" The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything but they make the most of everything that comes along the way "
" Once you stop learning, you start decaying. You are never too old to learn to travel "
"Never wait till Tomorrow for what you can do or own Today"
" My 5 days in Yangon & Bagan (12-16/1/2012) - my wife & my first visit to Myanmar !
" My 5 days in Yangon & Bagan (12-16/1/2012) - my wife & my first visit to Myanmar !
Total expenses incurred (5 days) : Rm860 per person (US$290)
Air Asia (return) ticket: Rm254
Airport bus & taxi - Rm72
Hostel (4 nights) : Yangon-US22 per room (double); Bagan-US$20 per room (double)
Ocean Pearl Inn, Yangon (free airport pick-up); May Kha Lar Guesthouse, Bagan. Both hostels provide free breakfast.
Entrance fee: Shwedagon Temple - US$5; Bagan - US$10
Food: 25,000kyt
Internal transport:
Horse ride per day (Bagan) - 15,000kyt
Bus from Yangon>Bagan (return) - 15,000kyt x 2= 30,000kyt
taxi to Yangon airport - 6,000kyt
circular train, Yangon- US$1
taxi to Yangon bus terminal-4,000kyt
Yangon city taxi (4 rides): 12,000kyt
Currency exchange: US$1=770kyt; US$1=Rm3.00
Travel itinerary: Kuala Lumpur > Yangon > Bagan > Yangon > Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Myanmar is the last Asean country I visited thus far. Asean has 10 member countries so I have fulfilled my dream in visiting all the Asean countries over the years since I started working in the late 60's. Myanmar is also the number 50th country I visited in my life time.
For this trip , my wife and my ex-colleague, Mr Ch'ng & Florence (spouse) traveled together as a group on a free and easy trip to Yangon & Bagan for 5 days. During July 2011, both Ch'ng and myself had bought Air Asia tickets to Yangon but due to our negligence, we were unable to board our flight at the LCCT as we did not apply for a Myanmar Visa for the trip. So the air tickets were written off even though we were given the opportunity by the airport check-in counter to apply for the visa and fly on a later date.
To make our stay in Yangon easier, we picked Ocean Pearl Inn via an online internet booking from the Hostelworld website. This hostel provides a free airport pick-up and also sells bus ticket covering our trip from Yangon to Bagan ( return tickets cost 30,000kyt=US$39). The hostel also provides currency exchange service (US$1=770kyt) and helps in hiring taxis to Yangon Bus station for our overnight trip to Bagan and our final day departure from Yangon city to airport. So just relax as far as your stays in Yangon & Bagan are concerned.
In Bagan, we stayed in May Kha Lar Guesthouse, which is within walking distance from the Bagan bus station. As we had a return bus ticket, the Guesthouse was able to arrange for the bus to pick our group up from the Guesthouse for our overnight journey back to Yangon.
Having visited temples & pagodas in Angor Wat (Cambodia), Borobudur (Indonesia), Ayutthaya (Thailand) and Shwedagon (Yangon) & Bagan in this trip, I believe I have seen the most ancient, beautiful & magnificent temples in the world so one up for me in the world of travelling !
Myanmar may be a Third World country, but of late we are seeing major political changes for more democratic freedom & reform for their people, so this will augur well for the country's future. Travelling in Myanmar is safe so bring a stack of US dollars (clean, crisp and notes must be without marking & folding. Scribbled and shabby notes are not accepted) and enjoy your stay in this country !
If time permits, you may consider a visit to Mandalay, Inle lake (Shan State), The Golden Rock and Myanmar's new capital. I will probably make another trip to Myanmar in the near future given the short travelling time and close proximity to Malaysia.
To make our stay in Yangon easier, we picked Ocean Pearl Inn via an online internet booking from the Hostelworld website. This hostel provides a free airport pick-up and also sells bus ticket covering our trip from Yangon to Bagan ( return tickets cost 30,000kyt=US$39). The hostel also provides currency exchange service (US$1=770kyt) and helps in hiring taxis to Yangon Bus station for our overnight trip to Bagan and our final day departure from Yangon city to airport. So just relax as far as your stays in Yangon & Bagan are concerned.
In Bagan, we stayed in May Kha Lar Guesthouse, which is within walking distance from the Bagan bus station. As we had a return bus ticket, the Guesthouse was able to arrange for the bus to pick our group up from the Guesthouse for our overnight journey back to Yangon.
