Blogs from Yangon, Yangon Region, Burma, Asia - page 5

I awoke this morning feeling liberated with all the space in our room and the 15 foot ceiling. Breakfast was the full-meal deal and all you can eat. After stocking up for the day we headed out in search of the circular commuter train. Circular in the sense that it does a big loop around the city. We couldn't find anywhere to pay so just hopped on figuring someone would eventually come by. People are very friendly and were able to indicate to us where to get off. Our first objective was to find the night train to Mandalay ticket office. The smell of garbage and raw sewage, the noise of traffic and beeping horns, the assault of bright colours, abject poverty and the need to watch the uneven sidewalk and dance to avoid oncoming foot ... read more

There are many types of human chaos, but two seem to present themselves more often than others. The order of the day is the glaringly mechanical - planned, systematic, convenient and commercial, predictable, pre-packaged and microwavable, calculatingly manufactured for the optimization of human life; and then there is that lesser known chaos - the organic mass of humanity, flowing in no predictable order - a pattern that, try as you might you may, fails to establish. At times there is something to be said for chaos, and of the two, it has become the second that draws me in for more, pulls me around the next corner - and so it is with Yangon. It is scarcely imaginable that 5-million people make their home in a city where downtown is home to three-story buildings engulfed in ... read more

Day 21-Sunday-January 31 This morning we checked out of the Sule Shangri-La and got on the bus for the airport at 8:30 to catch our flight at 11:00 to Inle Lake. Inle Lake is located in the heart of the Shan Plateau. It is a beautiful highland lake, 2,950 feet above sea level. The lake is 13.7 miles long and 6.2 miles across, and inhabited by many different ethnic nationals of the area. The Intha people are the lake dwellers who are unique for their leg rowing. Leg rowed traditional boats are the main ceremonial attractions of Inle Lake. The Intha people are hard-working. Cigar-rolling and weaving are the women's work. One tradition says that the Intha people living on Lake Inle are the descendants of those who fled from Dawei, about 500 miles to the ... read more

Monday 25th January 2016 To get from Laos to Myanmar we opted to travel by air, which on research seemed to be the best way to go, to be followed by a network of bus trips to get us through the country. After packing up our backpacks, our first flight of the day was mid morning and would take us as far as Bangkok on a 55 minute flight. We were travelling with Bangkok Airways, which has been our favourite airline so far providing a free lounge with free food, drink, wifi and comfy seating. Bonus! Especially important when you have time to spare on a stopover. After a 4hr wait in Bangkok airport we boarded our 2nd plane for another short 1 hour flight to Yangon. Although both flights together only equated to 2 hours ... read more

It was a short flight from Bangkok to Yangon International Airport. Touching down on Myanmar soil I had my e-Visa (https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/NoticetoTourists.aspx) ready and hostel booked. This time it was me that was approached by a fellow traveller wanting to share a taxi which suited me fine! My hostel was first - Pickled Tea Hostel - a half hour drive from the airport. I stayed here for four nights, eventually leaving on a night bus for Bagan on the 25th. Something happened when I arrived in Myanmar. I felt a sensation that I hadn't felt for a while. It was the feeling of excitement again, the feeling of being somewhere completely different to anywhere I'd been before. If I'm honest, the Malaysia and Thailand leg of my trip was a bit of lull. Perhaps it was because ... read more