Myanmar: Mandalay, Nyuang U, Kalaw
July 3: Mandalay
We woke up at 6:30am to get a taxi to the airport. We were told there would be TONNES of traffic because it was Monday morning and it would take us forever to get there. Lies. Liza Minelli!
We landed at noon, changed money to Kyat (pronounced more like chet), and got in a minivan from the airport to our hotel. Despite the toll road, it was a very bumpy ride. Seems like, for the most part, they build roads on sand; it is a temperate dry climate, after all. The first thing we noticed: pagodas. Everywhere!
A1 hotel was all kinds of fancy: massive bed, huge TV (only 5 channels in Burmese, but that's okay), full closet with safe, desk, vanity, mini fridge, and phone. Noice! Also, breakfast was included.
I showered and decided to nap. Apparently I really needed to sleep because the nap became 5 hours and when I woke it was 7pm. Dinner time! The food is .... weird. All of the street meat seems to be fried, and meats that I don't recognize or are covered in flies because the food has been sitting out for hours.
We went to a bbq restaurant. I got fried rice - pretty standard, and tasty. Andy got eel curry and burned his face off. When they asked why we weren't eating it, we said 'too spicy' so they took it away and brought us something slightly less spicy, but still way too hot. Clearly, we are babies. Baby Spice.
We decided to wander a bit to get back, and wound up getting lost. On the plus side, we found a really cool wholesale market. At least, I think it was wholesale since there were huge quantities of everything. On the downside, we were frustrated and it took us quite a while to figure out where we were. Note to self: always have my phone or a paper map. Whoops.
We managed to get back to the hotel around 9 and went to bed.
July 4: Mandalay, Andy's birthday
We did some research on what to do in the city and decided we didn't much care for it. So, we chose to spend the day in our swanky hotel room. We got room service, watched movies, read, and played cards. Myanmar tea is amazing; it's very much like Thai milk tea, with some kind of black tea and sweetened condensed milk. We were very excited that it is also a thing here.
We heard that Wifi in Myanmar is pretty terrible so we took advantage. Andy booked his flight home.... I just kept thinking 'Happy birthday; I'm sending you home' and felt super weird about it.
July 5: Nyuang U
We booked a bus to Bagan, known for its Temple Plains full of ruins. It was a 5 hour, very cramped, hot and unpleasant ride. I will be certain to check that my seat is not on the wheel; there is no room for legs when my backpack takes up the space with the wheel. Not sure what I would have done if I had to share the seat with a stranger :s
I really like reading on the bus, especially when the driving is kind of scary or monotonous. I started Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs on the plane from Bangkok and was worried it would be too intense; I was fine and read the vast majority of the book on the bus.
We arrived at Winner Guest House around 3:30, showered, and read for a bit. Walked next door to the Little Thai Kitchen to grab dinner and called it an early night.
July 6: Nyuang U
Free breakfast, even if it's just toast and an egg, is really nice.
We got picked up around 9:30 to head to Mt Popa, a huge temple complex on the top of a mountain. On the way we stopped at a Toddy Shop, a palm tree product stand/bar. Everything there is made using palm trees, from the tables and chairs to the snacks and drinks. I made friends with a cow who was making peanut oil by walking around a giant mortar and pestle. It probably has a proper term, but I also know it is a thing for tourists because machines make peanut oil now.
We continued the drive up and down a mountain toward Mt Popa. From afar, it looks like the top of the mountain was cut off and a temple placed where there had been more mountain. It was kind of rainy but definitely super cloudy up there, so unfortunately there was not a good view from the top, which would have been nice.
The first thing we noticed were all of the monkeys. Tonnes and tonnes of them, of all ages, all up and down the 777 steps to get the top. That's a lot of steps. As we walked up, we saw some monkeys trying, often successfully, to take flowers and food from people. They would even hang on to skirts.
Some of the steps are quite steep and I had to take my sweet time. Really grateful that I was wearing pants and not a skirt. I have a really huge fear of falling down stairs. I get incredibly anxious and have to sing 'just keep swimming' to myself over and over; this was no exception. I'm not sure if having a good view would have helped or hindered the climb.
