Tuesday 2nd December 2014
Tonight I arrived in Myanmar (or Burma if you prefer) the
flight from Singapore was only two and a half hours which flew by since I was
asleep for most of it. I landed in Yangon just before 7pm and made my way
through customs and immigration I had done an e-visa which takes about five
days and they send you a letter of invitation which you must produce upon
arrival. The customs lady took no more than a mere glance at the printed page
and my passport and then she stamped me in. I collected my bag changed some of
my cool crisp US dollar bills for some local Kyat and was in a taxi all within
about 20mins!
The drive into the city takes between 30-45mins depending on
traffic which seems to be chaotic at all times of the day (quite similar to
India really) I had made a reservation at a guesthouse on the recommendation of
a friend so arrived there checked in and bought a night bus ticket for Kalaw
for the following night.
I was feeling a bit pooped after a day of doing nothing so
chilled out reading an surfing the painfully slow Wi-Fi before calling it a
night pretty early
Wednesday 3rd December 2014
Today I was a woman on a mission to see as much of Yangon as
I could before I had to leave for the buis station at 3pm. The hotel served a
buffet breakfast proclaimed as the best breakfast in Yangon since it was my
only breakfast in Yangon I can’t really compare it to anything but it was
pretty darn fabulous and I ate about five courses whilst reading my book.
Breakfast was served up on the roof terrace so it was a comfortable temperature
and the air was clean.
Back downstairs I checked out and left my big pack with
reception and headed off to Swedagon pagoda now I’m not really sure if I
misheard or the hotel guy mis-told me but there was some sort of
miscommunication and I ended up miles away from where I wanted to be the walk
should have taken 30mins so after an hour it was pretty evident I was lost. No
matter as the locals here are so friendly it wasn’t long before they had me in
a taxi which they had bartered down to a good price.
At the pagoda I paid the entrance fee and ditched my shoes
then headed up the lift at the top I was glad I waited for the one I was in as
the second lift got stuck at the top the doors opened but the lift was about
halfway, hopefully with no one inside it since it was heating up to be a real
cracker of a day.
The next few hours I spent wandering about at the pagoda
taking in the many images of Buddha, the Bodhi tree and the bells the place is
magnificent with literally tons of gold and diamonds ornamenting the place.
There was so much to see and so many people, it was a pretty relaxed atmosphere
with kids playing, woman breastfeeding, families picnicking and pilgrims
praying. Every so often I would retreat to a shady area and people watch for a
while before continuing on.
After the pagoda I left via the western stairway with the
idea of hitting up the people’s park only when I got there (risking life and
limb to cross the road) I realised it cost US$5 to get in and I wasn’t really
keen to pay that so I flagged that. I was right next to a mall so had a wee
browse to see what was on offer it was such a bizarre mix of the traditional
longis and then skanky western wear.
It was pretty hot and I was a bit over walking so retreated
to the pagoda gardens where I read my book a while before getting a taxi back
to the hotel to pick up my bag and head to the bus station.
The bus station is out past the airport and took an age to
get there due to traffic but I had the sweetest diver who put on the aircon for
me and sung traditional songs along to his radio in between asking me about myself
although I’m not really sure he understood most of what I said. Along the way
he kept winding down his window to tell random people that he had a passenger
from New Zealand in his taxi which was really sweet and he bought me a bottle
of water from a street vendor.
At the bus station I wished him a fond farewell and sat to
wait for my bus which departed about 30mins late but that was ok as I had become
engrossed in a Burmese soap that was playing on the TV all about a girl who was
blind and had surgery to restore her sight and all the while she was blind she
was in love with this one dude but then another dude came along and I think he
was somehow blackmailing her into dating him, the whole thing was very dramatic
with lots of weeping and looking longingly into the distance I was actually a
little sad to leave!
On the bus I ate my bus snacks of extremely spicy crisps and
some plain biscuits and then dozed while watching a karaoke DVD of a really old
man in western dress singing rock songs in Burmese the rest of his band were at
least half his age and he looked like a stiff wind would carry him away but the
bus loved him and they were all singing along!
