Why go?

Myanmar, in my opinion, is the most diverse and interesting country in South East Asia. It felt like the meeting point of Indian, Chinese and South East Asian cultures; from the food to the people, it was a melting pot of everything I love about the Asian continent.

I do think you can go elsewhere in Asia and see more spectacular sights but nowhere offers such diverse culture and a feeling of freedom like Myanmar does. It is definitely worth going ASAP while tourism is relatively quiet. See why I thought that below.

Tips before visiting

• Perhaps not the cheapest country in South east Asia, but I still comfortably managed on £25/$30 a day.
• Backpackers here were a bit older than elsewhere on the continent, mainly above 25 years old. This gave the place a more relaxed feel with less party seekers.
• Check for jabs and malaria tablets – you will probably need jabs and maybe malaria depending on where you are going.
• The infrastructure is being improved rapidly. The only way to get perfectly up to date information is when you arrive.
• Beware of the local food – it can be cooked in the morning and left out at room temperature all day.
• Don’t drink too much Mandalay Rum!

Welcome to Myanmar

I started in Yangon where I stayed in the Downtown area, very close to the old colonial British area, the people’s park and Chinatown (which is a great area for street food and having a drink with other backpackers). Yangon can be explored in a day. But what I really liked about it is that it isn’t overwhelming like many Asian cities are. Like the entire country, so many traditional customs and habits still exist in Yangon that you might expect to have vanished; men still walk the street in traditional Longyi and gather together on the street to play cards and there are people rolling Beetle on every corner.

One thing which is unmissable is in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda. It is over 300ft tall and completely covered in gold leaf. I visited twice and found that the best time to visit is as the sun is setting; it is cooler and it is the time the locals begin to arrive to pray. From downtown the Pagoda is about 10-15 minutes by taxi (which cost the equivalent of £2) and entry is around £5.

Shwedagon Pagoda

From Yangon I took a VIP bus to Bagan – in my experience the price of the bus is directly linked to the quality of it, you can have two buses claim to be VIP but if one is half the price of the other I can guarantee you it is a bus you would rather not travel on. Luckily, the road from Yangon to Bagan is mostly new so the journey shouldn’t be too bad if you choose to take a cheaper bus, but this logic can’t be applied to most other roads in Myanmar.

The Temples of Bagan

Once I reached Bagan we were stopped and made to pay an entrance fee before we were allowed any further in. As far as I can tell, they do this at all times of day – my bus arrived at 5am and we were all marched off to queue for our pass. In Bagan I stayed in the Ostello Bello in New Bagan. By Burmese standards it was an incredibly expensive hostel. But it was lively and full of people to meet, so I’d suggest it. If you are looking at spending less, my only tip would be don’t stay in Old Bagan – there seems to be less to do there in the evening than the other 2 districts. For British people reading, look out for the Wetherspoons restaurant!

To get around Bagan you’ll need to rent an electric motorcycle. ; they are cheap and great fun to ride around the hundreds of temples. Bagan gives you this feeling of freedom not much experienced elsewhere in South East Asia – you’re given a bike and a map and told to explore. It gave me a great feeling of achieving be adventurer I wanted to be as a child, watching Indiana Jones movies and the like, but with all the convenience of my hostel and a cold beer just around the corner.

Bagan is totally flat so climbing up onto the old temples will always give you a great view. The photo I have attached at the top was taken at sunrise as the hot air balloons fly over (It costs about $100). There was a lot of talk that the climbing on the temples was to be banned and strictly enforced when I was there, but I have no idea how true that is.

Temples as far as the eye can see

Some temples at Bagan are far more spectacular than others, but in all honestly I thought the charm of the place lay in your ability to explore without tours or obstacles. All of the temples are linked by sandy roads with an occasional village ready to sell you a refreshing coconut and offer directions. This is a freedom I’ve not really discovered elsewhere; it was like the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia, but close enough together to explore alone before heading back to town for to escape the midday heat and lunch.

Shwezigon Pagoda

As you can see, a lot of the temples were under some sort of construction when I visited. This is due to the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit in 2016. The work being undertaken must be done carefully due to the age of the structures so expect this to be the case for some years to come.

I split the visiting of the temples into three sections. One day I hiked through to Old Bagan (I would not recommend this after I discovered the bikes). The second day I travelled between the main temples toward the river, between Old Bagan and New Bagan. This is where the bulk of the temples lie and it really is a sight a minute. Once you visit one you can see another 20 in the distance. You end up picking the most impressive one and heading toward it, jumping off of the bike whenever you see something that takes your interest.

