3 weeks in Myanmar-What an adventure!
Feb 15th, 2012, 11:52 AM
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Kathie-You did not miss a lot by not going to Mingun, IMO. It was not one of the highlights of our trip, although it was an interesting time filler, unlike Pindaya Cave which I thought was a total waste of time and money.
Feb 15th, 2012, 03:09 PM
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We went to Kos Kitchen as well and would not recommend it. We did a trishaw and a motorcycle in Mandalay city both of which were a lot of fun, but wouldnt want to spend more than a few hours on a tri shaw.
Although I loved Inwa, I think you were wise not to go if your husband has a bad back as it was very bumpy. We would get off an walk for part of it.
And the feeding of the monks, I got some great pictures in the very short time that we were there, but as you said the tourists were overwhelming and very pushy and rude so you didnt miss much there either.
Enjoying your report. I too took hundreds of pictures of the sunset at U Bein and then had to choose just four from that. The beauty of digital cameras!
Although I loved Inwa, I think you were wise not to go if your husband has a bad back as it was very bumpy. We would get off an walk for part of it.
And the feeding of the monks, I got some great pictures in the very short time that we were there, but as you said the tourists were overwhelming and very pushy and rude so you didnt miss much there either.
Enjoying your report. I too took hundreds of pictures of the sunset at U Bein and then had to choose just four from that. The beauty of digital cameras!
Feb 16th, 2012, 03:27 AM
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I just finished viewing and deleting some of my photos. I've kept 900 out of 2700, After storing photos of several trips on my computer, I am running out of storage space on my computer. It may be time for am external hard drive.
Feb 16th, 2012, 06:05 AM
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We left the hotel, after another very good buffet breakfast, for a 10 minute ride to the jetty to meet our private boat to take us to Mingun. The taxi transfers, as well as the private boat, were arranged by Santa Maria at a cost of $60. In retrospect, we could have done this for a lot less by taking the public boat from the jetty which leaves every morning at 9am. Tickets for that boat are approximately $5 per person.
The boat ride to Mingun took about an hour and was not very interesting, although it was relaxing. The boat had to navigate down the middle of the river, far from the riverbanks, because of the low water level, so it was difficult to see the activities on the riverbanks. If we had had binoculars with us, it might have been more interesting.
When the boat docked in Mingun, we had to walk about 15 feet over a wooden plank to get from the boat to the shore. There were no handrails and I was happy not to have wound up in the river.
First stop was the huge base of the Mingun Paya which if it had been finished would have been the tallest paya in Myanmar. Work on it was stopped after an earthquake in the 1800s, so all that is there is a very tall base. We walked up many, almost vertical steps on one side of the paya to the top. The steps were not in good condition and we had to jump over many crevices to reach the top, but the fabulous view from the top was worth it.
As we were leaving the paya, a young man came over to us and asked if we wanted to hire him as a guide. His English was good. He said he was a student and needed the money, so we agreed on a price and took a chance that he would add to our visit. This turned out to be a good decision as he efficiently took us to and through the major sites, many times using back entrances to avoid the crowds at the front entrances, all the while giving us information about the sites as well as telling us about his family. We spent a total of two hours at Mingun, and paid him more than the agreed upon amount at the end of the tour.
IMO, there are no memorable sites in Mingun, except for the huge base of the paya and a very large cast iron bell. Nevertheless, it was an interesting way to spend a half day, and I know if I had not gone I would have wondered if I was missing something.
We returned to the hotel at 1:30, sat by the pool for a couple of hours, and at 4:30 took a taxi to the Shwe In Bein teak monastery built in 1895. This monastery is located in the "monk's district" which is an interesting area to spend some time in. The dirt streets have very little traffic, and while taking our short stroll we viewed the varied shops and activities of the district, not having to dodge traffic or watch for pothholes. We returned to the hotel at about 6PM and ate dinner at the hotel restaurant which was good and reasonably priced.