The top was quite windy, and there were a lot of rooms and areas with various statues of different Buddhas and different people. I think a guide would be useful for Mt Popa, so as to learn history and be able to ask questions. For example, there were a bunch of people who were chillin up at the top in certain designated seats. I think they were speaking Burmese to people and asking for donations, but I am not sure what their job is. Also, I noticed that near the huge water tank there were shower supplies. So, clearly, someone lives up there.
We grabbed a snack and got back on our bus, so we were back at our guest house by about 2:30.
We hung out at the guest house for a bit, and went to The Food Library for a really nice dinner. Wow. Definitely recommend!
July 7: Nyuang U
We made a whole bunch of plans for our time in Myanmar, and then walked to a street full of restaurants. We ate delicious mutton curry. massaman curry, and cucumber salad at Weather Spoon's, and used internet for the first time in 3 days.
We are working our way through Outlander Season 1 so watched an episode and went to bed early.
July 8: Nyuang U
Temple sunrise! We woke up at 4am (gross!) and walked over to Bulethi Pagoda. On the way, in the dark, we encountered a group of dogs who were not super pleased by our presence, a snake, and some frogs. We arrived at the temple with some snacks just as dawn was breaking so it was light enough that we could get up the steps. We noticed that Bulethi was under construction, so we chose to go to the pagoda right beside it, which was slightly smaller but still totally reasonable. And there were way fewer people.
The sun started to rise and we realized that there were way too many clouds in the way.
We walked back to the guest house a different way, noticing tonnes of other stupas and pagodas now that the sun had risen. I am amazed at just how hot it gets, even when the sun is close to the horizon. I felt gross.
We had breakfast, and napped for a while. Then we decided we wanted to see the sunset from a restaurant that overlooks the river. We decided to wander through a neighbourhood to get to the restaurant, which was a fantastic choice. Almost everyone said hello, some asked where we were going, and we were mostly shaded. Along the way we passed a pagoda with some MASSIVE lion dogs, which made Andy very happy.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, so we walked halfway back to the restaurant street hoping to grab Indian from a place that doesn't require payment if you don't like the food. It wasn't open yet and we were too hungry to wait, so we went to another place and ordered a tonne of beverages and too much food.
We walked back and packed up our stuff, ready for another early morning.
July 9: Kalaw
Woke up stupid early, checked out, and started to eat breakfast when our bus arrived at 6:30am. I was a little worried that was the bus we'd be taking for the entire 7 hour trip, and Andy couldn't find his sunglasses so started freaking out.
We were taken to the bus terminal and told we were getting on a much bigger and nicer bus. Score! Also, Andy found his sunglasses in the first row of seats we sat in so was able to stop flipping out. The bus was really nice and comfy, I was very happy, and we even left early.
It took 3 hours to go 250 km, stopping for snack and then lunch each hour, and then another hour to go 60km. The joys of mountainous roads, full of curves. I'm glad we already had booked a place to stay; turns out that almost all of the foreigners on our bus were staying there, too.
We grabbed an early dinner, fantastic noodle soup, and Andy booked a 3 day trek with Ever Smile. We packed while watching Outlander and went to bed.
July 10: Kalaw
Breakfast at Golden Kalaw Inn includes pancakes, drip coffee, and half a mango. The mangoes here taste very strange, like a mix between canteloupe, honeydew melon, and mango. We took a stroll through the market to find some more fruit, and I sent Andy on his trek. I realized that my body would not be able to handle a 60km hike, so opted out.
I spent the day doing yoga (love me some Yoga With Adriene), watching Disney movies, and I tried to meditate. I was very excited about having alone time, but realized that I behave basically the same when I'm with Andy. But, I got two pillows and could spread out all over the place.
I was craving the noodle soup from the day before, so went to have a beer and soup. I grabbed some fruit from the market, tea, and some snacks and headed back for some more movies and writing. I was intending to go for a walk about time, but then it poured rain and I did not feel like walking around in the rain.
Around 10pm, some people nearby started singing and playing guitar; it was rather loud and obnoxious, but also in another language so I had no idea of the songs they were singing. At about 1am I was awoken by what I think was a dog fight. It was terrible.
