Money 1290 – 1350 Kyat = 1 Dollar The rate grew day by day often finding that one nights accommodation may be slightly different to the next.
I have been asked why as an English person do I quote dollars, it is
because it is the internationally recognised currency and most prices are
quoted in dollars then you pay in local currency depending on the rate. I consider one dollar as one pound as it makes the prices
more expensive. If I can afford it in dollars then I’m getting a good deal.
Ace Backpacker – Mandalay
30th boutique hostel –Yangon
Language: The language used throughout most of the Country is Burmese although
there are a number of small minority groups who speak their own language.
Capital city : I thought it was Yangon but that changed about 10 years ago and is now Naypitaw
Food – Rice and noodle based dishes are the most popular. Depending on the
location and the minorities in the place eg Shan noodles can be eaten for
breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shan noodles in a tomato broth with spring onions,
greens an
Street food is very popular and extremely cheap. Noodle soup, fried
snacks, Indian pancakes and food
Burma diary
Having spent the last two months in Central Asia arriving in Burma was a culture shock but as soon as I left the airport and the 30 degree heat and smell hit me I felt like I had come home (having spent 17 months travelling 15 years ago all but two months of that was in SE Asia).
was my first destination, OMG the
traffic. Traffic jams are a way of life in this city which has swelled in
numbers from 400 thousand to over 4 million locals and now tourists. Not sure
how it will cope in the future with tourism unless they build a metro or a
raised train system. Taxi fares are expensive as they say traffic jams and the
price of fuel has spiralled lately. Air
conditioning is also quoted however when you get in some cars that means
windows open. You have to love them…. Tourist
price also is rife so I was paying 7,000 kyat for a journey around town. I
stayed close to the airport which was 6 kilometres outside of the city so I
stayed downtown on the second stay and
had more access to the tourist spots. I managed to
find Inwa bookstore that had a “copy” lonely planet for 5,000 less than $4
along with other fiction and non fiction at cut prices. First nights dinner I treated myself to seafood noodles.
On day two I spent the morning on the circular train line which is the easiest way for locals to travel around the city and nearby countryside. It cost 200 Kyat (less than 20 cents) for what could be anything up to a 3 hour journey.
Complaint centre. I did not see it manned whilst there but it was a nice thought.
Local houses
view inside of train. The large bag is full of plastic bottles being taken for recycling. Its one way for people to make money in this country.
Local bathing
Normal sight carrying on the head. Note the sun cream on face and Longyi skirt mentioned later in posts.
Locals harvesting 
Laundry drying, a common sight all over Burma. It can be anywhere there is a space available. I have seen on railway lines and close to railway lines lying on the floor.
Locals passing produce through the windows as the quickest way of getting it all on board
Woman who sat opposite me Local Hawker. They have a liking for quails eggs
You can buy 6 in a small packet.
Price varies I did hear 1,000 for tourists
Mango seller
Mango being sold for 200 hundred Kyat was a
popular choice both with locals and tourists which she cut up and put in a bag
with chilli and sugar. Once finished the locals threw the bags out of the
window.” Foreigners” as we are known diligently wrapped them up and put them in
their bags which locals found amusing.
After two nights in the city I took an overnight bus to Bagan. Getting to the bus station from our hostel took over 1.5 hours eventually the driver made us walk the last few metres so as to make the bus on time. The bus station was crazy with between 50 - 100 buses and thousands of people and what felt like hundreds of cars all trying to get to the right bus company. Some how we managed to leave only 5 minutes late. For all the chaos and craziness calm and organisation seems to reign.
On route we
stopped twice at food outlets which catered for the travellers. I managed to
find durian and Mangosteen
which are two of my favourite fruits. When I got back to the bus I was the
least popular traveller on the bus, the guy next to me coughed until he finally
slept because of the durian smell lingering on me. Oops bit of a lesson learnt
there (when out in Indonesia we used to buy three a day one each and then a
spare as often one could be bad inside. We also learnt by accident that if you
drink a fizzy drink afterwards you became drunk and no hangover) not one to try
on a bus though.