The following day we had a our 4:30 PM flight to Bagan, so we had several hours to spend before leaving for the airport. We walked about 10 minutes to a very large, busy open air produce market (Did I say I love viewing produce markets?) and spent about 2 hours just wandering, viewing the various avtivities, and taking photos. We returned to the hotel, sat by the pool for a while and left the hotel at 2PM for our one hour ride to the airport. The transfer was arranged by SM.
My view of Mandalay is that it was interesting. If time is not an issue I would include it in an itinerary,but if it would take time away from Bagan or Inle Lake, then I would skip it. If time is an issue, the highlights of Mandalay and the ancient cities can been seen in 2 days. We had 3 days there because of flight schedules and our desire to have some time relaxing and recovering from jet lag.
The boat ride to Mingun took about an hour and was not very interesting, although it was relaxing. The boat had to navigate down the middle of the river, far from the riverbanks, because of the low water level, so it was difficult to see the activities on the riverbanks. If we had had binoculars with us, it might have been more interesting.
When the boat docked in Mingun, we had to walk about 15 feet over a wooden plank to get from the boat to the shore. There were no handrails and I was happy not to have wound up in the river.
First stop was the huge base of the Mingun Paya which if it had been finished would have been the tallest paya in Myanmar. Work on it was stopped after an earthquake in the 1800s, so all that is there is a very tall base. We walked up many, almost vertical steps on one side of the paya to the top. The steps were not in good condition and we had to jump over many crevices to reach the top, but the fabulous view from the top was worth it.
As we were leaving the paya, a young man came over to us and asked if we wanted to hire him as a guide. His English was good. He said he was a student and needed the money, so we agreed on a price and took a chance that he would add to our visit. This turned out to be a good decision as he efficiently took us to and through the major sites, many times using back entrances to avoid the crowds at the front entrances, all the while giving us information about the sites as well as telling us about his family. We spent a total of two hours at Mingun, and paid him more than the agreed upon amount at the end of the tour.
IMO, there are no memorable sites in Mingun, except for the huge base of the paya and a very large cast iron bell. Nevertheless, it was an interesting way to spend a half day, and I know if I had not gone I would have wondered if I was missing something.
We returned to the hotel at 1:30, sat by the pool for a couple of hours, and at 4:30 took a taxi to the Shwe In Bein teak monastery built in 1895. This monastery is located in the "monk's district" which is an interesting area to spend some time in. The dirt streets have very little traffic, and while taking our short stroll we viewed the varied shops and activities of the district, not having to dodge traffic or watch for pothholes. We returned to the hotel at about 6PM and ate dinner at the hotel restaurant which was good and reasonably priced.
The following day we had a our 4:30 PM flight to Bagan, so we had several hours to spend before leaving for the airport. We walked about 10 minutes to a very large, busy open air produce market (Did I say I love viewing produce markets?) and spent about 2 hours just wandering, viewing the various avtivities, and taking photos. We returned to the hotel, sat by the pool for a while and left the hotel at 2PM for our one hour ride to the airport. The transfer was arranged by SM.
My view of Mandalay is that it was interesting. If time is not an issue I would include it in an itinerary,but if it would take time away from Bagan or Inle Lake, then I would skip it. If time is an issue, the highlights of Mandalay and the ancient cities can been seen in 2 days. We had 3 days there because of flight schedules and our desire to have some time relaxing and recovering from jet lag.
Feb 17th, 2012, 11:41 AM
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Hi Live-Glad to see your still reading.
We arrived in Bagan at 5:30PM and took a 10 minute taxi ride to our hotel. There were numerous taxis waiting at the at the airport and it cost 6000 kyats to our hotel, the Hotel at Tharbar Gate.
