Myanmar
This was an all girls trip in 2011. And most of us had heard about this country, about Junta and everything, but i assure you that it was okay. But, I would suggest a few things before you go to Myanmar.
The days that we spent at Myanmar were really good, there wasn't a junta on the roads, nothing like reported on the news. The culture, architecture and people were great. There were a few restrictions, like for instance, all of us had no phone roaming (the phone operator in Malaysia said that roaming will be available, however when we got in Myanmar, there was no line), and the prepaid pack were expensive (USD 50), so we really had to make clear communication on where to meet and what time to meet. Facebook can be accessed but the internet connection was not stable. Halal food is quite easy, especially in Yangon, just search for the Halal logo or the number 786, both indicating that the food sold is halal. Overall, I really enjoyed myself there.
1. Make your visa
Do it at the local Myanmar Embassy. In Malaysia, the Myanmar embassy is located at No. 8(C(, Jalan Ampang Hilir, 55000 Kuala Lumpur. There are two types of visa, the express one and the normal one. The express one enables you to collect the visa within 1 day and costs you about RM 150 whereas the the normal one takes about 2 working days and costs RM 80. Just make sure you put in the full address of the place of residence when you are in Myanmar, sometimes failing to do so will cost you your visa.
2. Send an email to your country's embassy in Myanmar.
I just thought that this was essential especially when it was an all girls trip. Details such as passport number, date of arrival and date of departure should be included in the email. Usually the Embassy will reply back the email indicating that they are aware you are going to visit Myanmar.
3. Change some Malaysian Ringgit into crisp US dollar.
This information was quite mixed up. Some say the people at Myanmar prefer small US dollars, but when we got there, we were given good rates if we have bigger notes, USD 50 & USD 100. But one thing that is right is that the people at Myanmar definitely prefer crisp and new notes, and they even refuse to take in USD that are old and worn out. The USD is then changed to kyats, which is the Myanmar currency. Make sure you change your money into Myanmar kyat in shops or hotels and not at the road side. There will be people asking whether you want to change your money by the road sides, and they'll give you good rates, but be very careful. It is best to change your money in proper shops or hotels.
After all these preparation, the visit to Myanmar should be easy and fun.
So there were altogether 6 of us, but we went staggered. My friend and I arrive first, and fortunately, my friend's acquaintance, Mr Than, was there waiting for us at the airport. He straight away brought us to dinner. And after that we were brought to May Shan Hotel to settle down for the night.
The next day we just went sight seeing around Yangon while waiting for another 2 of our friends to arrive in the evening. We went to the post office building, Strand Hotel, the City hall building, mainly just sight seeing and taking pictures. Most of the buildings were colonial style, only a few were modern buildings. We also went to Sakura Tower which is the tallest building in Yangon. Sakura tower is located next to the Traders Hotel. One thing that I cannot make myself forget, is the sight of Myanmar men going to the office with their longyi, which is like a sarong or a 'kain pelikat'. And also the faces of the women had some powdery mark that is made from 'tanaka', considered as a makeup routine. A unique experience indeed.
Yangon
Things to do in Yangon, include visiting the Sakura Tower, entrance is free, and if you have excess money, you can buy a drink or two in the restaurant. Just enter the building and take the lift to the top floor. There will be 2 restaurants on the top floor, just enter any one to look at the view of Yangon. The restaurant staff were very helpful and you need not buy anything.
Shwedagon Pagoda
This is the second largest pagoda in Myanmar.(I think so) We walked from the city centre to the pagoda and it took us about 45 minutes to get there. The pagoda was covered with real gold and you can actually see the blocks of gold attached to the pagoda. There are 4 main entrance, North, South, East and West. The entrance fee was USD 5. When we went, the kyat was higher than USD, so the locals prefer kyat, but tourists can still pay in USD. Shoes and slippers are prohibited in the whole pagoda compound. The west gates have escalators in case climbing up the stairs is tiring for you. This was actually the first time I got on an escalator with bare feet. Shwedagon Pagoda is an active place of worship, in the morning, you can observe devotees casting a prayer or two. Sometimes, there will be monks approaching you, this is normal, the monks just wanted to practice their English with you.