Me with Thatbyinnyu Temple in background

However, probably my favourite day was my final. With some friends we hopped on the bikes and went east on New Bagan through local villages. On more than one occasion we had to wait for a heard of cows to pass. We’d meet friendly villagers on the way who would wave and point us in the direction of the next sandy road. It felt so rural all of a sudden and there was nobody out there. The temples were rather generic here and nothing special compared to what I’d seen the previous day, but the calmness and quiet in this part of Bagan allowed me to reflect on the temples. Stumbling across tiny temples and peaking inside to see if there was and artwork left was such fun, and I even found the only temple dedicated to a Hindu god! Exploring Bagan is unique, I’ve never felt freedom among ancient structures before.

Famous for its bridge and its rum…

Mandalay. I’ll admit being a little bias against the place; I was unwell for a few days and I didn’t like the hostel I stayed at. Add to this the minibus broke down from Bagan (apparently this happens quite a lot). Anyway, I was in Mandalay for two nights, one of which I was best friends with the bathroom. I met a couple of girls and on the second day we pitched together and took a day tour in a taxi. The driver was a full fledged guide and he took us all over, from a Buddhist Monastery to sunset at the U Being Bridge.

U Bein Bridge

The tour was great value for money if you can find people to share a cab with as lots of the best parts of Mandalay are quite a distance. We travelled along roads lined with thousands of water melons before emerging suddenly at a huge bridge passing over to the over side of Mandalay where we were taken to the Mahamuni Pagoda. Like all pagodas in Myanmar, this place is plastered with gold leaf and there were also thousands of worshippers here praying. Then we went onto the stunning Jade Pagoda, which as you may have guessed, is made entirely from Jade. This was actually a refreshing site as it was so different to the golden stupas everywhere else. On these tours you’ll also stop at a Monastery where the Monks are keen to discuss your life and theirs. It was enthralling listening to them explain the rules, decisions they needed to make and what they planned for their lives.

As I was ill I was only able to see Mandalay for a day, and honestly I was happy enough with that. I wanted to get out of the city and into the country.

Directions to Inle?

It was actually my 30th birthday and I spent it on an overnight bus to Kalaw. The drive is was comfortable as it winds up through the mountains, so I didn’t sleep. I arrived in the early hours and had already pre-booked a cheap dorm at The Golden kalaw Inn; to sum it up, it is OK for a night and no more.

Kalaw is a small town and I really enjoyed hanging around there for a day. There are cheap Shan noodles a short walk back up the main road through the town (less than £1 a bowl) and a little market and a bakery in the centre. You can hike the hills around town, but I just chilled out, celebrated my birthday on the hotel roof top with a beer and booked a hike with Sams.

dried rice paddies around Kalaw

I’d read real mixed reviews about Sams online, but a Japanese friend of mine had used them for a hike a few years previous and he gave them a glowing review, so I went along and booked it that afternoon for the next morning. We had 6 in our hike group, which is probably the lowest of all of the other travellers I met. I actually saw Sam turn some people away in the morning so I’ll guess that it is a pretty standard size they use. Like my friend, I’ll give them a glowing review too. The two girls who took us on the hike were fun and engaging, the homestays were really interesting and as a group I think we all had a great time. I recommend Sams! I’ll be honest though, most people I met in Inle Lake said they had a great time on their hike, so the quality of providers seems pretty high. The hikes all sound fairly similar, taking slightly different routes and staying in different homestays (we stayed in homes, some people spent a night in a monastery) until the last day when everyone meets on the final path to the lake. Some horror stories though; some people thought they had a small hike group, only to be saddled with another group of people for the second and third day of the hike. Also, be aware that if you get sick or for any reason have to leave the hike, it will cost you. This actually happened to someone I was travelling with. The tour guide and homestay will make sure you are OK and get you back to Kalaw, but it is all at your cost.

Sunset over our homestay village on the Kalaw – Inle Lake hike

As you can see from the pictures, it was dry season when I hiked. It was dusty and looked like the hills could easily just go up in flames. Fortunately, they found us a river to swim in on the second day. A lady came with two enormous Buffalo and began to clean them next to us. It was pretty surreal, I have no idea if it was staged, I don’t believe so. No one asked for money, we just sat and watched for 15 minutes or so as she scrubbed them while they paddled around us.