July 11: Kalaw
I love waking up without an alarm; I feel so much more relaxed. Had a lovely breakfast at Golden Kalaw and took myself on a hike.
I was told it would take 90 minutes to get to the viewpoint, and it was really nice, so I walked up a whole lot of steps to a monastery and then through a surrounding neighbourhood. I was directed toward a pagoda and stopped in a few places along the way for photos of Kalaw. Definitely worth the view.
It only took me 45 minutes to get to the pagoda, so I figured that this was not the viewpoint and continued on. Bad idea. I mean, the views were great, but at the 90 minute mark I turned back and made my way back down. I stopped in at Ever Smile to arrange my transportation to meet up with Andy the next day.
I had a shower, ate some food in my room, did some yoga, and then had a dance party. More movies and packing.
July 12: Kalaw to Nyuang Shwe
I woke up bright and early, grabbed breakfast and headed to Ever Smile to drop off my bag and hop on a motorbike to take me to Inle Lake. I loved being on the back of the bike, and my driver was super nice. We even stopped at a monastery because I thought it was pretty.
We stopped to pay a fee to be allowed into Inle Lake region, and happened to roll up behind Andy's group. My bum was starting to hurt on the back of the motorbike so I chose to join the group. They were just about to hitch hike in the back of a truck for a while; sweet! Not the comfiest, but totally fine. We got off at a HUGE tree, climbed for a while, then hiked for 2 hours through fields and bamboo. I was not prepared and my body hurt a LOT.
The good part: when we arrived in the marsh there was lunch. It was delicious and there were cold drinks. Then we hopped in a boat, went to a couple of silver shops along the way and then carried on in the boat across Inle Lake. The boat ride was absolutely lovely.
We got to the pier, walked 2 km to our hotel and were VERY excited by the luxury of our accommodations: bath tub was key. Bring on the bathing and sleep.
This is Andy's take on his trek:
Woke up in the hotel on the first day, packed stuff while watching Outlander, and had first breakfast (mango, okay-ish tea, a few bites of bad pancakes). Julia walked with me to EverSmile, but we first wandered through a market to find second breakfast (bananas). Afterwards, walked over (up to?) EverSmile, said bye to Julia, and waited while chatting with some of my fellow trekkers until the 2 day tour group left and our 3 day tour guide Aki joined us. Aki has been leading these treks for five years, and is now 19 years old. She's also the daughter of Toe Toe, the owner of EverSmile. Her English is fantastic!
All 14 of us, including Aki, crammed into and onto a truck, went to pick up some people's gear that they accidentally left at their hostel, then we went to our drop off point.
And then we walked.
And then we walked some more. We passed by some farming fields, up and down slopes, made our way to the town's water reservoir and took a break there. Then we walked through brush and forest and then rainforest. All going up and down fairly steep slopes and dirt trails. Eventually we came out of the trees and onto a dirt road overlooking terraced tea fields on the mountain slopes. As always, the mountain view was breathtaking. A little bit farther down the road we came to a little place where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was amazing, but I don't remember much past the overload of fruits at the end of the meal that Chris and I ate. That was definitely trail-hunger.
We walked some more, did some things, it rained on and off as we walked through mountains, there was mud everywhere, and the mountains continued to be beautiful.
Unfortunately, a lot of the three days blur together into a stream of walking through some tough terrain, seeing stunning mountain vistas, chatting with the other trekkers about so many different things, eating, resting, and sleeping. Also unfortunately, nearly all of the photos I took on the trek were of various mountain views, so it's impossible to use the photos to help me remember.
In all, it was something like 65km over three days, through mountains and rainforest. I consider myself to be in good shape, but at times on some of the uphills and even the downhills, the steps were so steep that my legs just did not want to cooperate and lift me up to the next step. It was tough, and I'm somewhat surprised that something like that is marketed towards regular tourists. That said, Kalaw and Inle Lake are known for their mountain trekking, so you don't go there if you're not ready for that kind of tough hike.
At the end of the trip, Julia and I made it to our fancy hotel and the glorious tub. That tub was so nice, I had more baths in it than I had in the past several years combined.
