Burma
Myanmar
The Myanmar
people are absolutely the most *wonderful* people on the planet. They are so
nice and so welcoming. Yes, in some of the tourist hotspots you have the same
hassle (aggressive salespeople ) that exists in tourist hotspots all over the
world, but the Myanmar people were far and above the most friendly, helpful, and
patient "locals" I've ever encountered. I've always been hesitant to stick my
camera in people's faces, but many people in Myanmar were happy to pose for a
photo; some even *asked* me to take their photo.
Getting there and
Visas
First of all, you can get your visa in Bangkok with minimal
hassle--it takes a day. Flights are a different story, however, and as before
I'd even unpacked my bags, I was at a travel agency trying to get flight
tickets. I arrived on a Thursday in October; the earliest flight I could get was
on Tuesday. I flew MAI with on problems--it was a B737 aircraft that satisfied
this airline employee. LP talks about how horrible *Myanma Airlines* is, but
don't get the two confused.
*before I forget--you absolutely MUST
reconfirm your return!
Anyway, flew into Yangon and another (young)
American backpacker and I did the $5.00 bribe at the FEC desk and exchanged $100
apiece instead of $200 per person. We were both anxious to get to Bagan, and we
found that there was a flight later in the afternoon that cost $100, so we
booked it. Anyway, to kill time while waiting for our flight, we hired a taxi
driver to take us on a bit of a city tour of Yangon to kill time in the
afternoon. He spoke excellent English and was very
knowledgeable.
Travelers usually cannot enter Myanmar by land borders.
Apparently the situation across the Thai border changes from time to time, but I
wouldn't count on it, esp. since Myanmar has been in the news a lot
lately.
Money Matters
Aside from the fact that the exchange
of USD to FEC's supports the horrible Myanmar government, using them is not a
big deal unless you are on a very short trip. You can use them to pay for
hotels, admissions, etc. On a two week trip, you'll easily use
them.
Other than that, bring USD, lots of small bills in particular.
Local people prefer USD to FECs of Kyats, and if you're shopping, you can
usually bargain in USD. You do want to Kyats as well, you'll often get a better
deal. Don't worry; the currency thing isn't nearly as confusing as it
sounds.
Bagan
Upon arrival in Bagan, we ended up going with
two other American travelers to the New Park Guesthouse. Now, I have to tell you
that I was quite disappointed that I'd just arrived and ran into all these other
Americans--I somehow thought I'd be one of only a dozen or so in the
country.
Bagan is stunning; there are hundreds and hundreds of temples
for as far as you can see. At one stop, the young American guy and I wandered
off into a village behind the temple and had our first glimpse into village
life....
I have to admit, I was not expecting to see the big tour busses
of tourists (mostly European) and was quite disappointed at first, but I
realized later that there really aren't *that* many tourists in Myanmar, it's
just that when they converge on the same sights, as they often do, you lose a
bit of the mystique.
I regretted not having more time to rent bicyles and
do some leisurely cycling around the area, but the guy I was hanging out with
was having some problems getting things sorted for the rest of his journey and
couldn't stay any longer, and I didn't want to bicycle alone. I ended up sharing
a taxi with another traveler to Mandalay.
Mandalay
The
"proper" way for a backpacker to do this is to go to Mandalay first and take the
boat to Bagan, an experience that I truly regret not having, but especially in a
place like Myanmar, you just have to deal with things as they
happen.
Mandalay itself is not that great, but there are lots of things
to do in the vicinity and it's a good place to park yourself for a few days.
There are plenty of good day trips around Mandalay in addition to the sights
within the city--don't miss the view from Mandalay Hill! Mingun is a good day or
half day trip and the ancient sights of Amarapura, Sagaing, and Inwa are
interesting as well. Make some friends if you're traveling alone and hire a taxi
for the day. Don't worry--the taxi drivers know where to go. Much to my
disappointment, one of our first stops was to a place where they make wood and
stone carvings and tapestries, but I regret not buying some of the fantastic
wood carvings that I saw there. You will find woodcrafts in other places, but
this was the best spot.
I met a Swiss girl and we took a day trip to
Pyin-oo-lin, the former British hillstation where you can use picuresque stage
coaches to get around, if you wish. Unfortunately, the weather was rainy and we
gave up on reaching the much touted botanical gardens.
In Mandalay I
stayed at ET Guesthouse. Some travelers poo-poo the place, and some rooms are
definitely better than others, but I found the staff to be very patient and
helpful.
There is no bay in Mandalay unless you want to count a bunch of
boats on the river.