BaganAfter a 10 Hour bus journey we arrived at 5am in the morning to be met by taxi drivers demanding 7,000 kyat per person to get to New Bagan a 20 minute journey we managed to negotiate down to 5,000. Cheekily they had put up a sign for foreigners saying 7,000 what they failed to put for that was per person. Anyway we were off. Then we were made to pay an entrance fee of 25,000 Kyat almost $20 as a government tax. something that had not been communicated to any of us in advance) .
My hostel
owner was not fazed seeing me at 5:30am and showed me to a bed and let me
sleep. I had not actually booked a bed until that evening so was really pleased
with this hospitality. Like all tourists who visit this amazing town I rented
an E Bike for the day and went round visiting the Pagodas and temples.
In August there had been earthquake tremors of 6.8 which had caused damage to a number of the Pagodas
My lovely E Bike - so easy to ride
Goat herder at one of the temples. Besides goats cows could also be seen herded around.
I found a spot next to Chris, a Leicester city supporter at the temple we decided to go for dinner at a lovely Indian restaurant where I had Burmese pork curry and rice. I had not eaten pork during my time in Central Asia as it was a Muslim region and therefore it was a great novelty and was my meat of choice throughout Burma.
The next day
I went on a taxi excursion with Chris and two other tourists to Mount Popa and later Salay. Mount Popa is “the
spiritual area and most popular place for
nat worship in the country”. The taxi driver did not speak English so
relied on other locals at spots to translate for us. Our first (not expected stop) was to a shop selling Jaggery made from palm tree sap and other tourists
gifts.
Next on to
Mount Popa, we were dropped off at an entrance to a temple so assumed it was
the way to our destination. We eagerly paid the 200 kyat entrance fee which we
thought was a true bargain and started walking. We passed one local who waved
and showed us the path. 30 minutes later we were walking in overgrown foliage
we looked as though it had not been near a human, we started to wonder if this
really was the way to Mount Popa a golden temple at the top of the hill which
we could see. We all agreed to carry on but later turned back only to discover
we were supposed to look at the view !!! one of the downsides of getting a
local driver.
When we
eventually got back to the car the driver was waiting with a local who
explained now we had seen the view we needed to walk down the hill road to the
base of the hill which the temple was on - our driver would wait for us at his
current spot. We passed a number of
locals and foreigners looking tired as well as coaches and locals transport
trying to climb the hill. Coaches and pickups
had the main right of way as a hill start for them was a nightmare
rolling backwards. Locals jumped out and put rocks under the wheels to try and
stop them rolling. On route down I
bought crisps and Lychee Fanta (a drink I got addicted to) . We eventually got
to the base of the hill and started the 777 step climb along with hoards of
others. We had to leave our shoes at the bottom (as with all temples) on route
we passed a number of workers collecting donations for cleaning monkey poo off
the steps.
Macaque
monkeys were also another danger to be aware of as they stole offerings and any
food that was in easy reach.
As we made
our way up to the top there were plenty of places to stop and admire the view
and take in the next temple on route up. We eventually made it to the top after
stopping to have selfies with a number of locals who wanted to show the photos
to families and mates at home of their “new friends”. Lots of places to donate
money for the temples and signs were up of those who had donated large amounts.
We saw one from Donald Trump USA not sure if it is the Trump….
Top of Mount Popa
Suntan cream for locals made from tree bark
Betel nut parcels making. Something the locals are always chewing it turns their teeth red and gives them a high
Macaque
On the way
down we walked through rows of shops and food sellers as the locals make this a
day trip. Much to Chris’s annoyance whilst he was walking up the hill a hungry
macaque whipped a packet of crisps from his hand then proceeded to run up a tree
with its baby, open the packet and eat them in front of him. Boy are they sneaky
and quick.
Our trip
continued to Salay later in the afternoon where we saw more temples, the
highlight was one temple who had a wooden Buddha. The couple we were with had
read that you could ask the local guardian of the key to open up his back and
you can climb inside. Something I had never done before. So we eventually found
her however the experience was not anything special but climbing through the
narrow passage was fun.
