Why You Should Travel to Myanmar

Trip Summary

By Jodi

February 24, 2017

I’m on a flight to Vietnam after a whirlwind Myanmar tour. 16 total days, five cities, and a couple villages. Here was the rough itinerary: Mandalay three days, Bagan two days, Kalaw one night, trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake for three days and two nights, stay on Inle Lake for two nights, then Yangon for four nights before flying out to Vietnam to meet a friend.

If I had to do it over, I would have had only one or two days in Mandalay, three days in Bagan, and two nights in Kalaw (but that’s really just because I stayed at Thitaw Lay House which was super relaxing). As for the Inle trek; it wasn’t exactly for me. I thought I’d love it and have no problem sleeping in huts each night; well, I was a bit wrong. After the first night, I was dead tired, exhausted, and done with the trek. So if you are a germaphobe like me or generally prefer modern conveniences, then yeah, I’d just do one night rather than two.

Local villagers selling goods to train passengers at a train stop along the Kalaw to Inle Lake trek.

As for Inle Lake, I had originally budgeted only one night on Inle. What a mistake that was. Maybe because I was staying at the amazing Myanmar Treasure Resort where I was treated like a queen, but it was very hard to leave. Because it was so expensive, I ended up just adding one more night, so two total on Inle. It still wasn’t enough…I’d allocate at least three nights on Inle if you want to treat yourself and you want a break from the Myanmar whirlwind tour.

And Yangon…Yangon, you were fun. I probably didn’t need four total nights there, but by day four, I didn’t want to leave. Yangon definitely grew on me and is a great city. People were great and you can have most of your modern conveniences, but it’ll cost ya. I stayed in the Loft Hotel, which I would definitely recommend, and Alex’s Restaurant attached to it was also great.

Yangon architecture.

There are so many stories to share and things to explain from this trip, but I honestly don’t know where to start. So I’ll just leave you with some common questions I’ve been getting.

What was my favorite part of Myanmar?

Myanmar only opened it’s borders to tourists in 2013. For that reason, it is still very much developing in the tourist infrastructure. And that was the major draw for me going there in the first place. Not one to seek out touristy locations, but rather, trying to avoid tourists, this country seemed like a dream come true. Yes, there are still parts of it that are very much touristy. Bagan, for example, seems like it’s geared for tourists, who flock to the area to see the thousands of Buddhist temples along with the sunrises and sunsets. That didn’t mean I didn’t like Bagan, you just have to go into it knowing it’s starting to become more touristy.

One of my favorite sunrise shots taken from Lawkaoushaung Temple. Sadly, it looked better on my iPhone.

Sunset viewing with new friends from a temple in Bagan.

Herd of cows (is it called a herd?) in Bagan while sunset viewing.

But Yangon…Yangon was legit. I have never felt so white as I have in Yangon. Walking the streets, you don’t see many other white tourists around. At first it was a little intimidating, but as I became more familiar with the country and realized no one was out to get me (and my money), I loved it and no longer felt out of place. And that takes me to my next question…

What did I learn from this trip?

I usually travel not to go on a vacation from my life, but to learn things about other cultures, the world, and myself. I travel to become a better person and to learn something from the people I meet and the places I visit. I travel to grow. I have been to places like Haiti before, which was beyond eye opening. Not knowing what to expect from Myanmar, I was not expecting to get a similar experience. But upon arriving in Mandalay, it was an incredible shock. It was so developing, with most of the city (that I saw) composed of shacks. Getting anywhere outside of a city, all you encountered were shacks and bamboo huts. These are their homes. I went to the bathroom in more holes in the ground than I would care to admit. Similar to my experience in Haiti, I had never appreciated the western conveniences I had taken for granted as I did as soon as I arrived in Mandalay. This was only reinforced as I slept in a bamboo hut on the Kalaw to Inle trek.

Sunset shot from Mandalay Hill.