Inle Lake
From Mandalay, I took the
overnight bus to Inle Lake. At first I was only going to go as far as Kalaw and
go trekking, but it had rained a bit and some other travelers told me that
trekking had been muddy. I had shared a taxi from the hotel to the bus station
with an Austrian couple, and their eyes absolutely lit up when out bus pulled up
"Oh! The *nicest* bus we'e seen in Myanmar!" they cooed.
Little did we
know that it would be one hell of a long bus ride--22 hours! Many of the roads
are in bad condition and a truckload of lettuce coming the other direction went
slightly off the road and over the cliff on the road to Tauggyi, blocking
traffic in both directions for several hours. Now, most of the vehicles in
Myanmar are so old that it wouldn't have been a great loss to simply push it the
rest of the way over the cliff and put it out of it's misery, but unfortunately,
this was a newer truck.
Road travel in Myanmar is rough. It will test
your patience. The roads are in truly horrible condition. Many travelers told
tales of having 2,3,4 flat tires. I think we only had two. Don't set out without
food and water.
Inle Lake was truly the highlight. The Austrians and I
spent 3 days hanging out with our boat driver, Thant-Zin, a funny little guy who
spoke excellent English and whose colorful commentary kept us laughing. He gave
me a really hard time after I didn't bargain hard enough for some handbags I
wanted to buy. He invited us to dinner at his house on our last night and it was
an interesting experience--how many times does one get an experience like
this?
He insisted we get up and out early every morning to avoid paying
the entrance fees to Inle, and took us to a few places that didn't see alot of
tourists. We really enjoyed visiting Indien on market day when the colorful
hilltribe women were there--it was a much more "authentic" experience than the
hilltribes I'd seen in Vietnam. Our guide happily translated for us as they
spoke no English at all--a good sign in my book! It was wonderful to wander
through the market and not be hassled to buy things--people pretty much left you
alone to browse or whatever. (The floating market at Inle--a big tourist
trap--was a totally different experience, however)
Inle was absolutely
beautiful, especially early in the morning. It was truly the highlight of my
visit.
Yangon
I flew from Heho to Yangon. While I hated
missing out on some more land travel--I had hoped to experience the train--I
simply didn't have the time or the endurance for another hellish journey. If I'd
had more time, I would've done it, though I *do* recommend for travelers who can
afford it to try to take one flight in place of a long bus ride though. Road
travel is rough, I'm telling you!
In Yangon, I stayed at The White House
Hotel which I *highly* recommend. The breakfast alone is worth the price of
admission, the rooftop has a million dollar view, and Papa and his girls will do
a fine job of looking out for you.
Lots to see and do around Yangon. I
took a couple of rides on the public bus--quite an experience for about 2 cents
and the people seemed delighted to have you onboard. Shwedagon is the *must see*
but be on the lookout for people who want to guide you and charge exhorbant fees
for their service when you really didn't want them bothering you in the first
place. On my second trip to Shwedagon, another girl and I met a monk who happily
chatted with us and explained things to us.
Also, I did a bit of shopping
in Myanmar, something I don't do much anymore, but so many beautiful things were
just too good to pass up. And don't laugh at those things you read about people
wanting to trade things such as watches, pens, and lipstick--some people really
do want those things. I wouldn't necessarily stock up on them, though. The
Austrians I met bought a huge wooden Buddha statue, a deal that was only sealed
when they agreed to include a cheap bought-in-Bangkok watch as part of the
payment. Also, at the market in Yangon, other than the now familiar whisper of
"Change money?" people pretty much left you alone to browse--a welcome relief
from some other places I've been. It was heaven!
Go. Go soon. There will
never be LESS tourists. Go for as long as you can stay, as the pace is very,
very slow, and if you see Thant-Zin at Inle Lake, tell him I said
"hello"
Politics
As long as you stay in family owned
places, and pretty much travel "backpacker" style, you're actually helping the
local people rather than supporting the government. That's why travelers want to
get out of changing the full $200 USD.
I doubt if any backpackers leave
the country feeling like they've done a horrible thing by going there. The
locals want tourists to come and see the situation for themselves. How else is
the outside world supposed to know?
The pro-democracy movement there has
asked tourists to boycott. Of course "backpacker" travel makes it easier to
avoid government-owned hotels, but if I recall correctly, a lot of the
intra-country transport (air, rail and boat) is government-owned, too. Maybe
thos travelling on the cheap can avoid this too.
Anyway, I'm generally
sympathetic to the view that visitors provide economic support and cultural
exchange that is vital to the people, regardless of the government. But when
Aung San Suu Kyi says that the strategy they are hoping to employ is an outside
boycott, I find that hard to ignore. On moral grounds, support for their cause
would seem to preclude even the most good-intentioned and close-to-the-locals
travel in Myanmar.
