, although a lady does come round offering all sorts of snacks.
Shan State
I was then picked up by the same driver I already had and had a couple of hours in the car to one of the northern villages in the Shan State – Hsipaw.
As the Shan State is a completely different part of Burma than Myanmar the language is different to.
I was staying at the Riverside@Hsipaw Resort hotel across the river where a jetty would take you to the village when the current allowed.
During the day it was fine but of an evening the current unfortunately was too strong hence spent a couple of evenings round the hotel.
On venturing out at night a member of staff would accompany me armed with 2 torches, not because it wasn't safe but there was no electricity and also wild dogs are around which tend to bite.
Again a fabulous hotel, extremely relaxing, good food and staff superb.
Whilst there I had another guide who took me on approx. 2 hour boat trip.
His name was Sai Win Ko, freelance and excellent
We also went trecking for over three hours stopping at little villages, including a small family blacksmith business who sent his wares all over the country.
A simple life
Such a simple life they lead but appear so happy.
I tried to talk to the villagers in the bit of Shan language I had been taught but mostly they looked at me blankly as pronunciation of the words was not very good on my part!
Shan, Indian and Chinese traders
The next day a long drive (over 5 hours) to Mandalay where I stopped at Kyaukme, a pleasant town with a majority of Shan, Indian and Chinese traders.
After staying overnight in Mandalay I then took a full day cruise from Mandalay to Bagan.
This is where I said goodbye to my excellent guide Vijay.
Vijay Yah has so much knowledge to impart and a thoroughly decent individual.
I would recommend him to anyone as he is freelance
The Ayeyarwady river
The scenery on the Ayeyarwady river is timeless, oxen working the fields, water buffalo wallowing in the mud and every type of boat and river craft you can imagine.
Pagodas and stupas dotted along the river.New Bagan is nothing like you think, it appears like a very old town.
Old Bagan
I then spent the next day in Old Bagan where there are so many stupas on the outskirts it was certainly an experience.
Next day I was back at the airport and flew to Heho and then picked up by Key Keymy guide who was from a mountain village so, again, she was able to impart a lot of information to me.
We stopped off at a local village dedication festival where tribes from the mountains come down and sell their wares.
I met people from the Danu (they wear very bright costumes) and Pa-oh (black costume like a dragon but brightly coloured turbans) tribes.
You drive across the Shan plateau, through fields of mountain rice, on the way passing another famous bridge Ba Wa San Sa Ra which means life cycle!
I visited a Shan paper and parasol factory run by a family, sampled hot tofu at a local family factory.
Arriving at Pindaya I went on a short treck through the hills and to a 150 year old monastery where we were invited to have some green tea and snacks – very welcome.
Then off to a tea plantation garden to recharge the batteries again!
The former British hill station of Kalaw
Next day a drive to the former British hill station of Kalaw which is a very charming town on route to the Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp having driven through the hills of Magwe.
Spent a wonderful day washing elephants in the river and feeding them.
They ranged in age from 8 to 67 years young!If you like elephants this is definitely worth a trip.
It is a home for sick and retired timber elephants.
Back then for my stay at the Hill Top hotel in Kalaw, again a very good hotel.
Nyaung Shwe
Next day I left Kalaw once I had been to the local market and went to Nyaung Shwe on the edge of Inle Lake.
After a wonderful stay at the Nyaung Shwe Amazing Hotel we then took a short car ride to catch our private boat.
Visited a Jumping Cat Monastery (but no jumping cats!) at Nga Phae Kyaung, a tribe called Padaung People (long necked people), in Ywar Ma village.
Nampan village where I visited a boat making factory owned by a family and a lotus/silk weaving factory again owned by a family in Paw Khone village where I had a dismal attempt in trying to help make something!
The one legged rowers
Inle Lake is famous for the one legged rowers and it is amazing how they do it.Besides villages such as the fisherman's village there are a lot of floating gardens and it truly is idyllic.
Next day it was my long trek home, where the first internal flight was 3 hours delayed.
The good news was they brought coffee and cake out to the people with the appropriate coloured sticker!
On my trip I met people from seven different tribes in total and apparently where the older generation live in the mountains they struggle to understand each other's tribal language.
You need to be aware when travelling around to a great extent that it is different weather therefore the weather I had was very mixed, ranging from 35 degrees to torrential thunderstorms.
In all areas of it is extremely safe and the people are so helpful and friendly.When visiting the Shan state you may encounter tribal people just staring at you as some of them have not met Europeans before
I found the standard of hotels and foodexcellent throughout.
The company I dealt with in Myanmar was Diethelm Travel who went out of their way to ensure the trip went smoothly.
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The facts
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What is the currency in Myanmar?
The currency in Myanmar is MMK or Myanmar Kyat (pronounced 'chat' – the 'ky' is a 'ch' sound).
Please check the website of the central bank of Myanmar for an up to date exchange rate.
Kyat notes are available in denominations of 1000, 5000 and 10,000.
ATMs are widely found in Yangon and other major cities.
If you are travelling to rural areas, you'll be well served by having enough cash on you.Except for major hotels, few places accept credit cards.
:What is the time zone in Myanmar
Myanmar is 6.5 hours ahead of GMT - Myanmar is one of 15 countries worldwide that has a half hour time difference, to allow for the sun to be more precisely directly up at noon.
What vaccinations do I need?
The following vaccinations are recommended before traveling to Myanmar:
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
Japanese Encephalitis
Rabies
Yellow Fever
Please consult with your doctor and get their recommendation as well.
Can I get a visa online?
Yes, you can. E-visas are available to citizens of 100 countries for a fee of $50.
Can I get a SIM card in Myanmar?
If you have an unlocked phone, you can pop a Myanmar SIM card into your phone.
There are three telecom companies active in Myanmar: MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo.
All three have kiosks at the airports or can be bought in any small shop.
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