As it was
holiday time there was a big balloon festival taking place which I had found out about in Yangon. I had
originally been told it was in Bagan but then found out when I got there that
it was further north so cut short my stay in Bagan to attend it.
Inle Lake
The next
morning I caught a bus to Inle Lake. Scenery was fantastic as we drove through
forests resembling the Amazon, plantations full of banana trees, palm tree and
pampas grasses dotted about. Roads were
tarmac and then very now and again we came across places where they were renewing
the road. Ladies and men worked side by side carrying rocks and placing them in
position before the steam roller flattened them and the tarmac added. Very dusty
and tiring work.
The driver
made a number of local stops to pick up passengers and packages. Not sure if
these were legitimate as it was a tourist bus and it managed to add about an
hour extra to the trip. We did stop for lunch alongside all the other buses
heading north I shared popcorn with another tourists probably a safer option
than curry which has been sitting around for a few hours.
Goat herding
Festival taking place
Our first
stop to drop tourists off was at Kalaw, known for its treks to Inle Lake. Then
we continued for another four hours on to Inle Lake. Another stop to pay the 12,500 kyat entrance
fee. At least it was half the price of Bagan making it a slightly sweeter experience.
We arrived to Nyaungshwe the town closest to the lake. As it was holiday week
and Buddha day the following day the place was full of tourists both local and foreigners
making the place at first glance question why I was here. I was the last one to
be dropped off at my hostel so had a tour around the town. More tourists and
dusty street full of restaurants, bus and boat travel agencies and hotel..
Roads full of traffic not going anywhere. When we finally arrived at the hostel
it was away from the crowded area but full of backpackers for the festival.
Dinner was
chicken and cashew nuts with rice, more Chinese than Burmese but tasty. I
washed that down with Myanmar rum, very strong and tasted more like whisky so I
mixed it with Sprite.
6am in the
morning I was woken with the sound of my room mates coming back from the
festival. One said there is someone sleeping In my bed, another guy said at
least it’s a woman. The hostel had given me someone else’s bed. I continued to
fake sleeping whilst he had to find a new room. He moved back in the following
day when others left only to have his bed given to another girl that evening I
found out later so he and his girlfriend were upgraded to a private room. Poor
guy! I felt like goldilocks proving fairy tales really do come true.
Next day I
took a complementary bicycle around the town hoping to get to know the town and
clarify my initial thoughts. Came across a Pagoda, the post office featuring a
rusty post-box and then I decided to find the Red Mountain Vineyard. I stopped off for lunch at a new hotel which
featured an upmarket restaurant in an air conditioned room. I ordered seafood
salad in sweet chilli sauce. Little spicy I was told. Yes little spicy is fine
I replied… When it arrived I almost needed to call the fire brigade, my mouth
was on fire from the first bite. Pouring away the sauce and getting them to
bring me lime cooled it down somewhat however I managed to negotiate
complementary mango ice cream for dessert to finally cool the palate.
local house
Red Mountain Winery
The four wines
View overlooking the Mountains
Locals love to carry as much as they can in vehicles. It never ceases to amaze me how they can balance
Local petrol station. Some of the petrol comes from nuts grown on trees!
Taunggyi Balloon festival
Twenty seven people had signed up for the festival. 12,000 kyat each for
transport in a pickup and we took over four of them. During festival time all
the prices go up and this would have been more like the cost to hire the whole
or at least half of a pickup normally. Today was Buddha day, the main festival
day and the last day of the balloon festival. The journey took us just over an
hour which was good going as the previous night it had taken closer to three.
We stopped in traffic at one point so a number of the tourists decamped and
raided the local bakery, snack and beer shops as we could not wait any longer
to eat.
The air was
electric with revellers in all the vehicles, pickups filled to the brim having
people sitting on top of the roof to maximize space. horns honking, music
blaring. The anticipation was building;
As we got
closer to the main festival area fireworks were already going off, the balloons
were due to start at 8pm so we arrived in perfect time. Having parked the bus
about one kilometre away from the entrance we walked through stalls selling
food, toys, longyi’s (the local skirt worn by both males and female) shampoo,
beer and even a few make shift nightclubs. This country knows how to party… For
dinner we decided on Indian style pancakes (Dosa’s) filled with quail eggs (a
local delicacy) and onion.
