Sorry everyone I know it has been a long time between parts of my report..just getting the last bits checked and organised..still getting my tenses mixed up..
I have also been putting photos and other things up on the net .. if any of you are interested its on
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/baf50/62f/

Report continued ..Inle Lake
We are up at 6.40 to leave by 7.30am to catch the 9.10m flight to Heho (Inle Lake).Taxi to airport US$7.00. Bagan airport is an ornate building with the roof painted yellow and adorned with dragons- very “kitsch ornate temple” look - but impressive in its context. There is a gift shop in the main entrance and a number of other small shops – I guess a testament to the fact that more tourists go through this airport than some of the others. There is a bus load of Japanese tourists bound for Mandalay waiting as well. The plane trip is via Mandalay so we settle down to enjoy the 90 minutes flight – half and hour to Mandalay and then an hour to Heho. Most people get off at Mandalay and we spread out on the near empty plane for the final leg.

Heavy “fish tail” landing at Heho. Heho airport is small with no frills - and it is a long way from Inle Lake. We have a man waiting for us organised through our hotel to take the long journey to Lake View Resort. It costs US$32 (could have been cheaper if we had been prepared to take the chance on a taxi being available when we landed) and I am eagerly anticipating this journey as I am expecting that part of the way we will go by boat and I have in my mind a vision of a Shangri La at the end. We travel for an hour all the way by car but once more there is a lot to see – hairpin bends, interesting countryside, bullocks by the roadside, people by streams washing their children, makeshift trucks so make sure you have your camera out and be prepared to ask your driver to stop if you see a photo opportunity-guaranteed you won’t see the same thing again.

The hotel, the Lake View Resort is the most expensive one we are staying in for the whole trip. It costs US$133 a night so it better be good!! The grounds and gardens are extensive and the entry lobby is separate from the rooms and is open air. The hotel has a shop, massage area, bar but no pool. Bruno the manager comes out and greets us. We ask him to tell us the best places to visit as we have limited time in Inle. He gives us a simple “mud map” of Inle Lake that has a number of landmarks on it. He makes a couple of suggestions. Our room is quite large and there is a view of the river which is some distance away. The bathroom is a very large room and there is plenty of space for the three of us to leave our toiletries etc. There is a fridge but no air-conditioning. The television does not appear to have any programs in English – apart from the Burmese channels, only a German and French channel. Bit odd! No CNN or BBC or internet – we have lost contact with the outside world!!! We have arrived around lunch time and so decide to have lunch in the restaurant in the hotel. This is when we discover two things: there are not too many people staying in the hotel (we are the only ones eating lunch) and secondly, the prices Bruno is charging for his meals are exorbitant. We order some fruit, two salads and three teas – price US$20!

After a quick shower and discussion on what we will see for the next two days we head down to the boat docking area- there is a long enchanting wooden plank way through the grounds, swamp area down to the river. We are in luck as two people have just been dropped off. We show the boatman, Aung, where we want to go and negotiate a fee for the afternoon - US$6.

As soon as we set off it becomes obvious that Inle Lake is a photographer’s delight. There is something special about being in a boat at the same level as the fishermen with their unusual fishing nets, paddling with their feet, on a large picturesque, flat lake with houses on stilts alongside floating gardens. It all conjures images of a lost paradise. Aung takes us first to the floating gardens. This is where the people have built up gardens from floating plants topped with weed and mud extracted from the lake which is then anchored and held together by bamboo stakes. Tomatoes are the main crop. Along the way we see the classic fisherman with his cone hat, fishing net and he poses for us. We give him 2,000 kyats.

We then go to Nge Hpe Chaung Monastery. This is the monastery which is famous for its jumping cats. I don’t like animals being exploited but the performance does not seem to be hurting them too much. Basically, it is up to the cat whether it jumps or not but it does get a little titbit as a reward if it does. The monastery itself is built on flat land in the middle of the lake. There are a number of ornate chapels housing Buddhas.
Behind the monastery are some small stalls selling the usual trinkets, souvenirs etc. It is quite obvious that they have not had too many customers recently. I buy a “traditional” bead necklace for my girlfriend who makes her own necklaces and will use the “stone” beads.