We woke up at 6:30am to get a taxi to the airport. We were told there would be TONNES of traffic because it was Monday morning and it would take us forever to get there. Lies. Liza Minelli!
We landed at noon, changed money to Kyat (pronounced more like chet), and got in a minivan from the airport to our hotel. Despite the toll road, it was a very bumpy ride. Seems like, for the most part, they build roads on sand; it is a temperate dry climate, after all. The first thing we noticed: pagodas. Everywhere!
(3-headed dog statues near a pagoda)
A1 hotel was all kinds of fancy: massive bed, huge TV (only 5 channels in Burmese, but that's okay), full closet with safe, desk, vanity, mini fridge, and phone. Noice! Also, breakfast was included.
I showered and decided to nap. Apparently I really needed to sleep because the nap became 5 hours and when I woke it was 7pm. Dinner time! The food is .... weird. All of the street meat seems to be fried, and meats that I don't recognize or are covered in flies because the food has been sitting out for hours.
We went to a bbq restaurant. I got fried rice - pretty standard, and tasty. Andy got eel curry and burned his face off. When they asked why we weren't eating it, we said 'too spicy' so they took it away and brought us something slightly less spicy, but still way too hot. Clearly, we are babies. Baby Spice.
We decided to wander a bit to get back, and wound up getting lost. On the plus side, we found a really cool wholesale market. At least, I think it was wholesale since there were huge quantities of everything. On the downside, we were frustrated and it took us quite a while to figure out where we were. Note to self: always have my phone or a paper map. Whoops.
We managed to get back to the hotel around 9 and went to bed.
July 4: Mandalay, Andy's birthday
We did some research on what to do in the city and decided we didn't much care for it. So, we chose to spend the day in our swanky hotel room. We got room service, watched movies, read, and played cards. Myanmar tea is amazing; it's very much like Thai milk tea, with some kind of black tea and sweetened condensed milk. We were very excited that it is also a thing here.
We heard that Wifi in Myanmar is pretty terrible so we took advantage. Andy booked his flight home.... I just kept thinking 'Happy birthday; I'm sending you home' and felt super weird about it.
July 5: Nyuang U
We booked a bus to Bagan, known for its Temple Plains full of ruins. It was a 5 hour, very cramped, hot and unpleasant ride. I will be certain to check that my seat is not on the wheel; there is no room for legs when my backpack takes up the space with the wheel. Not sure what I would have done if I had to share the seat with a stranger :s
I really like reading on the bus, especially when the driving is kind of scary or monotonous. I started Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs on the plane from Bangkok and was worried it would be too intense; I was fine and read the vast majority of the book on the bus.
We arrived at Winner Guest House around 3:30, showered, and read for a bit. Walked next door to the Little Thai Kitchen to grab dinner and called it an early night.
July 6: Nyuang U
Free breakfast, even if it's just toast and an egg, is really nice.
We got picked up around 9:30 to head to Mt Popa, a huge temple complex on the top of a mountain. On the way we stopped at a Toddy Shop, a palm tree product stand/bar. Everything there is made using palm trees, from the tables and chairs to the snacks and drinks. I made friends with a cow who was making peanut oil by walking around a giant mortar and pestle. It probably has a proper term, but I also know it is a thing for tourists because machines make peanut oil now.
We continued the drive up and down a mountain toward Mt Popa. From afar, it looks like the top of the mountain was cut off and a temple placed where there had been more mountain. It was kind of rainy but definitely super cloudy up there, so unfortunately there was not a good view from the top, which would have been nice.
The first thing we noticed were all of the monkeys. Tonnes and tonnes of them, of all ages, all up and down the 777 steps to get the top. That's a lot of steps. As we walked up, we saw some monkeys trying, often successfully, to take flowers and food from people. They would even hang on to skirts.
Some of the steps are quite steep and I had to take my sweet time. Really grateful that I was wearing pants and not a skirt. I have a really huge fear of falling down stairs. I get incredibly anxious and have to sing 'just keep swimming' to myself over and over; this was no exception. I'm not sure if having a good view would have helped or hindered the climb.
