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After 60+ days in Thailand, we headed to Myanmar for a new adventure. We woke up early and headed to the Green Bus depot to take us to Mae Sot on the border. We stayed one night at a nice little place called Phanu Guesthouse.
Hpa-An
First stop was Myawaddy, right across the border from Mae Sot. We were helped by “Mike” and were soon sharing a taxi with Karen, a nurse from the USA who was volunteering in Thailand at the Burmese border during her retirement. Apparently, lots of Burmese cross here to use the hospital in Mae Sot. After a harrowing drive through the countryside (1 dead body from a moped accident), we arrived in Hpa-An and checked into the Galaxy Motel, with its amazing rooftop views.
The next day, we arranged a tuk-tuk tour of the surrounding caves and temples with Karen. We were joined by Verena from Germany and Clem from France. Eleven hours later, we had been shaken around and were totally caved and templed out, but we were all satisfied with a great experience. I was pooped on by a bird and a bat — apparently that’s lucky. We also discovered Myanmar tea leaf and tomato salad!
We spent the next day wandering the area with Karen and Verena, having a relaxing time and eating more tomato salad. Then off to Yangon!
Yangon
The bus station was utter chaos, yet it functioned. We took a long cab ride to our hotel, the Shwe Yo Vintage Hostel. We went and checked out the Canadian embassy… they weren’t going to let us up, but Paul said, “It’s okay, we’re Canadian,” and flashed his passport. It didn’t change the fact that it was closed, but we got to see it from the outside. We wandered around, and we both got pooped on. At breakfast, we started chatting with a couple. After a few questions, we discovered they were also Canadian—and a few questions later, we realized we were all Calgarians! What an awesome coincidence. Enter Liz and Pat. We also met a guy from the French-German border who had been traveling the world for four years in a massive camper truck and had some incredible stories. Enter Yann.
We took the circular train, which was 3.5hours/50km through Yangon and the surrounding countryside with Yann. Went past some interesting sites, some sad, some crazy, but overall a good tour of the area. A girl on the train even made me a bracelet. Went to the Shwedagon Pagoda for sunset… amazing, overwhelming, and beautiful all at the same time. We had a few bevvies with Liz, Pat and Yann that night before before catching the overnight JJ Express bus to Bagan.
Bagan
We were dropped off at 4:00 AM with a bunch of taxi drivers all colluding on high prices for dozy customers. Around the corner from where the bus drops people off, there is a sign showing “Old Bagan: 8,000K, New Bagan: 7,000K, and Nyaung U: 5,000K” — much cheaper than what the taxi drivers were quoting. We walked away, heading off in the direction of our hotel, and then one of them sheepishly dropped his price to what we knew to be the correct amount. Since we were awake, we decided to catch a 5:00 AM sunrise temple view before heading to our hotel. After that, we checked into the Oasis Hotel and had a nap. Later, we rented an e-bike and were off to see more temples. Yann arrived a day later, so we arranged to tour together the next day. We randomly met up with Pat and Liz at the white temple and spent the rest of the day touring together, along with Jen from Hong Kong. We had more tomato and tea leaf salads and Myanmar beer, mostly at the great Weather Spoon’s Restaurant and Bar. We arranged to spend the following day traveling around and had a great time exploring the temples together.
For our last day the 5 of us took a van to Mount Popa, and braved the cheeky monkeys that tried to steal our stuff.
Inle Lake
Next, we headed off to Inle Lake with Yann on the day bus. The bus rides in Myanmar are definitely something else… but good overall. Liz and Pat arrived the next day, and we all went for a bike ride around the lake, which included a toe injury, a stop at a winery, and some racing. We met Karen at the Inlay Hut Indian Food House (313) for dinner, owned by the Myanmar version of Eminem. We did a boat tour of the lake the next day: temples, a silk workshop, a tobacco factory, and valet parking. After that, we ate so much dim sum at the Live Dim Sum House it was almost embarrassing. We ordered one of everything on the 2-page menu, but in a serving for five… and then we ordered more! It was all in preparation for our 3-day trek from Kalaw back to Inle Lake. Needless to say, the food and company were amazing.
3 Day Trek: Kalaw to Inle Lake
The next day, we started our trek from Kalaw back to Inle. Turns out one of the other people joining us, Connie, had also stayed at the same hotel in Yangon. Mara joined up with us, too. The trek was amazing! Taser(face) our guide, was awesome. We had two homestays, great meals, and a wonderful time overall. The scenery was incredible. We even attended a pre-wedding ceremony where we tried on some local headgear and hung out with the kids and elders. We said goodbye to Connie and Mara. Pat and Liz headed off right away too, while the rest of us spent two nights relaxing at Inle Lake at the wonderful Motel Album.
Mandalay
Then we headed to Mandalay to meet Pat and Liz staying at Studio Hotel 82. We spent two nights enjoying beer gardens and earthquake-cracked temples. After that, we were off to Hpa-An again on our way out of Myanmar and back to Thailand.
Hpa-An Revisited
We all took the night bus together. When we got to Hpa-An, we stayed at the Galaxy Motel again, with its spectacular rooftop views. We ate some more tomato salad and drank more Myanmar beer! Paul, Pat, Liz and Yann all climbed Mt. Zwegabin. Paul said it was one of the hardest things he has ever done — 750 m of straight-up stairs with random step heights. I played it smart to take care of my cankles, and had cold water, beer, and oranges waiting for them when they got down. The next day, the “G5” officially split: Yann headed off to Yangon and Sri Lanka, while Pat, Liz, Paul, and I set course for Chiang Mai. We were incredibly lucky to meet this crew and share the journey through Myanmar together. It was absolute chef’s kiss on an already unforgettable trip.
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