Aung then takes us to a small shop that specialises in making silver fish and other types of jewellery (Mya Hin Tha). I remember these back in the late 70s when they were very popular. Not so much these days however. My brother and I bargain with them and buy two for US$15.My step daughter will like one as she collects fish ornaments and it will join the “ugly lacquer ware” fish I bought for her in Bagan. What is more interesting for us however, is the village that is behind the shop and so we go exploring. The villagers are busy cementing the little mud paths that join all the houses – a village community working together! There are also little wooden bridges joining sections of the “village” together. It is a lot like Venice with bridges and canal like tributaries but much more rustic and serene as people paddle past in their low canoes. Again, it is a “picture wonderland”.

Aung drops us back at the hotel and we have a glass of wine from the last of the bottles of red that we have brought with us. Rather than stay in at the hotel and have dinner we decide that we will walk into the village (Khaung Daing) and try and find a place to eat there. There does appear to be a couple of places we can eat but every one is deserted. After walking for about ten minutes we walk past what looks like a beer and snacks place. The men are drinking and eating samoosas while the women are sitting on stools at the other end watching what looks like Karaoke. It is getting late and some friendly smiles encourage us to order some samoosas (which are cooked in a large wok on the spot over a coal fire). The vegetable samoosas are delicious and we eat two servings with chilli sauce and beer. Total cost US$1.50. That’s dinner! We leave a bottle of beer for the cook. We explore the village a bit more but there does not appear to be much to see (at least in the street we are in) and with very little light it makes common sense that we should head back. When we arrive back at the hotel one of the staff approaches us enquiring when we will have dinner in the restaurant. ?? I think they are desperate for customers or maybe it is a sign there is no where else to eat.

The next morning we make an early start as we have organised with Aung that he will take us to where the large village market is being held. Breakfast is not buffet. Fruit is served on a plate and then you order what you want be it omelette, eggs and bacon etc. Toast and home made jam is also served. As you would expect from a French chef the food is quite good but there is neither the abundance nor variety we had at the Sedona in Mandalay.

Aung is waiting with umbrellas (it is raining slightly) and once again we are skimming our way on this rather ethereal trip to the village market held this week at Indein Village about a 40 minute boat ride away through the floating gardens, across the lake and upstream through several cataracts. We arrive at a boat docking where there are lots of other boats and for a moment I have horrible visions of the floating markets outside Bangkok where you saw more tourists in boats than the actual people selling their wares. Thankfully, it’s not. There are a few tourists but this market is definitely a genuine market for the locals with all the smells, sights and sounds of people selling everything from wooden Buddhas, jewellery(the silver fish again), fish, meat, tea, spices, chillies and vegetables. It appears that a number of tribes’ people (mainly Intha) have come to sell their produce and the market is alive with people dressed in their traditional garments –another wonderful opportunity to take some photographs. I buy some tea which I give to Aung and some spicy chickpea snacks (muruku) for 5,000 kyats as well as a Shan bag. (2000 kyats) Husband buys handicrafts and a wooden reclining Buddha and brother buys some jewellery for his daughters. Behind the markets people are selling original paintings. They are quite different from the other formulaic Buddhist monk paintings. This is a family business with father and daughter producing some fine work. We buy two paintings at a total cost of US$40.

From the markets we walk along a narrow path and are beckoned to a “hut” where we can view some Padaung ladies - the ones that wear the rings around the neck. They have come down the river from a nearby village to earn some money. We pay US $3.50 each but feel very uneasy. In the hut are a Grandmother and her two granddaughters. She is weaving some cloth whereas the two children (one about 12 the other 10) just sit there. We feel quite uncomfortable about the young girls wearing the rings. I suppose it’s the problem of encouraging the wearing of the rings and whether it is still part of a vibrant traditional culture or is it continuing as a “disfigurement” to earn money from tourists like us!

