Myanmar

The weekly Biman Bangladesh flight to Yangon was over one hour late leaving Bangkok airport, so we approached Yangon after dark; but where was the city? Looking out of the plane window, I could see no lights below. As we got nearer to Yangon airport, the occasional solitary glimmer of a vehicle's headlights could be seen and then the dimly-lit airport building itself. A taste of what was to come. Power cuts are a way of life in Myanmar.

Immigration, currency exchange and customs were speedily negotiated (the plane was barely half-full!) and I teamed up with three other travellers to share a taxi into town. We stayed at the Beauty Land II hotel on 31st Street for US each with breakfast and, after a look at 4 other hotels with guesthouses in Yangon the next day, this was by far the best-value budget place I saw. Very clean, friendly and helpful, some of the other places had seen better days! Money was changed at the long-distance bus booking offices opposite the railway station and the next morning I headed for Taungoo, roughly half-way between Yangon and Mandalay.

Quick Tips:

The military government want dollars so, to get their hands on your hard currency, they have a rule that every independent traveller to Myanmar must pay US for which they are given 200 FECs (Foreign Exchange Certificates). These are then used to pay for hotel bills and any flight, train or boat fares and entry fees for which there are special foreigner prices. However, although in theory 1 FEC = US, on the black market, which everybody uses, FECs are worth 10% less. Hotel owners lose this 10% every time you pay them in FECs, so they prefer dollars and I, for one, would rather they have them than the government! US in your passport at the Yangon airport currency exchange counter gets you waved through without exchanging anything (apparently this can't be done at Mandalay airport!). In 28 days, I spent US on hotel and entry fees. I travelled everywhere by bus and pick-up run by local people or companies that charged in local Kyats, so 200 FECs would have been impossible to spend. I changed US to Myanmar kyats on the black market in Yangon and that was just about enough for 28 days.

Best Way To Get Around:

The journey from Yangon to Taungoo gave me my first look at undeveloped and very rural Myanmar. Passing acres and acres of rice paddy worked by oxen and wooden plough and brightly-dressed women planters with huge bamboo hats! Most of the villages I passed are wooden hut settlements many of them with thatched rooves. One thing that amazed me was the variety of public transport! Everything that moves is pressed into passenger service! Even old Chinese, 2-stroke tractors will pull a trailer full to over-flowing with people and cargo at barely walking pace! Red-robed Buddhist novices carrying alms bowls are ubiquitous in Myanmar as are the the jets of red spittle emanating from the mouths of men and women alike; betel nut is also ubiquitous in Myanmar!

Taungoo is an ordinary Myanmar town that sees few tourists but does boast a great budget guesthouse. The Myanmar Beauty Guesthouse near the market and signposted from the main road through town is run by a family of 3 doctors. An old wooden house, a huge room with balcony cost me US$4 and included one of the world's great breakfasts!! 14 plates awaited me on the 1st morning!! A pancake plus 4 different fruits, samosas, dosais and sundry other sticky-rice and sweet snacks from the market that were replenished as soon as a plate was empty!

After a day of half bike tour half rain- watching, I endeavoured to make my way north via more rural countryside to Meiktila. Pick-up to Pyimana 500 kyats, Pyimana to Meiktila 500 kyats, 5 hours journey each! Both fares are for the front seat. As the driver relentlessly plunged the pick-up at speed into every available pot-hole; and there was more pot-hole than road in places, I realised why you pay double for riding with the driver. The ones in the back on the bench seats only have their bums in contact with the bench for half the journey! Heads in contact with the roof are free-of-charge!!

Bikes can be hired from the Myanmar Beauty Guesthouse & Tun, the manager who speaks English, German, and Thai can take you on a tour around Taungoo. I went with him to visit a potter whose wheel was under his wooden house. He was making hundreds of money-pots that he sells to a local wholesaler who then sells them on to markets in the area. On a busy day, he can make 250 kyats (about 25 US cents!!). He collects the clay himself from the surrounding area and he also has his own kiln for firing.

We also visited a blacksmiths that, like the potter was a family business handed down through a few generations. A group of 4 were needed for the knife-making process I watched; one on the bellows, one holding and heating the metal and 2 hammerers. This looked excruciatingly hard and hot work. They work sometimes 12 hours per day when they have the orders. Like the potter, they sell to a wholesaler who then sells on to market. The wooden handles are made elsewhere, the blacksmiths only forged the blades.

Unfortunately, rain set in from noon and stayed in Taungoo for the rest of the day, so I couldn't make it out to the cheroot makers or see the working elephants by the river but it was an excellent, informal tour and having a native speaker along who could ask my questions for me was enlightening.

