Wandering Yangon and beyond

Mystical, magical Myanmar

I’m forever getting asked three questions about Myanmar: Where did you go? How safe is it, and what did you do about money?

We had an amazing two weeks in Burma, or Myanmar as it was renamed in 1989 by the ruling military junta. We found ancient temples on a scale we’d never imagined, mystical Inle Lake mornings with dancing one-legged fishermen, magical sunsets on the Irrawaddy river and that the road to Mandalay was not all it was cracked up to be…

At least not in my imagination, nor in my head of romantic poetry living the Far East travel dream!

OUR HOLIDAY ITINERARY:

Day 1: Arrival Yangon, Evening visit to Shwedagon Pagoda

Day 2: Yangon city sightseeing

Day 3: Yangon-Bagan (morning flight) Bagan Sightseeing

Day 4: Bagan Sightseeing by Bike

Day 5 : Bagan: A visit to Mt Popa, evening sunset boat ride along the Ayeyarwaddy River

Day 6: Bagan – Mandalay (morning flight) Mandalay sightseeing

Day 7: Mandalay: Visit Amarapura, Sagaing & Inwa

Day 8 Mandalay: Boat trip to Mingun

Day 9: Mandalay to Heho (morning flight) for Inle Lake & Inle lake Sightseeing by boat

Day 10: Inle Lake: Visit to Indein Village

Day 11: Inle Lake to HeHo – Thandwe (morning flight) Transfer to Ngapali Beach

Day 12: Ngapali Beach

Day 13: Ngapali Beach

Day 14: Thandwe-Yangon (afternoon flight)

Day 15: Yangon at Leisure (afternoon flight home)

MONEY IN MYANMAR

We organised our trip through a local Myanmar Travel Agent. Back then due to difficulties in banking, you can read into this what you want, they didn’t want any money up front. We arrived with wads of cash in US dollars, which we handed over on arrival in a small backstreet office somewhere in Yangon.

For me, Miss Wandering’ I like everything planned and sorted‘ Wren, this made me a tad nervous. We were six people and we landed with nothing paid for, and in my Western eyes, therefore, nothing booked! Secondly,  I was convinced the moment that I picked up many thousands of US dollars from my Aussie bank that I would be mugged starting in my Melbourne laneways, or even worse in some back street in Yangon.

We needn’t have worried, when we arrived to pay, we followed a trail of other travellers all clutching their rucksacks firmly to their chests, ready to deposit a shed load of money.

I never felt unsafe in this undiscovered land of Buddhist Zen.

ATMS AND CREDIT CARDS

We also arrived to find that contrary to popular belief ATM’s were not difficult to find, at least in the routes we took. We needed not have brought in all our spending money in US $ cash. Given our standard of hotel, all took credit cards.

However, this widespread mistrust of electronic banking that we experience continues and you will still be wise to travel with more cash than you are used to elsewhere in the region.

Officially, everyone can bring US$10,000 without any declaration at customs

THE KYAT (pronounced chat)

While in Myanmar we used a combination of the local currency, the kyat, which we obtained from the ATMS and US dollars which we arrived with. The Kyat’s a closed currency – it’s not available nor used anywhere else in the world – so exchange or spend leftover notes at the airport before leaving the country.

Articles you’ll read online will advise the US dollar is preferred above the kyat, but this is outdated advice and we found the kyat is accepted most places.

Where We Stayed

Of the hotels below the most memorable were in the order of preference: Inle Resort, Bagan Thande Hotel and Amata Resort.

Yangon

Taw Win Garden Hotel (Deluxe) :  https;//tawwinggardenhotel.com

Bagan

Bagan Thande Hotel (Deluxe Garden View) : https://baganthandehotel.com

Mandalay

Mandalay City Hotel: (Superior): https://mandalaycityhotel.com Read my Trip Advisor review here: A passable hotel

Inle Lake

Inle Resort (Royal Villa Lake View) : https://inleresort.com Read my Trip Advisor review here: Jaw-droppingly gorgeous

Ngapali Beach

Amata Resort (Deluxe) : https://www.amartaresort.com

Our Travel Agency

ARE YOU A FIT TRAVELLER?

One Stop Tours Travel Agency in Yangon was who we booked with and I can’t talk more highly of them and their organisation.

We travelled with Millenials they prefer to see themselves as FIT travellers – free independent travellers, and they felt a little over organised. We like to think of ourselves as FIT too, but I doubt we’d had done as much in a short space of time without a local Travel Agent support. As you will see we took four internal flights, all ran relatively on time, all were comfortable experiences. I liked having our own private tour and all the transport and knowledgeable guides.

The Tour highlights

1. Bagan and our cycle ride around the Bagan ancient city. This was the poor peoples’ balloon ride, hot, dusty and absolutely amazing. Loved this place.
2. Beers on the boat at sunset under the iconic rickety old U Bein Bridge (Amarapura) This is the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world
3. Arriving at the beautiful romantic Inle Resort on Valentine’s day watching the lake one-legged fishermen.
4. Drinks in the bar and dinner at the colonial Strand Hotel Yangon, one of Asia’s finest hotels on our last night
5. Walking barefooted in the shadow of the 100m high gilded stupa of Shwedagon Great Dragon Pagoda completed in the 6th century. The most sacred Buddhist Pagoda in Myanmar and rich in history.

Were there any surprises?

Mandalay

I have always wanted to go there, it was disappointing. Kipling’s ‘The Road to Mandalay‘ had led me to expect more. it was just like any big congested, dirty Asian city and I failed to find its charms – my bad!

Mahagandayon Monastery

The pushy selfie-sticked tourists who ruined the early morning Buddhist almsgiving ceremony at Mahagandayon Monastery. See my rather unzen-like Trip Advisor review: The badly behaved Tourists are ruining this. 

OTHER INFO

IS IT ETHICAL TO VISIT MYANMAR AT PRESENT?

Our trip took place in Feb 2016 when Myanmar was emerging from the least visited place in Asia to booming Burma. At the time it was one of the world’s hottest destinations and like Cuba, there was a sense of ‘get there quick’.

We found silver-haired intrepid travellers, after years of respecting an ethical tourist ban on Burma, were flooding in and in huge numbers. Myanmar recent history has been scarred by violence and bloody wars. We travelled at a time of hope, a time when we believed that Aung San Suu Kyi’s election victory would bring change…

There remains the ethical tourism issue as to whether you want to support a Country which is home to such bitter ethnic conflict and human rights issues.

You will find much discussion and a good thread where both sides of the argument are debated in the Trip Advisor Forum: Is it ethical to visit at the moment?

MYANMAR VISA

Visa: On arrival had been suspended. some of us obtained our Visa via the Myanmar Embassies Abroad, others via online E-visa here: https://evisa.moip.gov.mm

It takes about 5 working days. But please note it is only valid for 3 months

IS IT SAFE?

Travel to almost all parts of Myanmar is safe. Smartraveller.gov.au advice says visitors to Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake should use normal safety precautions. Anyone thinking about visiting Rakhine State should reconsider their need for travel. The overall rating for the country is “high degree of caution”.

I hope you have enjoyed a little wander with me through Myanmar, we had a memorable trip and I hope if you do decide to visit that you will enjoy marvellous Myanmar!