Maps of Burma now known as Myanmar

Burma trip report - words by Susan - photos by both of us.

Burma trip report

When we moved to France in 1994, we didn’t mind winters in the Dordogne.  After all, they were milder with less snow than Toronto.  But we now find them a bit too dark and so enjoy getting away to somewhere sunny.

Although we have enjoyed several stays in South Africa, for the winter of 2010-2011 we decided to combine visits to family in Canada and Australia in an around the world trip.  Since the aim was to spend the Christmas holiday in Australia, it made sense to start in Canada, and then go west.  As we had each always wanted to go to Burma, and this seemed the year to do it.  That meant we would be there the last two weeks of February when it would be starting to get hot but still comfortable.

Many people have asked us why we wanted to go to Burma.  We had never travelled in Southeast Asia, and various friends suggested we go because it was ‘Asia as it used to be,' before massive development.  But   before deciding to go, we had to deal with the fact that the country is ruled by a military dictatorship.

The choice is   between boycotting the country, and trying to make it more open and less isolated.  Aung San Suu Kyi, the great pro-democracy leader, for many years asked tourists not to go and spoke in favour of the boycott.  However, she has begun to change her opinion recently.

We found that we agreed with Thant Myint U, grandson of U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations.  In his history of Burma, “The River of Lost Footsteps”, he suggests that if the country were less isolated, and there were more trade and tourism, perhaps the conditions for political change would emerge.

We didn’t want to go with a group, but because of our unfamiliarity with Asia, we were a little nervous about trying it completely on our own.  On our first visit we would be seeing the major sites – Yangon, Mandalay, plus the historic temples of Bagan, the romantic Lake Inle – and a few days on a river boat sailing down the Irrawaddy.  After reviewing proposals from a number of agencies, we agreed on an itinerary with a private guide, arranged by  Goodnews Travels, and were very impressed with their service

Visas were not as difficult as we had expected, even though we were actually in Australia when we applied.  They came through in several days, and we were ready to go.

We flew from Perth to Bangkok –and spent the night in Bangkok at the Shanghai Mansion Boutique Hotel.  A recommendation from our Perth friends, and we were very happy with it.

 http://www.shanghaimansion.com/bangkok-hotel/bangkok-hotel.html.

 It’s in Chinatown, and probably farther away from central Bangkok than some other hotels, but we enjoyed the location. Here we were introduced to the Asian custom of greeting guests with a cool drink, a damp towel, and someone to check you in, rather than a long wait at the check in counter.  A good start.  We spent about 24 hours in Bangkok, getting used to Asia, although not to the size of the city, negotiated a meal with no words of Thai at all, and then took a flight to Yangon (formerly Rangoon)

Arrival in Yangon – Park Royal Hotel

The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it.

In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun.

They put their scotch or rye down, and lie down.

We arrived Saturday evening, passed through immigration quickly and were met by our guide, Myo, ( say – mee-o) and our driver, bearing flowers, a very welcoming touch.  We were surprised that our hotel was so big and modern.  William, the director of the agency, was there to meet us and hand over our tickets for planes, hotels, cruise, etc. while Myo checked us in.  He thanked us for visiting the country at a time when many people still will not come, and assured us that to the best of their ability they had booked non-government hotels, flights, etc.

William also had presents, which we hadn’t expected at all.  We each received a longyi, (the long, wrap around skirt worn by men and women), and a traditional Shan shoulder bag.  Harry immediately asked how to tie his longyi, and so in the middle of the hotel lounge he had his first (of several) lessons.  This was in fact an exceptionally good idea on the part of the agency – it was in a sense ‘permission’ to wear the longyi, which we did fairly often during the trip.  Harry particularly found it much more comfortable, and cooler, than regular clothing, and found he was usually the only non-Asian man wearing it wherever we went.  It attracted attention, smiles, and positive comments as well!

One major surprise in our first few hours in Myanmar was the number of  comments made about the government – the state of the roads, the lack of freedom in the elections, etc.  We had been warned not to bring up the Generals, or The Lady,(Aung San Suu Kyi)  but William and Myo spoke fairly openly about the current situation.

(From now on I will refer to the country as Myanmar, ( pronounced – mee-an-mar ) as    that’s what everyone there now calls it.)

 Sunday 13 February Private guided sightseeing Yangon

Up early for   breakfast in our hotel, and our first experience of the International Buffet we found in most of the hotels; Chinese, Indian, western, even some Myanmar specialities. Then on   to Shwedagon Pagoda. We had of course seen pictures of the Pagoda but hadn’t really understood the size and splendour.  It was a gorgeous day with deep blue sky, and there were lots of people, but few foreign tourists.  A perfect start to our trip.   Myo checked our birth days so that we could recognize our own particular shrine.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwedagon_Pagoda

By now we were getting tired and hungry, and were offered a trip back to the hotel for lunch, or lunch out.  We had no interest in eating at the hotel, and so went to Feel restaurant, a buffet place, mainly for locals, although it seems that guides with private guests often bring them there.  I can’t say we were very impressed with Myanmar cuisine, which had very tough meat, and curries with not too much flavour. We had read that it combines the worst of Chinese and Thai cooking.   Myo ate with us and explained the various dishes.  Then took us back to the hotel for a nap, (and a swim) greatly appreciated.

