More on Myanmar: Days 1-4

People seem to want more information on this trip. Vietnam Airlines is opening up a direct flight from Hanoi – Yangon soon so I think more and more people from Hanoi plan to go to Myanmar.  While everything is still fresh in my mind, I might as well craft a little travel guide based on my trip. My friend Dave sent us a lot of information from his trip that was really helpful. There really is a dearth of information flowing in and out of Myanmar so this is my attempt to help others who want to go!

DAY 1:

• We arrived to Yangon and were met by the friendly staff from The Motherland Inn (2). This backpacker hostel is Lonely Planet’s “our pick.” It was not glamorous, but the people were really nice and there was a good breakfast. One of the staff members, Zaw Zaw, helped us plan our whole trip. He convinced us to go by car with a driver so that we could see more of the country and save time commuting around airports. I HATE car trips so was wary, but ultimately decided it was the best decision. Based on what we wanted, Zaw Zaw said we should go to Bago (spend the night in Taugwoo), Kalaw, Lake Inlay, Mandalay, Amarapura and Sagaing, and then back to Yangon
• We spent the rest of the day exploring Yangon – went to the market, ate a questionable cold rice noodle      salad (the woman mixed it with her bare hands), walked along the Strand and stopped in at one of the   fancy hotels near the British Embassy, and saw the very impressive Shwedagon Pagoda during sunset.

DAY 2 (Valentine’s Day):

• Ate a dosa for breakfast on the street (for some reason the idea of eggs at hostels makes me squirm). The dosa was delicious and we enjoyed it with Myanmar tea – like Indian tea, but not spicy and with condensed milk…hmm…. We got in our car, our home away from home for the next few days, and headed to Bago.  Our driver did not speak any English, so Aung was there to be our semi-guide. He was nice and easy-going, but did not speak enough English to really tell us much about the sites.
• Bago is like a miniature Bagan – we went to so many pagodas that it became an endurance event. After not being able to walk around and have our shoeless feet burn anymore, we decided to get our palms read. According to some guy at a pagoda in Bago, I have a brave mind and a lot of leadership capabilities (well he said some other things too, but I only chose to remember what I liked). We ate some mushy curry and headed to Taugwoo. On the way we saw a little fair and asked the driver to stop. It was such a “genuine” and not touristy experience. I bought some sticky rice in bamboo and we rode possibly the sketchiest fair ride ever.
• I think we stayed at a nice place in Taugwoo but we never saw it in the daylight because we arrived after       dark and left before dawn.

DAY 3:

• Started with one of the longest and most uncomfortable car rides of my life. We finally arrived to the quaint town of Kalaw and had lunch at Everest Nepali restaurant. We did not have time for the standard hike from Kalaw to Lake Inlay, so we did a five hour trek. It felt so great to stretch my legs.
• Our guide was a really interesting and well-educated man in his 50s. He told us  about his life and a lot about his thoughts on the government and the people. He thinks that tourists are important because they help inform Burmese people about the world outside. He asked as a lot of questions about American politics that we tried to answer as honestly as we could. He said that most people do not know about other types of government, all they know is fear. He tried to compare the Burmese people to an Aesop’s fable called “We got the leader we deserve.” His point was that the people are smiling Buddhists who do not plan for the future. Our trekking guide seemed to double as a medicine man for the towns that we visited. Ha handed out medication to an old woman and a young girl. Tourists give him money to buy medicine so we chipped in as well.
• We bought some really cool paintings from Law Ka Nat art gallery and went to Sam’s Family Restaurant for dinner.

DAY 4:

• After buying some warm blankets at the market, we are off again. I was not happy to get back in the car, but the ride to Lake Inlay was only three hours. We arrived to our hotel and immediately rented bicycles.
• Biking on retro bikes around the paths outside of town made me feel like I was in another era, in another world. I immediately thought how good of a place this would be for a fashion catalogue photo shoot.  We stopped for lunch at Green Chili, a really beautiful restaurant that looks way more expensive than it actually is.
• For the afternoon, we did our tour of the lake. I did not realize that the lake was so inaccessible – you have to get on guided motorboats to get there. The boat ride was great, but the whole tour seemed a little weird. A big draw is a monastery where bored monks have taught cats to jump…did I mention I am NOT a cat person? We went to a cigarette-making workshop and a weaving workshop. We opted out of seeing the women with long necks. These women wear metal braces that elongate their necks. It was first done so that young girls would not be attractive to men, but now more and more girls get this treatment because tourists like to take photos. Lonely Planet advised us not to stop for photos. It is times like these that you realize what profound impacts tourism can have on society. I will forever be a more conscience tourist.
• We went to a winery restaurant called The Viewpoint for dinner. Shan food is better than most Myanmar food – lots of soups, salad, and avocado! Apparently Shan kings would be served 300 plates at each meal. Five was way too much for me… Still, it was another gorgeous restaurant. Not exactly what I was expecting from Myanmar, but there is definitely some upscale tourism here (with money oftentimes going straight into the the hands of the government)