I’d say I have two major breakthrough takeaways from this 16 day trip:

1. I am so grateful for everything that I have, yet, you really don’t need much to be happy. That was demonstrated by the lovely locals I met on a daily basis. They were so friendly and willing to talk with you and to learn about your life and to share theirs. They were all smiles and happy to help with whatever you needed, and wanted to learn your story. They have nothing. Many of them I talked to wanted to travel and leave the country, but it was too expensive. They have so little, yet they are happy with what they have. Having talked to so many locals who told me the exact same thing, I felt extremely privileged to have traveled to my 18th country. They have only seen one, but want to see so much more. But they can’t.
2. I have never felt so white or privileged as I did in Myanmar. People hear about white privilege and think it doesn’t exist. That it doesn’t affect them and that since they don’t consider themselves racist, they’re not privileged. Let me tell you honey, you are. Your white skin alone makes you privileged, and it doesn’t matter whether you feel as though you are racist or not. You inherently have access to more than anyone of another race does - black, brown, asian. Asians want white skin for that reason; in fact, many from various SE Asian countries literally dye their skin white. Because of my white skin, everyone wanted to talk to me. They wanted to know where I was from, what I did for work, maybe to learn about how they could get there someday. Because of my white skin and because I have a good job, I could afford the more western restaurants in Yangon. I could stay at the nice hotel. Locals were not found in these places…it was simply too expensive. While there were not many tourists in Yangon, there was definitely a bit of segregation in the restaurants and hotels.

One of the super friendly locals I met in Yangon.

Most ridiculous part of the trip?

Definitely sleeping with mice in the bamboo hut the first night of the Kalaw to Inle Lake trek. Yep, sleeping with mice. I slept with field mice. If you don’t know already, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. Sleeping with mice was not high on the list of “things to do in Myanmar.” But hey, I guess you can’t have it all, right? Let me explain. 

Here’s a pic of the bamboo hut we slept in that night

Upon arriving at the hut and the sun going down, we heard a noise. Getting a bit worried, I hoped it was a passing bird rummaging on the roof. But as I was getting ready for bed, I saw it…a mouse climbing the wall. Sadly, that wasn’t the only one. This hut seemed to be infested. Needless to say, none of us really slept that night. Every time we’d hear one, we’d wake up with a start, shining our headlamp on that sucker to make sure it didn’t come near us. I say “we,” but I didn’t pass out until 2am. All I could picture was one of those things crawling on me…and that was enough to keep me up. It wasn’t until I discovered an amazing trick - mummifying myself in a blanket - that I was able to fall asleep for four hours. As long as one of those bastards didn’t actually touch my skin, I’d be good. But yes, we slept with mice in a bamboo hut in the middle of nowhere. If nothing else, we got a story out of it.

Inside of the bamboo hut we slept in the first night

Worst part of the trip?

Sadly, I’m going to have to go with the trek. Besides the mice and not really sleeping the first night, I stupidly packed WAY too much into my 40L backpack. I swear to you, I felt like I was carrying about 50 lbs on my back while walking 26kms per day. Not fun, not fun at all. Sadly, I think this killed the trek for me. That combined with the four hours of sleep; I almost bailed on the second day. In fact, I tried to bail and head directly to Inle Lake, but by the time I made that decision, we were in the middle of nowhere Myanmar and basically the only way out was to trek. I was stuck. To make matters worse, I then proceeded to get stomach issues for the third time since arriving in Myanmar…this time in the middle of an open field. So that was fun. I also have never felt so dirty in my entire life…and if you know me, you know I like to be clean. We didn’t shower for three days. Needless to say, I am still glad I did it. Lessons learned > not having done it at all.

Kalaw to Inle trek action shot - definitely had some nice scenery if nothing else.

We also tried to blend in with the locals. 

Best experience?

There were so many, but if I had to pick just one, it would be my last day in Yangon, when I was taken by a local photographer, Don Wright from Wired on 39. Don took me from Yangon to Dala, the village across the river from Yangon. What a great service he offers. Having not gotten enough good pics from my time in Yangon, I figured what better way to do so than by touring with a fellow photographer. While only lasting for a few hours, this ended up being more than a photography tour. Don knows and does great things for the locals in Dala, including investing in their infrastructure. While on the tour, I felt as though I had hired not just someone to tell me where to take pictures, but a legit tour guide. Yes, he takes photos of the locals, but he also provides them copies of those photos, which makes it a win/win for both sides. I didn’t feel as though I was exploiting them because of it.

Here’s Don handing out photos he had previously taken to the villagers.

Don taking pics to share with them later.

They were more than happy to have us take their picture, making it feel less like they were the tourist attraction. Rather, it was like taking pictures of his friends. Not only that, but I got some amazing snaps while with Don. I would HIGHLY recommend his photography tour to anyone in the Yangon area, even if you aren’t really interested in photography. It was the best tour I got during my time in Myanmar.