We pushed
our way to the main field through all the locals who had brought mats and
copious amounts of food for the evening festivities. We finally settled on an
area about 100 metres behind where it was taking place standing next to a group
of young guys. Great, one guy was being sick, probably from too much alcohol he
looked really sheepish as we moved slightly further away.
The first
balloon of the evening was brought in by a vehicle surrounded by its supporters
cheering with optimism that the balloon would take flight and therefore they
would stand a change of winning the prize money.
It was lifted off the truck and then opened up carefully before being raised into the air. The process took about 30 minutes. It was then ready for lift off. Or not, as it started to go up and then instead of taking flight the fireworks started going off in the crowd we moved back rather hastily and then ducked as they exploded into a group of people far enough away from us. People have previously died from the fireworks but it is seen as part of the event. It was deemed a bigger festival this year since more Thai people had come over due to the lack of festivals currently being held in their country following the death of their King.
Once the fireworks stopped we moved forward gingerly wondering why we were there. I had joined two Vietnamese women who had been the previous evening and knew the ropes. That was close. We reviewed the videos and pictures we had taken to the point of the fireworks exploding. The fire engines could be heard coming through the crowds.
The wreak was taken away by its supporters now dashed of wining anything but the thought need to do better next year so as to win the prize money. Another half an hour wait for the next one to get ready. Luckily this time everything went well. The balloon gracefully took to the sky and the fireworks produced a spectacular show. At the end the supporters were in raptures more fireworks went off, lots of jubilation from the crowd and the supporting band to show the appreciation. The louder the sound the more change of winning the prize money. The third entry of the night was from a national bank and this time they tried sending up three balloons in one go. One beautifully did as it was supposed to and the balloon took off with a board full of lights (not fireworks) hovering over our heads then towards the market. The second balloon was not as fortunate and it briefly took to the sky then the bottom board full of fireworks burst into flames and floated down towards the crowd, again away from us. The third balloon did not even take off. Again the fire engines came in to deal with the remains. At this point it was getting closer to eleven and we had to be back at the bus for midnight otherwise it would be a very long walk home. 
Into the crowd
Second one which took off successfully Beautiful display
We went over to view the other attraction a human powered Ferris wheel. Eight young guys were running round the wheel to get it started and then steered it from the bottom as customers enjoyed their ride. Health and safety would have a field day on this ride let alone the event.
Human powered Ferris wheel
cooking snacks at the festival
Next day was
market day. Around Inle Lake part of the five day rotating market and
fortunately today it was in our town,
markets tend to start at the crack of dawn and finish by 7 luckily this one was
an all day market. This meant the usual “sleepy” market swelled as the local
villagers came to sell their goods they had grown and made. There was of course
an area selling tourist goods including silver made in Inle Lake. I bought a
bag which is used by most of the population outside of the cities. Unlike most
of the locals, I had chosen the largest size which they found rather amusing.
Well I had to carry my camera, water and books around…. The stall holder
arranged for the sewing machinist opposite to make the shoulder strap shorter.
Locals wear their bags across their bodies even then it was too long. I also
bought a pink longyi, the local skirt worn both by men and woman. I was turning
native as the stall holder laughed.
Boat trip around Inle
Lake
Inle lake is 13.5 miles long and 7 miles wide at its widest.
From a distance the water looks like a mirror. The town which I stayed at was
the largest town nearest the lake.
For my last day in Inle Lake I organised a boat trip around
the lake. 22,000 Kyat per boat starting at 8am. We journeyed up through the canal to start
with past boats ladened with tomatoes.
Then out to the lake. We passed a number of fisherman using their
traditional method of rowing. They stand up put one foot on the boat and the
other steering the oar, I am led to believe this is because there is so many
reeds and plant material in the water they cant see it if sitting down. They
can then use their hands to collect the nets. They use bamboo cone shaped nets which
trap the fish into the bottom net and then they call pull them out.
