Two weeks in Myanmar is barely enough time. You really need at least three or four, however, after two weeks I am ready to return to Thailand. By developing/third world standards Myanmar is easy to travel. The people are nice and for the most part very honest. Theft and scams are at a minimum. Touts are not overbearing as the people are quite polite about it and not too pushy. However, Myanmar remains a very poor country. The poorest in Southeast Asia
While
traveling through places like Bagan and Inle Lake it’s easy to travel in a
bubble as tourism is well established. Food and lodging can be found at a
higher standard. Outside of few select tourist spots you can’t help but notice
the poverty and all that goes with it. In that regard traveling becomes a
little tiring unless you are totally up for it. The noise, pollution, garbage,
language difficulties, and person sitting behind you on a packed bus with a bad
cough become wearing. Throw in a likely bout of travelers diarrhea and/or a
cold and it becomes a bit exhausting.
For
the most part Myanmar is what I expected and well worth the trip. It’s been
interesting for me to return to such an environment to see how I’d like it. I’d
say during the years of 2009 to 2011 I probably would have been inclined to
stay longer because I had more of an interest in the kind of experience that a
country like Myanmar offers but now my interest seem to be swaying the other
direction. The train trip from Yangon to Bagan, the temples of Bagan and the
trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake were all great experiences but enough for now.
My last day in Myanmar was spent on a long tail boat upon Inle Lake with four other backpacker travelers. It was easy to find a group. I just went down to the boat dock which was located across from a budget hotel/hostel where I met a guy from France with a guy from New Zealand and two girls from Indonesia. A boat for the entire day cost around $14 USD and we split the cost which made it very cheap.
The ride around the lake and it’s channels was quite beautiful as we passed traditional fishermen and floating gardens but the stops at different shops and so forth was a bit canned with premium priced souvenirs for unsuspecting tourists. Of course they claim just about everything is made locally or by themselves but you never really know for sure. One shop did host a couple of long neck women, the only ones I saw as there aren’t many left, who were weaving scarves. In retrospect I kind of wish I’d bought a scarf as they were kind of unique and I believe the ones being sold were actually made by them. You have to be careful that the souvenirs are authentic to Myanmar and not Chinese knockoffs. A local business man can send an authentic curio to a factory in China and have them bang out a thousand or more for the next tourist season.
The two nights of luxury in a $30 hotel room was followed by a ride in a back of a truck for 30 minutes to a road intersection with a makeshift bus station where I stood in the dark for another half hour waiting for a VIP bus.
I needed to get back to Yangon to catch my flight back to Bangkok. The VIP bus was nice and modern. The seats were wide and lean far back but the arctic air conditioning made it a bit uncomfortable. Throw in bad winding mountain roads, a hint of motion sickness, the obligatory coughing person in the seat behind and the 11 hour ride doesn’t feel so VIP. The ticket cost around $23 USD and included a snack, throw away toothbrush and disposable wet towel.
The bus station in Yangon is a nightmare. It’s not bad when you arrive in the city and simply hop into a taxi but good luck if trying to find your bus out of the city. I was really glad I had taken the train out of Yangon which is very easy. The Bus arrived at 6 am and I decided to hop a taxi with three French backpackers directly to the airport. My flight to Bangkok was not scheduled to leave until nearly 1 pm but I knew there was an earlier flight at 8:30 am on the same airline. I also knew there were seats available.
I arrived at the airport with the French at 6:30 am and cued up in line. I was persistent and polite as I went to 1, 2, and 3 lines. No success. Not possible. I would have to wait until my scheduled flight at 12:55. In some countries I might have been able to bribe my way onto an earlier flight but that doesn’t appear to be the way it works in Myanmar.
Anyway, I’ll still arrive in Bangkok at a reasonable time where I’m already booked into a single room at a quiet peaceful hostel I’ve stayed at before. I’ll have all day to rest before catching a sleeper berth on a night train Monday to Krabi in the south of Thailand. The air conditioned overnight sleeper trains in Thailand are very nice and clean. An attendant makes your bed for you in the evening.