Our deluxe room was very large, had minimalist (ie plain) decor, and was in a relatively quiet part of the large lushly, landscaped grounds. I say it was relatively quiet because our 4 night stay coincided with the Ananda Festival, at the Ananda Temple, which was in very close proximity to our hotel. At another time the close proximity to Ananda Temple would have been a plus, but in this instance it was not, as the loudspeaker from the festival seemed to be aimed directly at our hotel. Music and priests chanting was the order of the day and night. It was so noisy on our check in that there was a sign at the front desk saying that if any guests were disturbed by the noise they could get earplugs from the desk clerk. So much for the peace and quiet we had hoped for. Fortunately our room was about as far away from the noise as possible, so it was quiet in our room and we did not need earplugs to sleep. The breakfast area overlooking the pool was noisy, however, and I was happy to be away from the hotel grounds for most of the day.
The first evening we walked about 5 minutes from the hotel, with a flashlight, to have dinner at the Be Kind to Animals vegetarian restaurant, opposite the Moon Restaurant. The food was very good, especially the pumpkin soup and the special eggplant dish. It is a family run restaurant which prides itself on making everything to order. The family that runs it was very nice, and we enjoyed speaking to them, especially the daughter who left her job in the new capital to return to Bagan to help her family run the restaurant.
For the next 2.5 days we had Min Thu as our horsecart driver/ guide. I previously wrote to him telling him that we wanted to visit not only temples, but also some villages and some home workshops. We let him decide on where to go each day.
On most days we toured from 8am to 12:30 and from 3:30 to 6:30. We left the hotel earlier on one day in order to see the sunrise which was not as spectacular as the 2 sunsets we viewed.
Min Thu did an outstanding job of giving us a good understanding of the temples, the economy, and the society/culture of Bagan. He took us to his village so we could see the market there and told us about his extended family which all live together under the same roof. We feel very fortunate to have had 2.5 days with him.
We had originally booked him for 3 full days, but on the second day he told us that he could only be available to us the third day for half a day because he had the opportunity to be the guide for a 10 person tour group which he had to meet at the airport at 4PM. He offered to get us another horsecart driver to take us to the jetty for a sunset cruise on our third afternoon, but we declined, preferring instead to spend the afternoon visiting the Ananda Temple on our own and relaxing at the hotel swimming pool.
Speaking of the hotel pool, although it was large and looked clean, I was disappointed not to be able to use it because the water was very cold. There were many people sitting around the pool, but only one or two ventured in, and they did not look too comfortable once they got in. Note to Tharbar Gate Hotel-The pool water needs to be heated during the cooler winter months.
We returned to the same vegetarian restaurant a second night. We ate at the Moon Bean Restaurant the third night. Although it would like to be thought of as an upscale restaurant alternative in Bagan, IMO it was not. We ordered a fish dish and a chicken dish. The fish was the better of the two, though nothing special. The service was amaturish and lacking, and the prices were high for what we got. The highlight of our dinner was dessert, 2 small chocolate lava cakes. They were not the best we've had, but werepretty good. Maybe we were there on an off night because the hotel guests who recommended it to us thought the restaurant was fabulous.
On the last night we ate at the Sarabar II Restaurant which is next door to the hotel. The Chinese food and service were very good, and the 30 minute marionette show after dinner was entertaining.
Our flight to Heho the next day was scheduled for 10am. We paid Santa Maria for a taxi transfer to the airport because I felt that if there were a last minute change or cancellation, the SM driver would know about it and be responsible for getting us to the airport at the right time..
We had the hotel confirm our flight in the afternoon, and Bagan Air confirmed the flight time as 10am. When we returned to the hotel after dinner we were given 2 conflicting messages about what time we were to be picked up by our driver. The first message which came in at 6PM said that we would be picked up at 8 AM for our 10am flight. The second message which came in at 8PM said that our flight was changed and we would be picked up at 6:30AM for an 8am flight.