They even had a stupa on the lake
Silver making
Next onto a silk weaving factory which had a demonstration
of collecting lotus stalk strands from the red lotus flowers ( other colours
were used as offerings), this is a painstaking time consuming process and as
the flowers are most prevalent during rainy season it can’t take place all year
round making the scarves produced expensive and highly sought after. The guide
also said that monks’ robes were made from this since the fabric is good to
keep a person warm in the Winter and Cool in the Summer. Monks are gifted their
robes by Buddhist well wishers during one of their many festivals. The monks
receive the clothes and in return it gives the bearer merit which is part of the Buddhist philosophy.
lotus stem
lotus stem
We continued on through the houses on stilts for a well-deserved
lunch break and respite from the sun. The boat journey had been cold at the
beginning of the day and was now becoming unbearable. Lunch was fried noodles
with vegetables and a fried runny egg.
For research purposes I had decided to try dessert since
there were two new ones on the menu; Fried bananas with coconut cream. The
coconut cream turned out to be condensed milk with some coconut cream added and
was extremely sweet and a very heavy dessert. The other option had been bananas
in coconut milk which the waitress had described more as a soup. Something to
try cooking at home.
During the afternoon I visited a market on the way to
another Stupa. The market was best in the early morning as again the villagers
came down to sell. I managed to photograph a few on their way back home. Most
are camera shy or demand money although a few I found were pleased to have
their photo taken and whooped for joy when I showed them the image.
Flower seller, they love their flowers over here used for offerings and in the home
Pharmacy stall at the market
tribeswoman on their way back from market
Noodles drying
We stopped off down a small canal route to see another
Pagoda. This one had a sign saying woman not allowed to the middle section.
This is something that I got used to seeing throughout my time in Burma.
Watching from a distance men were applying gold leave to an oddly shaped Buddha
and his friends.
The last stop of the day was to a village where I wandered
around through the houses to the river. I arrived at the same time as a group
of school children crossing. They looked so cute in the uniform, carrying their
lunch tiffin boxes and bags full of books.
A large pagoda with over 100 little stupas was the highlight
of the village. At the entrance was the usual camera fee and hundreds of steps
to go up through stalls of tourist trinkets and tat. I decided that I had seen
enough pagodas so I would continue walking around the village instead. I passed
a weir and found a number of young guys swimming in the muddy water having a
great time. Following a row of longyi’s and pictures for sale I made my way
down a small river offset. Thinking I was the only tourist around I was
enjoying the experience until a large Italian tourist group came the other
way! I came across the same group of
children I had seen on the bridge they were taking a rest before they went
their separate ways home. They were happy to pose for pictures with me and then
when I gave some of them the camera they eagerly took photos of each other.
They told me of a quite back road to get to the Pagoda and some walked with me
until their houses at which they peeled off waving happily as they left.
On the route back I crossed back over the bridge and watched a couple of families bathing and doing their laundry whilst the children swap. This is a common sight throughout Burma as with other Asian countries. Sometimes motorbikes and cars are also being washed.
Sunset was on the way back across the lake.
On my last morning staying on the lake I took a (free) bicycle from the hostel and explored the surrounding area. I passed countryside and people going about their daily lives and then started climbing a hilly road. Having been over taken by another couple of westerners I decided that I would persevere and get to the top regardless how long it took.
Eventually the road plateaued at the top and I meandered
down a country lane passing fields of sunflowers. I came across a few hired
tourist bicycles outside a temple situated on top of a hill. This temple was up
a number of stairs and with my legs aching I had to think twice about venturing
up. However, I was assured by travellers on their way down it was worth it.
Besides the view there was a spot which had hot air coming out of a tree root,
which you could put your head over for a free facial.
Further along the road was khaung Daing Spa aimed at holiday makers (£10 for the day). No time I started back to the lake passing a stall making and selling fried good. The bread was sweet with a coconut filling and delicious, the potato and onion samosas very moreish buying seconds of both for my bus journey later.
My Guest House
Rubbish collection whilst waiting for the bus