Somewhat recovered from the morning’s touring, we met Myo and driver in the lobby and went off for our next stop – the Chaukhtatgyi (Reclining) Buddha. It seemed a little strange at first, in a steel ‘warehouse’ area, with lots of scaffolding around, but the covering at least protects it from the weather.  We were amazed at the sophistication, and the size, supposedly 70 metres long.  Again, hardly anyone else there, other than Myanmar locals.

who is Back to the car, where we were happy to find that the driver had ‘wet wipes’ for our feet as shoes and socks are not permitted in the pagoda, and then to the Royal Barge on Kandawgyi Lake.  Good photo op and interesting to see people arriving for a large wedding celebration.  But more interesting was the ‘fair’ a kind of trade fair, with cars, beer, balloons, and lots of music. We took a photo of the cars on sale, for our friend a fan of the huge Paris   Motor Show.

Now to the Botataung ‘First sacred hair relic’ Pagoda, home of hair relics brought from India 2500 years. Bombed by the RAF during WWII, it was a heap of blackened ruins, and then re-built. During the renovation more relics were found, and it is now, in the words of the tourist pamphlet ‘a happy blend of the ancient and of the ultramodern.’ I don’t know that we found any ultramodern – we actually preferred the vendors outside the temple, selling snacks and souvenirs.; Much as we are not fond of pigeons here, it was quite lovely seeing a beaming toddler feeding them by the side of the road

We walked down to the Irrawaddy, to a commercial landing, surrounded by local boats, and a larger river boat.  This is a kind of ‘merchant’ ship which brings goods downstream, and sells directly from the deck – fabric, pianos, beds, you name it.  Wandered around and bought more longyi fabric, and took photos of the sunset over the river.

By this time our guide was getting tired, and suggested that perhaps we should wait to go to the Strand Hotel, an elegant  ‘colonial’ hotel  - the last thing on her itinerary, until the next day.  But since that was mean to be a free day for us; we thought it would be easier for all if we went then – about 6.30. The Hotel was quiet at that hour, but we settled in for a civilized drink and chat with Myo.  We only realised at the end that we had spent a great part of our daily allowance on those drinks.  Decided we should practice a little more caution in spending.

Home to our hotel after a very long but interesting day, cleaned up and put on our new finery.  We walked around the hotel, discovered that drinks there were MUCH cheaper than at the Strand, and had a gin and tonic while watching the world go by.  

Monday 14 February

Now on our own for one of our ‘Free and Easy’ days, we decided to walk down to the river from our hotel.  Not a long walk, and the sidewalks were interesting, with lots of people heading off to work, many street vendors, and lots to watch.  Many photos were taken!  We walked past, but did not go into the Sule Pagoda as we were already a little ‘pagoda’d out’.  Not perhaps a good sign!  But we found the street life much more interesting. 

We got to the Strand jetty, very near the hotel, where there is a ferry across the river, which we were told would be interesting.  So we wandered into the ferry waiting area, where we were taken in hand by a small boy, about 10, who showed us where to buy our tickets – in the main office, rather than the ticket seller, as our passports had to be checked.  While the station master was doing this, the office cat walked across his ledger – a possible photo opportunity, except that I remembered we were in a transportation area, possibly restricted.  So I put the camera away 

Our young friend stayed with us on the ferry, and introduced us to his even younger friend, about 4, selling treats to throw at the gulls.  We bought some just to please him, and spent some time amusing ourselves.    Harry asked the young boy,whose name was Myokyaw, why he wasn’t in school, and he told a long story about having his Hmong village destroyed during the hurricane of 2008.  Supposedly he was now living with his brother in the city, but was not able to go to school.

On arrival, we found the ‘village’ on the other side seemed to consist of motorcycle shops and dust, and decided that we could pass on the trishaw rides everyone was trying to sell us.  So we took the ferry back, and said goodbye to young friend – here we came up against something that would occur in various places in Myanmar.  He had obviously joined us in order to receive money, even though he didn’t ask for it.  Many people during our stay in the country indicated that we should not give money to the children, as it ‘made beggars of them.’  But we felt that he had been helpful, we had enjoyed his company, and so we gave him some.

We continued walking around the area east of the Strand, heading gradually up to our hotel, past hundreds of vendors of second hand books.  Most were very old of course, many were ancient text books and work books.  After 30 or 40 minutes of this the sun got hotter and we decided a cold drink – preferably a cold beer – was in order.  Of course this didn’t prove easy to find, as we were surrounded by tea shops, but eventually someone pointed us in the direction of a ‘bottle shop’ where we could buy a cold beer and stand in the somewhat cooler shop.  No seats, but an interesting situation, and this time the vendor took our picture. 

