**Trip Report to Myanmar - PART II

(The following is the second Part of my Trip Report to Myanmar)

14th Jan (Wednesday) [Bagan to Mandalay]

The monks were chanting when we went to sleep the night before and they were still chanting when we woke up. It was still dark when we had our breakfast at 6am. There were however lots of tourists (speaking French) at breakfast, all making an early start to the day.

We were flying to Mandalay on this day, and therefore boarded our taxi at 6:30am to take us to the airport (8000K). As the taxi sped through the quiet streets, we saw many locals out power-walking/jogging on the still-dark streets.

The taxi fare from Mandalay airport to our hotel – the Red Canal Hotel – was 18,000K. The Red Canal Hotel (75USD per night) is a small hotel that offers very good service. The staff there are very friendly and will do everything they can to make guests comfortable. The hotel offers guests 24 hour free internet service.

After checking in, we set off on foot to the nearby Royal Palace. The Palace ground is square-shaped, and is surrounded by walls that are about 2km long on each side. The walls are in turn surrounded by a moat. Visitors can only enter the Palace via the eastern entrance, and the entrance fee (which also includes Amarapura, Inwa, Pinya and Palaik but not Mingun and good for 5 days) was USD10 per person.

The Palace was destroyed by fire in 1945 and has since then been reconstructed and restored. After spending some time walking around, we decided it was time for lunch and therefore boarded a Trishaw. This is a bicycle with a 2-seater attachment on the side for passengers. Initially we wanted to go to Lashio Lay Restaurant (recommended by Lonely Planet) but was told by our Trishaw driver that it had moved. We then decided to go to the Green Elephant (also listed in the Lonely Planet). (Trishaw fare for the trip from the Palace to the Green Elephant was 1000K per person).

Food at the Green Elephant was good. There was a local dish “Grilled Cottage Cheese with Onion Root” (3500K) that was very tasty. The steamed fish with lime and garlic (5000K) also tasted authentically Thai. The Mandalay Chicken curry and veggies were OK.

After lunch, we left the restaurant only to find our earlier Trishaw driver waiting for us on the street by the entrance. Apparently he had stayed there all the time we were at lunch hoping that we would hire his services again. We then offered him 8000K to take us around in the afternoon to the various temples we planned on seeing and at the end drop us off at our hotel. He agreed to this readily.

We visited the Shwenandaw Temple first. This wooden temple is one of the loveliest temples we had seen on this trip. We marveled at the exquisite carvings inside and on the exterior of the temple. After that, we visited the impressive looking Atumashi Temple which was just next-door. Not very much to see here and we then went on to the Kuthodaw Temple.

The Kuthodaw Temple is interesting and is often dubbed the “World’s Largest Book” because Buddhist teachings, which are inscribed on slabs of stone, are housed each in a small stupa (there are 700+ stupas in the complex) and together form this amazing “Book”. We met two friendly monks there and had a long chat with them.

Dinner was at the Indian Restaurant in the Red Canal Hotel. Good authentic Indian Food costing around USD30 for two.

15th Jan (Thursday) (in Mandalay)

Today we hired the services of a driver with a car. The driver’s name is Kyaw Shwe (Josh) and his mobile phone number is 95-09-2017480 (95 is the country code for Myanmar). He spoke good English and we found him very pleasant. He took the trouble to show us sights on the way that we did not know of and recommended two very good local restaurants to us where we had lunch and dinner.

We first went to the Mahagandhayon Monastery in Amarapura which is a large monastery where many monks take their one meal of the day at around 10:30am. The monks do their rounds collecting alms in the morning. They are summonsed by a gong and then queue up in front of the Refectory before entering to sit at long wooden tables for lunch. Apparently the “senior” monks are served more dishes, whilst those junior ones lunch on far simpler and fewer dishes.