The top was quite windy, and there were a lot of rooms and areas with various statues of different Buddhas and different people. I think a guide would be useful for Mt Popa, so as to learn history and be able to ask questions. For example, there were a bunch of people who were chillin up at the top in certain designated seats. I think they were speaking Burmese to people and asking for donations, but I am not sure what their job is. Also, I noticed that near the huge water tank there were shower supplies. So, clearly, someone lives up there.
We grabbed a snack and got back on our bus, so we were back at our guest house by about 2:30.
We hung out at the guest house for a bit, and went to The Food Library for a really nice dinner. Wow. Definitely recommend!
July 7: Nyuang U
We made a whole bunch of plans for our time in Myanmar, and then walked to a street full of restaurants. We ate delicious mutton curry. massaman curry, and cucumber salad at Weather Spoon's, and used internet for the first time in 3 days.
We are working our way through Outlander Season 1 so watched an episode and went to bed early.
July 8: Nyuang U
Temple sunrise! We woke up at 4am (gross!) and walked over to Bulethi Pagoda. On the way, in the dark, we encountered a group of dogs who were not super pleased by our presence, a snake, and some frogs. We arrived at the temple with some snacks just as dawn was breaking so it was light enough that we could get up the steps. We noticed that Bulethi was under construction, so we chose to go to the pagoda right beside it, which was slightly smaller but still totally reasonable. And there were way fewer people.
The sun started to rise and we realized that there were way too many clouds in the way.
We walked back to the guest house a different way, noticing tonnes of other stupas and pagodas now that the sun had risen. I am amazed at just how hot it gets, even when the sun is close to the horizon. I felt gross.
We had breakfast, and napped for a while. Then we decided we wanted to see the sunset from a restaurant that overlooks the river. We decided to wander through a neighbourhood to get to the restaurant, which was a fantastic choice. Almost everyone said hello, some asked where we were going, and we were mostly shaded. Along the way we passed a pagoda with some MASSIVE lion dogs, which made Andy very happy.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, so we walked halfway back to the restaurant street hoping to grab Indian from a place that doesn't require payment if you don't like the food. It wasn't open yet and we were too hungry to wait, so we went to another place and ordered a tonne of beverages and too much food.
We walked back and packed up our stuff, ready for another early morning.
July 9: Kalaw
Woke up stupid early, checked out, and started to eat breakfast when our bus arrived at 6:30am. I was a little worried that was the bus we'd be taking for the entire 7 hour trip, and Andy couldn't find his sunglasses so started freaking out.
We were taken to the bus terminal and told we were getting on a much bigger and nicer bus. Score! Also, Andy found his sunglasses in the first row of seats we sat in so was able to stop flipping out. The bus was really nice and comfy, I was very happy, and we even left early.
It took 3 hours to go 250 km, stopping for snack and then lunch each hour, and then another hour to go 60km. The joys of mountainous roads, full of curves. I'm glad we already had booked a place to stay; turns out that almost all of the foreigners on our bus were staying there, too.
We grabbed an early dinner, fantastic noodle soup, and Andy booked a 3 day trek with Ever Smile. We packed while watching Outlander and went to bed.
July 10: Kalaw
Breakfast at Golden Kalaw Inn includes pancakes, drip coffee, and half a mango. The mangoes here taste very strange, like a mix between canteloupe, honeydew melon, and mango. We took a stroll through the market to find some more fruit, and I sent Andy on his trek. I realized that my body would not be able to handle a 60km hike, so opted out.
I spent the day doing yoga (love me some Yoga With Adriene), watching Disney movies, and I tried to meditate. I was very excited about having alone time, but realized that I behave basically the same when I'm with Andy. But, I got two pillows and could spread out all over the place.
I was craving the noodle soup from the day before, so went to have a beer and soup. I grabbed some fruit from the market, tea, and some snacks and headed back for some more movies and writing. I was intending to go for a walk about time, but then it poured rain and I did not feel like walking around in the rain.
Around 10pm, some people nearby started singing and playing guitar; it was rather loud and obnoxious, but also in another language so I had no idea of the songs they were singing. At about 1am I was awoken by what I think was a dog fight. It was terrible.