I was really confused and annoyed as both messages came between 6PM and 8PM, well after the airport office had closed. After many phone calls to Zaw, Santa Maria, and the Santa Maria field agent in Bagan, we were told that the phone call that our flight was changed was a mistake by a Santa Maria employee, and that we would not have to leave the hotel at 6:30 after all. I can only imagine how furious I would have been if I had not followed up on the second message and had awakened hours before necessary, missed breakfast and then had to sit in the airport for 3 hours waiting for our 10am flight.
Tomorrow we fly to Heho.
We arrived in Bagan at 5:30PM and took a 10 minute taxi ride to our hotel. There were numerous taxis waiting at the at the airport and it cost 6000 kyats to our hotel, the Hotel at Tharbar Gate.
Our deluxe room was very large, had minimalist (ie plain) decor, and was in a relatively quiet part of the large lushly, landscaped grounds. I say it was relatively quiet because our 4 night stay coincided with the Ananda Festival, at the Ananda Temple, which was in very close proximity to our hotel. At another time the close proximity to Ananda Temple would have been a plus, but in this instance it was not, as the loudspeaker from the festival seemed to be aimed directly at our hotel. Music and priests chanting was the order of the day and night. It was so noisy on our check in that there was a sign at the front desk saying that if any guests were disturbed by the noise they could get earplugs from the desk clerk. So much for the peace and quiet we had hoped for. Fortunately our room was about as far away from the noise as possible, so it was quiet in our room and we did not need earplugs to sleep. The breakfast area overlooking the pool was noisy, however, and I was happy to be away from the hotel grounds for most of the day.
The first evening we walked about 5 minutes from the hotel, with a flashlight, to have dinner at the Be Kind to Animals vegetarian restaurant, opposite the Moon Restaurant. The food was very good, especially the pumpkin soup and the special eggplant dish. It is a family run restaurant which prides itself on making everything to order. The family that runs it was very nice, and we enjoyed speaking to them, especially the daughter who left her job in the new capital to return to Bagan to help her family run the restaurant.
For the next 2.5 days we had Min Thu as our horsecart driver/ guide. I previously wrote to him telling him that we wanted to visit not only temples, but also some villages and some home workshops. We let him decide on where to go each day.
On most days we toured from 8am to 12:30 and from 3:30 to 6:30. We left the hotel earlier on one day in order to see the sunrise which was not as spectacular as the 2 sunsets we viewed.
Min Thu did an outstanding job of giving us a good understanding of the temples, the economy, and the society/culture of Bagan. He took us to his village so we could see the market there and told us about his extended family which all live together under the same roof. We feel very fortunate to have had 2.5 days with him.
We had originally booked him for 3 full days, but on the second day he told us that he could only be available to us the third day for half a day because he had the opportunity to be the guide for a 10 person tour group which he had to meet at the airport at 4PM. He offered to get us another horsecart driver to take us to the jetty for a sunset cruise on our third afternoon, but we declined, preferring instead to spend the afternoon visiting the Ananda Temple on our own and relaxing at the hotel swimming pool.
Speaking of the hotel pool, although it was large and looked clean, I was disappointed not to be able to use it because the water was very cold. There were many people sitting around the pool, but only one or two ventured in, and they did not look too comfortable once they got in. Note to Tharbar Gate Hotel-The pool water needs to be heated during the cooler winter months.
We returned to the same vegetarian restaurant a second night. We ate at the Moon Bean Restaurant the third night. Although it would like to be thought of as an upscale restaurant alternative in Bagan, IMO it was not. We ordered a fish dish and a chicken dish. The fish was the better of the two, though nothing special. The service was amaturish and lacking, and the prices were high for what we got. The highlight of our dinner was dessert, 2 small chocolate lava cakes. They were not the best we've had, but werepretty good. Maybe we were there on an off night because the hotel guests who recommended it to us thought the restaurant was fabulous.
On the last night we ate at the Sarabar II Restaurant which is next door to the hotel. The Chinese food and service were very good, and the 30 minute marionette show after dinner was entertaining.