I was the only foreigner on the bus which was a rather
surreal experience usually whilst travelling you bump into people going the
same way but nope it was a bit concerning when at 3am I was the only passenger
to get off in Kalaw with no hotel reservation, no map and no guide I had been
banking on making a friend or two on the bus and piggy backing on their plans
(this isn’t the first time this has happened so I really need to sort my shit
out beforehand!)
We pulled up in Kalaw on the main street where packs of dogs
and groups of men sitting by the fire seemed to dot the store fronts
immediately a few people got up to ask me where I was from and did I have
somewhere to stay I chatted for a bit and they all seemed really kind and
genuine but as it was 3am and freezing old I made my excuses and walked over to
the closest guest house thankfully they opened the door for me and showed me to
a room saving all the check in practicalities for the morning. I put on all the
layers I had and shivered my way to sleep.
Thursday 4th December 2014
It was still cold when I woke up this morning but thankfully
there was hot water in the shower (which I’ve read is a luxury in Myanmar but
both places I’ve stayed have had it) I got myself set for the day and headed to
reception to be told I had missed breakfast by about 20mins which was a bit
disappointing. I asked about trekking and they sent me down the road to a
guide.
From Kalaw you can trek for two or three days to Lake Inle
as time isn’t on my side I think I will go for the two day hike but put my name
down for both and returned at 4pm to see how many others had signed up.
I decided to get breakfast there and as I was eating two
others enquired about two day hikes so I listened in with them as we were
explained the route and costs etc.
After eating I wondered around Kalaw taking in the market
and temples and chatting to loads of locals I bought a bright orange watch, and
a bracelet then sent a few postcards before retreating to the hotel lobby to
read and do a bit of writing.
Friday 5th December 2014
Was up and about like a Tasmanian devil this morning getting
dressed packed and fed before walking down the road to the trekking centre.
Soon after I arrived the rest of the group did also and so we went for a quick
look around the local five day market that was on this day in Kalaw. It’s a
local meat and produce market mostly with a lot of fish some flowers and some
tourist tat but worth a wee look see.
At 8.30am we were back at the centre ready to meet our two
female guides and our male cook and then board our truck thingy that was to
drive us about 30mins to the start of the trail. Along the way we saw another
vehicle similar to our own that had flipped. We all went a bit quiet and the
driver slowed down the rest of the way.
When we got out we picked up some water and then hit the
trail where we were immediately stampeded by a herd of cattle hurtling towards
us sending us for cover in the bushes thankfully that was all the excitement
for the morning and we were soon in our stride.
The country side was phenomenal and the terrain was easy
going sometimes up sometimes down but never overly strenuous. We saw plenty of
locals along the way always stopping to chat and one group of workers let us have a go a shucking
the rice off the stalks.
Towards midday we were told the town we were to stop in for
lunch was having a wedding which was exciting. The whole town wears matching
blue pyjama suits that they keep for special occasions (read weddings and
funerals) the bride and groom sit up the front with one of the brides friends
(a brides maid if you will) and everyone else sits around talking smoking and
chewing beetle nut, we know this because they invited us in. we gave the newlyweds
a donation pooled together by all of us and then we tied a piece of string around
the brides wrist one by one. Then it was time for lunch but before we could
make it we were ushered into the wedding food tent where we ate first lunch
while the men folk sat and stared at us.
Finally we were moving again but it wasn’t long before we came
to a school the children were running riot as the teachers were all at the
wedding! We played games with them and chanted some numbers and letters before realising
how weird it was that we were there and moving on.
Finally we got to lunch our cook who had gone ahead by
motorbike had started to worry as we were about two hours late. There was so
much food and we had already eaten snacks and a wedding feast but we found
room.
After lunch we had about three hours more walking to do the
views continued to delight and it was dusk as we entered the village where our
home stay was. All day it had just been us and the locals on the trail but as
we came into the village we ran into many hiking groups.
We were to sleep in the upstairs of a hut underneath was
where the animals lived and during the night the whole structure would shake as
a cow leaned against a post, but it was the warmest comfiest night ever! When
we arrived we got changed and ate dinner by candle light outside before heading
to bed all lined up in neat little rows.