Having visited temples & pagodas in Angor Wat (Cambodia), Borobudur (Indonesia), Ayutthaya (Thailand) and Shwedagon (Yangon) & Bagan in this trip, I believe I have seen the most ancient, beautiful & magnificent temples in the world so one up for me in the world of travelling !
Myanmar may be a Third World country, but of late we are seeing major political changes for more democratic freedom & reform for their people, so this will augur well for the country's future. Travelling in Myanmar is safe so bring a stack of US dollars (clean, crisp and notes must be without marking & folding. Scribbled and shabby notes are not accepted) and enjoy your stay in this country !
If time permits, you may consider a visit to Mandalay, Inle lake (Shan State), The Golden Rock and Myanmar's new capital. I will probably make another trip to Myanmar in the near future given the short travelling time and close proximity to Malaysia.
1) Yangon
Myanmar's capital with a modern airport; US dollar is the currency of choice; rich in culture and temples; the magnificent Shwedagon Temple (Golden Temple), Sule & Botataung Pagoda; Yangon River; tasty Burmese food; Aung San Suu Kyi; a newly found democratic freedom in this Third World country
a) Shwedagon Temple - an UNESCO site, entrance fee US$5, most sacred, 2,500 years old, adorned with tonnes of gold and precious jewels, standing tall and magnificently and a "no fly zone" enforced above and around the temple !
Myanmar's capital with a modern airport; US dollar is the currency of choice; rich in culture and temples; the magnificent Shwedagon Temple (Golden Temple), Sule & Botataung Pagoda; Yangon River; tasty Burmese food; Aung San Suu Kyi; a newly found democratic freedom in this Third World country
a) Shwedagon Temple - an UNESCO site, entrance fee US$5, most sacred, 2,500 years old, adorned with tonnes of gold and precious jewels, standing tall and magnificently and a "no fly zone" enforced above and around the temple !
b) Sule Pagoda - located in central Yangon, this 46m octagonal shaped stupa was built 2,000 years ago to house a strand of Buddha's hair. Entrance fee US$3
c) Circular train - US$1 per ride for foreign passport holders; old British colonial train station; passengers from all walks of life; passing through many villages surrounding Yangon; a good glimpse of daily life in Yangon; the journey takes 3 hours and put you into a time tunnel going back to the colonial days ! This antique train is probably extinct in developed countries !
d) Bogyoke Market & the surrounding - have fun in shopping in Bogyoke market; jade stones, rubies, sapphire, jewelries, garments, sundry items, hawker food etc; prices are reported to be fair but haggling skill is required to get the best deal. Bring along a small calculator to do some simple arithmetic on currency conversion from Kyats to US dollars !
Ocean Pearl Inn, Yangon - stayed for 3 nights, Room tariff US$22 (twin sharing) per night
f) Appetizing Burmese food - set lunch meal (6-7 local dishes) served in a Bagan tourist restaurant - 3,000kyt (US$3.90) per pax. High tea served with Hanainese bread with butter & kaya, cakes & coffee Burmese style in a coffee shop, China Town, Yangon; free nutritious breakfast provided by May Kha Lar Guesthouse, Bagan; Chinese style hot dishes (kailan, tofu, chicken or pork etc) served in a cozy air-con restaurant for lunch or dinner - 14,000kyt (US$18) for a table of four
2) Bagan
Myanmar's 11th century capital; bumpy horse karts; some 2,000 pagodas, temples & stupas dating back to 1,500 years; sunset over the Irrawaddy river; an 8 hr overnight bus ride from Yangon (bus ticket 15,000kyt=US$19.50 one way)
Irrawaddy River, Bagan
May Khar Lar Guest House, Bagan
Walkabout in Bagan
Long distance bus from Yangon > Bagan > Yangon
Yangon International Airport, Myammar
How did you book the hotel in Bagan? Thanks for your helpful description of your stay in Myanmar.
ReplyDeleteI booked the hotel through the help of Ocean Pearl Inn when I was in Yangon.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteU stayed in Yangon 3 nights or 2 nights ? 1 night in Bagan?...How was the road leading to Bagan? N the bas OK---with aircond?
It's a new highway from Yangon to Bagan, only a small stretch of the roads were bumpy but overall it was a pleasant ride. The bus is well maintained and fully aircond. Bring along a jacket as it was cold when we arrived in Bagan at around 4am .
ReplyDeletehello. I'm Ngân
ReplyDeleteCould I use your horse carts images for Fiuzu.com
Fiuzu makes sure that your images will be kept original and the author as well as images URL will be showed on Fiuzu.com.
we appreciate you help. thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from you. :D
I am easy so please go ahead and use the horse cart images
Delete