dogster

This single act will put you in the right space for serendipity.
The jewel on the tip of Shwedagon attracts it; sucks it in from the cosmos and funnels it into down into the golden pagoda, from there out in a flood. You have to see Burma through Buddha-tinted glasses.

What colour is that? Mmmm... dunno. I've always thought of it as a kinda honey, pinkish tone, rather like the Dalai Lama's sunglasses - but I divert.

Just sit, suck it up and all will be fine.

dogster

The hotel that gives you maximum flexibility as a soldier of serendipity in Yangon is Traders. Full stop, no discussion.

From here you can walk to a whole lotta interesting places... I'm not just talking Scott's Market, altho' thats just up the road. This part of town will help you adjust your second pair of Burmese lenses - i.e. modern Burma/Government/soldiers/daily life and other weird stuff. This will also adjust your eyes to the crumbling aesthetic of Yangon. I like it, lots. Craig thinks it's run down and crap. Your answer will fall where it may.

An afternoon can be happily spent wandering the streets of CBD Yangon. It's kinda strange. There are gems on the first floor of Scott's Market. Gems, as in secret places, not rocks.

Frankly, on one of your Yangon days, you may as well just grab a day tour on your own and refuse to go to the shopping places.

dogster

I'd knock off as much of the next few days of your travel plans in Yangon as you can. From then on the serendipity runs out incrementally. Don't assume flights will be available when you want them. Every one of the nine or ten flights I've taken in Burma were completely chock-a-block.

Nywoman

Dogster,

It all sounds good, very good actually. I forgot to tell you that I had printed out itineraries from several agencies both for Mandalay and Yangon, when I first started planning.

Have received a most depressing itinerary from Santa Maria, depressing as in Tuesday it must be Bagan. Rushing everywhere and then 7 days on a beach. I don't think so.

You mean the Burmese monks are like the Cambodian, single white woman of a certain age equals $$$$. Been there, done that.

Have booked the Apsara in Luang Prabang and things are falling into place.

Craig

You're doing it all wrong, Nyw. You need to tell the agency the itinerary you want not the other way around. Otherwise the result will always be as depressing as the itinerary you received from SM. Start with flights, hotels with # of nights at each, then fill in everything else.

dogster

I think there's another agenda going on here entirely. I think NY hears what we are saying, but some mysterious force compels her to do it another way. I just don't think she WANTS to do it the Santa Maria way.

You can lead NY to water...

There is nothing we can do but submit to her mysterious force and work with it, even rejoice. It may be a less than practical plan, even kinda eccentric - but the world is richer, as will our lives be, for the lost, crazed souls who MUST do it their own way. lol lol lol.

Forgive me, NY, I count myself as one of them, too. Hooray for us.

We should applaud NY's complete lunacy. We'll all get a great trip-report out of it. We can trust her to be penitent when required. In return we must cheer her courage.

Unfortunately, given the oddities of internet access in Burma, we mightn't be able to cheer too much, on the road. But, I assume she's quite grown up. lol. She'll cope. If she knows about the fake monks then she's been around... it'll be a triumph.

Nywoman

Craig, it is not the first time in my life that I do it all wrong somehow it has all worked out for the best.

Yes this is going to be one long adventure. Apart from LP have no fixed itinerary except a few flights in Laos.

Will have a few days in Yangon when I arrive and will then have time to sit with an agent to discuss my trip.
Right now I am like a kid in a candyshop. I want to see and do everything. Hard to decide what.