Our next destination was one that Sam in particular was really looking forward to. For most of our lifetimes, Burma has been controlled by an undemocratic military government and has been the subject of harsh western sanctions. In 2010, the country started slowly re-introducing democracy, in 2011 it changed its name to Myanmar and in 2012 it opened its doors to tourists. The advice from all the experts was now is the time to visit (before it gets overrun with tourists).
We flew into Yangon, which until recently was the nation’s capital (in 2005 the capital was relocated, at great expense, to a new purpose built city called Nay Pyi Taw). Yangon is the largest city in an impoverished country that has seemingly gone out of its way to discourage foreign investment, so we had pretty low expectations. We were only there to use its airport (when we booked our tickets Yangon was the only place where we could get a visa on arrival, but this has already changed) and to visit its two main pagodas, and we’d recommend that others do the same (or avoid it altogether if you can). The Shwedagon pagoda was impressive, but it was the sole highlight. Most frustrating for us was the horrendous traffic, worse food, and the slowest internet we’ve ever encountered (and we grew up using dial-up connections). It took us over two hours at our hotel and an internet cafe to not be able to send a simple email!
We flew into Yangon, which until recently was the nation’s capital (in 2005 the capital was relocated, at great expense, to a new purpose built city called Nay Pyi Taw). Yangon is the largest city in an impoverished country that has seemingly gone out of its way to discourage foreign investment, so we had pretty low expectations. We were only there to use its airport (when we booked our tickets Yangon was the only place where we could get a visa on arrival, but this has already changed) and to visit its two main pagodas, and we’d recommend that others do the same (or avoid it altogether if you can). The Shwedagon pagoda was impressive, but it was the sole highlight. Most frustrating for us was the horrendous traffic, worse food, and the slowest internet we’ve ever encountered (and we grew up using dial-up connections). It took us over two hours at our hotel and an internet cafe to not be able to send a simple email!
From Yangon we took an overnight bus to Bagan. The bus was the most luxurious we’ve encountered in all our travels; a product, we’re told, of the current (still military) government’s determination to present Myanmar to tourists as a modern, developed country (we weren’t fooled and personally would prefer that the government spend the money on feeding its people).
Bagan is an ancient city located roughly in the centre of Myanmar. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the first unified Burmese kingdom, and during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were built there. Today, the 2200 remaining temples are Myanmar’s major tourist drawcard and they, along with Cambodia’s Angkor temples, are considered to be the most significant archeological attractions in South East Asia.
The best way to see the temples is by hot air balloon, but the cost is massive and the same for all three ‘competing’ companies (if it wasn’t for a generous 30th birthday gift from Sam’s parents we would have struggled to justify the outlay). On the morning of our ride, we were picked up at 5am, arriving at the launch site just before sunrise. After a safety briefing we watched the balloon inflate.
As we climbed on board the sun was just rising. Hot air balloons are not particularly maneuverable and so are at the mercy of the wind. Our morning, although perfectly clear, was quite windy, so we ended up getting a quicker, shorter and more elevated ride than we would have liked. Even so, we really enjoyed the once in a lifetime experience, and were grateful that our experienced pilot was able to land us safely in the right area (many balloons from another company ended up on the wrong side of the river, with apparently no support crews, bridges or boats to bring them and the balloons back).
We spent the rest of our three-day stay in Bagan exploring the temples by bike (both the electric and old fashioned varieties). Spread over an area of 100 square kilometers, this proved to be good exercise, especially when Sam’s electric bike ran out of juice. Many of the temples offer great viewpoints, but the best view (not powered by propane gas) is from an ugly 60 meter viewing deck that money and corruption built (this viewing deck not only offered the highest viewing point but also the added advantage of being the only place where the view isn’t spoilt by the viewing deck itself).
After enjoying the relatively relaxed pace of Bagan, we took a minibus to Mandalay, Myanmar’s second most populous city. Mandalay used to be the centre of a grand empire (and the namesake Las Vegas casino is a nod to the city of that era, not the current one). Nowadays its a crowded city with bad traffic and worse drivers, many of whom inexplicably drive at night without their lights on (resulting in multiple daily road deaths).
We toured all the main sights, including Mandalay Palace, the Golden Palace Monastery, the Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mingun Zedi, Inwa Ava and the U Bein Bridge. Some were impressive, but to be honest by that point we were a little sick of being in Myanmar and so perhaps not in the best frame of mind to enjoy the sights of Mandalay. Apart from the temples of Bagan, we didn’t think that Myanmar had much going for it. The food is atrocious, especially when compared to the delicious offerings of neighboring India and Thailand. We had heard stories of friendly and welcoming locals but this wasn’t our experience (the people we encountered seemed to be generally indifferent to, or even annoyed by, the growing presence of tourists).
We toured all the main sights, including Mandalay Palace, the Golden Palace Monastery, the Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mingun Zedi, Inwa Ava and the U Bein Bridge. Some were impressive, but to be honest by that point we were a little sick of being in Myanmar and so perhaps not in the best frame of mind to enjoy the sights of Mandalay. Apart from the temples of Bagan, we didn’t think that Myanmar had much going for it. The food is atrocious, especially when compared to the delicious offerings of neighboring India and Thailand. We had heard stories of friendly and welcoming locals but this wasn’t our experience (the people we encountered seemed to be generally indifferent to, or even annoyed by, the growing presence of tourists).
We should note that we didn’t get to Inle Lake or any of Myanmar’s beautiful beaches, where the atmosphere and people are supposed to be more relaxed. We had allowed time to do so, but were put off by the cost and travel time involved and after nine days in Myanmar we were honestly ready to go. The unattractive prospect of eating Burmese food for our Christmas dinner spurred us to move our flight to Thailand forward, allowing us to leave the country on Christmas eve. We felt at least as relieved flying over the border as we did when we left India, and to be honest we won’t be going back to Myanmar in a hurry (if anything it’ll be a beach holiday, but the availability and affordability of quality transport, food and accommodation would need to improve dramatically first).