Meiktila to Kalaw is a beautiful journey of winding mountain road and green hills. Kalaw is a hill-town where you begin to see the different ethnic elements that make up Myanmar. Indians and Nepalis are very noticeable here as are the various hill-tribe people that come to market. Much is grown on the slopes around Kalaw; corn, potatoes, cabbages, onions, etc, and the railway station is a hive of activity when a train is in, as huge sacks are crammed into the wagons to be taken to Mandalay as people haggle over the price. My first full day in Kalaw was spent in bed regretting that fateful search for the Indian restaurant in Meiktila the evening before!

The staff at the Parami Motel were really friendly and helpful running out to get me medicine and water. The bed was very comfy in my huge room and so was the toilet seat!! Second day I felt OK and went for a walk which turned into a 5-hour hike!! I walked north to a monastery on a hill with fantastic views over Kalaw and the surrounding countryside. I followed a ridge east to another small shrine with more wonderful views of green mountains and then headed straight down the hillside following the power cables to the main road and back to Kalaw, exhausted!! Next day I was in bed with a heavy cold!

Every fifth day Kalaw springs to life with a huge, colourful market. People from the hill villages come to market to buy and sell. Many of the streets surrounding the permanent market are lined with stalls or just sheets on the ground piled with fruit and vegetables. The people are very friendly and I had no problems taking close-up photos of the marketeers! Next day, I followed the market to Nyaungshwe on Inle Lake.

The second largest city in Myanmar with an approximate population of 700,000, Mandalay was the capital of Myanmar until the British made Rangoon the capital in 1855.

Today Mandalay is a hot, dusty and polluted city that has long since lost its lustre. The main interest here is for those tourists who want to sample the flavour of Burmese Buddhism but don't have time for the literally hundreds of pagodas liberally scattered around Myanmar. The catch in Mandalay is that you must pay an entry fee for each pagoda: US$3-5 which, when you consider a teacher earns US$7 per month plus rice, is a lot of money here!

A walk up Mandalay Hill (US$3 please!) is certainly worth the effort of 1,700 steps. There are 4 main covered stairways to the top, each passing a number of Buddhist shrines. The views across the plains and the Irrawaddy river are worth the 45 minutes walk up and a nice sunset is an added bonus.

I chose to travel from Inle Lake to Mandalay as the locals do, on the roof of a pick-up! The trip is really beautiful passing many dozens of tiny wood and thatch settlements dotted along the meandering mountain road. It's rainy season and everything is very green and, luckily for me being on the roof, it didn't rain that day! My bum, however, was crying "enough" after 7 hours up there amongst the sacks of pineapples and rice and varying numbers of local men (ladies aren't allowed on the roof!). It has to be done once, at least!!

The Royal Guest House on 25th street between 82nd and 83rd streets is certainly an oasis in dusty Mandalay. US$3 for a small but spotless single room with fan and breakfast. It's frequently full of small French tour groups (the groups are small, NOT the French!!) and the manager maintains a high standard of cleanliness. The staff is very friendly and helpful and the whole guesthouse has just (as of August 2002) been redecorated. There's a small sitting area on the roof that the staff seems to keep secret as I saw no-one else up there in the 3 days I spent at the guesthouse! I was, however, happy to escape to the cooler and fresher climes of Hsipaw in Shan state.

Situated deep in the green hills of Shan state, Hsipaw is a 7-hour bus journey north-east of Mandalay. Whereas elsewhere in Myanmar one is loth to bring up politics in case you get a local in trouble with the authorities, in Hsipaw they welcome the opportunity. The Shan are proud of the hard time they give the Myanmar government & there are plenty of English speakers that will talk to you about it. These English speakers are the ubiquitous "misters": Mr. Charles, Mr. Donald, Mr. Book, Mr. Food, Mr. Fern, etc, all very interesting people to talk to.

Mr. Charles runs his own guesthouse, a wooden house that his friendly family lives in, too. The family all speak English & are very friendly. A basic single fan room with breakfast & outside WC costs 2000 kyats. The area around Hsipaw is very rural &, weather permitting, Mr. Charles leads willing tourists on a 3 hour morning walk through the rice fields & surrounding villages. There is a spectacular (in the wet season) waterfall that is included on the itinerary every couple of days. There is also a Padaung village perched up on the hillside above Hsipaw that can be visited on an overnight trek. It's a 6 hour walk uphill & a guide can be hired at Mr. Charles' for US$5 per person per day which includes all food & basic accommodation in the village for the night. There are plenty of trails & dirt roads into the countryside for those wanting to strike out on their own by foot or by bike (available from the guesthouse). Hsipaw has a number of small workshops & factories that can be visited where sandals & buckets are made from old tyres, Shan bags are woven, cheroots are rolled & there are also 3 factories making noodles, popcorn & ice. The over-riding thing about Hsipaw is the friendliness of the people, which is saying a lot in a country that is one of the friendliest I've ever visited!