Then we drove for almost an hour to Mingun. (Most people take a boat trip to get to Mingun from Mandalay. However the night before we were told by a staff member at the Red Canal Hotel that it was nice to drive there as well because we would pass by some villages.) Mingun is the site of a huge unfinished temple which is sometimes described as the “world’s largest pile of bricks”. An ancient King wanted to build what was supposed to become the tallest temple but he died and the project was discontinued. Then an earthquake caused splits in the structure and all that remains today is a huge unfinished structure in ruins. We climbed to the top of this structure and a local youth led us amongst the ruins round the top where we had a wonderful view of the river, the village and its surrounds.

Near the unfinished Mingun Temple is the huge bronze Mingun Bell which weighs almost 90 tons and stands almost 12 feet high. This bell was intended for the Mingun Temple and apparently is still used nowadays. Across the road from the Mingun Bell is a Home for the elderly, where we saw friendly elderly people chewing on cheroots and waving at us.

Lunch was at a local restaurant in Sagaing called Silver Sky (near Sin Myar Shin Temple). We invited Josh to join us and we ordered Deep Fried Eels, Hot and Sour Fish, Fried Green Mustard, Chicken with Cashews and rice. The total bill for three came to 14800K.

After lunch we drove up Sagaing Hill and visited the Umin Thounzeh (meaning 30 caves). The view from this temple is very good because the temple is on the top of the hill and offers a good view of the surrounds. We also went to see the Soon U Ponyashin Temple (which requires a “camera fee” of I think USD5). We did not find this interesting, and the haze made it difficult to take good pictures of the scenery.

Then it was off to the U Bein Bridge in Amarapura which is said to be the longest teak bridge in the world. It is three quarter of a mile long and was built in 1849 from old planks salvaged from houses in Sagaing and Inwa. From the bridge we could see farmers ploughing fields on the bank and fisher-folk returning after a day’s toil.

Our driver Josh then took us for a tour round the city centre of Mandalay. He showed us old colonial buildings (the Post Office, St Mary’s Church), the site of where Chinatown used to be (with many gold shops still operating) and the Central Clock Tower. He dropped us off at a restaurant serving Myanmar (Shan cuisine) about 1.5 km from our hotel called Too Too (on 27th Street, between 74th and 75th Street) where we had an excellent dinner for 12000K (for two).

After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel.

16th Jan (Friday) (Mandalay to Inle Lake)

The taxi came to take us to the airport at 6:30am. Fare was 18,000K. We then flew Air Mandalay to Heho airport.

Before we set off on this trip, I telephoned a man named Khin Zaw (Kenny) who is the owner of Silver King (Inle) Boat %26amp; Car Rental Service. A friend of mine used his services before and he came highly recommended. Over the phone he agreed to send a car to Heho airport to pick us up and take us to the jetty in Nyaungshwe. At Heho airport, a lady with a placard greeted us and led us to the car. The journey from Heho to Nyaungshwe took almost an hour, and we also stopped along the way to visit the Shwe Yaunghwe Temple which is a beautiful wooden temple famous for its oval-shaped windows. Whist we were there we saw monks in the open courtyard showering and shaving (with tourists looking on and taking photos). We were also allowed to walk about in the rooms where the monks lived and studied.

Khin Zaw (the owner of Silver King Boat %26amp; Car Rentals) speaks very good English. He looks a bit like Obama (the US President) – a thinner version, that is. He is quite a character and very likeable. He was very helpful with advice on local sights and practices. He told us: “In my country, time is not important”, meaning that we should take time to take in the sights, not worry about time, and that the coxswain would be with us until after we finished our day’s programme. (I think the price of hire of the motorboat depends on the distance/fuel rather than number of hours). Since it was almost noon he suggested we took a picnic on the boat during the 30 minute journey to our hotel so as to save time and to also to sample the freshly made noodles that were famous in Nyaungshwe. He treated us to 2 boxes of such noodles (they were delicious). When we told him that we were interested in going to a “truly local” market, he suggested we include the one in Than Taung rather than the Ywama one in our itinerary. The Than Taung market turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.