We walk further along the path to the Phanung Daw OO pagoda passing on the way village women bathing in the stream. There are a huge number of stalls leading up to the pagoda with all manner of souvenirs including wooden ornaments, embroidered wall hanging (amazingly have not seen any before this). The pagoda is particularly interesting because it is perched on a hillside and has a lot of reflecting glass. In the entrance on the walls there is a fresco devoted to the life of a person who was born special and avoided temptation (his friends didn’t) and eventually became King. Around it is a series of stupas which are undergoing renovation and wooden pagoda like structures which look like they are going to collapse soon.

From the market we pass a local school. I had the last of the exercise books and pens I had brought with me in my back pack so we stand outside. A couple of school children come running up and we hand them to them.


Aung then takes us to the Nam Pan restaurant which is a large building on the lake. The food is very nice and the staff friendly. It has a delightful ambience and a good view of the life-on- the-lake activities outside. While we are eating the rain increases in intensity and penetrates the roof forcing a mirthful but hasty relocation to a drier section of the restaurant. The Nam Pan is strongly recommended for the food, the good natured staff and the views.. The toilets (clean) out the back offer a view of the Golden Island Cottages 1-another photo opportunity.

After lunch we visit a number of local craft shops. These are again buildings which are built on stilts on the water and each one is visited by boat. One is a shop called Ko Than Hlaing that specialises in making and weaving silk and cotton cloth. Out the back there is an area where you can observe women making the thread and then weaving the cloth. What is interesting is that it is all done manually using hand looms and spindle wheels made from bamboo. The other “cloth” woven uses thread derived from the stem of the lotus. Not made anywhere else in the world! The shop sells good quality silk scarves and lungis, silk shirts, silk dresses, cotton, silk and lotus scarfs. Brother buys a silk scarf US$25, husband two silk lungisUS$20 and a lotus scarf US$55. Yes, we did buy a lot but we wanted to support the local cottage industry.

From there we head for some general sightseeing through floating gardens on our way back to the hotel. By this stage it is drizzling and the lake and the sky have blended together so that in the distance you can see boats speeding past only as lines with a bit of white in the eerie, ghostly landscape.

We arrive rather late back at the hotel and decide we will try again for a restaurant in the village. It is to no avail- not even our samoosas place is open. Very disappointing and it is now 9pm. We end up eating the snacks I bought at the markets and the last of the packet soup, tinned tuna and red wine I brought from Australia. (So Craig, my advice to you if you want to eat out go into the village during the day and investigate or ask your boat driver if he knows of a place to eat at night. I don’t think Bruno would be happy about you not eating in his restaurant).

Next morning we have organised for Aung to pick us up and our cases and take us northward to Nyaung Shwe where we will catch a taxi to take us to Heho airport for our flight to Yangon. We all agree that this way we get to explore the northern part of the lake and the township of Nyaung Shwe which we would otherwise miss. I try to explore the village of Khaung Daing before we leave but apart from a small pagoda there does not appear to be anything of consequence.

The boat trip to Nyaung Shwe is again a feast for the camera. I try to take some photos but we are going so fast it is difficult to take a photo which is not blurred. My camera does have a setting for taking pictures in motion but I don’t discover this until a week later - darn!! Nyaung Shwe looks a bit like a frontier town. We pull up to a dock where there are lots of men bare waisted and lungis tied around their legs carrying bales of produce of some sort. Aung has agreed to organise a taxi for us to show us around Nyaung Shwe for a couple of hours and then have us at Heho airport by noon as the plane leaves at 2.30pm.
We wait at the dock area and it appears there is one guy who manages all the taxis and the drivers …..The driver asks us whether we want to see the market. We don’t but we nominate the Shan Cultural Museum and the Monastery with oval windows. The Shan Museum costs US$2 to get into, quite a lot really but I want to see something different. It does turn out to be a lot of money because there is not that much to see- some artefacts, past Shan King’s furniture and costumes. The most impressive showcase is the actual building which is a huge wooden structure termite and water damaged and badly in need of maintenance. From there we head to the monastery. The monastery is a building right on the roadside and it’s obvious what its attraction is. The oval windows are a perfect frame for the young Buddhist monks who sit looking out on the passing scenes – and providing wonderful photo opportunities. As we stop in front of the monastery people cycle past and it is as if we have again been transported back to an earlier age.