Our flight to Heho the next day was scheduled for 10am. We paid Santa Maria for a taxi transfer to the airport because I felt that if there were a last minute change or cancellation, the SM driver would know about it and be responsible for getting us to the airport at the right time..
We had the hotel confirm our flight in the afternoon, and Bagan Air confirmed the flight time as 10am. When we returned to the hotel after dinner we were given 2 conflicting messages about what time we were to be picked up by our driver. The first message which came in at 6PM said that we would be picked up at 8 AM for our 10am flight. The second message which came in at 8PM said that our flight was changed and we would be picked up at 6:30AM for an 8am flight.
I was really confused and annoyed as both messages came between 6PM and 8PM, well after the airport office had closed. After many phone calls to Zaw, Santa Maria, and the Santa Maria field agent in Bagan, we were told that the phone call that our flight was changed was a mistake by a Santa Maria employee, and that we would not have to leave the hotel at 6:30 after all. I can only imagine how furious I would have been if I had not followed up on the second message and had awakened hours before necessary, missed breakfast and then had to sit in the airport for 3 hours waiting for our 10am flight.
Tomorrow we fly to Heho.
Feb 17th, 2012, 12:01 PM
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Yes still reading Shelly and still enjoying your report especially since we were there the same time. We went to your hotel one day for a coffee and sat by the pool and saw that there was no one in it. I loved the large wooden beams in the entrance way, they were stunning.
We had tea at the same restarant across from Moon and found them very nice as well. Later we came back to have dinner at Moon and as we were leaving saw the owner and felt so bad that we didnt have dinner at his place, almost like we were cheating on him....
I look forward to your reflections on Inle.
I think that not many people are reading either of our reports because not that many people go there (which is why we loved it) and all those that did (like you and I) have done their planning.
I bet you that next fall or late summer will see comments when people are thinking of traveling there again. Great report however and I am sure the others are all enjoying. Lots more read than leave comments too. It is too bad that they dont have counters on these, like my blog does, of how many people read them and not just leave messages.
Debbe
We had tea at the same restarant across from Moon and found them very nice as well. Later we came back to have dinner at Moon and as we were leaving saw the owner and felt so bad that we didnt have dinner at his place, almost like we were cheating on him....
I look forward to your reflections on Inle.
I think that not many people are reading either of our reports because not that many people go there (which is why we loved it) and all those that did (like you and I) have done their planning.
I bet you that next fall or late summer will see comments when people are thinking of traveling there again. Great report however and I am sure the others are all enjoying. Lots more read than leave comments too. It is too bad that they dont have counters on these, like my blog does, of how many people read them and not just leave messages.
Debbe
Feb 18th, 2012, 07:29 AM
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Shelley, as you know we organized our second trip itinerary with Mandalay first for exactly the reasons you did, and I felt it worked very well. Every flight we took had the times changed by the airline several times between the time we booked and the time we flew. The error by Santa Maria on the call about the flight change - eek. Good thing you followed up.
Comments on how you felt about Bagan? Were you wowed or not?
dgunbug, the US has reinstated full diplomatic relations with Burma, as the result of Hillary's visit. An ambassador has not yet been appointed, but will be in the near future.
Comments on how you felt about Bagan? Were you wowed or not?
dgunbug, the US has reinstated full diplomatic relations with Burma, as the result of Hillary's visit. An ambassador has not yet been appointed, but will be in the near future.
Feb 18th, 2012, 09:50 AM
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Live and dgunbug-Glad you're continuing to read my report. At this point I think I am writing as much for me to relive part of the trip as I am for other people to read the TR, and that's ok.
Dgunbug- If I were you, I'd visit Myanmar sooner rather than later. There are changes taking place so quickly that I think the country will look quite different five years from now. I've spoken to other travelers, mostly French and German, who have been coming to Myanmar since the late 1970's. They said that they have noticed striking changes just since 2009.