And now I will bombard you with my favorite snaps from the tour:

Getting off the 5 minute ferry from Yangon to Dala

Local villagers surveying goods at a market in Dala

I can’t

Kings of the village

If only it were so easy as to chain your young ones.

One of my faves.

Riding around in a trishaw (bicycle with a carriage) to get from one location to the next in Dala

Market shot. Yeah, I didn’t partake.

Shot taken while walking through the village.

One thing I will never forget?

Riding an e-bike, which is simply a scooter with a battery rather than gas, all over Bagan, alone in the dark. Luckily, on my first night there, I met a kind American girl, Amanda, who said she wanted to have a riding partner for my first sunrise…so I simply followed her to my first Bagan sunrise viewing spot.

Me displaying my first, and hopefully only, e-bike/motorbike injury (Note: the bike fell on me while stationary. NBD)

Most unforgetable person?

There were so many great people I met on this trip, but I’m going to have to go with the monk I met on U Bein Bridge in Mandalay. I had wanted to learn more about Buddhism, being that I’m into meditation and mindfulness, and insight meditation stems from the Buddhist religion. So I was thrilled when he started talking to me after sunset and then proceeded to invite me to his monastery nearby the next day. I gladly took him up on his offer. Only, when I went to the monastery, he simply invited me into his home, provided tea and snacks while we chatted for an hour or so, and then showed me around the monastery briefly.

I must say, I didn’t learn too much about Buddhism from him, although, I guess I didn’t ask many questions about it. Rather, he then offered to take me to Sagaing, a town across the river from Mandalay, to U Min Thonze Pagoda on Sagaing Hill. With the monk, we jumped on a bus, which in Myanmar is the back of a truck, and then a motorbike taxi. Picture the motorbike driver, the monk, and me on the same motorbike…what a sight to behold.

Weeeee…riding a Myanmar “bus” for the first time.

Who’s the white girl?

Upon arrival, rather than take the tourist route to the pagoda, the monk decided we should climb the stairs up Sagaing Hill. That took a good hour alone, and needless to say, I was sore the next day. But the views from this pagoda were 10x better than the views all the tourists flock to on Mandalay Hill. Unbelievable views of Mandalay and beyond, simply gorgeous. All because of the random monk I met on U Bein Bridge. We walked around the Pagoda, took some pics, had some tea while chatting, then headed back to Mandalay.

The monk schooling me on how to climb stairs fully clothed in wool in 95 degree heat.

One of many, many pagodas I viewed during my time in Myanmar.

Love it.

Me and the monk at the top of the hill at the pagoda. I asked him if he was hot. He said no.

At this point, I was well versed on “the bus,” so much so that the monk felt it okay to send me alone home while he got off at his stop. I was actually quite proud of myself for staying on the bus by myself and not jumping in a cab.

Now, why, may you ask was this monk so nice to me? Honestly, I am still not really sure. I am still not really sure why any of the Myanmar people I met on my trip were so nice, other than wanting to practice their English. They were so welcoming and hospitable. The monk was not the only one who invited me to his home. The monk did ask for one thing from me…stamps. After a tough English exchange, I realized what he was telling me was that he collects stamps. Since he’s only been in Myanmar, the people he meets send him stamps from other countries. So remind me to send this kind, amazing man some stamps, not just from the US, but from wherever else I land on this crazy journey I’m on. I’ll send him something from Vietnam for sure…my next stop.

Strangest thing I saw in Myanmar?

How about this bad boy?

I’d love to see the look on the face of that child in 15 years.

No just kidding, I saw way weirder, but this is all I can think of at the moment and this blog post is taking me forever.

Strangest thing that happened to me?

While at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, I was approached by a monk to teach English to children the next morning. Seemed a bit strange, so I googled U Aung Hein Kyaw English Class and sure enough I found a couple reviews on TripAdvisor for the school saying it was okay to do, yet the school profits from me providing free services. Knowing that, it didn’t bother me. This was an experience I wanted to partake in, and plus I wanted to see if I enjoyed teaching English since it’s on the list of “ways to make money while traveling.”

Pic of me and the kiddos after English class.

Class literally consisted of them asking me questions and vice versa - it was simply a way for them to practice English with a native English speaker. Good times.

Myanmar conclusion

In summary, Myanmar was awesome. Full of adventure, unknowns, unexpected’s, and awesome people, I would not have traded my time there for anything. My only wish was that I had been there a bit longer.

Until next time, Myanmar.

*Cover photo taken of U Bein Bridge in Mandalay, Myanmar in February 2017.