The road to Heho airport is again a reminder of the trip to Maymyo: people selling produce by the roadside, dogs wandering by themselves, people on bicycles, fully laden horse and carts, crowded buses, motor bikes, trucks and people carrying goods on their heads. The road itself is not quite wide enough to allow two vehicles and more than once it slows down to a crawl to negotiate pot holes or allow larger vehicles to take the road.

All too soon we arrive at Heho airport. Our taxi driver drops our suitcases off and we are alone! (Apart from the porters who have taken charge of our suitcases that is!) Heho airport lounge is pretty dingy. We are the only foreigners and there is no one at the ticket booth. Eventually, we find that our plane has been delayed until 5.30pm because of the weather- effects of the typhoon that has hit China. OMG we are in this place for 5 ½ hours!! There is no shop souvenir or otherwise and it appears no taxi to take us exploring the town-all we have is our reading and sudoku puzzles. At 3pm the ticket booth opens and we can go into the transit lounge which has a TV (Burmese Karaoke :o) and a small gift shop. We buy some special spicy Shan beans. Four male backpackers from England arrive. At 5.30pm the Air Mandalay flight arrives and takes off soon after. This is ironic because if you remember I had changed our original flights to Air Bagan because it was a direct flight to Yangon. The Air Mandalay flight is going to get into Yangon before us!! Meanwhile, I have been watching very carefully the sky and it is getting very dark and stormy!! At 7pm Air Bagan finally arrives. I think it is going to be free seating with lots of space-it has been the rest of the time. Nooo.. It is absolutely packed and we look like not even getting a seat and what is worse I am not going to be able to sit next to my husband.. don’t they know I have to hold his hand when we take off and land?? One of the lads from England must have heard the panicky edge to my voice and he offers to change seats with my husband so he is directly across the aisle from me-at least now I can hold his hand. I’ll never have stereotyped thoughts about big strong boys with cockney accents from England again!! The plane takes off very quickly and soon we are served a meal – inedible vegetable quiche (real men would not eat it!) and bread and butter pudding. It helps while away the time until the pilot tells the staff to strap into their seats as the plane is going through some turbulent weather- I knew I should have caught a taxi, bus or train!!!

A few bumps later we arrive at the domestic airport and chaos. About 120 people and three times the number of porters crowded in one room all frantically searching for luggage!! One of them takes charge – I think if ever there is going to be a time we might lose our cases this is going to be it. Luckily, I have organised a taxi for pick up (US$14) otherwise this would have exacerbated the situation. Somehow, we make it to our taxi in the dark and crowds except now we are not completely sure who has taken charge of our cases and there are four guys waiting with three cases. My brother and husband had decided who was going to be responsible for paying the porters and it was my brother prior to arrival. He paid the three guys he thought had looked after the cases but it was awkward – and the one who did not receive money mouthed a few words as our taxi departed!

Too late and too exhausted for anything other than bed back at the Central Hotel.
Photos on Inle
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/baf50/122098/


Second last bit ...Yangon..

Alice, loved your depiction of Inle Lake - can't wait to get there (only 5-1/2 more months!). Your extensive photos and postings on Virtualtourist are most interesting and helpful. Looking forward to the last bit on Yangon...

Thanks Craig I was beginning to wonder whether my ramblings were being read at all...
I plan to put the last bit on Yangon on tomorrow and then I might be able to get on with some housework,yuk..

Your 'rambling'? Heavens no, Albaaust! What you're sharing with us is interesting and informative travel commentary. Thanks so much; I enjoy reading your reports.

Yangon

Today, we decide that we will forgo visiting Bago and instead go to Sule Pagoda and do the walk from there to the waterfront as suggested in Lonely Planet. The walk to Sule is fairly easy although at each intersection we have to fend off touts wanting to sell us postcards etc. Sule is ornate and richly decorated and especially interesting because of the contrasts in the backdrop of the urban landscape. Its centrality makes it a popular place for prayer and meditation and it is teeming with local people.