Saturday 6th December 2014
After a brilliant night’s sleep I woke up and to my sheer
joy we had banana pancakes for breakfast! With a good feed in our bellies it
was onwards and upwards. Unfortunately today there was just the one route so we
were hiking with many groups.
After about two hours we stopped for morning tea
at a roadside shack in the middle of nowhere that was doing a roaring trade in
serving foreign hikers.
From morning tea it was only another few hours until we
reached the lake. We had to pay a USD $10 entry fee which was fine but I’m not
sure where the money is going certainly not to the environmental issues that
surround the lake.
We paid an then stopped and had a leisurely lunch after
which we fare welled our guides and jumped on a long skinny boat decked out
with wooden lawn chairs for the 90min ride to nueng she which is the tourist
town on the far side of the lake.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the boat ride was beautiful
and passed quickly. In town we separated to all find our respective guest
houses I was bunking down with Scarlett a British girl from the hike our place
wasn’t far and we were soon checked in showered and heading out like lunatics
on cycles to the hot springs which were about 45mins away. We figured it would
be a nice end to the trek and it defiantly was despite being overpriced.
Getting back was another matter as it was now pitch black
and we had to cycle home by the light of head torch narrowly avoiding cycling
over a two metre long snake chilling in the road! Back in town we found food
and were in bed like nanas at some early hour. (10pm or so)
Sunday 7th December 2014
We had planned on doing a boat trip this morning but we
slept a bit past the 7.30am start point. We got up and ate then washed our grim
hiking gear in the sink before hitting up the towns “French café” as Scarlett
wanted real coffee we sat in their courtyard and I drank a tea that had sesame
seeds floating in it but tasted good it was natural flavour.
In the afternoon we once again hired bikes and went
adventuring. We started off by visiting a monastery where there were Burmese
tourists taking photos of us! Next stop we had to come back through town and
then out to a winery neither of us drink wine and think we were they only
people there not drinking but it was a stunning location set up in the hills
above the lake (so steep we had to abandon actually cycling and just walk the
bikes up) it was such a stunning view we stopped there and had a snack (which was
a bit rank)
We wanted to watch the sunset and should have stayed where
we were but wanted to see it right above the lake so decided to try and cycle
along the canal leading into town and see where it went. Unfortunately for us
it stopped in a dead end at a village a long way before the edge of the lake so
we had to give up on that fantasy.
Back in town we returned the bikes and showered up before
meeting some other trekkers for dinner on the way home Scarlett and I decided
to get a waffle from the French place and oh what a disaster it was. After
taking 45 minutes to arrive the cream that was on top was completely rancid it
was hugely disappointing but we got free ice-cream and chocolate sauce to make
up for it even if it was well after 10pm before we ate!
Monday 8th December 2014 and Tuesday 9th
December
I’m writing Monday and Tuesday as one giant day as they sort
of merged into one another after a night bus.
Monday morning we were up and at em ready for our boat trip
we spent about eight hours on the lake from 7.30am. When we went out there was
so much wet foggy mist that we couldn’t see a thing as we headed out across the
lake it slowly cleared to revealed beautiful sunny day.
It takes about an hour to get to the middle which is where
the action is first off we visited a “floating market” which is on the land due
to lower water levels in the lake and has been for the past few years. I think
back in the day it would have been authentic but this market was mostly full of
tourist tat and the occasional gem such as a crown made of teeth (don’t ask me
where the teeth came from I couldn’t be sure I can only assume cows?) or
nativity scenes inside wooden fish.
We also visited the leaping cat monastery where back in the
day the monks would train cats to jump through tiny hoops but there is a new
head monk and he has banned cats we didn’t actually even see nay monks! Other
things we saw included a loom weaving centre where the most interesting thing
was the cloth they make from the stems of lotus flowers the piece are beautiful
but hugely labour intensive and massively expensive at about USD $200 a pop!,
floating gardens where the farmers plant crops on huge floating sections and
end them by boat, a pagoda, many fishing villages and some Buddhist ruins
Apart from when we walked around the stop off points and at
lunch we were in the boat all day so I was very glad for the cushions on the
lawn chairs!
