Very interesting read Kathie and great info for my visit to Mrauk U. I've booked my boat transfers to and from Sittwe through Santa Maria....I won't eat any bananas!!! I'll plan to bring food with me from Yangon.

Stephen

Thanks for the information on Mrauk U. I've read on some hotel reviews (not the Princess) that travelers arrived at the hotel at 7:30 by private boat. So I wonder if LP is correct about the boats not running in the dark.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your report and to seeing Cheryl's photos.

Shelly, apparently, some boats will run in the dark (like the Princess boats) some will not (like the boat our friend, Tom, rented through a travel agent - not Santa Maria). This might be worth checking on just for your own information for if/when your flight times get changed.

Also, I should mention that Tom and his friend were fed a hot rice and vegetable dish on the way back to Sittwe and ate it with no ill effects.

Cheryl's photos are now posted:

www.marlandc.com/Burma2011/index.html

There was actually some semblance of security at the Sittwe airport. They made us open our suitcases and they felt inside. I wondered about this, but realized that they had no x-ray machine for the luggage, so this was their low-tech substitute. Our flight was on time, and we were soon back in Yangon. This time, we were back at our favorite hotel, the Strand.

The Strand was booked full. I even saw a tour bus outside the hotel, and a small (6 person) group tour in the lobby. We were glad to get to our favorite suite. When we stayed two years ago we had a lovely corner suite that had beautiful light – so I asked Santa Maria to see if they could get it for us and they did. We were relieved to be “back to civilization” so ordered room service for dinner.

On our agenda for the next day was a stop at Scott’s Market. I was especially interested in seeing what kinds of textiles I could find. Dogster had recommended a shop to me on the second floor – here is the contact info: the shop is called Yoyamay Ethnographic Textile Gallery. They have a wonderful collection of textiles – lots of Chin, but also Naga, Kachin and Karen. I bought several pieces for both my textile artist friend and myself. I thought the prices were very reasonable. The proprietors are fascinating, and we talked for quite a while about Chin textiles, since we had just come from Mrauk U.

I have to say, that while wandering the market was interesting, I didn’t see anything else compelling to buy. We were actually on the look out for a set of carved wooden monks, but the ones we saw there were all mass-produced, and we were looking for something more special. We had our eyes on two sets at the Strand, though neither was exactly what we were looking for.

Being in Yangon where there are so many food choices, we decided to have some special lunches. Bob recommends L’Opera, an Italian place near the lake. So we made reservations and took a taxi. I was glad that the doorman at the Strand could tell the taxi driver how to find it because it really was hard to find. The food was fairly simple Italian food, but tasted great after two weeks of Burmese food. The menu was priced in Kyat, but they took dollars at a good exchange rate.

The next morning, we did the Strand walking tour of British Colonial buildings in downtown Yangon. We wanted to do this last time we were in Yangon, but the heat wave then (10 degrees F hotter than usual) prevented us from doing it. The Strand offers a map and written commentary on the walk. We left the hotel at 6 am (we actually awakened the doorman to let us out), and returned about 7:30. They say the walk is an hour, and if you were only walking and not stopping constantly to take photos that’s how long it would take. By 7:30 it felt pretty hot out, so we were glad we started at 6:00. It’s sad to see so many buildings that appear to be structurally sound but are derelict from lack of use.

The walk is rather hazardous – with the broken pavement and sections of open gutters – you have to watch every step. I was surprised by how many people saw us looking at the map and offered to help. A couple of the old buildings identified on the map had fallen to demolition. And the US Embassy has moved from the location on the map to a location in the area of the University, according to an Indian caretaker of the building. We saw a half-block section of newly poured sidewalk on our stroll – the only such area I’ve seen in Burma. We gleefully walked the length of the new sidewalk.

We enjoyed walking through the Maha Bandoola Garden where locals were engaged in morning exercises. We saw some familiar Qi Gong and Tai Chi sequences and there were several clusters of people doing dance routines to hip-hop or rock.

This walk was a fun way to start the day.

So for the day’s special lunch, we went with a recommendation from Hanuman, La Planteur. It’s a lovely French restaurant in an old mansion (also hard to find). Dinners are expensive, but they offer a three-course business lunch for $25. The three courses were supplemented by a sampler of three appetizers as we looked at the menu and an amuse bouche before our first course. Also, there were gorgeous Swiss chocolates after dessert. We splurged on a lovely Alsace dry Reisling. For more details and some yummy photos see our blog: http://www.travelindependently.com/a...unch-in-yangon

That evening we met Tom and his friend in the Strand bar. We had a nice chat, then they went off to see if they could find Hillary. They had heard she was at the park Royal. Later, I got a report from Tom that they arrived at the Park Royal to find it all beautifully decorated, but no security. The next rumor was that she was at the Chatrium. When they got there, they saw lots of beefy-looking guys in dark suits – obviously, they were in the right place. They sat down for a drink and soon were rewarded by seeing Hillary returning to the hotel. He got two photos and a wave from Hillary so felt they had accomplished their mission.

Last time we were in Yangon we had a wonderful lunch at the Governor’s Residence, so decided to try to repeat that experience. The Governor’s Residence is a lovely, green oasis. It is so pleasant to eat on the verandah overlooking the beautiful gardens. The lunch was nice, though the food wasn’t as good as two years ago.