From Sule we begin the walk – starting first of all buildings which are remnants of British colonial rule: the City Hall, the Population and Immigration building, Immanuel Baptist Church and the High Court. The buildings are solid and nice to look at but they are surrounded by a sea of disrepair. We continue watching where we walk because of the mud, jagged rocks and those dreaded storm drains. We walk along Pansodan Street where various professionals such lawyers and doctors have set up an “office” displaying their credentials and with their typewriters. There are a number of “shops” selling books as well. These books are not hard back and the pages are very thin and discoloured. Eventually we get to the Strand Hotel. We nearly miss it because outside the pavement is pretty shabby and decrepit. We are feeling very hot so we go inside and immediately welcomed with air-conditioned opulence. There is a gentleman in traditional Burmese costume playing a Burmese harp. The contrast between the Strand and the street outside is immense. We stay for a little while and look around the shops in the gallery section.

We head to the river hoping to catch a ferry to the other side and get mixed messages just before we get to the ticket counter: one that we can go across for US$2, the other message that no foreigners are allowed.
At the ferry dock there is a line of trishaw drivers who are obliging in terms of helping us. We hire three trishaw drivers to take us down to the river along Strand Road and other places we might be interested in. For US$1.50 they take us along Strand Road and down to the river, then to Kheng Hock Keong (Chinese temple) and then Shwe Dagon Pagoda Road where there appears to be a series of markets. The street is pretty muddy but it has all the senses going with open air stalls of meat, fish, fruit (durian again), vegetables of various descriptions, spices in bags and for the first time I actually see fresh npai – this is a purple coloured blend which I could tell was Npai because I could see little fish tails in it. It’s ugly to look at, offensive to smell – but when my mother cooks it, delicious to eat. I think I am going to be a more discerning when next she mentions she is cooking with this!!

We walk northward to Bogyoke Markets as I want to have a last look around. We decide to separate as brother wants to buy some jewellery for his wife and daughters and husband wants to buy some jade for our daughter. I decide that I will buy a Tiffin carrier for my mother and head for Supermarket One which is opposite Bogyoke market. They have a selection of different sizes and prices but it is disappointing not one single one is made in Myanmar. The brand name of one is Kangaroo – needless to say I do not buy that one!!

Meanwhile, my husband and brother have gone to a jeweller recommended by one of the staff. They have been looking at thin gold bracelets but at US$200 they are too much. They end up at a bar drinking beer and eating boiled corn cobs.

Tonight we are going to treat ourselves to some street food at a place in Bogyoke Street. We decide we are going to walk it as I think it is not too far away. Well, it turns out that it is past 47th Street and our hotel is near I think 20th. ..it is a bloody long way but we do get to see some interesting sights. We walk past two cinema complexes, numerous street stalls and of course the usual cooking over coal braziers. There are also some rather distressing young children who look neglected who really should be in bed. Eventually, we get to the “restaurant”. It is called Tan Yan (it is opposite the Yuma Hotel) and it is a bit like the night food restaurants in Phuket. There is a picture above which shows the meals they offer. Apparently, they have a book with pictures that you can then choose from but it is being photocopied. The owners ask a gentleman who is visiting the shop next door whether he can help translate. It turns out he works for the American Embassy as an interpreter. We order a fish curry, rice, vegetable curry, noodle dish, chicken noodle dish, two beers and a lime juice (no chance of red wine here!!). The fish comes and it is a whole fish and it is absolutely delicious. It is the best meal we have had the whole trip and guess how much for the whole meal? Under US$6!! The fish costs US$1.50. Our “new friend” sits with us and we have a very interesting discussion about Burma and the changes that are happening very slowly.

Replenished we walk back to our hotel making sure we avoid the section of the footpath that “covers” (I use this term loosely) the storm drains. Back in the hotel that night we are once more in touch with the world as we are able to watch CNN.

