Myanmar officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Myanmar’s total perimeter of 1,930 km (1,200 miles) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country’s 2014 census revealed a much lower population than expected, with 51 million people recorded. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres (261,227 sq mi) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).
OK, is the name of the country Burma or Myanmar? The official story of the name change is one thing, but what do the locals consider the country name to be? Well, from the best I could find out, along with the response from our guide, is that it really doesn’t matter to most of the residents. In fact, for some, it depends upon which language they are using. They may call the country Myanmar when talking in a local dialect, but then call it Burma when talking in English. It’s just a matter of convenience.
This trip is all about visiting local tribes, Buddhist temples and getting away from technology for a couple of weeks. With respect to technology, I have to say that I was surprised how bad the WiFi was given the very nice resorts that we often stayed in. Not that it was a big issue, it’s nice to be disconnected now and then, but still surprising.
The trip started and ended in Yangon with four internal flights:
- Yangon (RGN) to Kentung (KET)
- Tachilek (THL) to Inle Lake/Heho (HEH)
- Inle Lake/Heho (HEH) to Bagan (NYU)
- Bagan (NYU) to Yangon (RGN)
Each of these flights is about an hour or less and all offered snacks (pastry, cake, etc) and drinks. It really puts North American airlines to shame when they only offer peanuts (if you’re lucky) for a four hour domestic flight.
Yangon (1 Night)
We arrived in Yangon mid-morning so we had plenty of time to explore before meeting up with our group for dinner. We were told that Karaweik Lake was a nice place to go for a walk and the Shwedagon Pagoda was within walking distance if we wanted.
Let me just say that even in late February Yangon can be hot and humid. It was about a 20 minute taxi ride from our hotel (about $5US) and our hotel let our taxi driver know where we were going and also gave us directions in Burmese to give to our taxi driver to get back to the hotel – it didn’t help, he got lost but was very pleasant. (Note: you should always agree on the taxi ride cost before you get into the taxi, it is an accepted practice here.)
Kengtung (2 Nights)
I have to admit I did not do enough research as I would have liked before this trip. I had done the basic background research on the country but not on the specific areas that we would be visiting, so yes, I was a little surprised upon landing in Kengtung that this is part of the infamous Golden Triangle and that Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer of illicit opium. Obviously the drug cartels are not putting any of their profits back into the local towns as everything was extremely basic, nice, clean but basic. Power outages, although very short, were common and most of the little restaurants closed by 9pm.
The real appeal to this area is the number of unique tribes that have resisted modernization. Tribes where the women wear sliver belts, tribes were black teeth are cherished and white teeth are looked down upon. We even visited a tribe known for head hunting but we were assured that they haven’t done that in weeks, oops, I mean years. 🙂
Inle Lake (3 Nights)
Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 44.9 square miles (116 km2), and one of the highest at an elevation of 2,900 feet (880 m). During the dry season, the average water depth is 7 feet (2.1 m), with the deepest point being 12 feet (3.7 m), but during the rainy season this can increase by 5 feet (1.5 m).
We stayed at Pristine Lotus Spa Resort and I must say it is a beautiful complex. The first night I stayed in an inland cabin (Lotus Villa), which was extremely large and had a second floor loft with a spare bed. For the second and third nights I moved to the water side cabins (Floating Duplex), that are much smaller but very nice inside. The food was traditional and excellent, a great place to stay.
Pindaya (1 Night)
This is a small town that is mostly known for the Pindaya Caves that feature thousands of Buddhas carved out of the limestone rock in the cave. These are not Buddhas that were made elsewhere and put into the cave, they were all carved there. Pictures cannot do justice to just how many Buddhas are in the cave and how deep the cave goes, truly inspirational.
Bagan (2 Nights)
Bagan is known for the vast number of pagodas, well over 2,000 remain of the original 10,000+ created between the 9th and 13th centuries. Many are small and show the test of time, others are still frequently visited, and yet others you are allowed to climb the steep staircase to enjoy the view.
If you can handle the 5:30am start to your day, I would recommend signing up for one of the morning balloon rides. We used Balloons over Bagan, but there were two other companies all departing from the same field at the same time and I imagine services would be comparable. The air time is only 45-55 minutes but the views are amazing and the ride extremely peaceful, and they have you back to your hotel by 9am (in most cases).
Yangon (2 Nights)
Our trip ended back in Yangon with a short city tour and then to experience sunset at Shwedagon Pagoda. I have to admit that the main pagoda comes to life when the sun starts to set and lights come on. All the gold truly glistens and stands out against a darkening sky.
Logistics
There were six of us on the trip (2 men, 4 women, plus 1 guide) and most people were in good physical condition for this trip. Travel was done in a 9 passenger van and was comfortable for our group.
This trip, organized by Mountain Travel Sobek (MTS), was the 12 day itinerary that they called Hidden Myanmar. We met our group on Tuesday at 7pm and had an orientation during dinner.
It’s sad to say that our group spent a number of conversations on why we dislike dealing with MTS. The issues all appear to be around dealings with the front office and not the itineraries or guides. I am running across more and more people that would prefer not to book with MTS but still do if it’s the only itinerary that fits their needs. That being said I have to say what a great guide we had. He always found extra activities for the group and gave numerous opportunities for us to interact with the local culture.
Cheers, Nigel
Nigel
Definitely, share with all. 🙂
Bruce D.
I really loved looking at this Nigel. Thanks for taking the time and adding all of the detail. Would you mind if I share this with my son? He would enjoy seeing all of this very much. Very interesting reading about this country and all of the sites….
Lise Magnan
Wow this looks like a wonderful adventure. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.