Khin Zaw’s charges: Car transfer from Heho airport to Nyaungshwe cost 25000K one way. Boat for sightseeing on Inle Lake cost 25000K (if one wanted to go to Indein it would cost 5000K extra). Boat transfer to Hotel in Inle Lake would be 10000K. Hotel to Than Taung market (for the next day) – 15000K.

So, we enjoyed our picnic on the boat, checked into our hotel Myanmar Treasure Resort (70USD per night), and set off at 1pm. The weather was glorious and the coxswain slowed/stopped by fishing boats to enable us to get a closer view (and take photos) of how fishermen operated on the Lake. We then went to Indein. The weathered shrines and stupas in Indein are well worth a visit, but to reach them visitors have to pass by paths lined with vendors hawking their wares and souvenirs, as well as a group of youths barring the way and demanding a “camera fee” of 300K.

After Indein, we visited other sights on the Lake and observed the way of life of the local people. We saw the floating gardens (anchored to the lake bed with bamboo poles), the villages, the fisher-folk and their canoes (and the unique way the fishermen use their legs to row, thereby freeing their hands to fish and to use their big conical fish-trap). We also visited small local workshops producing cheroots, lotus silk products, silver and gold ornaments and lacquer products. We dropped by the Phaung Daw U Temple and saw male visitors sticking gold leaves on the four Buddha images. Women are not allowed to approach these four images which are placed on a dais in the middle of the temple. Devotees have stuck so many layers of gold leaves onto these images that these have become lumps of gold, not unlike a huge gold peanut in shape.

Khin Zaw had recommended that we try the “Special Fish” in the Shwe Hin Tha Restaurant in Inle Lake. The restaurant is near the Phaung Daw U Temple and also is the site of a Hand Weaving Centre. We feasted on “Stuffed whole Inle Fish”, “Special Fish”, (yes, two fish dishes, both delicious), Chicken with cashews, Fried Marrow (a kind of green leafy vegetable) and Fried Tomatoes (grown in Inle Lake). A group of young people sang to a strummed guitar in the neighbouring compound. This provided a melodious background to our meal. The bill, with 2 bottles of water, came to 14500K. Our coxswain drove us back to the hotel in the motorboat in the dark. The sky was dotted with stars and the Lake was quiet except for one or two lone fishermen. It had turned chilly on the water and I was glad I had brought along a windbreaker.

17th Jan (Saturday) (Inle Lake. Heho to Yangon)

After a good cooked breakfast, we set off at 7:30am to Than Taung market. There is a 5-day market circuit around the villages in Inle Lake, and this was the local market day in Than Taung. It was about 45 minutes travel on the motorboat and after disembarking, our coxswain led us on foot to the market. This was a 30 minute journey on along a fairly wide well-trodden dirt path. Villagers dressed in traditional garb and carrying colourful woven baskets (balanced on their heads or held in their hands)joined the path from different directions, all heading towards the Than Taung market. From the opposite direction a few early shoppers returned with laden baskets. Many of these villagers looked at us with surprise, many greeted us with smiles and “Mingalaba” (meaning Hello). A few youngsters smiled and said “Hullo”. We did not see any other tourist during the whole time we were there.

The market itself was fascinating. Ethnic people in traditional clothes were selling their produce – vegetables, fruits, flowers, oil, spices, dried fish, nuts, pickles, daily utensits, food and so on. Luscious, wonderful, vibrant and colourful sights, sounds and smells greeted us. This was truly the highlight of Inle Lake!!

We made our way back to the hotel, so as to spend a leisurely late morning on the balcony of our room facing the water. We were told that the internet services in the “Business Centre) could not be connected because of the “cold” weather during the day. Ridiculous – because they said they could access the internet only during night time. Checked out at 1pm and made our way to the Jetty and then on to Heho airport to catch the 4pm flight on Yangon Airways back to Yangon.