The next morning breakfast in the Central Hotel is again an interesting affair. One of the young gentlemen who is dressed in black and white tells us proudly that he is in charge. If only he knew what we really thought about breakfast at the Central. The buffet today offers a sort of noodle dish with chillies. It is pretty bland. Husband decides to stick to toast and jam and asks if he could have his bread toasted a bit more. We spend the next few minutes cringing as the waiter uses a knife like a cooking chopstick and pushes down the toaster to check to see that it has browned.

We decide that today we will catch the circle train that goes around Yangon and get off at Paremi Station and make our way to the Gem Museum where we might buy our jade and brother the jewels for his wife. We walk down Bogyoke again past the cinema complexes and cross a footbridge to the Central Railway station. The station platform is quite crowded and reminds me of what I might expect at an Indian railway station. We are the only foreigners on the platform. An official approaches us and asks whether we are catching the circle train. He then ushers us into a booth and takes our passport number and US $2. He wants to know our nationality. I can’t remember my passport number but its Ok- brother and husband know theirs.

The diesel train pulls in but we don’t know which way it is going – we want to go the long way so we see more. Its Ok - it is going the way we want. The train goes very slowly and you can stick your head out of the window and as it pulls into each station you can see which station it is. Somehow brother has a map which has the station names on it –apparently it was one of the maps he grabbed at the airport on the first day. The carriage itself is pretty bare-wooden floors and benches about 10 metres by 3.4 metres. We have enough room to spread out but as the train stops at each station it fills up and people sit very close; they have a smaller personal space than we do. One woman sits next to me at one point and I am sure she has nits!! However, it is really interesting observing all the activity happening in the carriage. Opposite us for most of the trip is a group of young beautiful women on the way to a market. Next to them is a woman selling buns. What she does is pour condensed milk on the bun and then she adds sugar and coconut. Another man hops on and he is selling betel nut; another sells chicken satay things and of course from time to time a young boy walks through selling cold water – no thoughts here of catching meningococcal from sharing cups! At another point an old woman comes into the carriage and stands in the middle and makes some kind of speech – she is begging. A number of people give her some money. We do too. She then gives us all a ceremonial blessing of some kind. After three or so station stops there is a mad scramble to get into the carriage by a number of people carrying huge bales of fresh produce- mainly vegetables of various descriptions. They push them through the windows and the main door and very quickly the carriage is full. Once they are all in there is absolutely no room to move. All the time in the background the scenery is changing from four storied buildings to villages by the railway line to rice fields.

We get off at Paremi station (along with most of the people with their produce) and walk to the Gem Museum – by now it is about 1pm. We arrive to a nondescript building. Inside, we discover there are four levels and it looks like a department store except that each “stall” is a jewellery store. There are rows and rows of jewels from jade to sapphires, rubies and diamonds on all four levels. It is mind-boggling too mind-boggling in fact! Eventually, my husband buys a jade pendant and my brother a sapphire set of pendant and earrings. We ask for a receipt to show customs. Each time the shopkeeper asks if they can write down that they have sold the item at a much lower price so they don’t have to pay so much tax. We agree. We head back to Bogyoke Markets to get some last minute carved wooden ornaments by taxi. We only just make it as the markets close at 5pm. Taxi costs US$2.

That night we decide that we will have a couple of drinks as a celebration at the Strand Hotel. It has half price drinks every Friday from 5.30pm. We catch a taxi and organise with the taxi driver that he will take us on after an hour and half to Sabai Sabai restaurant. We also organise him to pick us up the next morning and take us to the airport. US$8 The bar in the Strand Hotel is a rather extravagant bar. It is full of old photos of famous people who have stayed at the hotel and we order the special Strand Sour cocktail. They also serve some snacks with the cocktails which is very nice. We have a couple of cocktails each and then head off to the Sabai Sabai. The Sabai Sabai is very obviously a popular restaurant –it is packed. We sit next to a large table of about 20 Burmese people. The food is very nice Thai and is a little more expensive than average. Recommended.
We try to catch a taxi back to the hotel but it is some time before we can locate one. When we do, it is some time before we manage to wave one down.