In the afternoon we lazed around and had a cold drink then Lucie
and Scarlett went back out on the water to see sunset and I manned the bags and
made sure the bus didn’t leave without Scarlett in case she was running late.
She wasn’t and despite the bus being late and leaving half an hour later than
it should have we arrived into Bagon at 3.30am when we had been told 5am. The
drive was pretty terrible down long windy roads that the driver took too fast
and there was a lady making heaving noises the entire night!
The Bagan bus station is in the middle of nowhere so you
have to get a taxi. Scarlett had arranged a pick up for her hotel and since I
had nowhere to book I went with her thinking it would be a dream to find
somewhere cheap. Unfortunately for me I was in the wrong part of town so after
some very unsuccessful searching I ended up checking in to the same place as
her but paying an arm and a leg for a room for one (her mate is meeting her
here)
Since it was sunrise time I decided to stay up for it and
hired an e-bike and jetted to a temple you could climb to watch. It was a bit
chilly but not too busy and so I settled in to watch with an uninterrupted view
which was especially nice when the hot air balloons came up.
About 7.30a I was back at the hotel I had a shower, sorted
out my pack and did some washing in the sink then I was back out sightseeing.
My bike lasted all day and since I didn’t have a map I just went to the temples
I found, that called to me that I passed. I went in more than I could count and
took hundreds of photos of Buddha. I found an amazing vegetarian place for
lunch and bought some bamboo lacquer tea cups which are completely unnecessary.
I had a great day chatting to locals and picking up little bits and pieces of
info.
About 4.45pm I was done in and so headed back to shower away
the dust and grime. Shoes are banned in temples and pagodas and as a result my
feet were black! I spent an hour or so doing some personal admin before meeting
up with Scarlett and her mate for dinner around the corner at a Burmese
restaurant.
Wednesday 10th December 2014
Sadly today was my last full day in Myanmar and even more sadly
it was spent on a bus. I had to get back to /Yangon for a flight out early
Thursday morning and didn’t trust that a night bus would get me in on time. The
pick up from the hotel was supposed to be at 7.15am but clearly they forgot to
pick me up as when the hotel dude called them at 7.50am they rushed over and it
was just me and one other girl in the truck which doesn’t explain why they were
so late.
I arrived at the bus station at 8.29am my bag and me were
thrown on the bus and it left at 8.30am it was a spectacularly boring day as it
was a local bus and no one spoke any English and to make it worse the curtains
were all drawn so I couldn’t even see the countryside and I was sitting between
a monk who kept spittle out his beetle nut juice into a plastic bag and a girl
who stared at me the entire day and when I fell asleep I woke up with her
leaning over me about an inch away from my face which was a tad creepy.
By the time we arrived in Yangon I was over sitting on a bus
unfortunately for me it took a further hour to get to the hotel because of the
traffic
I had asked for the same room I was in on my first night but
it was already taken and I got a room right above the bathrooms which stunk of
blocked drains. I went out and got some food and wandered around the Sule
Pagoda before heading back and crashing pretty early.
Thursday 11th December 2014
This morning I was up with the birds to check out lucky for
me there was another couple heading to the airport so I jumped in their taxi
which made it cheaper. At the airport it didn’t take long to check in and get
to my gate. Anticipating that the currency exchange might not be open in the
early hours (it wasn’t) I had changed most of my kyat back to dollars
yesterday leaving me with just enough
for a bottle of water for breakfast I tucked into a six pack of muffins I got
from a bakery last night.
I slept the entire flight to Bangkok and woke up in a bit of
a daze I had to cross town to the main Bangkok airport via the free shuttle and
thankfully Ganesh was on my side removing all obstacles we landed at 10.20am
and I had disembarked, cleared immigration and collected my bags all in time to
board the 10.40am shuttle! At BKK check in hadn’t even opened so I had to wait
in line with all the other keen beans. and from here you will have to read about my adventures in India!
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