Bogyoke Aung San Market
This place is also known as the Scott Market. Like any Asian country, a market is a common place of trade. Here, you can get souvenirs such as t-shirt, fridge magnets, and even gemstones and gold. Just an advice, if you're buying gemstones or gold, make sure you get the receipts, so that you won't get into trouble at the airport when you leave.
Bagan
We also went to Bagan, which is about 431 miles from Yangon. We took a bus from Yangon, and it took us 13 hours to reach Bagan. The journey was quite a pleasant one, with a few stops for rests and toilet break. Bagan is famous for its ancient temples and also their lacquer ware. Upon arrival, tourists were requested to pay USD 10 for the Bagan Archaeological Zone Entrance Fee. We stayed at New Park Hotel There are many ways to get around Bagan, we chose the Horse Cart, mainly because they don't have this in Malaysia.
There were so many temples in Bagan, so it would be wise to choose which temples that you want to visit, as at the end of the day, every temple looked the same. We went to about 15 temples and the temples that I recommend for a visit are Ananda Temple, Dhammayan Gyi Temple, That Bin Nyu Temple, Htilo Minlo temple, Manuha Temple and also the Shwezigon Pagoda. Bear in mind, slippers and shoes are not allowed in the temple, so be sure to wear something that is easy to slip in and out.
Some of the murals inside of the temples
Sunset at one of the temples
We also went to a village, Myinkaba, to see the locals make lacquer ware and also the ethnic people, female with copper wire on the neck, the Karen people. The next day we went to the Nyaung U market, and bought lots of cotton blouse. It was really cheap and they would even alter the blouse for you on the spot. A decent cotton blouse cost about USD 3.
On the way back to Yangon, we stopped by at Bago for 2 days, and visited more temples or payas, as they call it in their local language. We decided to stay at the San Francisco Guesthouse, a very basic guesthouse but very near to the main road. We were quite lucky as we met Ali, a local tuk tuk driver, and he brought us around. Some of the must visit places in Bago are Shwemawdaw Pagoda, (the tallest pagoda in Myanmar), Shwethalyaung Buddha also known as the reclining buddha (the buddha is really huge!!!), Kyaik Pun Pagoda, Mahazedi Paya (only men are allowed to climb the stairs). We also went to the Kyatkatwine Teaching Monastery and also to a tobacco cigarette factory and finally we stopped at a serene temple in the middle of no where to witness the sunset.
I just thought that this was essential especially when it was an all girls trip. Details such as passport number, date of arrival and date of departure should be included in the email. Usually the Embassy will reply back the email indicating that they are aware you are going to visit Myanmar.
3. Change some Malaysian Ringgit into crisp US dollar.
This information was quite mixed up. Some say the people at Myanmar prefer small US dollars, but when we got there, we were given good rates if we have bigger notes, USD 50 & USD 100. But one thing that is right is that the people at Myanmar definitely prefer crisp and new notes, and they even refuse to take in USD that are old and worn out. The USD is then changed to kyats, which is the Myanmar currency. Make sure you change your money into Myanmar kyat in shops or hotels and not at the road side. There will be people asking whether you want to change your money by the road sides, and they'll give you good rates, but be very careful. It is best to change your money in proper shops or hotels.
After all these preparation, the visit to Myanmar should be easy and fun.
So there were altogether 6 of us, but we went staggered. My friend and I arrive first, and fortunately, my friend's acquaintance, Mr Than, was there waiting for us at the airport. He straight away brought us to dinner. And after that we were brought to May Shan Hotel to settle down for the night.
The next day we just went sight seeing around Yangon while waiting for another 2 of our friends to arrive in the evening. We went to the post office building, Strand Hotel, the City hall building, mainly just sight seeing and taking pictures. Most of the buildings were colonial style, only a few were modern buildings. We also went to Sakura Tower which is the tallest building in Yangon. Sakura tower is located next to the Traders Hotel. One thing that I cannot make myself forget, is the sight of Myanmar men going to the office with their longyi, which is like a sarong or a 'kain pelikat'. And also the faces of the women had some powdery mark that is made from 'tanaka', considered as a makeup routine. A unique experience indeed.