Last morning and the usual breakfast : “Light on quality but rich in service”

The taxi is waiting for us and we have a last minute look at Yangon. Maybe, we might come back we all say at once. When we arrive at the airport we can’t get in to the airport lounge the doors are locked! Eventually, one of the officials takes pity on us and we are ushered past crowds of people who look like they might be Burmese or Indians waiting to catch a plane or for people arriving. We are expecting to be given a thorough inspection in terms of our luggage, what we have bought etc. My husband is worried because he thinks my luggage is overweight. One guy takes charge of our passports and departure fee and the usual happens as three guys “look after” our cases until they go through into the back area. We pay the US$10 departure fee and we are in the transit lounge. What is amazing (and a relief) is that they do not even ask for the customs declaration we made when we first went through. There are two parts to the transit lounge – there is the first part which has a duty free section and a number of shops which sell souvenirs, jewellery and a bookstore. After you go through to the passenger section (after showing boarding pass) there is a coffee shop (looks like a Starbucks) and a set of state of the art computers which you can use for a fee.

Jetstar Asia arrives on time and we board the plane. One last incident…we are on the runway behind an Air Yangon plane. I can see what is happening through the window. It is drizzling and I want to get off the ground.. you know already how I feel about flying…the nose of the Air Yangon swivels and goes downward and the plane stops. Oh oh….our plane is delayed while we wait for the plane to be towed away….thank goodness we never flew Air Yangon.

We arrive back in Singapore on time despite the delay.

Thanks again, Alice for your detailed report. I have just a few questions:

1. How did you come to choose Air Mandalay and Bagan Air over Yangon Airways? I believe that all of our interior flights (arranged through Santa Maria Travels) will be on Yangon Airways. Your observation of the Yangon Airways plane being towed off the runway is a bit disconcerting - we generally prefer to fly on airplanes that don't fall apart :-)

2. If you had it to do over again, would you recommend that we declare everything at customs as you did, even though noone checked anything when you left?

3. Did you feel comfortable that you were getting what you were paying for when you bought jewelry/gems at the gem museum stalls?

4. When you visited shops with a guide or driver, were you generally left to go in on your own without worrying that the guide or driver was receiving a commission (common in many Asian countries)?

Hi Craig I am up very late.. its past midnight here so some of my answers might be a bit convoluted.
First of all Yangon Airways..I would not fly on them. Australian Embassy officials are not allowed to fly on them. Secondly, my stepson is a pilot and he says what happened to the Air Yangon plane happens regularly. Avoid Avoid...
Declaring at customs...I think I would do it again..you never know.. they were pretty lax with us and I didn't hear of anyone who was thoroughly checked but...

I am going send a bit of a postscript tomorrow in relation to gems and other things.
My brother has not had his sapphires checked yet and husband only bought a reasonably cheap jade pendant so cannot tell you much about rubies for example. Can tell you that when we went to Vietnam I bought a "salad ring -sapphires and an emerald" and a ruby ring for our daughter..went with a Vietnamese girl and guess what..rubies fake, emerald fake but sapphires not. Had them valued and our jeweller says that Russia is the country that is making all the fake gems.

In terms of driver getting a commission..in Mandalay we thought our driver might be when he took us to a gold leaf place but no not really. He even warned me not to buy anything at one of the temples. In Inle our boatsman probably got something but we felt they were the places he would have taken us anyway.Mostly, we told our driver where we wanted to go.

BTW the rings were still valued 8 times more than what I paid.

Alice, I think Myanmar Airways is the airline that the Australian Embassy personel are prohibited from using, not Yangon Airways. See the link below to the Burma section of your government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website:

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-c...w/Advice/Burma

Yes you are right sorry about that but at the same time the comment made by stepson was about Yangon Airways.
He is in town at the moment so I'll do another check with him and get back to you.

Ok I'm back and refreshed and hopefully a bit more coherent.

In relation to the Yangon Airways question I must confess that I had not registered the airline and used Air Mandalay and Air Bagan mainly because of the comments made on this site. I did also access the travel information put out by the Australian Embassy which advises to avoid using Myanamar Airlines.

When you have a look at the Air Yangon site it does seem to be OK. I am yet to speak to pilot son.What are other people's experiences with the airline?