We wandered the hotel a bit and looked in their gift shop. No, they didn’t have any of the monks we were looking for. As we readied to leave, I saw a display that included a set of the monks, larger than what we had been looking at, 15 to 18 inches tall. The carving was very nice and we immediately knew they were the ones for us. So it was a perfect ending to our last lunch in Yangon.

The next day we flew back to Bangkok. We had a wonderful two weeks in Burma!

Kathie I've have been eager to read about your experiences on your second trip. As always, a wonderful report reflecting your stellar trip. Amazing how much has happened in the year since we were there. I wish I could have seen the expression on Min Thu's face when you gave him the computer. He wrote me a very sweet email thanking us for our contribution to his computer. No one deserves this gift more. When I have another few spare moments (Fred had surgery recently) I'll treat myself to Cheryl's photographs.

Hi Robbie, I'm glad you enjoyed my report. My best wishes to Fred for a smooth and speedy recovery!

Just saw your photos! I looked at every single one! Such memories and such an adventure to still explore. Surprisingly, I especially liked the Yangon gallery. BTW, one thing I have enjoyed doing with my Myanmar photos (in case Cheryl is interested) is make photo cards and use them for birthdays, thank-you's, etc.) and also made a Blurb book which turned out great. What a journey you guys had. Also have loved reading the narrative, Kathie!

Kudos to Cheryl for her photos. Thanks for the link. I looked at them all. Great to see photos of Min Thu and you Kathie! I guess I'll meet him in person now before I have the pleasure of meeting you and Cheryl....even tho' you're just down the road a couple of hundred kms.

The photos are a great complement to your narrative and really underscore your suggestions previously given, particularly to spend a full day in Sagaing. The photos of Mrauk U absolutely make it seem to be worth the challenging journey (but I do really love temples). The pictures which surprised me the most were those of Yangon...esp those from your "Colonial Walk"...I was not expecting so much wonderful faded beauty.

Needless to say that reading your reports and Cheryl's pix have raised my excitement. I leave for Asia very early Chritmas morning and will arrive in Myanmar Jan 5th after three days in Hong Kong and 8 days in Penang.

Thanks for your generosity in sharing your travels and experience. My trip to Myanmar will be so much better because of your gracious input. Continued good travels.

Stephen

Cheryls pictures are stuning, especially Bagan!
Thanks for for posting
Debbe

Hey Kathie - your e-mail has been hacked again. Looks like some Canadian pharmacy - at least it wasn't porn. lol.

Nice pictures Kathie and please complement Cheryl for me.

Thanks to all of you, I will pass your compliments on to Cheryl.

The topic of my email being hacked is appropriate for this report because it got hacked in Burma. Remember that when you can get online, almost all of the connections are unsecured.

All of you headed to Burma have a wonderful time. It is an amazing place.

I do the the Seattle/Vancouver/Vancouver Island contingent should plan a get together, maybe once everyone is back.

I'll be back with some reflection on the trip later. And I'm always glad to answer questions.

I am all for the get together. I will post from Thailand most likely, as we will spend the last week there.

Kathy,
The report is great, you write so well. It has made me very nostalgic and I want to go back. May be next year when I have recovered from my knee replacement and can walk again.

As far as I know Ava is a set trip, no deviations. The guides do not come with you, and of all the things I saw and did, probably this place was the least interesting.

Hi Kathie-I heard from Zaw this morning that my early morning Air KBZ flight to Sittwe was cancelled and I am now on the Air Mandalay flight departing at 11:15 and arriving at 12:40. Was this the flight you were on? You said that they moved the time back on this flight. What time did your flight actually leave Yangon and arrive in Sittwe? How long did it take to get from the airport to the boat? I asked Zaw about boats not running in the dark and he said that the authorities don't let boats leave after 4PM He felt that I should not have a problem getting to the pier by 4PM. I hope he is right. Did you feel that you missed a lot of scenery by arriving in the dark? They say the boat ride is half the fun of going to Mrauk U? Was it light enough to see the scenery when you left MU at 6am. I have a 4:45 flight back to Yangon on Air KBZ as I wanted to try to leave MU around 8am. I hope that flight is not cancelled.

Hi Shelly, I had to wait until I got home from work to check all of the flight info. We were originally scheduled on the Air Mandalay flight you are booked on. But, when we got to Yangon, the time for that flight had changed, leaving Yangon at 13:00 and arriving Sittwe at 14:25. The flight actually took off late, but we were still on the boat by 3pm.

The boat ride is interesting, no doubt... and that's a good thing since you'll spend a total of about 10 hours on the boat. Is it half the fun of going to Mrauk U? Not in my book. The temples are amazing, and seeing life in Mrauk U was like time travel. It was still rather dark when we left Mrauk U at 6 am, but it got light quickly. And we had three hours of light going the other way, so we saw plenty of the river life.

You'll need to reconfirm all of your domestic flights the day before, so you'll know abuot any time changes. Also, Santa Maria stays on top of things. If there is was big change in flight time, or if the flight got cancelled, they'd call you.

Did you rent a phone at the airport for use in Myanmar, or did Santa Maria call you through your hotel? I was just wondering how they get in touch with you since internet is so unreliable in Myanmar.

No, we did not rent a phone. If Santa Maria needs to contact you they know where you are. They may call you directly at your hotel or leave a message with the hotel staff. You can also call them, if necessary. The hotel staff will be glad to place a call for you. Oh, and the hotel staff will call and reconfirm your flights for you as well.

Thanks so much for the information, Kathie.