Along with Malaysia, Myanmar is definitely one of the places I've enjoyed most on my trip in Southeast Asia. I allowed two weeks for exploring and wished I'd had at least three, maybe even four. There's lots to see and do, and the distances between cities are long (and the roads not that fast). If I'd had more time, I would have explored the cities in the south near Yangon (Bago, Mawlamyine, Kyaiktiyo), ventured north of Mandalay to Pyin Oo Lwin, spent an extra day or two exploring Inle Lake, and checked out Ngapali Beach. That being said, I got the biggest sights of Myanmar checked off the list while getting a great feel for the country.
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In to the heart of Myanmar: a trek to Inle Lake
As I've touched on before, there's a certain level of masochism inherent to travel. Sometimes the payoff isn't quite worth the suffering (like a minivan driver with a death wish) but other times, even hobbling along with rocks jabbing the soles of your feet, face down against the perpetual onslaught of drizzle, the pain is worth the gain.
When I did my trek in Sapa, I was blessed with gorgeous weather. The violent thunderstorms that passed over during the night gave way to sunny skies that lit up the rice paddies and warm sun that dried the wet paths. When I read in my Lonely Planet that most people skip the trekking routes during monsoon season, I thought I'd just get to Kalaw and suss out the scene. No one at the trekking office seemed particularly concerned about any upcoming rain, and all things considered, other than being unpleasant it wasn't totally unmanageable. What made it unmanageable was my lack of preparation, namely lack of appropriate footwear.
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Woman in a market in Inle Lake, Myanmar. She does NOT accept credit cards, although maybe Venmo.
Money in Myanmar
I thought I would write a quick post about the current money situation in Myanmar as of June 2015 as before I left I found information on the Internet and in my guidebook to be confusing and often out-of-date.
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Temples in Bagan, Myanmar (Burma)
Riding Dirty
Yes, there's been a bit of a delay since my last post as my second week in Myanmar was a real blur and I'm already back in Thailand. Myanmar, first of all, was totally incredible, and I found myself really regretting I didn't allow at least three or the entire 28 days of my visa to see the country as there were places I didn't get to in my mere two weeks time. But, I guess that's what happens when you travel; inevitably you're going to get things wrong.
Getting to Bagan was an easy trip; my minivan left on time and made the five hour journey quickly from Mandalay to Bagan, all of it on the main roads which were no more than a thin black ribbon undulating up and down across the gentle hills we followed to get there. It turned out the other three foreigners were all heading to the same hostel, so it made life easy for the truck driver at the end (Myanmar, like Thailand, also loves its songtheauws, although maybe they go by another name there).
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