At around 7pm we arrived in Yangon domestic airport which was like a market-place filled with confusion and noise. Paid 7000K for a ride in a worn-down van (calling itself a taxi) and rattled our way to the Traders Hotel. Dinner was at Sandy’s (lake-side view restaurant in the Kandawgyi Palace Hotel) which served tasty Myanmar food. Had the Fried duck egg stuffed with minced shrimp (3000K), Duck curry (4000K, excellent), Crispy mutton (6000K – not very good), Fried white raddish (2000K), Balachaung (Fried shrimp with shrimp paste, 2000K), Fried watercress (2000K) and rice. With soft drinks and tax the bill came to around 25000K.

18th Jan (Sunday) (In Yangon)

The buffet breakfast at the Traders Hotel was very good. After breakfast, we spent an hour in the CYBER World Internet café directly opposite the Hotel (800K for one hour’s internet usage on weekends) checking on matters back home. Then we went to the Bogyoke Aung San Market (Scotts Market) and wandered around till noon.

The rest of the day was spent walking around Yangon, visiting the Sule Paya, looking at the handsome colonial buildings and exploring the tiny shops and stalls from the 26th to 37th streets. Although we were a bit “templed-out” by this time, we felt we had to visit the Shwedagon Temple and therefore took a taxi there. This Temple dominates the Yangon landscape and is well worth a visit. It is golden, huge and bell-shaped and surrounded by many smaller temples, shrines and so on. There is an admission fee of USD10 per foreigner Local English speaking guides offering their services are stationed at the entrances. When we were there, the golden dome was wrapped up, presumably for re-gilding/renovations.

Having had such a wonderful buffet breakfast, we decided to sample the International Buffet (USD16 per person) at the Traders Hotel. This turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment, but at least we had the luxury of an early night (which afforded time to pack 2 paintings we had bought) and prepare ourselves for our trip home the next day.

Conclusion

We enjoyed this trip immensely. The people we met were friendly, the temples in Bagan spectacular, we loved the colours and vibrancy of Inle Lake and its local market and the weather was fine throughout our stay. A lot of things remain unspoilt by tourism in Myanmar, and visitors still get to see much of the true colours of this beautiful country and its people.

**Trip Report to Myanmar - PART II

Again well done,a lovely report.

Let us hope others who read it, and are unsure of the beauties of Myanmar, will be encouraged to visit soon - we are already planning our return visit.

With the recession hitting all of the World, Myanmar must be one of the most inexpensive countries to visit.

**Trip Report to Myanmar - PART II

Once again thanks for your time and sharing your experience. I will put your pages in my favorites and will refer who ever needed.

Yours is one of the best reports I have read on various forums; to the point, concise and yet not leaving anything out. Thoroughly enjoyed both reports. We are visiting Myanmar for the first time later this year and the more I read about it the more I look forward to going. Will print your reports out for reference as we trip around. Thanks again.

By the way, I forgot to put Khin Zaw (Kenny)%26#39;s contact details in my post. Here it is:

Silver King (Inle) Boat %26amp; Car Rental Service

No 64, Win Yat Strand Road, Nyaung Shwe

Telephone: 95 -81-29648

I highly recommend him.

Since he looks a bit like the current President of the US, he is easily recognisable!!

Very enjoyable, detailed report boofit, lots of info there for people to use. You paid $10pp at the Shwedagon? It was only $5 a few weeks ago.

BonZai, you may be right. This was the one place where I did not make a note and it probably was USD10 for two.

Thanks for the reports. They are the most useful I have seen.

Wonderful report. Thanks. I am arriving in Yangon on Feb. 5. Guidebook says it is cold at Inle Lake. Nothing specific however. Will a light sweater suffice?

I can%26#39;t wait to be there.

gingerSanFranscisco, it was quite chilly at night whilst we were there, I would say around 14 degrees Centigrade. If you are travelling by motorboat on the water (as we were) at night, it might feel like maybe 11 degrees.

It was pleasant during daytime, and we only had cotton shirts on. I would say bring a sweater and maybe a light wind-breaker and you should be alright!

Have a great trip!

Thanks, BooFit. Will take the windbreaker.

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