This shouldn't worry you - During our stay in Burma, there hardly ever saw more than 10 other tourists a day!
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We arrived in the afternoon to the Yangon airport, and after changing 200$ to FECs, we headed to the Information counter - they give a map of Burma for free, and reconfirm your outgoing flight. DON'T FORGET to do it before you leave Yangon - you're very unlikely to be able to phone your airline from outside the city ! We took a taxi to town - walking OUT of the airport's area is a good idea - prices will be more negotiable. Just like we heard, the taxi driver was very friendly, and at the end of the ride, he offered us to change dollars to kyats. The rates in Yangon are higher than anywhere else in the country, so it's a good idea to change most of the money there. Try to get information from people who've been there recently (maybe even leaving tourists at the airport on the day you arrive) as for the current black market exchange rate - and always bargain ! We headed straight to the railway station, taking the train North to Mandalay. You must buy a tourist ticket for the first class in a special window, and it'll cost you 35FECs. The first class, though, is quite good, and you can easily sleep during the night if you take the night train (when I was there there were 2 such trains, at 6pm and 7pm).
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Mandalay : The night train arrived in the late morning. On the way we noticed that every tiny village in Burma has a pagoda in it, so within a few hours in the train you see hundreds of them - of all shapes and colors - a beautiful view. The common means of transportation in Mandalay is a trishaw - which looks like a double-wheel-chair attached to bicycle, and can carry 2 people. Don't miss the local markets, selling just anything you can think of (that is, anything that was invented before the 60's), and try the food stalls - the Burmese food is delicious ! I never had any stomach problems after eating in the markets... The trishaw driver will probably take you from the train station to his 'favorite' hotel. Prices are all the same - around 15$ a night for a double room (payable in dollars or FECs). Our hotel was 'Sabay Phyu' (or something that sounds like it), with air-conditioned rooms, common toilets and a very friendly manager who was willing to help in arranging our travels around town. If you manage to find the 'Golden Express' hotel - it should be good as well (see Pagan for details).
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A Trishaw driver took us to a full day tour in the city - including the Mandalay hill, a few Pagodas, the walls of the ancient palace, gold-leaves making workshop and of course, a souvenir shop.
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Myomyo, Sagain and Amarpura. 4 of us rented for 44$US a car and a driver to take us the Myomyo, a beautiful town 2 hours east of Mandalay. Don't miss the morning market - the most colorful, live and genuine market I've ever seen. The local waterfalls, and the botanic gardens, are also nice. DO NOT visit the Candacraig (?) hotel recommended in the Lonely Planet - it's been long since the place had any colonials in it, and tourists who insist on having a 'colonial lunch' get food brought from the nearest food stall ! Back In Mandalay in the afternoon, our hired driver took us to the deserted city of Sagain and to Amarpura - just outside town.
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on the boat to Pagan. The boat leaves Mandalay at 5am ! It's a good idea to get your favorite rickshaw driver take you there late the previous night (not too late, or you wont have a place to sleep) and spend a not-so-comfortable-but-very-cheap-night in an armchair on the deck. Tickets for the boat trip can be purchased in the tourist office in town for 20 FECs, though if you get on the boat without tickets (they are checked only in the morning) - the conductor will sell you one as well. On the deck there is a rope that separates it to two areas. In one of them there were 30-40 tourists, sitting in comfort on their arm chair. In the other half, just as big, there were about 200 locals, siting on blankets on the deck together some chickens and other livestock. The amazing thing was that the locals stare at the tourists as much as the foreigners look at the Burmese, and soon people started to try communicating with each other. The trip takes 13 hours. The boat stops in many villages on the way, and locals will often come onto the boat to sell some locally-made snacks (no, unlike many other Asian countryside areas - you will NOT be able to buy a bottle of Coke or a Mars bar). The View from the boat is very nice, and of course - you get to see hundreds of different pagodas. The best hotel by far in Pagan is the 'Golden Express', which is actually a chain - there are hotels in Pagan, Yaungwe (Inla lake) and Mandalay (though I haven't seen the last one), and their quality is much higher than any other hotels (though they might be a bit more expensive - 18$ a night, instead of 15, for a double/twin). The only disadvantage of the one in Pagan - it's out of town, but then, 'town' has 10 houses, and there's nothing to do there anyway :-).
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Pagan: This is definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. In an area of 42 sq.km. there are a few thousand pagodas (or what used to be pagodas), mostly made of brown bricks but there are ones of many different sizes, shapes and colors. Some of them are 40-60 meters high, and you can sometimes climb to the top through a maze of internal corridors, and watch the entire area from above. There are two ways to explore the area - hiring bikes, or hiring a cart, a horse and a driver. It's highly recommended to take a cart for the first day, as the driver can take you to the most interesting sites and give heaps of interesting explanations - just make sure his English is good enough before taking him. We paid 300 kyats for a full day. Pagan is also a good place to buy souvenirs - your driver will probably take you during the day to one of the shops in the area. The Burmese specialize in laquerware, and make beautiful things for very cheap prices (esp. if you have some western goods to trade).
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Pagan: This day we hired bikes (100 kyats a day ?) and explored the area ourselves. There's quite a new restaurant in New Pagan - just a few km down the road from the old city, which serves great, cheap food - unfortunately I can't remember its name, but it's just near the river bank. Since there are thousands of pagodas in the area, which are quite different from each other, you can spend quite a few days exploring them.
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Pagan to Inla lake: For a few hundred kyats you can go on a pickup truck (with 50 others !) all the way from Pagan to Yaungwe (at Inla Lake), about 10 hours drive. We preferred to hire, 6 tourists, a van and a driver for 20$ each (as you can see, the locals are very happy to give services for hard currency, as long as it's in the open areas). On the way we stopped in Mt. Popa - a high mountain with pagodas on the top and great views. We also stopped in Bindaya caves - stalactites and stalagmites caves with thousands of Buddha statues of all sizes in it - quite impressive. In Yaungwe, the best hotel is the 'Golden Express'.
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Yaungwe: The morning market here (Mondays only ?) is almost as exciting as in other places in Burma, with interesting goods (things you'll find in the west only in antique shops). The town is very quite and peaceful, with water canals between the houses.
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around Yaungwe: there are a few villages around Yaungwe, and walking around them gives a good opportunity to watch primitive agricultural methods and to meet people who hardly saw any 'whites' before.
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| Inla lake: The tour in the lake is organized by the local tourist centre, and costs 9 FECs (? I'm not sure about the exact prices). Even if you take private tours, you'll still be taken first thing to the tourist centre to pay the visitor fee. Make sure you take a tour (if possible) on a day when there's a floating market in Ywama (only once or twice a week - is it on Wednesdays ?). |
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