Myanmar or Burma, whichever way you want to refer to it is
an awesome place that we urge you to come and explore before it gets spoilt!. Now officially the best country we have
explored and easily the best part of or our trip to date. The people are the
most friendly we have ever come across on our travels, only wanting to help or
to chat. Googling ‘Myanmar’ I came across a reference that said it stood for
fast and strong people. I don’t know if this is correct but they are certainly
a strong people given the years of Military rule oppression, forced labour and
total lack of human rights that they’ve had to endure. Gladly things are
changing with the NLD coming into power so now is the time to travel there. We
were always careful to use non-government transport, accommodation and instead
use private or family run businesses.
The only disappointment was the food (for me more than
Glenn), we thought it would be an exotic fusion of Chinese, Indian and Thai
where in fact, it was just a greasy mess!. I’d recommend only going for
anything steamed, they do seem to love a bit of grease and wet dog!
Myanmar is also the only country that we were never offered
drugs in. Glenn is usually accosted as soon as we leave the airport so this was
a nice surprise, however judging from the pic below we aren’t too certain how
drug free it is J
We do have some regrets!, not staying for longer!. We could
have spent more time in Mandalay, hiked from Kalaw to Inle lake (its downhill!),
and taken in more beaches and ancient ruins across the country, still, it gives
us a reason to come back. Some stand out moments include:
·
Riding a motorcycle along the beach in Ngwe Saung,
watching the sunset over the By of
Bengal
·
Sunrise/Sunset in Bagan
·
Pink Monks!
·
The Shwedagon Paya in Yangon and Yangon itself
·
The old lady in Inle, giving me blessings,
trying to offer me food and adopting me as her daughter (sorry mum!) all
because I took the time to smile at her
·
Canoe trip around Inle, stopping off at a temple
and eating biscuits and drinking coffee with the workers, visiting the canoe
owners house and drinking green tea and chatting with the family
·
The lovely warm family in Mandalay, the girl
with the puppy J
·
Meeting up with Karen
·
Bike Taxi’s, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung beach
·
Our walk through villages to a Monastery in
Mandalay
·
The new West Ham fan club: bunch of kids that
took a shine to us at a bus station and now know how to do the hammers sign!.
·
Sunset at Inle Lake, watching the fisherman
expertly spike fish in their nets
·
The price, other than accommodation (which is
quite expensive) everything else is cheap cheap cheap and you can make your
money go far.
The Myanmar Ladies (and guys!) with their yellow face paint to protect them from the sun/aging
·
Watching Gecko’s quarrel on the roof of our
tatty beach hut in Ngwe Saung
·
Sunset at U Bene bridge
·
The roads!, our 5hr journey from Bagan to Inle
lake which turned out to be 10hrs in a tiny mini bus!. Giving up our reasonably
comfy seats to two American girls who claimed they would be travel sick if they
sat in the back!. Let’s just say I won’t be doing that again unless they go
green or are physically sick. I had bruises from the journey whilst they slept
soundly!.
·
19th street, Yangon, great place to
drink beer, eat street food and pick up tips from fellow travellers.
Top tips
1.
We didn’t use dollars, easier to use Kyats
despite what the tour books tell you
2.
Fly if you can afford to or take a boat/train
when you can, roads are rubbish other than Yangon to Mandalay. Don’t expect to
get to sleep on a night bus!
3.
Lone Female travellers YES!
4.
Expect to stay longer than you anticipate and
expect to fall in love with the people
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