After a cool shower we were ready for lunch, and took a taxi to Theik Di Shin, Anawrahta St, recommended in a Chowhound list. It’s air conditioned, and much more elegant than Feel, food better, although the author of the Chowhound recommendations said it was the best food they had in Myanmar.  We hoped that it wouldn’t be, as we weren’t that impressed.  Again we were probably the only tourists, although it is apparently frequented by private guides and their customers.   They kindly called our taxi to come and take us back to the hotel.  Time for another nap.

We had thought about going out again, but travel fatigue caught up with us, and so we relaxed, and went down to the bar again for a drink

Tuesday, 15 February.

Up early to go back to the market for more money changing before we left for Mandalay, on another free day.  I had vaguely remembered that our guide mentioned the market opened at 9, but since we were up early, we headed out.  She was right - nothing was open at 8.15!  So we wandered around trying to orient ourselves.  Eventually people started coming to work, the money changer arrived, and we did our business.  I was also looking for someone to sew the fabric I had bought on the river boat.  Of course we’d seen lots of people with sewing machines on Sunday, but took a while to find them again, as the market is so vast.  Finally a nice young woman did it for me while I waited, for about a dollar.  Quite chuffed to have negotiated clothing alterations in another language

Then we crossed the road to the ‘other’ part of the market, much more local, where there are lots of Myanmar drug stores – stalls set up in the markets with piles of medicine boxes, a telephone stand for people to use, and of course lots of snacks being made.  We found another bottle shop, and sat on plastic chairs watching people carry huge loads on their heads, and on shoulder yokes.  While we were there the market delivery service went into action.  We were at the foot of a tall apartment building. Our guide had already told us that lower floors were preferred because these buildings either didn’t have an elevator, or it was out of service.  So someone on an upper floor dropped a string down, with an order.  The vendor tied it onto the string, and tugged it so that she pulled it up.  She sent the money down on the same string.

More wandering, and decided that we could skip the restaurant offering Mashed Potato hamburger.  We were tempted by a Myanmar pizza, but it was a little too early, so kept going.  We were struck during all this walking through wide and narrow streets that we never felt unsafe.  People were sometimes interested to see us wandering around on our own, but everyone was friendly – or just ignored us, going about their own business.

Back to the hotel and we decided to take advantage of their Dim Sum lunch.  Quite good, and the restaurant was cool and calm, which also was good.  Then an hour or two by the pool.  We had originally asked for smaller hotels, perhaps guest houses, and weren’t too pleased to find that the hotels William had suggested were mainly bigger, tourist oriented.  But since they weren’t too expensive, and all seemed to get good reviews, we agreed.  Once there we found that we really did like being comfortable after a long hot and sometimes dusty day of sight-seeing.  (We also found as we saw some of the guest houses in the smaller places we visited that we were quite happy NOT to be there.)

One of the things that had struck us while walking was the number of billboards and advertising for Valentine’s Day, apparently now a popular time, especially for young people.  So, since once again we didn’t need dinner, and we could hear music coming from next door, we went out to check.   Turns out there was a small shopping area the other side of the hotel, and in what looked to be the driveway there was a rock concert going on.  A very loud, amplified, well lit young Myanmar singer was belting out hits for a large crowd.  We hung around for a while, but since we obviously weren’t following the lyrics, gave in and went to bed.  We had to be up very early the next day for our flight.

Wednesday 16 February.

Up at 4.30 to get to the airport for our 7.30 flight to Mandalay.  Since the restaurant wasn’t open, the hotel provided us with picnic breakfasts, and off we went.  Another interesting experience.  We had been in a number of airports around the world, but none quite as ‘artisanal’ as the Yangon domestic airport.  Luckily Myo ushered us through the crowd to the desk, and someone took our bag. She had also explained that someone would walk through with a sign indicating which plane was boarding, so we should be sure to look out for the number of our flight.  Our plane was called and off we went.  In fact the plane was quite modern and the flight was comfortable.

Arrival in Mandalay

Our next guide, Kyaw Ngwe, ( say – chon whay or John Wayne) met us and swept us into the car to get to Amarapura along very bumpy and incredibly dusty roads to see the Maha Ganayon Kyaung monastery where the monks would be coming back from their alms gathering for breakfast   This was one of the times that we were happy to have a private guide, because he not only showed us around the monastery, but made sure we had particularly good places for taking photos.  It was also a surprise to see so many other tourists – apparently many people arrive as we did, and visit the same places at the same time.  It was interesting to see the hundreds of monks, young and old, file in to eat, but not so much to see what seemed like hundreds of people taking photos, and handing out the rice.  I have to say I found walking past the monks’ laundry - deeply coloured robes hanging on clotheslines almost as interesting!