Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: Yangon

June 6-7,13-14,2014 ---- The trip to Myanmar was planned while Nathan and I were living in Taiwan. It started when I found a really good deal for flights to Yangon on Nokair.com, 2000 Baht per person for a round-trip ticket from Bangkok to Yangon! Why not? We had already planned to go to Thailand anyway!

Day 1

Our night flight to Yangon was smooth as silk. The immigration service was fast and the baggage arrived with no problem. The set-price for a taxi ride from the airport to downtown Yangon at the time was 8000 Kyat or US$ 8, and it took about half an hour or so.

We planned to stay in Yangon just for a night and then catch an overnight train to Mandalay the next day. Beautyland Hotel II was perfect for the plan since it's located near the train station and in the city center. It was an okay hotel to stay for a night. The room was reasonably clean, but the smell from the bathroom was awful; it's the city's drainage problem. Breakfast was included and it was surprisingly delicious!

We could do a lot in a day in Yangon. First we checked out and left our luggage at the hotel free of charge. Then we went to the train station to buy tickets to Mandalay that evening. Sleepers cost about 13,000 Kyat or US$ 13 each, and the ride would take 15 hours to the destination.

After getting the train tickets, we just followed the guide on Lonely Planet's "Downtown Yangon Walking Tour." We started at Sule Paya and spent a lot of time there because there was a local guide in the temple who took us around and explained every possible thing we should know. He at first just acted like a friendly guy who normally hangs out there and helps tourists for free, but later he said that he has been working to help poor kids, talked about his poor life, and finally asked for donations to support those kids. Who knows if they really exist!

After Sule Paya, we wandered around the city guided by the Lonely Planet. We walked past a lot of old buildings, parks, a church, a synagogue, and two big markets. It was nice to see how local city folks go about their daily life. Yangon isn't a big city, so it is quite crowded and dirty. Most buildings are rundown, the streets are dirty and have piles of trash all over, and the city drainage system is terrible. However, it was still pleasant to see people smiling here and there.

Food in Myanmar was interesting. We had lunch at Danu Phyu Daw Saw Yee Myanmar Restaurant as the book suggested. It was good! Burmese food tradition is completely different from Thai; they always serve hot-and-sour soup with meal. Some dishes were just like Thai food, for example, Massaman curry. I found Burmese food to be mild compared to Thai food, but I enjoyed every single meal there.

After lunch Nathan and I walked to Bogyoke Aung San Market because we wanted to exchange some cash. We read in the book and on the internet that we shouldn't exchange money at the airport or banks because of the low exchange rate, and we would get a much better rate on the "black market." Well, it turned out that the black market now gives the same rate as any bank and the airport. Moreover, we can now use a foreign ATM card to withdraw some cash!!! How fast this country has changed!

In the afternoon Nathan and I went to the must-visit temple in Yangon, Shwedagon Pagoda. It was STUNNING! We saw it from the airplane at night and were very impressed, and when we were inside the temple, it was like "Wow"! The only bad thing was it was raining when we were visiting the pagoda.

After circling around Shwedagon Pagoda for an hour or so, we took a taxi back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then headed to the train station. We got there just in time before the train left the station. Whew! I'll tell you more about the train in the Mandalay page....

Day 2

After our adventure several days in Mandalay and Bagan, Nathan and I took an overnight bus back to Yangon. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all because the shuttle-car picked us up super late and the seat was wet, the bus's seats were small and uncomfortable, and we arrived Yangon at 4 a.m. in the morning, which was so early that the taxi was able to overcharge us for the ride to downtown.

We stayed at Hotel Windsor, located far away from downtown Yangon, but in a nice, rich neighborhood. The hotel was really nice and clean, and the reception desk was very helpful and allowed us to do early check-in and eat breakfast. We were super tired from the overnight bus ride, so we just took a nap till late in the morning after breakfast.

After getting a full rest, we walked to the National Museum. It has great collections, but the air-con didn't work well, so it was kind of hot inside. Then we took a taxi to Mingalar Market and had lunch there and went to Kandawgyi Lake/Park to relax. In the park we saw a group of people shooting a film...or a TV soap opera because I recognized the actress from the soap opera I saw on the bus the night before. Funny coincidence!

From the lake we took a taxi to Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda to see the giant reclining Buddha. It was beautiful! Then we walked to Ngahtatgyi Paya and found a stunning seated Buddha. Burmese people really believe in Buddhism and donate a lot of money to build all these elaborate statues.

Our trip in Myanmar ended in Yangon. We went the entire week from Yangon to Mandalay and Bagan and back to Yangon again. It was a memorable trip for both of us and we will definitely go back to visit more sites in the North.