The final highlights of Myanmar

Mandalay, one of the few cities I’ve heard of prior to going Myanmar. Upon arriving there I wonder why this city was a more well-known place because it was beyond boring. The city itself was unattractive and there were very little things of interest there for a traveller. We did find a mirage of serenity in a teakwood monastery where one could easily imagine spending a few days meditating.

Just outside of Mandalay you can visit the world’s longest teak bridge; U Bein’s Bridge. It said to be a fantastic place to catch the sunset but as what now seems like a pattern, we had a terrible sunset, hardly picture worthy. On the bridge we met with monks and had some pleasant conversations with them. One monk spoke openly about his country and his concerns and hopes for it what made for interesting listening. In other conversations with locals I did hear hope in their voices, with the opening of the borders and the new influx of independent travellers they hope that they can benefit from them. They’re eager to get to know you and learn from you.

To escape the warm temperatures we headed towards higher ground. The name of the place we went to has been a constant struggle for me. It’s spelled Pyin Oo Lwin and I am still not sure how to correctly pronounce it. The town is tiny but has a nice feeling to it and as promised it was of a cooler temperature. One of the benefits of tiny towns like these, it’s easy to spot the other travellers. We made arrangements to meet later that night to sample a quite unusual beer.
Spirulina beer boasts to be an anti-aging drink, because of some minerals or something like that. So we were determined to drink us back to younger years. It was a night which I had seen far the little of in Myanmar, to meet up with a bunch of people and exchanging stories over drinks. We had a lot of fun but never really got the idea we were getting any younger so we let the beer joint close since it was already past 22:00 on a Friday night and retreated back to our hostel for more talk and Mandalay rum.

Driving around Pyin Oo Lwin was a treat and the scenery was great. We had a few stops for the day but it was the driving around what turned out to be best. There was yet another pagoda, a cave with very kitsch Buddhist stuff, waterfalls that should not be allowed to bear that name, a tacky Chinese temple and then the gardens. Pyin Oo Lwin was the summer capital under British regime and they had created these beautiful gardens which are the main drawing card for the town. As foreigners we had to pay the lofty price of $5 and therefor pay 5 times more than the locals, which is upsetting. Now for you reading this blog $5 might seem like nothing, but in this country that’s one hell of an entrance fee. Sadly enough as travellers / tourists we are being charged for more than is fair in many cases. If the proceedings go to locals it’s okay but when it goes straight to the government it always leaves a nasty taste upon paying these fees. The gardens itself were okay but nothing to write home about, even though this is exactly what I just did.

Trains are everywhere in Myanmar and they are by far the cheapest mode of transportation. Unfortunately they are state owned and damn slow and very much subject to lengthy delays. With this knowledge we had planned to take a train on a manageable distance with a great view on the ride over. We travelled to Hipsaw by train through magnificent scenery and enjoyed the experience. During the ride there was a never ending stream of vendors to make sure none of us would go hungry or thirsty. The ever trusty lonely planet told us to sit on the north side of the train for great views of a viaduct, it failed to mention that when seated on the north side you also become snowed under in leafs and other vegetation fragments that are being cut off by your open window.

Hipsaw, again pronounced nothing like the spelling would suggest, is the start of point for many treks. Feeling positive we opted for an overnight trek to a mountain tribal village where a festival was poised to take place right now. While waiting for our trek the next day we wandered about town to find Mr Shake. Stories were told about the fabulous shakes and we were curious to find out why. After reading the extensive shake options we noticed that rum or whisky could be added to any shake and then it became crystal clear why people had been going on about these shakes. Drinking more than a few shakes a day went from seeming absurd to very likely to happen.
We met up with friends from Pyin Oo Lwin and had another great night over shakes, beers and samosas. The latter I’ve become very fond of, they’re little triangle pastries filled with savoury stuff that are then fried and consumed with hot sauce and tea. Yes, tea. It’s the perfect beer snack but for some reason these delightful snacks and others are served with tea, while beer is served with soup!?

The trek began well with a brief stroll through the village and visit to a noodle factory but when we walked amongst rice fields it started to rain. The rain would not cease for the next few hours, so our trek through nice mountainous landscape might as well have been through a barren wasteland because our eyes were glued to the path we were walking on. The dirt road quickly transformed in to a muddy slip and slide which we skated uphill on. I never knew mud could stick in so many layers to my shoes, I grew many inches (get your mind out of the gutter!) but sadly also lost all traction. How we all managed to make it up without anyone wiping out is nothing short of a miracle but also a bit boring because secretly we were all hoping for one of us to eat dirt for the others entertainment.