Lady washing her buffalo where we were swimming

As you approach the lake on the final day you finally get to see Inle Lake, the size of it is hard to explain. It is so large it stretches out and meets the horizion. We were followed by a puppy on the final stretch who we thought was lost, so I let him drink the last of my water. He absolutely played me as when we finally got down to the restaurant before the port he met his mother and siblings. Once we had lunch and the dogs left and went back up to meet the next bunch of tourists. After this we were taken to petrol engine boat and my the hour and a half journey, past lake communities so you can get a glimpse into Lake life, to the village of Nyaungshwe.

Inle houses

It was great spending a day on the water, visiting markets and watching people use ancient skills to produce everything they need for life living on stilts. But, I felt like in a whole day I’d seen everything on the lake there was to see; including fake fishermen (yes fake! They pose, dressed in traditional fake gear and expect some cash if you take a picture.) There are temple complexes around that you can visit, but most will need a taxi or the closer ones are usually part of the tours that most of the hostels offer. What I did really like was Nyaungshwe itself. It is like a backpackers haven. Although I don’t want to be surrounded by such Western convenience all the time, it was nice for a few days after the hike – masseuses, varieties of restaurants, bars and many backpacker hostels. There is even a vineyard nearby! If you cycle there just make sure you don’t drink too much to cycle back  Nyaungshwe is small, you can walk virtually anywhere, although a bike is often a better idea. I stayed in The Song of Travel hostel, it is new, the dorm beds are more pod like so they resist noise better and it has a cool rooftop terrace. Again, I recommend it (I mostly stayed great places on this trip, I’m not always this easily pleased). The downsides to the hostel; it is a little further from the town centre that other options, but has free (if not dodgy) bikes, and it goes into silent mode at 10pm. Otherwise it is great!

Temple complex at Inle Lake

The lesser seen South (Go to Hpa-An!)

After two nights in Nyaungshwe I took a night bus down to Hpa-An. You can’t go direct, you have to go via Bago. I arrived there very early morning and spent the night in the San Francisco guest house. There are a few temples (including the Snake Temple where they worship an absolutely huge Burmese python that you can stand next to, but not touch) but nothing that is worth keeping you in Bago. And it is a dump- If I was to do the trip again, I’d wait at the bus station for the next bus to Hpa-An instead of spending any time in Bago. Hpa-An is a much better use of your time, especially if you are a bit short on it. On my bus to Hpa-An there were a group of three English people who had waited the 4-5 hours in the night at the bus station rather than stay at Bago so it is safe to do so. If you do stay here, there is big bar across the road from the guest house I mentioned which shows football and serves mediocre food. It is worth going though because it is jam packed with locals topping their beers up with Mandalay rum and puffing on cigarettes lit from the lighters dangling on string from the ceiling.

Hindu fire walking ceremony in Bago

Anyway, Hpa-An. I loved it there, it was possibly my favourite place in Myanmar. I stayed at Soe Brothers Guesthouse. It is a bit run down, but I found all the accommodation south of Yangon was, and it was all more expensive. There are no dorms and no air con, there are some small common areas but it wasn’t a great place to meet other backpackers. They do offer really good advice and when I eventually moved on to Mawlamyine, I used their boat service. I rented a scooter to see Hpa-an and I recommend it. I’d never used one and expected to be given an automatic, but all they had were semi-automatics. It is easy enough and the roads around are so quiet you have plenty of time to practice. The bike scooter cost $5 for the entire day and used about $1 of petrol for the day (and I did some miles).

Kyout Ka-Lat monastery on a mountain

On my first evening I took a taxi to the ‘Bat Cave’ where you can see thousands of bats leave a cave to the sound of a monk beating a drum. The night I went it was so dark by the time they left  I could only hear them flap their wings and feel the occasional drop of poo on my head. I did meet some people there who gave me some tips, one was to climb Mount Zwegabin. You can see the mountain in the distance pretty much everywhere once you are out of the bustle of Hpa-An town and any taxi driver or local could point it out for you if you are unsure which one it is. In my opinion this is an absolute must do in Hpa-An. But, you have to get up early or prepare to drench yourself in sweat. It took me about 2 hours of solid climbing, by the end I had my t-shirt off, over my backpack trying to dry it out because it couldn’t soak up any more moisture. I started my climb at about 7.30am, if I was to do it again, I’d start at the very least an hour earlier – there is a fine line between starting early to miss the heat and having to climb in the dark though, so find out what time sunrise is. It doesn’t take long before the views over Hpa-An start to become breathtakingly clear and you’ll find yourself stopping to study the views at every possible opportunity. I didn’t see a single other person on the climb, only the monkeys kept me company. At the top there is a working Monastery where you can take enjoy of the views, laugh at the monkeys and top up on water. At the time of writing you were no longer allowed to stay overnight at the monastery due to a tourist having taken his own life up there by jumping.