Although Thailand has it’s share of poor, especially in the rural areas, I don’t really consider it to be a third world country anymore. It’s a very easy and very comfortable place to travel. A great place for a vacation which is exactly what I intend it to be. Beaches, islands, snorkeling and a little rock climbing is what I plan to do.
As for the moment, I am sitting at a KFC at Yangon International Airport feeling a little shaky after all day on a boat followed by a bumpy eleven hour bus ride with little sleep. The minor cold I picked up is well on its way out but it’s leaving me with a hint of a cough. Nothing that an ocean breeze can’t cure.
My last day in Myanmar was spent on a long tail boat upon Inle Lake with four other backpacker travelers. It was easy to find a group. I just went down to the boat dock which was located across from a budget hotel/hostel where I met a guy from France with a guy from New Zealand and two girls from Indonesia. A boat for the entire day cost around $14 USD and we split the cost which made it very cheap.
The ride around the lake and it’s channels was quite beautiful as we passed traditional fishermen and floating gardens but the stops at different shops and so forth was a bit canned with premium priced souvenirs for unsuspecting tourists. Of course they claim just about everything is made locally or by themselves but you never really know for sure. One shop did host a couple of long neck women, the only ones I saw as there aren’t many left, who were weaving scarves. In retrospect I kind of wish I’d bought a scarf as they were kind of unique and I believe the ones being sold were actually made by them. You have to be careful that the souvenirs are authentic to Myanmar and not Chinese knockoffs. A local business man can send an authentic curio to a factory in China and have them bang out a thousand or more for the next tourist season.
The two nights of luxury in a $30 hotel room was followed by a ride in a back of a truck for 30 minutes to a road intersection with a makeshift bus station where I stood in the dark for another half hour waiting for a VIP bus.
I needed to get back to Yangon to catch my flight back to Bangkok. The VIP bus was nice and modern. The seats were wide and lean far back but the arctic air conditioning made it a bit uncomfortable. Throw in bad winding mountain roads, a hint of motion sickness, the obligatory coughing person in the seat behind and the 11 hour ride doesn’t feel so VIP. The ticket cost around $23 USD and included a snack, throw away toothbrush and disposable wet towel.
The bus station in Yangon is a nightmare. It’s not bad when you arrive in the city and simply hop into a taxi but good luck if trying to find your bus out of the city. I was really glad I had taken the train out of Yangon which is very easy. The Bus arrived at 6 am and I decided to hop a taxi with three French backpackers directly to the airport. My flight to Bangkok was not scheduled to leave until nearly 1 pm but I knew there was an earlier flight at 8:30 am on the same airline. I also knew there were seats available.
I arrived at the airport with the French at 6:30 am and cued up in line. I was persistent and polite as I went to 1, 2, and 3 lines. No success. Not possible. I would have to wait until my scheduled flight at 12:55. In some countries I might have been able to bribe my way onto an earlier flight but that doesn’t appear to be the way it works in Myanmar.
Anyway, I’ll still arrive in Bangkok at a reasonable time where I’m already booked into a single room at a quiet peaceful hostel I’ve stayed at before. I’ll have all day to rest before catching a sleeper berth on a night train Monday to Krabi in the south of Thailand. The air conditioned overnight sleeper trains in Thailand are very nice and clean. An attendant makes your bed for you in the evening.
Although Thailand has it’s share of poor, especially in the rural areas, I don’t really consider it to be a third world country anymore. It’s a very easy and very comfortable place to travel. A great place for a vacation which is exactly what I intend it to be. Beaches, islands, snorkeling and a little rock climbing is what I plan to do.
As for the moment, I am sitting at a KFC at Yangon International Airport feeling a little shaky after all day on a boat followed by a bumpy eleven hour bus ride with little sleep. The minor cold I picked up is well on its way out but it’s leaving me with a hint of a cough. Nothing that an ocean breeze can’t cure.
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