In the village we were witness to a bi-yearly festival. It was basically a festival for the young and unmarried to find their future wives. The girls would traditional-dance round in a circle in traditional clothing while the boys would do the same in a wider circle around them in modern clothing and (some) inebriated singing / shouting compliments to the girls. It was a weird sight to say the least. To think that it can be unnerving enough to a girl you like for the first time, imagine having to do so under the watchful eyes of the entire village and surrounding villages. If the boys had found someone they were interested in they would ask to visit the girl in the next days, where he then may proceed to have a conversation with the girl in front of the parents who then might give the okay.

Day two of the trek was as miserable as the first and we were all too happy to get back in the hostel for a change of dry clothes and showers to make us look presentable again. With new shakes in our bellies we decided we’d done enough trekking here and would leave for Inle Lake the next day.

Now originally I had planned another multi day trek here but it’s amazing what two days of trekking in the rain does for your appetite in trekking. Our guide told us the weather in Inle was similar to Hipsaw so the idea of trekking was quickly banished from thought. Inle lake being a lake and all it seemed logic to go on a boat trip and see what was so special about this lake. We would see many workshops on this day, we learned about blacksmiths, silversmiths, umbrella making, lotus flower threat weaving (this was new to me too), cigarette and cigar making. Now let me stop there for a second the cigarette stop was quite funny actually they had produced cigarettes in various flavours; mint, honey, apple, cherry, strawberry, liquorish etc etc. They also made cigars which weren’t bad by a long shot. The absolute highlight of the day would be the jumping cat monastery. I had seen this on tv once where a monk would hold up a hoop and the cats would jump through it. Call me simple, but I was like a child on Christmas morning, I could not wait to see this. When entering the monastery I saw the cats and I was ready for this spectacle. I had been wondering how they would do it, was there one show, would the cats rotate to keep all the visitors entertained? It was there where my world was shattered, the monk in charge of the jumping cats had died and now they would perform no more out of respect… I was gutted, they assured us the monastery was still quite beautiful but I left instantaneous and would not look let alone take any photos of this stupid monastery.
It was still a nice day but what should’ve ended with a bang ended in proverbial tears.

Back on land we had seen a puppet show and decided to go have a look. We felt a bit uncomfortable as the show was performed for just me and my Swiss travel companion. The puppets were dressed in traditional clothes and performed traditional dances and you know what I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was made into a snappy 30 minute show split up in 8 sections, each explained in English so we knew what we were looking at. After the show we found out he was a fourth generation puppeteer and trying to keep the art alive.
After Inle all that was left was one final long overnight bus ride back to Yangon to come full circle in Myanmar. We had recently heard tales of VIP busses where there were fewer seats in a row and a stewardess would tend to your every need. Since we had a number of abysmal bus rides we decided to go out in style. We would go on one such bus and see if it would indeed be like we heard.
Sure we paid a couple bucks more than we normally would but when the bus arrived we realised it was money well spent. It is comparable to flying business class or economy, the bus was great. Only three seats in a row, very comfy seats, drinks along the way and shoulder rubs on demand, okay that last thing didn’t happen but hey you get the picture.

So now I am back in Yangon with some days to kill due to not trekking in Inle. It leaves me with time to reflect on this trip and what I have experienced here.
Myanmar is without a doubt very different from all of its South East Asian counterparts. As there is no mass tourism yet, you still get by sometimes without being looked at as a walking ATM. People are nice and gentle and willing to help you. The food, though not as exciting as for instance Thai, has some really great dishes and snacks for a very competitive price. Lodging is a bit expensive but when you travel with someone to share the costs it’s very doable and you get some really nice rooms with it. Transportation is a bitch and takes forever, but you can make it as long & arduous or short & comfortable as you’re willing to pay for. And yeah, just go ahead and forget about nightlife because that shit ain’t happening. Beers are cheap and so are store bought spirits but there’s nowhere to enjoy them or simply not the right people to enjoy them with.
I can absolutely recommend Myanmar as a travel destination that offers something new from the rest of SE Asia. And if on a tight budget I’d say that outside of ticket costs you can easily get by with less than $200 a week.

One last thing, don’t believe a word the lonely planet tells you about ATMs and money changing. There’s plenty of ATMs around the country that will accept foreign cards and you can change your money at fair rates in banks.

When I leave Myanmar I will give chase to some of my friends travelling around in neighbour countries because I am starting to miss some of your faces.