A view from Mt Zwegabin

Once I’d descended Mt Zwegabin, I zoomed off for the entire day around the sites. The major ones being in the pictures above. Kyout Ka-La, the monastery clinging onto a large rock in the pictures above, is near the base of Mount Zwegabin. The Saddan caves are about 20 miles from Hpa-An and take about 45 minutes from Kyout Ka-La as a lot of the drive is across dusty tracks that mean you have to drive slow. Make sure you have Maps.me on your phone or you will never find it. When I left the Saddan Caves I did a big loop around to some smaller caves before heading back to the guest house. Nearby Soe Brothers there is a restaurant called Lucky1 which sells decent Chinese food and cheap draught beer. I mention it because at night it is absolutely rammed with backpackers, so if you are a lone traveller like I usually am, it’s a good place to get chatting to people.

Saddan Caves

I spent 3 nights and 2 full days Hpa-An, which was plenty of time to see everything. Then I took a 4 hours boat ride to Mawlamyine. As I mentioned before, I organised this with Soe Brothers Guesthouse and it cost about the same as the bus. I just thought it would be nice to try a different mode of transport. The boat was a smaller version of what you take on Inle, so it was really loud. But the scenery was great, much nicer than what you would get on a bus and you even see the occasional rural fishing village. You have the option on the boat to stop off and take a bus to visit a Monastery but the vote on our boat was no. You won’t arrive at the port in Mawlamyine but a small landing where there is a tuk-tuk waiting to take everyone to their hotels for a $1 each. I was only spending the evening in Mawlamyine, because I like to travel on trains and decided I’d come here to take the train back up to Yangon.

I stayed at Breeze Guesthouse, which had a nice location on the river bank. At breakfast I met the owner who spoke to me a lot about meditation, so if this is your sort of thing seek him out while you are here. In the few hours I spent in Mawlamyine I wondered quite aimlessly, coming across Burmese style temples, Christian churches and old colonial buildings. I can’t offer much information other than this. However, this is the city where George Orwell was stationed and where he found inspiration for his book Burmese Days. Also, if you walk south along the river from Breeze Guesthouse for about 10 minutes you will start to come across cafes, restaurants and bars and there is a night market packed with seafood. Mawlamyine isn’t so touristy, in fact most people here had crossed the border in Thailand and were doing my trip in reverse. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I really enjoyed the city – it had a nice vibe. It wasn’t busy, it was cleaner than most other places in Myanmar, it felt laid back. If I had more time I feel like I could have just hung around here even though there didn’t seem to be a great deal for a tourist to do.

Return to Rangoon 

The next morning I took a taxi to the train station to take my final trip back to Yangon. I’d been warned off of the trains by many people but I decided to take one anyway. Firstly,they were right to warn me off; everything people told me was true. The trains are slow and uncomfortable (they were built by the British so run off of a different gauge to modern trains) but I am still glad I did it. The train took 14 hours, despite saying it would be 12. It ambled through empty farmers fields and occasionally small villages where people would jump aboard and sell water and snacks. The worst part of the journey was that I travelled just before Songkran, so every village we passed through meant we were bombarded with water balloons and it was so hot it was impossible not to have the windows open. I enjoyed the train and if you have the time and like train travel I’d say do it. But the buses are so much quicker, more comfortable and more convenient you have to really want to do it to make it worthwhile.

I’m sad it had to end

This brings me to the end of my journey and thus the end of the post. I was really sad to leave Myanmar, it offers so so much and my time here was filled with such enjoyment. The whole country feels like you’re discovering it youreself, I expect this is because of the relatively few tourists – but it has the infrastructure for you to explore. You have the freedom to take on bikes and cruise their open roads and jump off whenever you see a half overgrown thousand year old temple. You can jump from city life, to temple exploring to a beach in days. The culture feels at times Chinese, and others Indian, Thai – This is Burmese culture and its wonderful and interesting at all times. It often felt like I’d gone back in time, but in a good way. If you are thinking of heading over to South East Asia, this place should be number 1 on your list.