Yangon
Things to do in Yangon, include visiting the Sakura Tower, entrance is free, and if you have excess money, you can buy a drink or two in the restaurant. Just enter the building and take the lift to the top floor. There will be 2 restaurants on the top floor, just enter any one to look at the view of Yangon. The restaurant staff were very helpful and you need not buy anything.
The building on the left is Sakura Tower and the building on the left is the Traders Hotel
This is the second largest pagoda in Myanmar.(I think so) We walked from the city centre to the pagoda and it took us about 45 minutes to get there. The pagoda was covered with real gold and you can actually see the blocks of gold attached to the pagoda. There are 4 main entrance, North, South, East and West. The entrance fee was USD 5. When we went, the kyat was higher than USD, so the locals prefer kyat, but tourists can still pay in USD. Shoes and slippers are prohibited in the whole pagoda compound. The west gates have escalators in case climbing up the stairs is tiring for you. This was actually the first time I got on an escalator with bare feet. Shwedagon Pagoda is an active place of worship, in the morning, you can observe devotees casting a prayer or two. Sometimes, there will be monks approaching you, this is normal, the monks just wanted to practice their English with you.
The Shwedagon Pagoda
The pagodas surrounding Shwedagon
Bogyoke Aung San Market
This place is also known as the Scott Market. Like any Asian country, a market is a common place of trade. Here, you can get souvenirs such as t-shirt, fridge magnets, and even gemstones and gold. Just an advice, if you're buying gemstones or gold, make sure you get the receipts, so that you won't get into trouble at the airport when you leave.
Bogyoke Aung San or Scott Market
Bagan
We also went to Bagan, which is about 431 miles from Yangon. We took a bus from Yangon, and it took us 13 hours to reach Bagan. The journey was quite a pleasant one, with a few stops for rests and toilet break. Bagan is famous for its ancient temples and also their lacquer ware. Upon arrival, tourists were requested to pay USD 10 for the Bagan Archaeological Zone Entrance Fee. We stayed at New Park Hotel There are many ways to get around Bagan, we chose the Horse Cart, mainly because they don't have this in Malaysia.
View from our horse cart
Temples in Bagan
Some shops outside of the temples
Ananda Temple
Villagers doing lacquerware
The ethnic Karen
Entrance to the market
Bago
On the way back to Yangon, we stopped by at Bago for 2 days, and visited more temples or payas, as they call it in their local language. We decided to stay at the San Francisco Guesthouse, a very basic guesthouse but very near to the main road. We were quite lucky as we met Ali, a local tuk tuk driver, and he brought us around. Some of the must visit places in Bago are Shwemawdaw Pagoda, (the tallest pagoda in Myanmar), Shwethalyaung Buddha also known as the reclining buddha (the buddha is really huge!!!), Kyaik Pun Pagoda, Mahazedi Paya (only men are allowed to climb the stairs). We also went to the Kyatkatwine Teaching Monastery and also to a tobacco cigarette factory and finally we stopped at a serene temple in the middle of no where to witness the sunset.
The Buddhist Monastery
The new sleeping Buddha
The Old Sleeping Buddha
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
Ladies working at a Tobacco Factory
The days that we spent at Myanmar were really good, there wasn't a junta on the roads, nothing like reported on the news. The culture, architecture and people were great. There were a few restrictions, like for instance, all of us had no phone roaming (the phone operator in Malaysia said that roaming will be available, however when we got in Myanmar, there was no line), and the prepaid pack were expensive (USD 50), so we really had to make clear communication on where to meet and what time to meet. Facebook can be accessed but the internet connection was not stable. Halal food is quite easy, especially in Yangon, just search for the Halal logo or the number 786, both indicating that the food sold is halal. Overall, I really enjoyed myself there.
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