I'd not really thought much about going to Myanmar before, it definitely wasn't at the top of my "Asia Travel Bucketlist", but after several of our friends visited the country, I started looking into it and was instantly convinced. "We need to go before it is overrun with tourism." I said to Adrienne. It didn't take much convincing, she jumped on board.
We began our trip in Yangon, taking in the sights and smells and sounds. The buildings really are quite beautiful, and such interesting architecture and colors. Of course, we had to start off right with a trip to the market in search for some authentic Myanmar skirts, and our trip was a success! Little did we know our traditional wear would be such a hit later in our trip!
Yangon Market
Yangon Streets
After our first night bus, we arrived in Mandalay. The first thing I noticed (other than the sun rising) was the hustle and bustle. Everyone was moving quickly and everywhere you turned was under construction. They really are preparing for the tourism industry. We borrowed bicycles from our hotel and decided to see the city at a slower pace. First stop, the palace.
Mandalay Palace
The architecture was beautiful and the colors were vibrant. I quickly noticed the style of the buildings here was different than any other place I had visited before. After making our way around the city at a leisurely pace, and of course stopping for several photo shoots, we made our way to Mandalay hill where we hopped on the back of two local boys' motorbikes and were sped up the hill to see the amazing sunset, where we had the opportunity to speak with a few monks about their life, the quickly changing city and the need to quickly learn English. When finished, we zipped back down on the back of the motorbikes and couldn't crawl into bed fast enough after such a long and tiring day.
Kuthodaw Pagoda
Mandalay Hill
Mahargandaryone Monastery
The rest of our tour was amazing as well. We ate one of the best meals on our entire trip (OMG delicious pineapple pork and orange chicken) and also got to see how the intricate detail it takes for weaving material. Our trip also included a stop at the famous U-Bein Bridge. We arranged for a boat to take us out onto the water after being rushed across it (we were running a little behind), but it was neither here nor there as the sunset was pretty non-existent. We took it in stride though and still had an amazing time people watching and enjoying our small boat ride.
Mandalay Taxi Tour
Silk Workshop
Hsinbyume Pagoda in Mingun
U Bein Bridge
The next day we were out of bed before sunrise again to catch a boat ride down the river to Bagan. Yes, it took the entire day, but it actually turned out to be one of our favorite days during vacation. It gave us a chance to slow down, take in the beautiful scenery and catch up on some reading. After reading some reviews and tips, we boarded and quickly staked out some chairs on the upper deck that were under the roof, and were thankful we did nearly immediately after the sun rose. I still don't know how the people without cover survived the sun and heat. The trip was mostly uneventful, aside from a pair of ripped pants and an incident with bananas being tossed onto our boat (bananas can fly quite well, money for the bananas however, can not). When we disembarked, we were in the beautiful city of Bagan, giving us just enough time to grab some food before heading to bed in preparation for the next morning.
Mandalay to Bagan River Boat
February 12th. A day I'll never forget. We woke up to pitch darkness and quickly dressed to meet our old style hippie bus ride before being taken to a huge dark field where we were greeted with a table of hot tea and coffee. You would've thought we were out in a deserted field getting ready to tell ghost stories, that is until the sun started rising and we could see the outline of the huge balloons. We were quickly debriefed then split into our groups and taken to our balloons. Adrienne and I had sprung for an experience of a lifetime for this trip. A hot air balloon ride with Balloons Over Bagan. But not only that, we chose the premium service, and I wouldn't do it any other way. Watching the balloons being inflated and seeing them rise above the treetops was amazing. After we climbed in and listened to the safety instructions, it was time for lift off! And WOW it was HOT. Think about how much heat it takes to get one of those balloons off the ground. Then think about being right under those flames. But we quickly turned our attention to the beautiful site in front of us.
Balloons Over Bagan
While flying, we cruised at an average of 100 feet above ground, so we could see everything extremely well. Temples, homes and locals waving excitedly at us. It was such a serene experience, something I will never forget. After our (less than graceful) landing, what else do you do other than TOAST! The premium package not only includes a smaller basket for passengers, but it also includes a nice spread of champagne and pastries upon landing. After we had celebrated such a wonderful morning, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out on a horse cart tour.
Balloons Over Bagan
Balloons Over Bagan
Balloons Over Bagan
Balloons Over Bagan
Balloons Over Bagan
Our Horse Cart
Bagan
The group that sprinted to take photos with us
Bagan
Bagan
Sunset over Bagan
Sunset over Bagan
Our next day we awoke early once again and met our horse cart driver to take us to the Shwesandaw Pagoda for another beautiful sunrise. This sunrise was unlike any other because we could see the hot air balloons sweep across the city. It was so interesting to see them dancing along the landscape, some soaring high and some hovering low. It was great to see it from a different perspective, having gotten to experience it the day before ourselves. Then it was back to our hotel for breakfast and a day of e-biking our way around the city to pagodas we had missed the day before. Don't let the e-bikes fool you though, they are easy to crash in the loose sand. Just ask Adrienne. After a long day, we of course ended with watching the sunset from another secluded temple.
Sunrise over Bagan
Bagan
Bagan
Our last day in Bagan we took it slow. We rented the e-bikes for a half day and made it to some lesser known temples, where we spent a lot of time relaxing, enjoying the view, and reflecting. This was until Adrienne cut her foot on some rocks and we headed back to the hotel to get patched up just before our night bus to Inle Lake where we arrived in the middle of the night. Bagan is a city with over 2,000 temples, pagodas, whatever you want to call them. But it was really interesting to see what each one had to offer. No matter how many pagodas we saw, each one had something unique to offer that made it different from the others.
After a grueling bus ride, we finally made it to Inle. We lucked out and the hotel let us stay in one of the open rooms for a few hours instead of sleeping on the floor in the middle of the reception with the other travelers.
Bagan
Bagan
Bagan
Red Mountain Winery, Inle Lake
The next day was yet another sunrise, but this time it was on the lake! We hired a boat tour for the day that that took us around to several parts of the lake. It was quite chilly in the morning, but seeing the fog roll over the water and the reflection of the sunrise over the mountains really was majestic. We saw a beautiful weaving factory on the water that women use sap from lotus root to make thread (let me tell you, it seems like a very long and tedious process... it takes 8,000 lotus stems to make 1 scarf!) as well as a cigar factory and a floating pagoda. We also went to the "Jumping Cat" Monastery, however the cats aren't that jumpy these days. We were able to see some absolutely beautiful hanging gardens as well as the iconic fishermen that fish with huge nets and steer their boats with their legs.
Inle Lake
Inle Lake
The next day we took it easy, grabbing dim sum for lunch again before heading to the hot springs to soak away some of the dirt and grime that had accumulated. There, a group of guys told us about a delicious hot pot restaurant that we later tried for dinner.
Our final morning in Inle we spent getting absolutely wonderful massages and eating lunch at a cute little French restaurant. We then hopped back onto a night bus to return to Yangon.
There is one word that can summarize our last few days in Yangon. FOOD. We indulged ourselves in delicious Indian food (more than once) and found avocados the size of our heads (well not really, but almost) that we made delicious guacamole from, and a super fun cooking class with Harmoneat. We spent some time trying to chase down some festival performances, only to find out that they were a different day, spent the day wandering around a park, then we topped off our visit to Myanmar with none other than an evening at Shwedagon Pagoda.
Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon
Harmoneat Cooking Class, Yangon
Harmoneat Cooking Class, Yangon
Our trip to Myanmar was absolutely amazing, the food was a little disappointing but the wonderful people and amazing scenery definitely made up for it!
