Writing, Traveling, Surviving: The Beauty of Myanmar

Myanmar is a place of such beauty that you may struggle to believe your eyes. There are some bad things about the country too, but I’m going to leave that for the next blog. This one is just about the incredible things you’ll see in this amazing country.

YANGON

Yangon is Myanmar’s largest city, and it’s old capital, formerly called Rangoon. Most visitors rush through Yangon, and for good reason, there’s not a whole lot to see in the city. However, I think it has the best street food in the whole country. So eat up!

Things to do in Yangon:

Shwedagon Pagoda - Visible from most parts of Yangon, this golden spire towers over the city. It's a little expensive to enter (around $6) but it's a lovely place to walk around. It's also much cleaner than some of the other temples you'll find in Myanmar.

The Circle Train - This is sort of like the metro for Yangon. Locals take it, and it's VERY cheap. Roughly 15 - 25 cents for the train, depending on if you want the air-con or not. I recommending going without it- these trains tend to be more interesting. There's a big market around halfway through the 3 hour train loop, which is pretty cool.

Playing ball in the market.

Showing pictures to the local kids.

A little girl in the market.

There are many fruit vendors on the train. This woman is selling pineapple halves, and is charging 400 kyait for each one. Roughly 31 cents.

Kids in the market.

HPA-AN

Hpa-an is a tiny town half-way between the border and Yangon, and when I first came to it, I only spent a few hours there, and rushed off immediately. This was a BIG mistake. I later came back to Hpa-an and found it to be my favorite place in Myanmar.

Zwegabin Mountain - A two hour hike up god-only-knows how many stairs. Don't worry, it's MUCH harder than it sounds. Start the hike early to avoid the punishing sun. At the top you'll be rewarded with crazy monkeys and breathtaking views. People can also sleep at the monastery on the top of the mountain.

View from the top.

There's a shrine near the top, where some monks and local kids find shade.

Locals feed the monkeys.

Saddan Cave - A long and complex cave, with a number of Buddhas inside. At the back end of the cave you'll find a stream that continues through some more caves, and eventually a wonderfully scenic rice field.

A young girl runs out to greet me as I approach the cave.

There is a holy place in Myanmar called Golden Rock, and while people can pay to touch the rock, women are forbidden from touching it. However, Saddan cave has a small replica of Golden Rock. She finally got to touch it. Sort of...

Exiting the cave.

A local pushing his boat through the rice field.

The Bat Cave - You don't actually go inside this cave, but trust me, you wouldn't want to. At sunset, the bats start coming out, and they emerge by the MILLIONS. You'll see a steady stream of bats flying out, and the stream lasts for a long time. Well worth a visit.

BAGO

Bago is another little town that would be easy to skip, and many people do. There are several temples that are fun to see, but not nearly as many as Bagan. People usually just go to Bagan and don't bother with Bago. However Bagan is very touristy and can be really expensive, with more peddlers than I’d like. Bago feels less touched by the scourge of tourism. My friend and I got on motorbikes, and went exploring. We found a little village outside of town that rarely saw foreigners, and they were so happy to see us. It really made the entire trip to Bago worthwhile.

Read the sign on the bottom left. There are many holy places in Myanmar that are off limits to women.

All the villagers wanted to take pictures with us.

Adorable kids. They loved the camera!

More kids. They followed us through the entire village, and were so much fun

BAGAN

If you type in ‘Myanmar’ into google images, you’re likely to get pictures of temple spires rising out of a jungle canopy. This is Bagan. It is deservedly one of Myanmar’s most popular destinations. It is also expensive, touristy, and has a number of peddlers.

There are over a thousand individual temples in Bagan. They are freaking EVERYWHERE.

Sunrise.

Sunset.

Watching the balloons before sunrise. Each balloon ride is something like 300 dollars.

INLE LAKE

Inle Lake is also a top tourist spot in Myanmar, and can be sometimes overwhelming with its catering to tourists. It’s a beautiful lake where you can see traditional fisherman doing what they do best. There are some great treks you can do from here as well (I’m told). And there is an awesome vineyard / winery just outside of town that is well worth the trip.

We got a day tour for about $13, which my friends and I split three ways. There are A LOT of touristy shops around the lake, so you have to be very direct with your boat driver about what you want and don't want to see. We told him that we only wanted to see the small villages, no silver shops, no touristy shops.

A local fisherman.

A house in a small water village.

Fisherman. And baby.

This is where our tour guide lives, in the water village. A two room home with about five people living inside.

Inside his home, and with his family. They spoke no English, but were really lovely.

Chilling in the winery at sunset.

The end of a LONG day, watching the sun set over the vineyard.

GOLDEN ROCK

Golden Rock is a holy spot for the Myanmar people, and they come to it by the thousands almost every day. Everyone stays in the nearby town of Kyaikto (pronounced Jaito) and takes a truck up the mountain to see the rock. The overcrowded truck, hugging the winding curves and going a little too fast, feels a bit like a roller coaster.