A typical Burmese town, 7 hours by road north of Yangon on the way to Bagan. Some tourists break their journey here but rarely stay more than overnight. This is a pity as Pyay has quite a bit to interest tourists with a bit of time. The main "tourist's attraction" is the huge pagoda in the middle of town. A lift takes visitors for free to the top where you come face-to-face with a gigantic Buddha statue rising out of the trees some 50 metres away. There are lovely views from here across town and the Irrawaddy river. There is a small pagoda visible from town across the river (by pick-up or by ferry) worth a visit. Walking across Nawade bridge; it takes 1 hour to reach the pagoda down a lovely, quiet back road, passing small rice fields worked by oxen and wooden plough. If you time it right, you can arrive at the pagoda just as the junior school next door breaks up for the day. You'll be surrounded by dozens of inquisitive, smiling faces, so have your camera ready!

The market in town, 10 blocks north of the Bogyoke statue, is alive with activity especially in the mornings. Behind the hundreds of market stalls are the warehouses on the banks of the Irrawaddy where the cargo of boats is hauled up the river bank by ox-cart.

Hotels and guesthouses in Pyay are not good value. Scruffy, damp rooms are the norm here for US$3 for a single fan room with outside WC and breakfast. Probably the best value is the Aung Ga Ba Guesthouse by the Bogyoke statue on the main road through town. Passable rooms and a bleak breakfast are compensated for by the friendliness and helpfulness of the owner. It's also a bit noisy being on the main road and next door to a bar, so pack your earplugs!

Nestled among the hazy Shan Mountains, 900 metres above sea level, its glassy blue waters running 14.5km in length and 6.44km in breadth, is the picturesque Inle Lake - certainly one of the most magical sights in South East Asia. The lake is not only a beautiful sight to enjoy, but also home to the native Inthas (sons of the lake), who live on the lakes in stilt houses with their neatly cultivated floating farms and nurseries. The truly unique Inle Lake leg-rowers and fishermen cannot be missed as you glide through the waters on a dream-like adventure. The presence of many ethnic groups in the area also makes it a captivating place of much cultural interest. The main attraction of Inle Lake is the famous Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda situated in the middle of the lake. Every October, both local and foreign pilgrims and visitors flock to the Pagoda for its annual festival.

An alternative way of enjoying the villages around the lake is to hire a bike. Many places in Nyaungshwe rent out bikes for about 50 US cents for the day. If you can find out when the smaller 5 day market that visits the villages around the lake comes to the most northern village, then you can cycle round there in about 1 hour visiting many pagodas on the way. The big, main market in town is always worth wandering around. As in Kalaw, it's previous stop on the 5 day circuit, the market is alive with activity; colourful hill-tribe people and great faces!

I stayed at the Golden Duck Guesthouse (Shwe Hinthe), an old wooden building with big rooms with balcony, fan, toilet, hot shower and a very good fruit breakfast for US$3. This place is only for early risers, however, as, it's on the banks of the main canal leading to and from the lake. Regularly at around 6am, the chugging of long-tailed boats can be heard right outside as people and cargo make their way into Nyaungshwe from the lake villages. Nothing better than to sit out on my balcony with a mug of tea, watching the activity and the colour!

If you feel like really stretching your legs, a good hike is up to a monastery east of town. It's a good 4 hour hike, though. I went on my own and got very lucky in meeting local people each time I was searching for the trail. There are many trails in the hills leading to villages and farmland and it's hard to find the right way on your own as the trail to the monastery is not well-used. There are great views from the monastery itself over the entire lake area and there is a Shan village tucked in the folds of the hills right below the monastery. Most people do this hike as part of a tour readily available from many agencies in Nyaungshwe for around US$10 per person.

Meiktila, a crossroads town; south to Yangon, west to Bagan, north to Mandalay and east to Kalaw and Inle Lake. After 10 hours of pick-up travel, I considered that enough for one day and spent the night at the Honey Hotel on the banks of Lake Meiktila. The hotel has seen better days but the cool breeze from the lake and the US$3 single room with fan and breakfast were fine for me. In town, I ran into some English language students who introduced me to their teacher. U Dam Ma Tha Ra is a monk who teaches English and Japanese in a classroom built by 2 Japanese visitors in the grounds of the Zegone Monastery by the clock tower in Meiktila. A very interesting man who, of course, speaks excellent English. He gave me a letter to the owners of guesthouses in Kalaw, Inle Lake, Mandalay and Bagan, all of which were wonderful, clean and friendly (3 of them new or newly renovated) and all US$3 for a single room with fan and breakfast. Using Meiktila as a staging-post, I only stayed long enough, one evening, to hunt down a small Indian restaurant that I subsequently had cause to regret!!

From Meiktila to Kalaw took 5 hours by minibus and cost me 1200 kyats. Meiktila bus station was the only place in Myanmar where I was asked to pay more than the locals. I passed through a couple of times later and the same thing happened! Foreigners are expected to pay at least double the local fare. I was asked to pay 1500 kyats for the trip to Kalaw and got it down to 1200 kyats. In Kalaw I was told the fare was actually 800 kyats!