July 11: Kalaw
I love waking up without an alarm; I feel so much more relaxed. Had a lovely breakfast at Golden Kalaw and took myself on a hike.
I was told it would take 90 minutes to get to the viewpoint, and it was really nice, so I walked up a whole lot of steps to a monastery and then through a surrounding neighbourhood. I was directed toward a pagoda and stopped in a few places along the way for photos of Kalaw. Definitely worth the view.
It only took me 45 minutes to get to the pagoda, so I figured that this was not the viewpoint and continued on. Bad idea. I mean, the views were great, but at the 90 minute mark I turned back and made my way back down. I stopped in at Ever Smile to arrange my transportation to meet up with Andy the next day.
I had a shower, ate some food in my room, did some yoga, and then had a dance party. More movies and packing.
July 12: Kalaw to Nyuang Shwe
I woke up bright and early, grabbed breakfast and headed to Ever Smile to drop off my bag and hop on a motorbike to take me to Inle Lake. I loved being on the back of the bike, and my driver was super nice. We even stopped at a monastery because I thought it was pretty.
We stopped to pay a fee to be allowed into Inle Lake region, and happened to roll up behind Andy's group. My bum was starting to hurt on the back of the motorbike so I chose to join the group. They were just about to hitch hike in the back of a truck for a while; sweet! Not the comfiest, but totally fine. We got off at a HUGE tree, climbed for a while, then hiked for 2 hours through fields and bamboo. I was not prepared and my body hurt a LOT.
The good part: when we arrived in the marsh there was lunch. It was delicious and there were cold drinks. Then we hopped in a boat, went to a couple of silver shops along the way and then carried on in the boat across Inle Lake. The boat ride was absolutely lovely.
We got to the pier, walked 2 km to our hotel and were VERY excited by the luxury of our accommodations: bath tub was key. Bring on the bathing and sleep.
This is Andy's take on his trek:
Woke up in the hotel on the first day, packed stuff while watching Outlander, and had first breakfast (mango, okay-ish tea, a few bites of bad pancakes). Julia walked with me to EverSmile, but we first wandered through a market to find second breakfast (bananas). Afterwards, walked over (up to?) EverSmile, said bye to Julia, and waited while chatting with some of my fellow trekkers until the 2 day tour group left and our 3 day tour guide Aki joined us. Aki has been leading these treks for five years, and is now 19 years old. She's also the daughter of Toe Toe, the owner of EverSmile. Her English is fantastic!
All 14 of us, including Aki, crammed into and onto a truck, went to pick up some people's gear that they accidentally left at their hostel, then we went to our drop off point.
And then we walked.
And then we walked some more. We passed by some farming fields, up and down slopes, made our way to the town's water reservoir and took a break there. Then we walked through brush and forest and then rainforest. All going up and down fairly steep slopes and dirt trails. Eventually we came out of the trees and onto a dirt road overlooking terraced tea fields on the mountain slopes. As always, the mountain view was breathtaking. A little bit farther down the road we came to a little place where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was amazing, but I don't remember much past the overload of fruits at the end of the meal that Chris and I ate. That was definitely trail-hunger.
We walked some more, did some things, it rained on and off as we walked through mountains, there was mud everywhere, and the mountains continued to be beautiful.
Unfortunately, a lot of the three days blur together into a stream of walking through some tough terrain, seeing stunning mountain vistas, chatting with the other trekkers about so many different things, eating, resting, and sleeping. Also unfortunately, nearly all of the photos I took on the trek were of various mountain views, so it's impossible to use the photos to help me remember.
In all, it was something like 65km over three days, through mountains and rainforest. I consider myself to be in good shape, but at times on some of the uphills and even the downhills, the steps were so steep that my legs just did not want to cooperate and lift me up to the next step. It was tough, and I'm somewhat surprised that something like that is marketed towards regular tourists. That said, Kalaw and Inle Lake are known for their mountain trekking, so you don't go there if you're not ready for that kind of tough hike.
At the end of the trip, Julia and I made it to our fancy hotel and the glorious tub. That tub was so nice, I had more baths in it than I had in the past several years combined.
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