I've tried to include some of the detailed information I wished I had prior to my trip. The information I gleened from Kathie's and others TRs made planning my trip so much easier. When planning a first time trip to Myanmar, I think it helps to know whether or not taxis are readily available at certain airports and jetties, as well as how far certain restaurants are from hotels.
Kathie-We were blown away by Bagan. Reading about it, and even seeing photos of the numerous temples, in no way compares to being there. The sunsets in Bagan, as well as in Inle Lake and Mrauk U, were the most beautiful I have seen anywhere. I asked Min Thu if they were this gorgeous all year round and he said they were this vibrant only for a few months of the year, mostly during December, January and February.
Dgunbug- If I were you, I'd visit Myanmar sooner rather than later. There are changes taking place so quickly that I think the country will look quite different five years from now. I've spoken to other travelers, mostly French and German, who have been coming to Myanmar since the late 1970's. They said that they have noticed striking changes just since 2009.
I've tried to include some of the detailed information I wished I had prior to my trip. The information I gleened from Kathie's and others TRs made planning my trip so much easier. When planning a first time trip to Myanmar, I think it helps to know whether or not taxis are readily available at certain airports and jetties, as well as how far certain restaurants are from hotels.
Kathie-We were blown away by Bagan. Reading about it, and even seeing photos of the numerous temples, in no way compares to being there. The sunsets in Bagan, as well as in Inle Lake and Mrauk U, were the most beautiful I have seen anywhere. I asked Min Thu if they were this gorgeous all year round and he said they were this vibrant only for a few months of the year, mostly during December, January and February.
Feb 18th, 2012, 11:18 AM
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I'm glad to hear that Bagan was such a wonderful experience for you. For me, Bagan is so tied to my childhood dream, that I have no perspective on what it is like for others.
Loving your report, Shelley!
Loving your report, Shelley!
Feb 18th, 2012, 11:41 AM
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Thanks, Kathie. The one thing I was not happy about in Bagan, Kakku, and Mrauk U is the way some of the payas and stupas are being restored. In the past, the restoration work of the stupas and payas was done under the auspices of UNESCO. From about 1983 to 1996, UNESCO supervised the restorations. However, in 1996, the government threw UNESCO out of the country and the government is now restoring historically important sites on their own, making some old payas look as if they were constructed yesterday. (It reminds me somewhat of what China did in Beijing, tearing down the old hutongs to build new apartment buildings.) Obviously, this not a good thing, although the government and the foreign donors who are financing a lot of the restoration work as a way of making merit, think it is. The place that was least restored and looked the most authentic to me was Indein on Inle Lake. But I'll bet in another five years that too will be spoiled by amateurish restoration. One of the reasons I think people should travel to Myanmar sooner rather than later is to see the sites before they are over restored.
Feb 18th, 2012, 12:59 PM
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The other thing that I noticed, especially at places like Indien and San Kar is that the ruins are not being touched and crumbling under the trees and weeds. I figure in a few years they will be reduced to rubble if nothing at all is done. Another reason to go soon.
Feb 18th, 2012, 01:13 PM
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I agree with you about the rebuilding rather than restoration. In Bagan, the building of old temples "like new" is done by the government. At Kakku, the new stupas built on old bases were done by donors, many from Europe or the US, many from Korea and Singapore. At Indien, the stupas that have been rebuilt have also been financed by foreigners. There are unrestored stupas as well at Indien and at Sankar. I'd support stabilization of the ruins, but I hate seeing the new stupas built on the old bases. My worry, like yours, Shelley, would be getting to Burma before all the wonderful old temples and stupas are rebuilt to look like new rather than worry that things will be reduced to rubble. You both may remember Takhaung Mwetaw Pagoda, on the southern part of the lake, where the Pa-O have made sure the old stupas are being restored rather than building new stupas on old bases. Remaining elements are reproduced, and even the old brick is incorporated into the restoration.
Perhaps the new openness of the country will all UNESCO to return and help with restoration.
Perhaps the new openness of the country will all UNESCO to return and help with restoration.