Craig, We flew on Yangon Airways - also through Santa Maria. Everything was fine, and we were not scared out of our wits. From everything I can tell, Yangon Airways, Air Mandalay, and Air Bagan are all comparable (although I think Air Bagan may fly a jet on some routes).

Thanks ccc. I was hoping someone had flown Air Yangon and I was feeling awful about what I wrote when I was "non compos mentis".

Last thoughts..

I thought I would finish the report with some last minute thoughts on what we/I should have done:
The obvious one - spend more time in Burma - yes, we should have gone for the full month and included some visits to the south of Myanmar.

Use the http://myanmartravelinformation.com/ site more - especially in relation to Inle Lake.

Take more reading glasses, exercise books etc and leave them at schools/monasteries. I have since found this site about what you can do in terms of helping a school in Inle http://www.freewebs.com/pdom/contact.htm There are probably other such sites. I don't know how legitimate it is..other people may know more about such things.

Go back to Sagaing. There were so many pagodas that you could easily spend more than a day here. One Pagoda that grabbed our attention we could see from Sagaing Hill which looked really alluring.. it was a pagoda with a large Buddha facing it.

Stay longer in Bagan, longer in the temples and visit Mt Popa

Stay maybe at the Golden Island Cottages rather than the Lake View Resort in Inle. The Lake View for us was too isolated and overpriced. We like to see a bit more of the local population and perhaps eat where they eat.

Learn how to use my camera especially the motion/action shots- I missed taking lots of brilliant shots?especially when we were in Inle.

Buy a ruby ring- I didn't because I wanted to save my $US dollars and could notuse the dreaded credit card. I ended up buying one in Vietnam and as I have said in the post before of course it's a fake. I guess if I had bought one in Myanmar it might have been a fake too but now I'll never know!

I know there are lots of other things that I could add but for now, this is enough.

So that's it for now unless you want me to answer some questions. I hope I have not bored all of you.
I do have a general page on Burma at
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/baf50/

This is a great report. As for your wishes for the future, my only two cents are that - from my family's standpoint only - is that Mt. Popa is better to look at from afar than to visit up close. I think we all wish we'd used the time elsewhere. I'll elaborate further once I finally get around to writing my trip report - 2009 at the rate I'm going!

ccc - we have scheduled a trip to Mt Popa - why didn't you like it? Where would you use the time elsewhere? (Can't wait for your trip report - by 2009 Myanmar will be a distant, although hopefully fond memory.)

Craig, It's a long hot climb through lots of monkeys and monkey poop (you will be barefoot) to get to the top of Mt. Popa. This would be fine if there were something fantastic at the top to see. In my opinion only, there is a good view, but otherwise there just weren't the images of a place of pilgrimage, which Mt. Popa is and which I expected to see. There is a good view - but it's better to see it from the Mt. Popa Resort, where you can also see Mt. Popa (and also get a cold beer - very important!). Otherwise, I just think there are more interesting places to see in Burma - even a simple village would have been more interesting (and certainly less sweaty!). We visited Burma, Bali, and Bangkok on this trip and I am guessing that my family would have universally put Mt. Popa in last place on the list of places we visited. At the end of the day, I would probably have preferred to have spent the day in Bagan, which I think is truly special. PS Hopefully by 2009 I will already have been back from another trip to Burma - my 4th. Then I can write an even longer trip report.

ccc I am also interested in your report.
When you say you have been back did they pay any particular interest in you at customs? I ask this because we are seriously thinking of revisiting probably within a year and obviously hoping to take in various items for relatives etc

Alice, They didn't seem to pay any particular attention to us in customs when we flew in and out of the country. However, as you noticed, there's immigration even on domestic flights. When we flew from Mandalay to Heho, security sent me to further immigration screening. They were very interested in several Buddha's I had bought in Mandalay. They wanted to know where I had bought them. Once they realized that they were not antiques all was fine.

That is interesting because we did not fly out of Mandalay...but we might next time -were the Buddhas expensive?
Why do you think they were interested?